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About The Washington news. (Washington, Ga.) 1821-183? | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1831)
PSsSWTniiiic di^ia ti'm,? Kmiiirr*,; to tlio (losii'o9 of a! grateful people; tint! liettcr adapted 1 tocouvey to posterity tlic memory of the Father of’ HIS CoIINVUV. From the Italic-room wherein he was accustomed to preside, tve haV’ c pro ceeded, in the perfortPHucC of a fru- Ce sal duty, ievcttTily to cost n pall ing iflunce ill the yet sealed supul clire. Ilet'ealter, when the lofty mausoleum shall he ieared in the National Capitol—-already the ap propriate cenotaph of WASHING r 'ON —others may repair thither, with feelings of veneration equally strong and ardent; hut the time may never arrive, when under similar interest ing ( licit instances, the associated disciples of “brotherly love, relief, and truth,” may again encircle this simple cemetefy. In retracing our steps from these consecrated shades, let us resolve so to triuinlaiu the doc trines of our profession, as to give no color of reason for t lie censures of ■Lot the tenor of ouf lives be operative ns weli as masons—so that filially, Bvering exercises of cha >d will towards men, we n peace to “that undisco ;ry from whose bourne no turns,” in the consolato ry hope that we nmy meet our bre tiiern and kindred in a more pet feet Lodge—in that “temple not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.” At the conclusion of the address, another so air was performed by the band, and a b- Tbe Brethren th’enlformed t\t£ IV/ rann a rumfe*!\’’ Grave, and deposited upon it the emblematical evergreen sprig. The procession was now again formed, and, at the invitation of the worthy pro prietor, proceeded to the venerated mansion, which was euiixely thrown open for their lecep -tion ai.d inspection, aud partook plentifully of hit cordial and abundant hospitality. The procession agaiu formed and moved to the shore, where the company embarked, am', arriv :d ai Washington about 9 In theeveuing, without the occurreuce of a single accident to mar the ar&tiQcation experienced by all the participants In titis memorable excursion. The members of the fraternity assembled on (his occasion has been estimated at from five * to six hundred, Xamong whom were many breth ren from the extreme points of the Union, and many grand Officers from the sister States,) and Was’by” far the hugest procession ever us*embled in this pait of the Uniou. JFROM THE tftSTKR SENTINEL* % (From the Senior Editor.} Washington GiTt, March 30, 1830 Availing my seif of a very polite invitation from the M. VV. Grand Master of the District, in com pany w ith several members of Congress and ot flu; masonic fraternity, 1 embarked last Monday on board the steamboat Columbia, for the pur pose of witnessing the laying of the corner sione of an Associate Methodist Church in the city of Alexandria, arid of proceeding with them fio thence to the tomb of their deceased brother. George Washington, at Mount Vernon. * * ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft When the van of th 6 column reached the site of ‘the projected edifice, it opened to the right and iftft, and from th rear, in reversed order, ad vanced upon a low platform, erected in the cen tre of the ini. The ceremonies were now an nounced. A prayer, suited to the (occasion, came first from an aged minister, whose name I did fidt learn. Then the Reverend Wesley Wallace, pastor of the Associate Methodist Church in Georgetown, decorated with the badges of ma sonry, delivered an eloquent*and interesting ad dress, which was listened to with respectful at icifiion by the thousands who had assembled to whness the interesting scene. Some other pre liminaries, prescribed by the statutes of the mys tic brotherhood, were next attended to, adthe ear ner stone at length sunk gradually to its rest fr- place, amid solemn sounds from the band. The customary rites that followed arc, 1 presume familiar to most of my rcuders, and therefore Peed not be repeated here. The maltii where with the taps were given w aCflte very same which Washington used in laying the corner stone of the Capitol. And iiere I may at well insert the following let ter from the President of the U States, with a copy of which I have been furnished by the M. W. Grand Master of the District. It is one of the most pathetic pieces of composition I ever perused, and does equal honor Cos his bead and jteart. Washington City, March Ss7, 1830. Respected Sir: I regret that the duties of my office will not allow me to avail myselt of the po lite invitation conveyed in your note of yester day.* It would afford me the highest pleasure to unite with my Masonic Brethren of this District in laying the.Corncr Stone of u Religiwts Edi fice proposed to be built in Alexandria, and in matching afterwards in form to the Tomb of . Washington The memory of that illustrious Grand Master cannot receive a rucreaii£j£ip'.<* ate honor than that which Be{ig£on fllll^Vlasomy pay it. when they send efieir votaries to his Tomb from the performance of acts which they conse crate. 1 am, vrry respectfully, Your obedient servant, ANDREW JACKSON. Jo John N. Moulder, VV. G. M. By tliis time the swelling 1 strains of the hand broke louder and louder upon the enr from a distant vista, and, presently, the fraternity, with measured, melancholy step, were seen gathering around the sepulchre of their illustrious Grand Master, ac companied hy tl><s proprietor ofMount Vernon, John A. Washington, and I mingled with them to witness the mournful scene, Bat, let me not attempt to describe yir for, alns! jtiere are those in the at my words, HPh'kery the holv <!*■- udissi",nbled grief. Kiot i.n> 1 sincere Chris tian will he contcnl to lifcar, that, as-j ter an opening prajer from _,the j Grand Chaplain—addresses from the Grand Muster, aid Mr. Ji nks, of Boston—ami a concluding prayer, the fraternity repaited with their brother, Afr. Washington, to the mansion, and frun thence, after a kind entertainment, to the steamboat Columbia. As they moved in Solemn order down the shady avenue to the beach —the hand playing the Dead March in Saul —l could not blit lament the unreasonable “excitement” in parts of New York and Pennsylvania, and the question involuntarily occlired — Can these men be hypocrites ? Can it be that they cultivate within their lodges principles suhvcisive of liber ty and equality ?* Can it he possi ble that Washington took “horrid oaths”—that lie swore in the most revolting terms to screen a brother mason from punishment for crime, /‘murder and treason not excepted?” Oh no, never ! The master spirits of the Revolution wore Free Masons. They won for ns, hy the blessing of heaven, the freedom which, ns a na tion, wo enjoy; and while so good and great a work attests the purity of iheir political piinciples. I at least, shall require more than theal iedged abduction of Morgan to enlist my feelings against them. ” lheahbe Bnrruel, a distinguished French Clergyman, became a freemason for the express purpose of discovering the secret. He took three degrees; an il the sennit which the worthy abbe has thought proper to disclose is, that, on assuming i his masonic obligations, rlie master addressed him as follows: —“My dear bi other, the secret of ma sonry consist in these words— F.quality and Lib er y: a U yien -arc equal tend fret; all nren ere , brethren . “The grand objects of masonry,” says an En glish (Tory) author, “are liberty and equality. The very name of free mason carries with it the idea of liberty; and as to t quality, it is disguised under the name of fraternity, which has uearly a ‘• 1♦- U'on.” ©ijf .V e ‘iU.U, WASHINGTON,-MARCH 6. IbCil. Small Pux.~— In our last we o* dtted to state that the second case that occurred ut the resi deuce of Mr. Stephen G. Pettns, and which prov ed to be a case of measles, wax upon a slave, the property of a gentleman in whose family that disease liud prut ailed for some time; who**.’ mas ter had directed that he should not feturi), fear ing the Small I*.;x (which at that time was sup posed to beat Mr. Peitus’s) would be introduced into his family. Tins accounts for that cast* prov ing to be the measles. Within a few days, two new cases have occurred at the residence of Mi . Pettus, which our Physicians have unanimously pronounced to lie Varioloid. One ot the cas at this time has every appearance of cnutlueui Small Pox; it is therefoie highly uecessai y that a stnci non-intercourse should be kept up, and that eve ry family avail themselves of the present oppor tunity of vaccination. By a reference to an ordi nance published in another column it will be per ceived that measures have been adopted to pie vent the disease spreading in our town, and we hope that sufficient vigileuce will be used to cm ry into effect the provisions thereof. CALHOUN—JACKSON —CRAWFORD. We regret that the length of Mr. Calhoun’s long yarn places it beyond our power to publish ibe correspondence winch has taken place between himself and the President. Calhoun bus labour ed very hard to draw the attention of the people from the main point in question, by adroitly en deavouring to prove an inconsistency m the con duct of the Hon. W*n. H. Crawford, and a dis position iu linn to make false representations. Now tor the sake of argument admit ail this <o be true,—how we ask does it benefit A|r. Calhoun? Gen. Jackson, very justly accuses him of acting with duplicity. And does his charges against Mr. Crawford, whether just or unjust relieve him from the charge of the President, or prove him guilt less? Cei tainly *a<. The truth is, John C. .Caßiowo has induced Get*. Jwckson to believe that he \6ts his friend, when in reality he was his bit ter enemy. He are now;, inure firmly satisfied than we ever was, that he is a man destitute of political integrity—possessing no principle— and not to be trusted, when his own aggrandizement is brought in question- He is better understood every day of his life, and the time is not far distant when he w ill be unable to command sufficient in fluence, even in his own state, to obtain the /on-, est office in the gilt of the people. In our last, we published Mr. Calhouns letter to Mr. Crawford, wherin he stated he had return ed a letter that had been written to him by that gentleman. VVcarefot at ail astonished at ins returning it. It was an easy way to avoid au an swer; to attempt which he kuew would not be al together agreeable. In our next, we will lay be fore our readers the letter which Mr. Calhoun states tffat fie'returned. Below we have given the opinion of the " Globe” (anew political paper,4>rii<ted at Washington City,) upon the subject of the correspondence. MR. CALHOUN. VVe lteve read the address of this geutlcniau to the People of the U. States. The first impress,ion tyadc upon onr miiid, is one of wonder, tliat aj man possessing Mr. Culhoun’s tact j land pjjudcnce, should have brought .gather personal. Bv his private let ters, and those of Mr. Monroe, by his Whole public conduct, and hy ] publications in the newspapers, Gen. Jackson has been led to believe that lie bad been uniformly his friend, |in the cabinet of Mr. Monroe, as j well as out of it j vindicating all his | conduct in the Siininole campaign, j Under this impression, he had given | Mr. Calhoun his warmest friend (ship and firmest confidence. Cotn | polled at length, by facts and cir cumstances, to doubt the sincerity of his supposed ancient friend, lie ‘determined to know thetruth. With this view, he obtained in an authen tic shape, the charges which had been made of Ml. Calhoun’s course iu the cabinet, so different from what lie lmd supposed, submitted them directly to the person implicated, and usk( and whether they were true. Mr. Calhoun admits their truth. Gen. Jackson expresses his sui prize at the admission, aud says Mr. Calhoun has pursued a course of duplicity to wards him. The letter declares the charge of duplicity to he unfounded. With this issue the correspondence closed; Wiiat wnfe there in this which re quired an appeal to the public? It was a mere private difference. It concerned only the hearing of two ! irentlenien towards each other One of them, it is alleged* had deceived j the other, who had just fotind it out. By an interchange of leitersi these gentlemen tinally understood encli othF. What have the public to do With Gen. Jackson’s and Mr. Calhobn’s opinion of each other? Are they called upon to decide whether Mr. Calhoun was guilty of duplicity or not? General Jackson says he was. He says he teas not. Whether he was or was not, does not now con cern the public; Mr< Calhoun’s publication, therefore, was wholly uncalled for. It is a fil e brand wan tonly thrown into the republican party. Mr. Calhoun will be held responsible for nil the mischiefs which may follow. The character which the Presi dent. now userities to Mr. Calhoun will not derive any relief from this correspondence and its publication. What was it which Gen. Jackson asked .if Mr. Calhoun in his letter of 13th May, 1830? Simply to state whether he had actually pursued the course ascribed to him by Mr. Craw ford in Mr. Monroe’s cabinet. He did not call in question his acts or his motives. All he wanted to know, ! was the truth or falsehood of a single 1 proposition. It was only necessary for Mr. Calhoun to say “/ did move and speal'against you in Mr. jllnn roc’s cabinet ” or “/ did not.” This Was all the President asked, lie asked from Mr. Calhoun no justifi cation nor excuse; all he wanted was an isolated fact. How does Mr. Calhoun answer the inquiry? An honest, plain man would pronounce sentence against him from the mere length oj his re ply f It occupies nearly six columns in the Telegraph, and twelve pages in a large pamphlet! A correspon dence which necessarily, embraced only one short question and a short er answer, is made, by Mr. Calhoun, ■ to cover nearly three pages of the U. States’ Telegraph, and till a large! pamphlet of fifty-two pqges ! Is t here j not something suspicious in the very • length of Mr. Calhoun’s reply, and the accumulation of his documents ? But the considerate reader will find this first impression confirmed by a perusal of tho papers. Instead of a direct and frank yea or nay to the inquiry, he begins by denying his responsibility to the Pre sident lor what passed in Mr. Mon roe’s cabinet. Who said he was re sponsible? Not the President, nor any one else. He does not intend, ■he says, to offer apologies or excu ses for his conduct. Who asked him for apologes and excuses? Nobody. ThejPresident only asked what that conduct uias. He then affects not to understand the President; hut supposes he means, that they did not put the same construction upon his orders in the Siiitiuole campaign, and that lie lias been guilty of duplicity in that respect! Tho President’s let ter was a direct inquiry of Mr. Cal-; houn, whether his course had been hostile to him 3n Mr, Monroe’s cab inet, as was represented. He did not ask how Mr. Gaffiouu'understood bis orders, nor whether they under stood them alike, lie only desired to know, whether he had been se cretly hostile, while professedly and publicly his friend. But Mr. Cal houn, instead of answering directly, leads off into a long discussion ü bout the orders and the manner in which they were understood, points which were not at all involved in the inquiry to which he was reply ing. After wasting several pages in thij unnecessary discussion, he cotucs at length to his own course in tho cabinet. Here again, instead of a direct answer, he fills the better part of a page in softening the admission that Mr. Crawford’s statements is substantially TRUE! He says Io the President, “I wus of the i impressi on that ysu had exceeded your orders ” —'Fcame to the meeting [of the cabi netj under the impression that the tisu al course ought to be pursued in this case, which I supported by pre senting FULLY AND FREELY ALL THE ARGUMENTS THAT OCCURRED TO ME.” Here the charge, so far as the President is concerned, was admitted td be true. No room for controver sy was left, except in relation to Mr, Calhoun’s conduct towards Oenertil Jackson. The Gen. says to him, in all your letters to me , you professed tot be nty persoiral friend, and approved ENTIRELY my conduct in rilation to the Seminole campaign.” That the President was deceived, we have his positive declaration, sup ported by Ins conduct from the close of the Seminole campaign, down to the presont moment; In addition to private assurances, a letter from Washington was published in a Nash ville paper, soon after the meeting’’of the cabinet council, stating, that Mr. Crawford find moved his arrest in the cabinet, but that h eioas triumphant ly defended by Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Adams. Froftt the tone of Mr; Cal houn’s own letters, and the letters of the President, Geri; Jackson could entertain no doubt of this fact. So firmly was it impressed Upon his mind that Mr. Calhoun had been his foremost advocate, that, on bis way to Washington, w lien his conduct was in question before Congress, at a public dinner in Virginia, he toast ed “ John C. Calhoun ” as “an honest than the noblest v. orlc of God.” He always supposed Mr. Crawford to be bis only enemy in Mr. Monroe’s cab inet, and openly gave vent to Ins feelings. All this Mr. Calhoun per mitted in silence. After his confession, he attempts to shew that Mr. Crawford lias giv en a false account of some minor in cidents connected with this affair.— Tbat, Mr. Crawford and his friends will probably scltle with him; but what if Mr. Crawford is mistaken on those points? Does it in the least affect Mr. Culhoun’s conduct to wards Gen. Jackson? What if Mr. Crawford was not actuated, in dis closing ibis matter, by the motives lie adduce*; —docs ihut prove that Mr. Calhoun did not make Geri. Jackson believe be was his friend, when, in fact, he was secretly acting as his enemy?’ Or, if Gen Jackson’s confidential letter to Mr. Monroe was j not before the cabinet; —does that prove Air. Calhoun innocent of the’ i charge the President makes against I i him ? I Having led the reader an uselc/s j journey over these subjects, he he-I gins 4o complain of the manner in which the truth has finally reached the ■ P resident's ears ! Jlc is very curious ! to know the names of every body who has heard or said a word about it. ’ Does he want somebody to attack for the purpose of leading off the public mind from an unbiassed view of his own couuducl? The knowl- edge of uames, he says, is important. Now, does he pretend that the persons whose names were withheld, knew any thing about his conduct in Mr. Afonroe’s cabinet, or his inter course with Gen. Jackson? Not at all. But he seems to think they had some personal motive in bringing the truth to the knowledge of the Presi dent. If it were so, would it alter the fact? Would it at all extenuate his own conduct ? But he has the names. In Gen. Jackson s letter to Air. Forsyth, dated /tli June, 1830, a copy ol which was sent to him, and in Gen. Jackson’s letter to himself, dated lUth July, he is distinctly told, that the statement referred “to in Air. Crawford’s letter, came from Col. Hamilton, ot New Volk. It cannot he otherwise understood, than thftl this statement is a letter from Mr. Forsyth to Col. Hamilton, which was referred to Air. Crawford before It a subject of this nature before the public. Tlife only point in this dis'- cussioti, except sutjli as Air. Cal houn has himself created, is ulto was submitted to tlic President. In his long letter lie then proceeds to mention a letter written by Mr. Crawford to Alnj. Barry, in JS2B, urging him to use bis influence with the JKontucky doctors not to vole for Mr/ Calhoun. Now, wliut bad this to do with the question? Does it shew that Air. Culhoun hud not pur sued a course of duplicity towards Gen. Jackson from 1817 down to 1830. It only shews, what every bndey knew before, —Ali .Crawfoid’d hostility to him. V Mr. Calhoun’s part of this correspondence !| singular enough. Instead of giving u direct an swer to the he throws in ft pile ofextraueous matter. lie discusses bis sponsibili!v ,Gen Jacksou’s orders,Mr.Craw ford’s vornrity, the manner in which the President ls nt length* arriveiTat tiie truth, and many other things, not tcuding to throw light on the subject, but to involve it in darkness. The plain old Soldier tells him, he has nothing to do with all this; that by his own admission of his conduct in Mr. Monroe's cabinet, he finds he has deceived U%m t and he wants to hear ng more about it. And what apology does Mr. Calkcftm make for bringing all this niassdf mutter before th** public? Why, lie says bis conduct in Mr. Monroe’s cabi net has been called in question and misrepresent ed? \Y ho has called that conduct in question? Nottho President. He has only caiicd as question Mr. Calhoun’s conduct tow ard himsefjl Mr. Calhoun is his own accuser before the public. He has called his own conduct in question before that tribunal. He Is both accuser and and will have all the beuefif of the verdict. Nor is the second reason gived by hiui for this wanton publication a wlj't better. He insinuates, that the President had divulged the affair befoio his arrival in Washington last December, so tliat it had become a topic of URnvcrsaiiou ami discos* sion in (lie newspapers. Now, we happen to know, that the Precedent's enemies in tiie west were iu possession of all the tacts embraced iri this correspondence, of the letters if not of copies, last summer! They dM not derive their intelligence from the President or hii friends r.t Washington. Moreover, it is well known, tbtit soon after Mr. Calhoun’s arrival here, the correspondence waft by him, put into the hands of Members of Con gres.ifor perusal, aud that nightly meetings wore held for reading and explaining. Mr Calhoun’* particular ftiende have, long since, in their pfi* \txle letters, as we well know, been attempting t 6 make imj*ressidus abroad on thissubjoct favora ble to him and injurious to others. The allega tion that it is not the “controversy of two individ uals ’ but a matter between him and his constittf cuts is equally unavailing. He weir knows, that nobody ha? called in question his official atfgVtf motives. General Jackson has asked whdt his acts were. He has not, censured him for those acts. He only blames him for making him be lieve that his acts were different. In addition to these reasons for bringing tbfr matter before the public, Mr. Calhoun thafgts Andrew Jackton with participation in a political .n nguc lo compass his* destruction commencing is early as 1827! On what authority docs he predi cate the Gold charge? On a letter from Jtfri Craw ford to Alfred Balch, Esq. of Nashville, da ted 1-Jfh December, 1827, hi reply to a letter froro that gentleman 6ugg#sjing the propriety ol his making known publicity his preference to Gen* era! Jackson. Mr. Crawford declines a public expression of his opinion; but says, “the vole of the stale ol Georgia will; as certainly as that of Tennessee, be given to General Jackson, in op. position to M r . Adams. The only difficulty that this State has upon that subject, is, that it Jack son should be elected, Culhouu will come into porrer.” And lie closes the h ttcr by saying, “If you con ascertain thnt Calhoun will not be be nefited by Jackson’s election, you w ill do him a benefit by coiunuiiricatlng the information to me.” I his letter it is alledged, was shown to General Jaukson Os this we doubt; but what if it were? • Did he promise that Calhoun should not be be- . m fitted by his his election? It is not pretended. Did not the electors of Tennessee vote for Cal houn as \ ice President? ‘lhey did. Was he not supported by General Jackson’s friends every where, except in Georgia? Ih was. Did ooA lien. Jackson t> friendship for hiui remain unini. ‘ paired until the year 1829, when circumstances induced him to think he was mistaken in Mr. Calhoun> character? Jt did. Uhv.then doe* Air. Cu Jioun put thii letter almost iu iLe front of his hex k, preceded by his own dark insinuations? jAs w/II might he charge Major Barry and all I those to whom Mr. Crawford wrote with the : v * ev defeating Mr. Calhoun's eleefion. and all i ,h, ' Bc to the letter were shewn, w ith intri- I going to produce h;s political destruction. 1 liis has the appearance of another effort to j .ad off the public mind and break the force of his own exposure. L-tt too much should be aid j or thought about his own conduct towards Gem ’ Jackson, be, perhaps, wishes to set the people to j thinking and talking about something else. | j 1 was rumored, before the appearance of this | publication, that it would not be an attack on the I resident But it is impossible, w think to view it in any other light. The President and Mr. Caluoun were directly at issue in a private cor respondence. ... Xixut utuo carried before the public with the avowed object ol>*cek ingtl’c verdict of the people. If this be not an arraignment of the i'resident at the bar of pub lic opinion, it has no motive or meaning. We have treated it as we understand it. It is only so iar as u affects the President that we feel any in terest about it. The Democrat —a. Clark paper printed at Co lumbus, in commenting upon the letter of the Hon. W. Lumpkin, wherin he declines being con sidered a candidate for Governor, observes• Mr. Lumpkin has written a letter to the Editor of the Augusta Chron icle t in which he declines being u candidate for governor for a few rea sons that nmy be stated thus; firstly , he has got one office and wishes to keep it, and thinks a bird in ilc hand worth two in the hush ; secondly , ti* abandon that office would not meet the approbation of some people ; and thirdly , he has become a converged the nullification doctrines, and wish es to convince his old enemies of his sincerity by his subserviency to (heir vie tvs. Well, Mr. Lumpkin is a slippery fellow, that’s a lact. It is difficult keeping him in one place long enough
