"I would like much to know if the Democratic minority concurred in this protest, and the reasons which decided them or any of them against its publication. I am expecting to be delivered one of these days of something about that electoral commission, and, of course, I would like to speak of this address, if at all, by the book. I would like, also, to know if you can tell me why Judge Abbott refused to allow of the publication in his lifetime; if there was any other reason than that it was never signed. "I hope you will think these questions will involve matters of sufficient gravity to warrant me in troubling you for an answer which no one else that I know can give. "Yours very truly, "JOHN BIGELOW." STEPHEN J. FIELD TO BIGELOW "SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, "WASHINGTON, D. C., _February 2, 1894_. "HON. JOHN BIGELOW. "DEAR SIR,--Your letter of the 31st of January was received yesterday. You state that the son of the late Judge Josiah Gordon Abbott, of Massachusetts, had handed to you a few days before, in Boston, a copy of 'The proposed address of the minority of the electoral commission of 1877, protesting against the decision of the majority of that commission,' and add that at the close of the address, or somewhere in it, was the following endorsement: 'This address was drawn up at the request of some of the minority members of the electoral commission, to whom it was submitted and approved by them; but some doubted the wisdom of publishing the address at the time, and so it was not signed. (Signed) J. G. ABBOTT.' "You express a wish to know if the Democratic minority concurred in this protest, and the reasons which decided them, or any of them, against its publication. In answer to your inquiry, I would state that I remember very well the preparation of the address undertaken by Mr. Abbott, the draft of which was submitted to me and approved, and I supposed then that it would receive the signatures of all the members of the Democratic minority and be published. Soon afterwards Mr. Abbott informed me that some of the members of the minority had expressed a doubt of the wisdom of publishing the address at that time. It was not, therefore, signed. I know of no other reason. None was given that I can recall except the existence of the doubt mentioned. "Perhaps Mr. Bayard could give you more definite information upon this point. I know that it was a disappointment to me that the address, either as prepared, or as it might be amended by suggestions of members of the Democratic minority, was not published. "I think that when the members of the commission separated it was Mr. Abbott's intention to prepare some document with reference to the action of the commission for publication, with the consent of other members of the minority, but that intention was subsequently abandoned by him for reasons which I cannot state.