created no little unquiet by the zeal and strength of his support. The
upshot was that there was a harmonious combination of the forces of the
four contestants of Butler upon Mr. Washburn. It is remembered that some
of the party organs were upon nettles, fearing that General Butler would
bolt the nomination, but he came out squarely and declared that as he
had staked his issues with the convention he would abide the result.

In the canvass of 1874 Mr. Gaston was opposed by Hon. Thomas Talbot,
who, by reason of Governor Washburn's election to the Senate as stated,
was acting as Governor, having been elected Lieutenant Governor on the
ticket with Mr. Washburn. Governor Gaston's majority over Mr. Talbot was
7,033. In the following canvass of 1875, Mr. Gaston having been
re-nominated by the Democracy, his competitor was Hon. Alexander H.
Rice. By this time, that part of the country represented by the
strongly-intrenched Republican party, was fully aroused to the exigency
of the hour. The edict came from the political centre at Washington to
the effect that the Republican party could not stand another defeat in
Massachusetts, especially on the eve of a presidential campaign. The
national organization concentrated a wonderfully _efficient_ auxiliary
force in aid of the intense activity already exerted by the local
managers, who so well understood the popularity of Mr. Gaston and of the
strong hold he had upon the people. It seems now that the Democratic
managers accepted or anticipated failure as a foregone conclusion, and
no great fight was made; otherwise they would probably have won the
election, as Mr. Rice was elected by only the small plurality of 5,306
votes. This is very significant, taken in connection with the fact that
General Grant carried Massachusetts in 1872 by 74,212 majority.

In 1876, that memorable year--memorable as the year of the electoral
commission--Governor Gaston magnanimously declined the re-nomination,