he Territories. All
was new, then, to the men now in power in the National Government, and a
new and vital issue, that of secession already declared by seven
Southern States, had to be met by a definite policy. The important
immediate question was as to whether Lincoln had a policy, or, if not,
upon whom he would depend to guide him.

In the newly-appointed Cabinet were two men who, in popular estimate,
were expected to take the lead--Chase, of Ohio, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and Seward, of New York, Secretary of State. Both were
experienced in political matters and both stood high in the esteem of
the anti-slavery element in the North, but Seward, all things
considered, was regarded as the logical leading member of the Cabinet.
He had been the favoured candidate for Republican Presidential
nomination in 1860, making way for Lincoln only on the theory that the
latter as less Radical on anti-slavery, could be more easily elected.
Also, he now held that position which by American tradition was regarded
as the highest in the Cabinet.

In fact, everyone at Washington regarded it as certain that Seward would
determine the policy of the new administration. Seward's own attitude is
well summed up in a despatch to his Government, February 18, 1861, by
Rudolph Schleiden, Minister from the Republic of Bremen. He described a
conversation with Seward in regard to his relations with Lincoln:

"Seward, however, consoled himself with the clever remark,
that there is no great difference between an elected
president of the United States and an hereditary monarch. The
latter is called to the throne through the accident of birth,
the former through the chances which make his election
possible. The actual direction of public affairs belongs to
the leader of the ruling party, here as well as in any
hereditary principality.

"The future President is a self-made man and there is
therefore as little doubt of his energy as of his proverbial
honesty ('honest old Abe'). It is also acknowledged that he
does not lack common sense. But his other qualities for the
highest office are practically unknown. His election may
therefore be readily compared with a lottery. It is possible
that the United States has drawn the first prize, on the
other hand the gain may only have been a small one. But
unfortunately the possibility is not excluded that it may
hav