"Going through the pageant of a public inauguration is by no means called for, as you are well aware; and I would suggest that instead of allowing Sunday to intervene, that Grant's term expires at 12 o'c. at night on the 3d of March, when his power as Commander-in-Chief will cease, and when Sherman will not dare use the army for their hellish purposes. I make this suggestion for the reason that there is a tradition in the family of Mr. Jefferson, to whom I am nearly allied by marriage, handed down by himself, that being informed commissions were to be made out by Mr. Adams for judges and other officers after midnight, he (Jefferson) entered the office of Secretary of State precisely at 12 o'c. on the 3d of Mar. and demanded it of the Secretary, John Marshall, I think, who, after some remonstrance, yielded and delivered the keys to Mr. Jefferson. Allusion is made to those midnight appointments in his correspondence, but no mention is made of those particular circumstances. I had them from Col. L. G. Randolph, his grandson, confidential friend, executor and sole custodian of his papers until sold to Congress. "Some persons apprehend that if the election devolves upon the House (which I cannot conceive possible on any reasonable grounds) we shall lose the Vice-President, whose choice will have to be decided by the Senate; but this cannot be, as the contingency will not arise for such a resort. For the Constitution expressly provides that 'the person having the greatest number of electors shall be President, if such number be the whole number of electors _appointed_.' Now, how can they be appointed unless lawfully done, and who is to judge of such legality? Certainly the House, or it may be both Houses. So if the electoral vote of a State be rejected by either, because of fraud, it is a nullity--no vote at all--and therefore not _appointed_, and cannot be estimated in the count, leaving you with 84, an undisputed majority of the electors actually _appointed_. For, mark! The Constitution does not require a majority of the whole Electoral College, but of those _appointed_. "If there should be any discussion about the authority of the 'great seal of a State,' you are aware that it has been nowhere so fully ventilated as in the famous New Jersey contest for Congressional seats, when, if my memory serves me, the Govr's. certificate was only respected when there was no suspicion of fraud. "I am, with great respect & haste, "Your humble servt., "CHARLES MASON." CHARLES A. DANA TO TILDEN "_Dec. 15, 1876._ "DEAR SIR,--Here is a note from my regular Washington correspondent, which I send to you for your information. Yours sincerely, "C. A. DANA." A. M. GIBSON TO DANA "WASHINGTON, D. C., _Dec. 13, 1876_.