Potts, before I received the letter of the
1st instant. I have still thought it better to forward the commission,
in the hope that reconsideration, or the influence of yourself and
friends, might induce an acceptance of it. Should it be otherwise, you
must recommend some other good person, as I had rather be guided by your
opinion than that of the person you refer me to. Perhaps Mr. Potts may
be willing to stop the gap till you meet and repeal the law. If he does
not, let me receive a recommendation from you as quickly as possible.
And in all cases, when an office becomes vacant in your State, as the
distance would occasion a great delay, were you to wait to be regularly
consulted, I shall be much obliged to you to recommend the best
characters. There is nothing I am so anxious about as making the best
possible appointments, and no case in which the best men are more liable
to mislead us, by yielding to the solicitations of applicants. For this
reason your own spontaneous recommendation would be desirable. Now to
answer your particulars, _seriatim_.
Levees are done away.
The first communication to the nest Congress will be, like all
subsequent ones, by message, to which no answer will be expected.
The diplomatic establishment in Europe will be reduced to three
ministers.
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