Murchison letter

The Murchison letter was a political scandal during the United States presidential election of 1888 between Grover Cleveland of New York, the incumbent president and a Democrat, and the Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison. The letter was sent by Sir Lionel Sackville-West to "Charles F. Murchison" (actually a political operative posing as a British expatriate); in the letter, Sir Lionel suggested that Cleveland was preferred president from the British point of view. The Republicans published this letter just two weeks before the election, and turned many Irish-American voters away from Cleveland. Cleveland lost New York and Indiana (and as a result, the presidency). Sackville-West was sacked as British ambassador.

A California Republican named George Osgoodby wrote a letter to Sir Lionel Sackville-West, the British ambassador to the U. S., under the assumed name of "Charles F. Murchison". "Murchison" described himself as a former Englishman who was now a California citizen and asked how he should vote in the upcoming presidential election. Sir Lionel wrote back and indiscreetly suggested that Grover Cleveland, the Democratic incumbent, was probably the best man from the British point of view.

Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, and beg to say that I fully appreciate the difficulty in which you find yourself in casting your vote. You are probably aware that any political party which openly favored the mother country at the present moment would lose popularity, and that the party in power is fully aware of this fact. The party, however, is, I believe, still desirous of maintaining friendly relations with Great Britain, and is still as desirous of settling all questions with Canada which have been unfortunately re-opened since the retraction of the treaty by the Republican majority in the Senate and by the President's message, to which you allude. All allowances must, therefore, be made for the political situation as regards the Presidential election thus created. It is, however, impossible to predict the course which President Cleveland may pursue in the matter of retaliation should he be elected, but there is every reason to believe that, while upholding the position he has taken, he will manifest a spirit of conciliation in dealing with the question involved in his message. I inclose an article from the New York Times of the 22d of August, and remain, yours, faithfully,

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