- Gordon Charles
- Hallowell Benjamin
- Janney Phineas
- Homer James Lloyd.
- Hellen Walter
- Thomas James.
Mr Charles
Gordon heretofore an important clerk in the General Land
Office dismissed under the Jackson administration for the colour of his political
coat, afterwards employed three several times by direction of the
Senate, as a draughtsman to protract the lands surveys came to shew me a
machine of his own invention for protracting surveys made by the chain
and compass— His dismission according to his statement was one of the
first steps to that Chaos of Confusion into which the whole management
of the Office has fallen— The extent of which may be imagined from the
necessity of an act of Congress actually passed at the recent Session to
legalize the whole mass of the land Patents issued for several years.—
Mr Gordon wants restoration to his
place— Mr.
Homer came to set forth his equitable claims to a
clerkship in one of the Departments here, consisting 1. In his wants 2.
In his misfortunes; having failed in business as publisher of a compound
Newspaper in Boston 3. In the fact that there is not a single Bostonian
in any of the subordinate public offices. His purpose is to be a
Letter-writer for sundry Newspapers; for which a Clerkship will be a
convenient location. He had a recommendation signed by Rufus Choate and some others, but
Mr
Bates had neglected him; and it was said the Members of
the Massachusetts were not so zealous in supporting the applications of
their constituents for office as others, but
Mr
Webster had advised him to apply to Mr Ewing
and Mr
Granger, whose Departments had much more patronage than
his, but said that if he should fail with them, after all, he would take care of him. He promised to send me
a copy of his address to the Boston Charitable Mechanic Association in
1836.— Coll.
James Thomas was here and gave me many details of the
competitions for Office, and for the bestowal of Office some of which
are humiliating.— Walter Hellen
likewise called— Mr Hallowell and Mr Janney
came with a Carriage from Alexandria, and took me down there, where I
dined with Mr
Edmund Jennings Lee and a party of ten of his family and
friends among whom were Messrs
Fowle, Dana, the Episcopalian Minister of the Church, his Son
Cassius Lee with his wife, a
married daughter, besides Mrs Lee Hallowell, Janney and
two or three others— After dinner, with most of the same company and
some others, we took tea at Benjamin Hallowell’s—then at half past seven
we went to the Lyceum where I delivered my Lecture on Society and
civilization to a crowded auditory after which there was a debate on the
question whether phrenology is a Science useful to the community. The
meeting broke up between 10 and 11. and I returned with Mr Lee to lodge at his house.