"I stated to you that I had some invincible scruples concerning the men, or rather the organizations who, acting as reformers, should be admitted as anti-ring representatives. "Suddenly and without my consent my name appeared in the papers in a certain association not satisfactory. I have had great difficulty in reaching a satisfactory conclusion as to my course, increased by the circumstance that I have not had a single human being to consult with, and, in such things, one does not like to be alone. But my mind is now fully made up, and my action will be decisive, accordingly. I shall regret if in your eagerness to fix and announce my enlistment any laudable design on your part shall be injuriously affected. But for such a result, if it ensues, I shall feel blameless. "I am, Dear Sir, "Yrs. truly, "CH. O'CONOR." HORATIO SEYMOUR TO TILDEN "UTICA, _October 8, 1871_. "MY DEAR SIR,--I have not been well since I got back from Rochester, but I have turned over the state of things in my mind, and I now sit down to give you the ends I have reached. When I left home I thought our friends had made up their minds to take high ground. When I met Lord and others at your room I saw at once 'the switch had been changed.' When Lord asked about the ticket I knew that a party had been made up to which you and Kernan and myself were not to be invited. Of that I am proud. All of the officeholders, the canal contractors, etc., are in it. Warren, DeWolf, and Cassidy lead the move. It is not in my heart to say an unkind word of Cassidy. In many ways he has had a hard time. His fine mind has been used by others while he was left poor. It was the strange policy of the Central Railroad men to give wealth to Weed and others, who fought them if they did not, while Cassidy was helped to live by loans and in other ways which kept him poor. When Tweed went to Albany he turned a stream of patronage into the _Argus_ office which made it strong and rich. I think Cassidy means, in the main, to stand up for the right, but it is hard for him to strike men who have lifted him into wealth and when all about him shrink back. Now what are we to do? A new party is made up, and we are outside of it. For this I am glad. But this is not all. We may forgive others, but the men who have left us will not forgive us. The old ties are broken. They have yielded to temptation, and now they are like church members who have fallen from grace; they not only hate to meet their minister, but they learn to hate him. This feeling cropped out at Rochester. They were glad to hit us, and the young men would have done more if the wiser ones had not held them back. You would have been put off the State committee and McQuade would have had the seat of Kernan if they had thought it wise. All things were made ready to do both of these acts. While Kernan was thrown off of his guard by Van Buren's assurances that his seat would not be contested, the committee on