Martinsburg Gazette And Public Advertiser

APPENDIX TO MR. CLAY'S ADDRESS.
CONCLUDED.
B.
Frankfort, Sept. 3d, 1827.
My Dear Sir: I have received your letter of the 23d of July last, and cannot hesitate to give you the statement you have requested.
Some time in the fall of 1824, conversing upon the subject of the then pending presidential election, and speaking in reference to your exclusion from the contest, and to your being called upon to decide and vote between the other candidates who might be returned to the House of Representatives, you declared that you could not, or that it was impossible for you to vote for General Jackson, in any event. Such, I think, was nearly the language used by you, and, I am satisfied, contains the substance of what you said. My impression is, that this conversation took place at Captain Weisinger's tavern, in this town, not very long before you went on to Congress, in the fall preceding the last presidential election; and that the declaration made by you as above stated, was elicited by some intimation that fell from me, of my preference for General Jackson over all the other candidates except yourself. It was one of the many casual conversations we had together upon the subject of that election, and various other subjects, and had entirely escaped from my mind until my attention was particularly recalled to it after the election. I will only add, sir, that I have casually learned from my friend Col. James Davidson, our State Treasurer, (what you may probably have forgotten,) that you conversed with him about the same time upon the same subject, and made to him, in substance, the same declaration that you did to me.
Notwithstanding the reluctance I feel at having my humble name drawn before the public, I could not, in justice, refuse to give you the above statement of facts, with permission to use it as you may think proper for the purpose of your own vindication.
I have the honor to be, yours, &c.
J. J. CRITTENDEN.
Hon. H. Clay, Secretary of State.
Frankfort, 20th Oct. 1827.
Sir: During a visit you made to this place, in the fall of 1824, and, I think, only a few days prior to your leaving Kentucky to attend the Congress of the United States, you and myself were in conversation about the then pending presidential election; in the course of which I remarked, "Mr. Clay, you will have to encounter some difficulty in making a selection amongst the candidates, should you be excluded from the House." You replied, I suppose not much; in that event, I will endeavor to do my duty faithfully. I then observed, "I know you have objections to Gen. Jackson, and rumor says you have some to Mr. Adams, also—and the health of Mr. Crawford is said to be very precarious: these are the reasons which induced me to suppose there would be some difficulty." You, in reply, remarked, "I cannot conceive of any event that can possibly happen, which could induce me to support the election of General Jackson to the Presidency. For, if I had no other objection, his want of the necessary qualifications would be sufficient." Your remarks made a strong and lasting impression on my mind; and, when the resolutions instructing our Senator, and requesting our representatives, in Congress to vote for General Jackson, were under discussion in the House of Representatives, I informed several of my friends, that I had had a conversation with you on the subject to which the resolutions referred, and that I was convinced you would not support the General; and to George Robertson, esq. late Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State, I gave the substance of your remarks to me, and he concurred with me in the opinion that you could not, consistently, under any circumstances, vote for the General; and when the resolutions, above mentioned, were before the Senate, (in which I then had the honor of a seat,) I opposed them, and amongst other views I then took, I stated to that body, "that all the resolutions we could pass during the whole session, would not induce you to abandon what you conceived to be your duty, and that I knew you could not concur with the majority of the Legislature on that subject."
Yours, respectfully,
JAMES DAVIDSON.
H. Clay, esq.
Washington, Nov. 17, 1827.
Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of the 26th, I have no hesitation to state the purport of the several conversations that I had with you in relation to the Presidential election during the session of 1824-5.
I met you for the first time on your return to Washington, in December 1824, on the Saturday or Sunday evening previous to the meeting of Congress, and at that time we had a long and free conversation on the approaching election. I said to you, it was still uncertain whether you or Mr. Crawford would be returned to the House of Representatives, but, from the information I had, I believed that you would receive the vote of Louisiana, and be returned as the third candidate. I expressed to you some solicitude about the election, and the hope that we should pass quietly through it; I said that I apprehended a protracted struggle; that while three candidates remained before the House, it would be difficult for either to obtain a majority. That the excitement which the contest naturally produced would daily increase, that the parties would become obstinate, that the people might be dissatisfied, and that some agitation might be produced. That for the character, as well as the tranquility of the country, it was desirable that we should pass through it safely. You replied, that you would not permit the country to be disturbed a day on your account; that you would not allow your name to interfere with the prompt decision of the question by the House. I said, if it becomes necessary the country has a right to expect, and will expect that of you.
You informed me you had seen Mr. Crawford, that you had been shocked with his appearance, that notwithstanding all you had heard, you had no idea of his actual condition. And, after expressing the sympathy which his misfortunes excited, you said he was incapable of performing the duties of the executive, and it was out of the question to think of making him President.
I remarked to you, that in all probability, the contest would be finally reduced to Mr. Adams and General Jackson, and the conversation turned upon their comparative merit and qualifications, and a long discussion ensued; you drew a parallel between them, in a manner I thought very just and respectful to both. You concluded by expressing a preference for Mr. Adams, which turned principally on his talents and experience in Civil affairs. I alluded to your critical position between the two parties, and the great personal responsibility under which you would act. You said it was true, but it could not be avoided, it was a duty imposed by your situation, that you would meet it as any other public duty.
I intimated to you, that in the present stage, it would be improper to make known your sentiments, that there were strong motives for your not taking an active part in the contest.—I suggested the relation in which you stood to the House, to the parties and to the country, and said that great influence would be attributed to your opinion, that all parties would look to your course with interest, and that you would act under great responsibility. I thought there was no necessity for increasing the difficulty of your situation, by taking a part in the election, and that it would be better to let it take its course. I left you under the impression that you concurred in these views.
I saw you again on the return of the votes from Louisiana, by which it was ascertained that you were excluded from the House. I then took the liberty of repeating to you all that I had before said in regard to the course you ought to pursue. I urged the consideration of your being the presiding officer of the House, where new questions might arise during the election, and such other reflections as occurred to me. You said you were aware of the danger as well as the delicacy of your position and that you would leave your friends perfectly at liberty to exercise their own judgments. I will add that no instance came within my knowledge in which you deviated from this course. My opinion was, and still is, that you behaved with the greatest propriety, in the situation in which you were placed.
I conversed with you in a walk to the Capitol on the instructions of the Legislature of Kentucky. You still expressed your determination to vote for Mr. Adams. You said the Legislature had no right to direct you in the discharge of your duty, that you had received no instructions to vote for General Jackson from your own district, that the instructions and letters you had received, directed you to pay no attention to the Legislative instructions, but to act upon your own judgment and do the best for the country. You said you were not only free to choose, but you were under a great personal responsibility. That you would acquit yourself in the discharge of this duty, by making the best choice under all circumstances. That you believed Mr. Adams was the ablest and safest man, and you would act under that conviction.
I called on you on the morning of the publication of your card. You said that I would now see that the delicacy you had observed had procured no respect or forbearance towards you; you spoke with some indignation at the means which had been employed, as well as the motives of those by whom you were assailed. You spoke of anonymous letters full of abuse and menace, letters written at Washington, to be published at different places, and of the letter which had been noticed in your Card, &c. I observed, you must expect all this.—You must have foreseen that at some time the storm would burst on your head—You must prepare to meet it firmly, and bear it patiently. A public man must rely upon the weight of his character, and the justice of his Country, and I added that I still believed the course you had pursued in the election the most correct. You said you should continue as you had done to disregard newspaper and anonymous abuse, but this paper was published on the authority of a member of the House of Representatives, and therefore deserved to be met openly.
In referring to the terms of this letter, you observed that you did not know that you would be offered a place in any administration, nor did you know who would compose the cabinet of either Candidate. That you could not be the member of any cabinet that would require you to advocate principles different from those you had always maintained before the public, and for the support of which your public character was pledged.
On the tender of the office of Secretary of State, you consulted with me on the acceptance or refusal of the office. You stated all the reasons, private and public, for and against the acceptance, and asked my opinion. I said it was an occasion in which you ought to consult freely your friends and act by their advice,—My own opinion is, you must accept; in the situation in which you have been placed by circumstances you have no choice;—and I suggested some reasons of a public nature why you ought to be a member of the Cabinet.
After your nomination was confirmed, you informed me that you had requested General Harrison to move for a Committee in the Senate, if any thing occurred to make it necessary.—I replied that I did not think any thing had occurred to require a Committee on your part.
The foregoing is the purport of several conversations; I cannot pretend to preserve the language, but it is a true and faithful statement of the substance of your opinions and views so far as they were known to me.
I avail myself of the occasion, although not called for by your letter, to state that I had occasional communications with you and several of your friends in which the conversation was free and unreserved.
That no fact ever came to my knowledge, that could, in the slightest degree justify the charge which has been exhibited. On the contrary, I know that your opinion did not undergo any change from the time I first saw you on your return to Washington. I have reason to believe that any silence and reserve which you observed during the contest, was dictated by a sentiment of delicacy to the Candidates, and by a sense of self respect, as well as of duty to the office you held in the House.
I will add that during the present summer, I met with two gentlemen in the state of Mississippi, who voluntarily told me that they heard you express your decided preference of Mr. Adams at Lexington, before you left home for Washington.
With great regard, your obedient servant,
J. S. JOHNSTON.
Washington, Dec. 8th, 1827.
Dear Sir: In answer to your esteemed favor of the 7th inst. requesting me to state any recollection that I may have of a conversation which took place at your lodgings, concerning the election of President of the United States, I can say, I distinctly recollect that on the 20th Dec. 1824, which was the day of my arrival here from the state of Louisiana to take my seat in the Senate of the United States, I called on you the same evening, and in the course of a conversation, in which I informed you that you had lost the votes of Louisiana, I desired to know, who you intended to vote for as President. You then told me without any hesitation, that you would vote for Mr. Adams in preference to General Jackson.
With great respect, yours respectfully,
D. BOULIGNY.
Washington, Aug. 14th, 1827.
I certify that in the early part of the session of Congress 1824-5, I dined at the Columbian College with General La Fayette, Mr. Clay and others—on returning from that dinner to town, Mr. Clay and myself (there being no other person with us) came in the same hack. During the ride our conversation turned on the then depending presidential election. I expressed myself, in the event of the contest being narrowed down to Mr. Adams and General Jackson, in favor of Mr. Adams: and Mr. Clay expressed a coincidence of opinion.
JAMES BARBOUR.
La Grange Oct 10, 1827.
My Dear Sir: Having accidentally omitted the last opportunity to answer your most valued favor, Aug 10th, I avail myself of the next packet to offer my affectionate thanks, and request, as the pressure of business allows it, the very high gratification of your correspondence.
Your diplomatic accounts from Europe leave little to say; and, although a member of that House, by courtesy called Representative, I am not the wiser nor shall I be the more useful for it. A dissolution of the House is much spoken of—the ministry are recording the new electoral lists in consequence of a late bill mingling the vote of election with the duties of juror, to which, however, some additions have been made. As the public mind is progressing, and several wilful errors have been forcibly rectified, a liberal opposition cannot fail to be more numerous. The question with government is—whether they will this year meet a large minority, with a seven years new lease, or hereafter risk to have a majority against them, or at least a strong opposition than that to which, in case of dissolution, they must now submit.
The account of the funerals of Manuel having been indicted before an inferior tribunal, and our speeches on his tomb making a part of the impeachment of the publishers, it became the duty of Mon. Lafitte and myself, to claim our share in the trial, which we could not obtain; but a judgment of the Court, very properly and liberally worded, has acquitted the selected objects of the accusation. An appeal from that decision to the Superior Court, has, it is said, taken place.
The intervention of three great Powers in the affairs of Greece, seem to promise a respite, and although it has not prevented the arrival of an Egyptian fleet and a body of soldiers, there is, however, some good in the notification made by the French and English Admirals impeding further progress. The mediation has been accepted by the Greeks. The Ottoman Porte hitherto refuses it. So far, they oblige the mediators to commit themselves a little more, and if they are sincere, the Porte must yield at last. It is obvious to every lookeron that those powers are jealous of liberty, of complete emancipation, and jealous of each other. If any body can play the difficult game, it must be Capodistria, who is now on his third station, that of Paris, before he proceeds to the Presidential Chair.—He unites in his person an exclusive coincidence of happy circumstances.—After he has managed those discordant elements, there will be other discords to be managed at home, for which he also seems to be the proper and exclusive man. Upon the whole, the existence of Greece is rather more secure than it has been of late.
I have received a letter from our friend Poinsett, and cannot but observe with him the general and especial attempts that have been lately directed against the peace, harmony, and institutions of the Republican States of South America and Mexico. It is very natural to see the Republican Minister of North America, opposed to those monarchical and aristocratical factions. That the impulsion is given from Europe, is not, I think, to be questioned; but I have received, with deep regret, the part of your letter alluding to a man whose glory, great talents, and hitherto experienced patriotism I have delighted to cherish. Several painful informations had reached me, which, altogether, and many more besides, could not weigh so much with me as your own sense of the matter. I beg you to continue to write on the subject, and on every matter relative to public concerns, to my friends, and particularly to you who know my old, grateful, and sincere affection.
Blessed as I have lately been with the welcome, and conscious, as it is my happy lot to be, of the affection & confidence of all parties and all men in every party within the U. States, feelings which I most cordially reciprocate, I ever have thought myself bound to avoid taking any part in local or personal divisions. Indeed, if I thought that in these matters my influence could be of any avail it should be solely exerted to deprecate, not by far, the free, republican, and full discussion of principles and candidates, but those invidious slanders which, although they are happily repelled by the good sense, the candor, and in domestic instances, by the delicacy of the American People, tend to give abroad incorrect and disparaging impressions. Yet, that line of conduct from which I must not deviate, except in imminent cases now out of the question, does not imply a forgetfulness of facts, nor a refusal to state them occasionally. My remembrance coincides with your own on this point, that, in the latter end of December, either before or after my visit to Annapolis, you being out of the Presidential candidature, and after having expressed my above mentioned motives of forbearance, I by way of a confidential exception, allowed myself to put a simple un qualified question, respecting your electioneering guess, and your intended vote. Your answer was, that, in your opinion, the actual state of health of Mr. Crawford had limited the contest to a choice between Mr. Adams and General Jackson; that a claim founded on military achievements did not meet your preference: and that you had concluded to vote for Mr. Adams. Such has been, if not the literal wording, at least the precise sense of a conversation which it would have been inconsistent for me to carry farther, and not to keep a secret, while a recollection of it, to assist your memory I should not now deny, not only to you as my friend, but to any man in a similar situation.
Present my affectionate respects to Mrs Clay—remember me to all your family, and to our friends in Washington. I will write by the same packet to the President. Believe me forever your sincere obliged friend.
LAFAYETTE.
C.
Rockville, Nov 3, 1827.
Dear Sir: You requested me to state the expression used by Gen. Call on his way to Congress in 1824, touching the contemplated vote of Mr. Clay for President. In the annexed statement, I have complied with your request. There was much other conversation, but I have confined myself sirictly to your inquiry.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN BRADDOCK.
B. S. Forrest, esq.
Rockville, Montgomery County, Md. Nov 3, 1827.
In the fall of the year 1824 I saw General Call and several other gentlemen, members of Congress, on their way to Washington, at a tavern in Rockville they were conversing on the subject of the Presidential election, and when the vote which Mr. Clay would probably give was spoken of, General Call declared that the friends of General Jackson did not expect Mr. Clay to vote for him, and if he did so it would be an act of duplicity upon his part.
JOHN BRADDOCK.
In stating the declaration of General Call on the subject of Mr. Clay's vote, I have omitted an expletive which should have been introduced before the word duplicity. Save that the foregoing is literally his language. J. B.
D.
Philadelphia, Oct. 2, 1827.
Sir: In answer to yours of yesterday's date, requesting me to state to you the particulars of some remarks which you were informed I had heard General Jackson use on the subject of the last Presidential Election. I have to state that on my way down the Ohio from Wheeling to Cincinnati, in the month of March 1825, on board the Steam Boat General Neville, among many other passengers were General Jackson and a number of gentlemen from Pennsylvania, some of whom remarked to the General that they regretted that he had not been elected President instead of Mr. Adams. General Jackson replied, that if he would have made the same promises and offers to Mr. Clay that Mr. Adams had done, he (General Jackson) would then in that case have been in the Presidential Chair, but he would make no promises to any; that if he went to the Presidential chair he would go with clean hands, and uncontrolled by any one.
These remarks were made by General Jackson in the bearing of Mr. James Parker, of Chester county—Mr. Wm. Crowdsill of this City, and a number of other gentlemen unknown to me.
I am most respectfully, yours, &c.
DANIEL LARGE.
Samuel Wetherill, Esq.
Philadelphia, Oct. 5, 1827.
The statement made by Mr. Daniel Large in the prefixed letter, is a faithful account of Gen. Jackson's conversation on the occasion alluded to.
WILLIAM CROWSDILL.
In the winter of 1826-7, Mr. Thomas Sloan, of Brownsville, Pa. in a conversation in my bar room respecting the election of the President of the U. States, and of the corrupt bargain and intrigue which procured his election expressed his opinion to be that such practices had been resorted to by Mr. Clay and his friends, and justified his belief, by stating that General Jackson had informed him so in a conversation with him at Brownsville, and which was in substance the same since communicated to the public by General Jackson.
I further certify, that I lately wrote to Mr. Sloan, requesting him to give a certificate of Gen. Jackson's statement to him, but have not received his answer.
RICHARD SIMMS.
Wheeling, Dec. 19th, 1827.
In the winter of 1826-7, Mr. Thos. Sloan, of Brownsville, in a conversation in my presence, respecting the election of the present President of the United States, and of the corrupt bargain and intrigue which procured his election, expressed his opinion to be that such practices had been resorted to by Mr. Clay; and justifies his belief by relating a conversation which he had had on that subject with General Jackson at Brownsville, on his return home from Washington City, after the election. Mr. Sloan rehearsed at length the statement made to him by the General, and which was in substance the same since communicated to the public by Gen. Jackson. Mr. Sloan further said that a company, of which he was one, had met the General near Brownsville, and escorted him into town, which was the occasion on which he had made the communication referred to.
ALDEN R. HOWE.
Wheeling, Va. Dec. 19th, 1827.
E.
MR. BRENT'S STATEMENT
(See Niles' Register, Vol 28, Page 25.)
From the National Journal.
[It appears that previous to the publication of the annexed statement, a copy of it was sent to Mr. Kremer by Mr. Brent, with a request that he would examine it, and if he discovered any inaccuracies suggest such alterations as he should deem necessary.]
February 25, 1825.
I state without hesitation, that on the day on which the debate took place in the House of Representatives, on the proposition to refer Mr. Clay's communication respecting Mr. Kremer's card to a committee, I heard Mr. Kremer declare at the fire place in the lobby of the House of Representatives, in a manner and language which I believed sincere, that 1. he never intended to charge Mr. Clay with corruption or dishonor in his intended vote for Mr. Adams as President, or that he had transferred, or could transfer, his votes or interest of his friends; that he (Mr. Kremer) was among the last men in the nation to make such a charge against Mr. Clay, and that his (Mr. Kremer's) letter never was intended to convey the ideas given to it.—The substance of the above conversation I immediately communicated to Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Hemphill, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Dwight of Massachusetts, of the House of Representatives.
WM. BRENT. (of La.)
I was present, and heard the observations, as above stated, in a conversation between Mr. Brent and Mr. Kremer.
PETER LITTLE. (of Md.)
Mr. Digges, who was present when the conversation referred to took place, has affirmed the truth of Mr. Brent's statement, as follows:
March 1, 1825.
In the National Journal I perceive my name mentioned, as to a conversation which took place in the lobby of the House of Representatives, between Mr. Brent and Mr. Kremer; and I feel no hesitation in saying that Mr. Brent's statement in the paper of this day, is substantially correct.
WILLIAM DUDLEY DIGGES.
Extract from a letter from Joseph Kent, Gov. of Maryland, to a gentleman of Frankfort, Kentucky, dated
Rozemont, May 15th, 1827.
"I have seen so little of late from your State upon the subject of politics, that I do not know whether the violence of the opposition to the present Administration has extended itself among you or not. Our friend Mr. Clay appears to be the chief object of persecution with the opposition. They are with great industry concocting a systematic attack upon him which commenced with the Kremer story, which was an entire fabrication. At the time the plot opened I was a member of the House of Representatives and heard Kremer declare he never designed to charge Mr. Clay with any thing dishonorable in his life."
The old man, naturally honest, was imposed on at the time by a powerful influence, and constrained to act his part in an affair, which from beginning to end, was as much a fiction as the Merry Wives of Windsor, or the School for Scandal. The attack on Mr. Clay during the session of Congress, by Gen. Saunders, as far as I could judge from the debate as published proved an entire abortion, and I hardly know which surprised me most, the folly of the attack, or the inconsistency of the General.
You have seen, no doubt that Mr. F. Johnson stated in reply to Gen. Saunders, that at the time of the Presidential election in the House of Representatives, he, Gen. S. was decidedly in favor of Mr. Adams in preference to Gen. Jackson. In confirmation of what Mr. Johnson has stated I well remember that not ten minutes before the election Gen. Saunders came to me and used these emphatic words— I hope to "God you may be able to terminate the election "on the first ballot, for fear we from North "Carolina may be forced to vote for General "Jackson.' North Carolina, you know, voted in the House of Representatives for Mr. Crawford, whose prospect of success was hopeless although the electors of that state gave their votes in favour of Gen. Jackson. Knowing the deep interest you have always taken in Mr. Clay's welfare, I have been induced to give you, for your personal satisfaction, these particulars.
Mr. Clay I have known intimately for sixteen years. His public career is completely identified with every event of the country from that period to the present time, whether in peace or war. During the late war I have seen the H. of Representatives, after having gone out Committee of the whole, return to it again, for the sole purpose of affording Mr. Clay an opportunity (as Speaker) of putting down the desperate and infuriated advocates of British tyranny, in wit and injury. Such did one instance.