Newspaper Page Text
V jlume X]
Tb the Citizens of Wilkes .
K report has b*cn circulating f>r
some ti nft ba-k ihr ughnut the
tv, til l* I fli-1 in the course of
lat year, pledge myself to certain
individuals that I w Mild support our
couityrnao, Cap*, Matthew Talbot,
for the iff! *e of G.vernor, at ihe
?ast elrriiou. This report I have
fepeatedly contradicted* and autho
rised lanv of mv friends 1 1 do so ;
and and * now deny that I ever promi
sed or pledged myself to aly indi
\iSn<i! whatever, that I w u!d sup
p"t Capt. Talbot. On the first in
tim iiio't of this rumour, I took the
ea i o<t opporiu iity to ooitradfet
If; * I ailed upon ‘l** J >hn Wal
ker, ett*r. } op >n wb<?*B auiti *rity I
undersold all the noise wa ft< J
ed, ’o state if ft hail pledged myself
to h*m; aid he unhesitatingly re
plied, in the presence of several
genii omen, that £ had not, but that
he was induced to thi.tk so from
what had fallen fr im me som dime
previous I wdi here *ta e, as
wear as I ran possibly recollect,
wha did pss between Mr. John
\V lke-, seo’r. and myself on that
su je, t. Mr Walk*r some ine i >
the *n uth of January, tHZB, *atn*
tome, in the town of tVa hi
and ald cessed mein the following
■words :** \ p e you no? going io sup
port old Matthew rHjot, if you
should be elected, for Governor i
for I Will vote for no man under the
eaoop* of heaven, that wdl n >t.”
| observed s o VI , talker, that it
was a very and dirate question, and
one which I had not reflected much
ah ti ; that I was as wiling f t mi
ntfi ti ate any thing <>f that sort to
him as to any one hut could
not say to him that I would, or
would not, suppor Q pt. Tallin* —-
And I further observed, that, from
She long acq uintance I had wilts
Capt. Talh <t, (for I had known him
aim >st as long as I had known any
body else,) from I fie ivspsot aml e?
teem I entertained for him, and
from the good u olerstandi *g whi<*h
I always believed existed between
him and my father, he (Mr. *Val
ker) nor any one else, hid reason
to suspect that 1 was inimical to
him I said besides to Mi*. Walker,
th t lie knew very well my poli.i is,
and to what party I owed my eleo
tioo, therefore, that he could not
ex peel from me a favorable answer
a? hat time He then left me. and
observed 11 parting, chat he was
satisfied, that he only aked me the
qte* ion for his own sa isfactiun,
and what had passed should go no
flic her, I heard no more oi this
subject u itii ah ut ten days or a
fortnight afterwards, when I was
informed that Mr. Walker had, ia
conversation with some of the
xens >F Washington, said I had pro
mised lit <n I would support Captain
Talbot; and from that lay to tut* f
have not heard the last of it, Qy
the lime this rumour be muie pr *p
erly matured, it was asserted, mat
I had mide a promise of the same
kind to Dr Felix G. Hv. 1 then
immediately went in pursuit of Dr.
II iv, and asked him if he had au
thorized any person to say I had
prom scd him to support Capt. Tal
bot lie replied he had not, neith
er had he beard me say I would.
The subject was still reiterated from
one section of the county to the o
the:; it rung in my ears wherever
I wen ; ands >it continued until the
day ot the general election, whe I
believe 1 should he correct in sav
ing, that [ was interrogated by fifty
iftlforeit persons whether i had
made any such promise as was re
ported, and whether I did or did u<u
intend to support Capt. Talbot. Vs
£ heard of no <Tier eand.dnte m ik
ing Ray declaration, 1 coo -rived
that I was ungenerously pressed up
oo; therefore, in every instance I
endeavored to give an evasive an
swer.
After the county election I heard
no more of it until after the G ver
* election, when ii was revived
w th new vigour, and from what was
s.;i;l about it, it appeared there was
scarcely a man in ihe county of
! ‘bcs on tin ( lark side of the ques
tir.i, (as it is culled) but I had pro-
The Washington News.
IFASIIINGTOV, (geoagia) S \TU (D vY, JULY 31, 182-J,
raised to support Capt, Talbot, I
was persecuted both at Milledge
ville and in toy county in ihe m >st
scurrilous manner, aud in fact from
what I could learn I was almost cer
tain of being mnbh and my reiurn
h > ne, by certain persons ab ut
Washington. it has been re entiy
asserted. a* £ understand, upon the
authority of Dr. F. G. Hay, tiia?
I had told iii.n m the day of the ge
neral ele -iioo, that I would support
Capt. Talbot. \ few days at ice t
again nailed upon the Hoot >r to
know therixht of is, ad tie agiin
informed me, that lie never s ,id m,
thi’ ho only sad ha wau induced t >
believe i would, fr..ui whu h had
heard, s ipp et C ipt. Talbot I
hopetheie wdl be no more rumours
of the like upon Dr. Hy% ,mh.ri
ty Tno next per on up . yvh e
authority there ha* been recently
mu h harping, is Col. V lonen. Ho
says he heard me say o Udieige
villa, or that ( said Ln h. u. (I do
not now reeolleet w tiah) ih t t ft It
b mi id lo support Capt. Tat Out. \od
that there were others tti-at as
heard mo say-so. Thu I peso me
w H he considered by my enemies in
he con lusive, and at on *e sealing
ihe tn ter be.*<*ue *t is Col. Wool
len dial says so, and that I will not
dare to erect my crest by the side
of the Colonel, and coo.radi.it his
asserti ons, and if I sh ould attempt
to deny that I expressed myself in
the way abnvem *mi .tied, 1 am at
o i e stamped wifn e*eral infamy,
because dr, C flf*e of fteifatr,
i sometimes called General Coff e)
wnl say the sane, £ hive no wish
to coot radial Cd. Wool ton, (and
oonseq leotly io have au altercation
with umi) because I have always
entertained a high opinion of his ve
rarity and integrity; neither have I
any reason to suspe. t that of Gen.
Colf'e, for I have but a slight ac
quaintance with him That st- h
an expression may have fallen from
me is possible; but 1 here declare
before (J *d and my country, tliaf I
have not the most dis ant recoiteo
tion of it I is weil known there
were members of ?he legislature
with whom i was as mu h m the
habit of i Him a y* aud more,
with the gentlemen above named;
and how it is, that nothing dropped
tV m me of the like nature in uieir
presence, is sotnethi ig strange, Ii
is a fact whs h will not he denied,
that at ovi? lime there was a private
ttaurus called by a geotlemau of the
room: (i wilt here tie understood to
sa>, that this oati ms consisted only
of the members of the room and
stum a-q taiiiiances as frequently vi
sited i :) and tn taking the vole oa
the Giveroor’s election, which
was done viva voce, I waved my
right of voting, and did uot give a
ny.
I believe I have now stated the
grounds on which the charges a
gainst me are, as far as i am in
firmed, said to be founded. The
course pursued bv me with Mr.
Walker and Dr, Hay, will no doubt
be considered by ail as such an one
a* should have been pursued by any
mao conscious of his ionoceooe and
desirous of preserving his character
for honesty.—*ft was surely decisive
and prompt. Col. Wnotion knew,
no doubt, that such a export as my
promising to vote fat* C?pt. Talbot,
was afloat, and that i did deny and
contradict it;—he must have heard
of my conversation with Mr. Walk
er, and could not have considered
me pledged afterwards if he did be
fore l will admit, for argument
sake, that I did express myself in
the manner Col. Woofteu savs I did
—1 will go futlher, and admit,
that I said to Col. Woo*ten a*d o
i thers hi MiSledgeville, that I would
unrquivocaily support Capt, Talbot;
—Could 11ns he ‘alled a pledge to
the citizens of Wilkes, on my re
turn? Aasitto he expected of me,
oa the first a muii’ iation of Captain
Talbot for Governor, that 1 should
at once come oul, and declare my
self against him ? For the friend
ship, respect, aud esteem, which
1 had for him. (added to vvhieti, the
supposed probability that our poli
tics agreed on the grand political
: question.) was it not natural tor tne
! lo hart) expressed my seif somewhat
in terms *>f
ly a. and .o would ?ic -m of‘en
have d-*ne unde the same c'r*oin
stances. And agsi*’ admit tl,a I
liatl irivcn gentlenei stermer grounds
to believe ! would support him,
(which. Id • d**--y in ihe strongest
term'* ha* it was mv intention to
gire them u. ulect and either di
rectly <>p i directly that I woihl.)
how will the matter res ? When
we take into * n‘iidera*ion th** e
vens and ocrnren*es on the first
Mosul ay ?n OetoHer Inst, wdl the
friends f Capt. Talbot pretend *o
sav. thn? hey had any lmm- - >on
me a? he shco ?ppr acMng G *ver
nor’* eleefio ? H;i| ihoy pretend
to say. that those insinua ions, whi-b
thev barge me with making, i- flu
etM cd the election oov way in my la
vor, when it is well U iown there
Wi teihe most unprecedented exer
ti s made agauwt me l>v some of
the warmest and very bosom friends
ot Capt. Talb >t, arid to run in a
man that was not a candidate ? The
attempt to put ine down by encour
aging sueh an impression, mav suc
ceed, but it mo't at >nre he eonceiv
etl to be not only as tiogenerriis as
it is unjust, hut absolutely absurd.
I bat u few did vole for me* who
were friendly to the election of
Capt, ‘Talbot, is true, and so I be
live they would again order any ejr
rumstames. ‘That a few did also
v*ie fr me uoder the belief that I
would support Capt. Talbot, is also
true; ami if is equally true there
were many of mv friends who did
not under the impression that I
would.
One more remark, ands will
drop ih** subject, V\hen Captain
Tail* <'* naMe was announced as a
< andida e tor Governor, the course
that he would take in the presiden
liai question was not known*. There
were various opinions and conject
ures about it; some were decidedly
of the opinion that he was friendly
to the r e tim of William H. Craw
ford; iher*, were of a contrary o
pi :i n. My polities were known to
be decidedly in favor of dr. Craw
lord, and it war well known that [
would not support any man for Go
vernor, or uny other important ap
pointment, who was not; therefore
Capt, i alboi*s sentiments were
not positively known, I wished to
forbear expressing myself in any
way inimical to him, hoping, (as
I believe the interest of the state of
Georgia, aud the other southern
states, and in fact of the nation at.
large, depended upon the eleva
tioo of Mi, Crawford to the presi
dential chair,) he would io the
course of the year couie out as the
decided advocate of toy favorite can
didate, whis h had he done so, not
that I believed he was more adequate
to discharge the duties of a Gover
nor, or that hi* claims were great
er than the other candidate, but
irom the i* fluenee of county pride
and predilection, I should, as I
have said before, have supported
him. It may he here asked, what
influence the Governor’s election
had with tbe presidential question ?
I will only remark, that those who
pretend to kn >w any thing of the
politi<-8 of the country, know well
the bearing if would have.
With you. Fellow*Citizens, now
rests my case, it is tor you to say,
whether I deserve or not al! those
nefarious epithets and calumnies
which have been ungenerously hea
ped Ufo;> tne. If my character has
been that of a deceiver, I am wil
ling to meet condemnation without
even what the vilest malefactor has
a right to, a trial If my charac
ter has been different; if you have
hitherto placed confidence in my in
tegrily, give me a fair trial, and I
will never murmur at the result.
I now enter upon a oontroversy
which has recently taken place be
tween Col. Lyman ttod myself, and
which has been for several days
ba k, a subject of daily conversa
tion I * the early part of this year
a friend of mine informed me, that
Col. Lyman had wridcn a letter to
one of the citizens on the south side
oi Little River, WiliUtn Little, esq
Which was calculated to injure uie;
tha-t i contained strong icsinuatious
I was instrnmeaifcl it the fail
, o eofthe new county hill. I saw
Squire Little in Washington not
!<>r>g afterward*, and asked him if
he had received such a letter; lie
replied lie bad, and that there were
strong insinuations in it against me,
! observing at the same time, that it
j would he in amben! on me, to clear
jit on* Col Ly nan being absent
from tlie county at that time, (and
has been absent ever sin e. until
within a few weeks back,) I let it
pass over unti 1 I heard of a meeting
on the 3d of July -n the south side
of Little River, when I oh it mv
duty, and an a* t oi’jus*ioe to niygc’f.
* (and more particularly so when I
j was loudly called upon to dear it up)
j to address a letter t- the citizens of
j Wilkes, on that side of the rtver.
I will here quote that part of my
; letter which Col. Lyman thought
proper to apply to himself:
“I was my wish to attend the first
“ assemblage of the * itizens there, ,
“ to contradict and suppress an o- !
“ pinion that has been aftemp'ed to
“ he made ('by one of my colleagues)
“ upon the minds of the people pe
“ titioning for anew county, that
* I was instrumental in the failure
“of the new county bill; and as
“ such I pronounce it substantially ,
o false.”
I will he observed that here I
rnnke mention of no names; there
fore either of my other colleagues
might with the same propriety have
applied it so himself. Here fol
lows a copy of the letter of Col, Ly
man to William Little, Eq
• MiLljtDG jfcTE, Dec. 7. 1823
“ DearS ; r,—, ai sorry to inform J
you that your high raised hopes are
completely blasted— \n ineffectual i
effort was made on yesterday to re
eon*ider the journals of the day pre
vious, so far as it related to laying
the Marion bill on the table the ba
lance f* the session. The weighty ‘
consideration a of party have prevail- !
ed over the judgment of members,
a*d a fsiumiph gained over reason
may suit the views of party men,
hut will be considered by honest
men of all parties, with feelings of
horror and detestation Private in
structions must have been received
stating that sh >uid the hill prevail,
it might interfere with some great
political arrangement. Graves was
asked if the new county was form
ed, if it would not break in upon his
interests ; he unhesitatingly replied
that it would, and other members
have made similar assertions, who
live not fir from you. That this
question has been decided on party
principles, is a fact that cannot be
oooti overied: Thai members of the
legislature under the solernui?y of
an oath, and after weighing all the
arguments for and against the new
county, and then-after cool deliber
ation vote for it—should without
any explanation whatever (except
with regard to a probable change io
the politics of the counties from
which tt should be taken j turn about
and vote against it, is not only as
tonishing but apptiling to every
hi nest rnind—~Y*t s, sir, the interests
of the people are sacrificed to ao
romplish the views of a few aspir
ring demagogues,
I wish the people to understand
well this subject—being well con
vinced, that when properly explain
ed, they will hurl their vengeance in
voilies that < aouot be resisted, a
gainst the authors f such baseness.
Wu have the liberty to shew this to
any of your friends.
I am, respe tfully, your most obe
dient servant. (Signed)
Wilium C. Lymas,
William Li ttlb, Esq.
It may be necessary for me to
state here, that vm h a question may i
have been asked, though 1 have no
distinct recollection of it. Still it !
may he the < ase ; aud if it was, 1 j
know I would h ive answered it in I
the way mated, be*-atse if I had oot j
I should have been guilty of a faLi- j
ty ; aud as such 1 know that my >
conduct cannot with justice he im- I
p#a<‘hed. That such a < icuumstanre ■
e >uid not have had a tendency to
defeat the uew *.u <\ bill, will ap
pear from the foliowi finls : ‘The
pefkion was ti oife ed >u the
huuie oi representatives $ a iavur- .
abie report was made fi i. it, and
in the regular routine of business,
the bill passed, and was sent to he
senate for concurrence. In tha
••Qurse of a few was up
by the senate and passed. Now i£
is presumable if f -u h anndv.mtago
was taken, it would hive defeated
it on its fi st passage ; acid 1 am
well assured in my own mind no
such question was askvd me in tht>
interval of the passage of ihe bill
and tbe reconsideration* which was
the next morning after its passage-
If there were any exertions made
the overnight, to bents? about a re
consideration, I am not aware of it„
be ! au*e I tva* confined to mv room
all that night from severe indisposi
tion. But I did understand iho
next morning, it wa to he attempt
ed io consequence of a rumour that;
was said to have originated with %
gentlemen residing on the south side
of Little River.
Ia letter which Col. Lvmau ad
dressed to me on the 21sl of this
month, he dLclaims any intention to
i jure me by writing. 1 will here*
quote that part of his letter whi. a
has reference to it:
** I have before me a copy of that
letter, and as it was not my inlen
“ tioti to injure you by writing it, I
“ have looked it over with mm 1$
“ care, and am that (hero
“ is uo expression io it refleeti/ g or*
“ y*‘Ut* conduct in relation to flits
“failure of th * new county hill,
“ Your name wa* introduced by mo
“ to prove that the bill was defn ilt-.f
“ o parly principles, you haviog;
“ been asked by Peter Crawford,,
“ K*<q. o question which was
“ advantage of lo overthrow aud de
“ feat the bill. ‘That you was
“ ed tho question, 1 presump yig
“ will not deny; and that yoq
answered it in the way I hayesta
“ you will likewise not deny. That;
“ I have stared no more io my let
“ ter to William Little in rekuiorx
“ to you, than merely the amiun>L
“ atiun of the fact of tne question
•* having been asked, mus be ad<*
“ mitted by ever) person who wii^
*< peruse the letter attentively
The Coloqel and myself clitfct?
very tnu-h on the tenor of that let
ter, If I understand the meaning
of words, there are string insinua
tions indirectly aimed at me ; bus
this will be for a candid and impar
tial public to judge of.
In my address to the citizens of
the sou'll side of Lit tie River, t
give it as my opinion, that although
the representatives of Wilkes sup*
ported the new co mty bill, a mi
jonty of them did it from peculiar
motives; aud hat I always should
think so. This I understand Co*
lone! Lyman conceives to be at*
infamous libel upon the Wilkes
representation. Far be it from mo
to injure the reputation of aoy man,
or detract from his merhs.
I aui not one of th >se who seek ad
vantages and opportunities to des
troy the standing of others, by sap
ping and undermining their repu
tation ; therefore, it was not my
intention to Infer that the Whkes
representation were actuated fromt
any corrupt or impure motives is
the discharge of their duty a rep
resentatives, or as regarded tbe net?
county bill ; they, I presume, con
ceiving it to be materially to the ad
vantage of the people living in that
se iiou of the county, aud no disad
vantage to the county at large,
pledged themselves to support it, a id
did s>. But from circumstances
that did occur, I was induced to be
lieve they supported it upon priuoU
pies that were injurious to me aid
the party to which I belong And
now to conclude, I will remark, that
conscious of having discharged my
duty by endeavouring to promote
the passage of the new county bill,
I au at rest. Thai Col. Lymin’s
first letter has bad a tendency to
prejudice the minds of some against
me, tnere is no doubt; but Col, Ly
ma.i’s last letter exculpates me en
tirely. What were the motives of
Col L) man’s writing su h a letter
to the eitizeasof the soa<U siie of
Lime tiiver (a majorhy of whom,
we. e k town to li** my friends) vii|
he wmi ca did aod impartial peo
ple tojudg,®
JUfliM T. URAYEd.
[NG. 31.