The Sunday Dispatch leads with a serialized political memoir titled "Reminiscences and Random Recollections of the Tyler Administration," penned by Horace Walpole and addressed to Henry A. Wise, U.S. Minister to Brazil. This is Chapter 15 of what appears to be an ongoing exposé of President John Tyler's tenure. Walpole opens by defending himself against anonymous accusations that he sought office under Tyler and turned vengeful when disappointed—claims he dismisses as baseless. Instead, he paints Tyler as an honest, talented statesman whose administration achieved remarkable national influence despite lacking party support. However, Walpole levels devastating criticism at Tyler's son Robert, claiming the young man's misguided influence and poor judgment became "the author of his father's political ruin." The letter then pivots to dissecting the complex relationship between the Tyler administration and James Gordon Bennett's New York Herald, revealing how correspondent Nathaniel T. Parmelee traded favorable coverage for access to Cabinet secrets, and how Bennett's paper ultimately became so powerful that Tyler abandoned plans to launch a competing pro-administration newspaper rather than face Herald opposition.

This 1846 dispatch captures a pivotal moment in American media and presidential politics. The Tyler administration (1841-1845) was historically precarious—Tyler assumed the presidency after William Henry Harrison's shocking death just 31 days into his term, making him the first VP to inherit the office. Without a coherent political base, Tyler's presidency hinged on media relationships and public perception. This letter reveals how newspapers like Bennett's Herald had evolved into kingmakers, wielding influence that could humble presidents. The detailed account of government officials being ordered to subscribe to the Herald, and of Bennett's audacious refusal of official advertising rates (demanding his own inflated prices), shows the press beginning to assert independence from executive control—a defining feature of American democracy that would intensify through the Civil War era.

• The Sunday Dispatch itself cost only three cents per week for city subscribers, or one dollar per year by mail—making this serialized political memoir accessible to ordinary readers, not just the elite. A single advertisement square ran $1 for first insertion, 50 cents thereafter.
• Walpole reveals that Robert Tyler allegedly controlled his father's Cabinet secretariat and could withhold information from the President himself—'a young and inexperienced man' who rendered the nation's chief executive 'the laughing stock of the age.' This suggests unprecedented family dysfunction at the highest level of government.
• James Gordon Bennett negotiated his own advertising rates with the federal government at '200 per centum' above standard government rates—essentially extorting the Treasury while maintaining editorial independence. Walpole calls Bennett 'the only man of the united Press of the Union that ever attempted, or dared attempt, such a revolution.'
• The aborted newspaper scheme: Tyler's team tried to launch a competing daily in New York to be edited by N.P. Willis (a prominent literary figure), promising full government patronage. The Herald's mere threat of opposition killed the project before it launched—proof that one newspaper's power exceeded the President's.
• N.T. Parmelee was ordered by President Tyler himself to drop a libel suit against Bennett, threatening to remove him from his government position if he didn't comply. Parmelee obeyed immediately, showing how patronage positions could silence even those wronged by the press.

• William Henry Harrison, the 'Hero and farmer of the North Bend,' died in April 1841—just one month into his presidency. Walpole hints in a footnote that leading Whigs considered his death 'a fortunate circumstance,' suggesting some believed Harrison was being manipulated by Democrats and that his removal saved the party from humiliation.
• James Gordon Bennett, the Herald editor, leveraged access to Tyler's Cabinet secrets (fed through Parmelee) to become so influential that he could dictate terms to the President himself. Bennett later became one of the most powerful media moguls of the 19th century—this document shows him already exerting that power in 1841-1845.
• The New York Herald was so dominant that Whig members of Congress publicly denounced it on the House floor as the President's 'mouth-piece'—yet Bennett defiantly refused to become its consistent supporter, 'lauding him to-day' and 'lampooning him to-morrow.' This unpredictability made him simultaneously invaluable and terrifying to power.
• Walpole claims Tyler offered him multiple government positions—Navy Purser, Army Pay-master, Principal Clerkship at Washington, Consulate, or Secretary of Legation—if he would 'identify himself with the Tyler party.' His refusal because he 'believed he should be swindled' speaks to the corruption endemic in Jacksonian-era patronage politics.
• Major Noah, editor of the pro-Tyler 'Union' newspaper, was explicitly forbidden by Tyler's own administration from defending himself against Herald attacks—proving the President himself lacked the independence to stand by his own supporters when facing Bennett's editorial wrath.