William Pickering to Richard Yates

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Albion Edwards Co Illinois

July 8th 1861.

His Excellency

Richard Yates

Governor of Illinois,

Dear Sir,

I Received your excellent Letter on the Subject of your appointment of Mr Browning to be our U. S. Senator from Illinois, And I heartily agree with every word you say, and every view you take respecting your performance of that important Executive Duty. You have done just right. and every intelligent man in the State, both Republicans & Democrats, must in their hearts & consciences (if they have any) feel & think as I do. Your views on that appt, are undeniably true. And I cheerfully congratulate yourself, and the whole State of Illinois. yes, and Our Lincoln Administration also, on your happy appointment of Mr. Browning, for he is in all respects the most fitting, and most reliable man you could have Selected at this time.

I have shown your Letter on that subject to several leading & trusty Republicans in this part of the State, and they all concur with one in the correctness of all you have therein stated.

I have also to acknowledge the receipt of your very kind and friendly Letter, respecting my Sons appointment to the Office of U. S. Consul to Queensland, a newly created District in the English Colony of Australia And I thank you heartily for your kindness & goodwill in having forwarded my Letter to you, containing a copy of my Letter to the President, with the certificates & recommendations in my Sons behalf, to the care of Mr Browning.

And If this reaches you while in Washington, allow me to ask the

further personal favour of your accompanying Senator Browning to present the said Petition of my Son to the President, requesting the favour of that appointment, together with the accompanying certificates and recommendations signed by all the leading Citizens of the United States now residing at Kiandra, in New South Wales, Australia.

And surely I think I am not presuming too much, when I entertain & indulge the hope that you four prominent Republican Citizens of Illinois, The President, yourself, & Senators Trumbull, & Browning, unitedly possess and enjoy sufficient power, and plenty of goodwill towards myself, to fix up, and agree to give that appointment to my Son, now 39 years old, who was born & raised in Edwards County, Illinois. As the Yankee said " I know you four can do it, if you are all willing."

I thought the President & Senator Trumbull were amply powerful, and both of them sufficiently filled with plenty of Goodwill towards myself to have given my Son that small appointment at once, and from these feelings and expectations, on my part, I forwarded the Original Papers belonging to that case, to the Care and guardianship of Senator Trumbull, but it would seem I have been slightly mistaken, for I have not yet heard that either of them have done anything of the kind as to secure that Office for my Son, in that farthest off, & most distant Land, And as I well know that One of those two Gentlemen had full power to make that appointment, & its not being done, makes me feel apprehensive that either the President or Mr Trumbull, or both feel slightly lacking in their goodwill towards myself, and my anxious requests in behalf of my Son.

Your friendly assistance in support of my Sons appointment will be duly appreciated by your Sincere friend

William Pickering.

Wm Pickering

About son's consulship in Australia

answered