HIS LAST YEARS IN VIRGINIA 231 



The different reaction of two of Maury's friends to this 

 speech is interesting. Rutson Maury wrote, *'A large 

 part of your Memphis Address that deals with mercan- 

 tile matters is sheer nonsense. . . . You ought to have 

 some Sancho Panza to accompany you when you go 

 a-tilting". Being a New Yorker, he would naturally 

 not be in sympathy with an effort to deflect even a small 

 part of its trade from that metropolis. Dr. Tremlett's 

 opinion of the speech was more complimentary. "I 

 have", he wrote, ''read your last 'spread eagle' at Mem- 

 phis. Capital, clever, business-like like everything you 

 do; but unrealizable". 



The address was followed up by the sending of reso- 

 lutions to various state governors, and some attempts 

 were made to gain the cooperation of officials in Wash- 

 ington. In the latter quarter, however, no headway 

 was made, as indicated in the following communication 

 to Maury from Senator Johnston of Virginia: "I there- 

 fore called upon Mr. Watts, the Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture, who scarcely had the civility to hear me. He 

 made the conversation very short, and said that he 

 had just ordered the meteorological reports which his 

 predecessor had been collecting and publishing to be 

 discontinued. I ventured mildly to suggest that if 

 meteorology did not appertain to his Department, at 

 least Agriculture did. He gave this a qualified assent, 

 but told me very positively that he would have nothing 

 to do with the proposed scheme. I met with the same 

 rebuff in other quarters and fancied that I saw a pre- 

 meditated and arranged plan of resistance. Under 

 these circumstances it was manifestly useless to move 

 now, and so I have not offered the amendment (to 

 provide funds for delegates to the International Agri- 



