The Arkansas Advocate

THE ADVOCATE.

LITTLE ROCK, AUGUST 11, 1830.

The length of "Placidus," precludes the possibility of its appearing in this day's Advocate; it shall receive due attention next week.

The reply of Geo. W. Febee, to Mr. Woodruff, on the subject of a certain letter, has been received, but too late for insertion to-day. In our next it shall be attended to.

On the first page of this day's paper, will be found Gov. Pope's address to the public, copied from the Gazette, into our columns, at his particular request.

It is not to be presumed that we would publish this address without comment—an address which no candid and impartial man will deny, is objectionable in many particulars. But it is not our present intention to notice or point out the numerous objectionable parts therein contained, other than those in which we are intimately concerned.

Gov. Pope, in the first place, denies his having, last winter at Washington City, directly or indirectly, endeavored to effect the removal of Sam C. Roane, U. S. District Attorney. This may be true, but we beg leave to think otherwise, and for this reason:—Col. Sevier, in conversing with a young gentleman of high respectability, (a citizen of this Town,) on miscellaneous subjects, told him that Gov. Pope communicated to him, (Sevier,) his wish to have Mr. Roane removed, and Col. Ashley appointed his successor—in reply to this proposition of the Governor's, Col. Sevier remarked, that he saw no good reason why Mr. Roane should be removed, and Col. Ashley or any other gentleman appointed to succeed him. This, we are persuaded, Col. Sevier will not deny. This too, brings the matter directly at issue between Gov. Pope and Col. Sevier, and if they can settle it between themselves, to their own satisfaction, (although the public have a right to know something about it,) we assure them we shall not interfere. We should not now have said a word upon the subject, had it not been that the charge above alluded to, was preferred against the Governor, through the columns of our paper, and we felt bound to show to the public, that charges contained in communications, published in the Advocate, are not, as the "Jaw-Bone" faction have endeavored to make them believe, entirely destitute of truth. This subject we have no desire to prosecute, and sincerely hope to be under the necessity of saying nothing more of the Governor's attempt to remove an officer who is said to have discharged his duty with fidelity.

We will now advert to that part of Gov. Pope's communication, where he says, "it is strange that the Clay-men there, (meaning Kentucky,) should, through Mr. Bertrand, assail me for the effusions of magnanimous feelings in a convivial moment." This assertion is not only ungenerous but untrue. We deny that the Governor has been assailed through us, by Clay-men in Kentucky, "for the effusions of magnanimous feelings in a convivial moment." If assailed he has been, it has been by us alone, and not by Clay-men in Kentucky, or any where else. We would inform the Governor, that we are not yet, and hope we never shall be, so entirely lost to every high minded and honorable feeling, as to make ourself the channel, Editorially, through which others may assail him or any other man. If the vile and defaming Editor of the Gazette, is one of those sort of fellows, has the Governor any right to presume, because we conduct a public journal, that it follows as a matter of course, we are of a like stamp? No Sir, when we think a public man deserves the lash, we assail him fearlessly, without consulting others, and are alone responsible for our acts—acts which we dare a particular member of the "Jaw-Bone" dynasty, to call us to an account for.

We would like for the Governor to inform us, when and where, and in what way, he has been assailed by the Editor of this paper, through the influence of Clay-men in Kentucky. Has he reference to the numbers of the "Signs of the Times?" If so, we candidly admit, as we stated at the time, that the extracts contained in the first number, under the aforesaid head, were taken from a private letter, received from a much valued and esteemed friend, residing in Kentucky. But we do deny that those extracts were published at the request of that friend. We know nothing of our friend's political creed, other than that he is decidedly anti-Pope. The extracts made in the second number, were taken from a letter received from the same gentleman, by a friend of his in this Town. We were informed that such a letter had been received, and we applied for it, of our own accord, for the express and avowed purpose of making such extracts as we deemed proper. This is the truth of the matter, Gov. Pope's story to the contrary notwithstanding.

* For reasons best known to us, we have been compelled to be more brief than we wished, and shall conclude this article, by remarking, that Gov. Pope's situation, as respects friends, appears to have been somewhat similar to our own. When we left the Territory, in December last, for the purpose of procuring a Press, &c., we too, thought we had not an enemy in Arkansas; but, like the Governor, on our return, we found a host of them. Be cautious Governor! you are among a treacherous set. We know them well. As a friend, we would advise you to be on the look out, for there is a certain Little Billy belonging to your mess, called the official organ, who, like Judas of old, would betray you, for thirty pieces of silver. Because this little fellow meets you with a grin, and holds out his paw, you must not imagine to yourself that "all's well." He is deceitful, and requires to be closely watched. As an instance of his deceit, this little wiseacre, long before our Press was established, held out this same defiled and polluted paw to us, with all the seeming friendship imaginable; but yet, at the very time he was offering the hand of friendship, he would secretly write letters to his supposed friends in every section of the Territory, much to our prejudice.

These remarks are elicited from no unfriendly feelings towards Gov. Pope.—Personally, we have ever since our acquaintance with him, entertained for him the highest respect and regard, and if those friendly feelings were not reciprocated, to say the least, the Governor has been guilty of using a little duplicity towards us, as he well knows, that we have never had the hardihood or presumption to gainsay his oft repeated assertion, that he is a "good Governor."