Newspaper Page Text
clothing’ and subsistence for himself and fam
jly B ince he was apprized of hie insolvency !
How much d'd he expend in liquors, and what
kind? how often was he incapacitated for
business by intoxication, and how many had
trades,or losses,took place by that means!
7. Finally, who are you! where did you
come from ? what crimes against morals ortho
laws of the country have you committed, if
any, and who are witnesses to the same 1
What is your age and pursuit! how long have
you b -en married, and what has been the
additional expense of supporting a family!
After your misfortunes came to your knowl
edge, what was your style of living ? did you
eat corn or wheat bread, ham or m.ddiing!
Do you not firmly believe that if you had re
stricted your habits and style of living to the
actual wants and necessities oi life, yon could
> made a larger dividend among your cred
itore! . ...
T.,e law authorises this inquisition, or any
part of it, if the court shall deem it neces-arv
to the purposes of justice; and if the debtor
snail answer falsely in the least particular, he
h at once subject to the penalties we have
stated, in a case of perjury. We leave the
subject with our readers to decide if the temp
tation held out is not altogether on the side
of truth and honesty, instead of fraud and cor
ruption. Will the- Government make itself
an gine of oppression! will it stand by and
see thousands of its most useful citizens held
in slavery the most abject and comple'e, with
out an effort to relieve them! Whoever
thinks that men, on account, of misfortune,
should be crushed even lower than the brutes,
may rail against this measure of deliverance
and liberty; and look for approbafion where it
can alone be found, among the callous hearted,
the Shyloeks and demons of the human race.
Abolition. —We copy the following from
that spirited Democratic paper, the Cincinnati
Enquirer. The Democrats throughout the
free states, as a party, go against these fana-
Fc-j, and all who read the papers of the pro
ceedings of the Legislature know the fact.
ime decided means must be adopted to
retrieve our character, and to qifcll these dis
turbers of society, or we shall incur the con
temp*.and hostility oi all our southern neigh
bors. These reckless creatures are still in
terfering with the domestic peace and security
of our adjoining state, and we inay soon ex
pect to hear of some act of retaliation that
will startle the most torpid among us.
The recent attempt to s’eal away some ne
groes from Boone county, Kentucky, is said
to have been concerted by a certain Dr. S ,
agent for the abolition society of this city.
Even a female member of it lately took up
her abode in a family near Covington, for the
purpose of enticing away their servants, and
carried over incendiary tracts for their instruc
tion. Slaves who are not disposed to leave
their masters, are pursued in our streets. La
dies from Kentucky cannot visit our city in
a carriage without danger of losing their dri
ver. They cannot bring a servant to carry
home their purchases from our stores or mar
kets, i ul they are assailed by a posse of buck
negroe-, or persons of lighter skins—but
darker principles. A young lady from New
port brought a servant girl to carry her band
box from the milliner’s—she was pursued to
the ferry-boat by two black stags. A lady
from Covington came to one of our stores with
her child and nurse—a great fat wench follow
ed her nurse into a store, and asked if she did
not wish to be free. Where was the chivilry
of the knights of the yard stick! The fann
ers and drovers who supply our markets with
the best of beef, can no longer bring- their
negroes to assist in driving their cattle. The
Kentucky trade must take another direction.
Intercourse and good feeling will diminish, j
until animosity and hostility will take their’
places. ;
All these unpleasant consequences arise!
from the interference of a few negroes and
fanatics, mostly foreigners, who are employed
here for purposes of mischief.
A Simple Rule for Calculating Geor
gia Interest. —The principal sum in dollars,
is the interest in cents, for a month and a half
or forty-five days. Thus, the interest ol
$950, for a month and a half is $8 50. It
will be immediately seen that this rule fur
nishes an easy method of finding the interest
of any sum for the small fractions of a year
or month, by working entirely on the principal
tuns :
To get the interest for three months, double
the principal.
For one month, take two thirds of the prin
cipal.
For nine days, take a fifth of it. For five
days, take a ninth of it. For fourteen days,
take a ninth and a filth of it. For eighteen
days, double the fifth of it, &c. The rule
supposes the year to consist of 12 months of
thirty days each, and so do Rowelett’s Tables,
and so do most of our operations in practice.
It is not therefore strictly correct; but its re
sults are near enough the truth for ail prac
tical purposes.
The reason of the rule is obvious. If in
stead of multiplying by eight, and taking half
the product to get the interest for six months
or half a year, we multiply by the half of
eight or four, we get the same result at a sin
gle opera'iou. So if we multiply by two, it
will give tiie interest forjjihe hall of six or
three months ; and if we multiply by one, it
will give the interest for a month and a half
or forty-five days. Practice in combining
multipliers, will enable the operator to calcu
late interest with astonishing despatch; thus
to ge/the interest for eighteen months, eight
and four and multiply by twelve. For nine
months, combine four (for six) and two (for
three) and multiply by six. For seven and a
half months combine four and one, and mul
tiply by five, &.c.—Augusta paper.
“ A subscriber” wishes us to inform him 1
what constitutes the difference between Win- j
ter and Summer Strained 0,1. The winter
strained oil is thus made, as we have often
seen in the Oil Factories at the North.—
When the mercury is 12 or 15 degrees below
the freezing point, the crude sperm oil is suf
fi. iently hard to be transferred to sacks, where
it undergoes pressing and about one third part
is separated in a limpid state—this is \\ inter
Oii. When the temperature is about 500 the
oii is again submitted to the press, and anoth
er run is made. After the summer oil is ex
pressed, the residue is manufactured into can
dles. Castor oil is pressed in the same man
ner.—Southern Whig.
Tjie Tariff Bill. —This bill of abomina
tions ” hich passed the House, by the vote of
Mr. Dawson, and seven of his colleagues,
has be o’. aPerr ]in the Senate. The tax on*
Coffee and Tea, has been struck out, by a
vote of 39 to 10, Mr. Berrien of Georgia, vo
s ing in favor of the tax.
Western Bank of Georgia. —We find
the following in Sylvester’s (N. V.) Reporter,
of the Gih inst:
We are in the receipt of a communication
from the President of the Western Bank of
Georgia, at Columbus, informing us that cer
tificates of deposit on this Bank, having been
disposed of in this city, he notifies innocent
holders, that they are wholly illegitimate and
fraudulent, that the Bank has issued none,
nor will it pay those issued bv D. Gibson, they
having been issued by him for the purpose of
swindling.”
Cooling- —Some firemen in New Orleans
recently amused themselves by pumping wa
ter upon the Mayor. Five of them were af
terwards arrested, ami held to bail to the tune
of $4,009 for the gross insult.
THK TIMES.
THe union of i Restates ana iht sovereignty of-he state
COLU.MBITS, SEPTEMBER. 2 5,21341.
DEM OCItA TI C lIC KE T
FOR GOVERNOR,
Charles j. McDonald.
For Sena‘e,
Col. A. Me DOUG A LD,
Re p rest: n tat i ves,
M.j. JOHN H. HOWARD,
lion. VV. T. COLQUITT,
Hon. MARK A. COOPER,
Col. JOHN H. WATSON.
Randolph County.
Senate,
Col. ALLEN MOVE.
Representatives.
Col. A. M. HUGHES,
Col. S. A. SMITH.
Stewart County.
Senate,
NEIL ROBINSON.
Representatives.
JOHN D. PITTS,
I). G. ROGERS,
JAMES M. MITCHELL.
For Sheriff
M. M. FLEMING.
Report of Deaths in the City of Columbus,
for the week ending September 20 :
Dy sent ary—2 children.
VV. S. CHIPLEY,
President Board.of Health.
Thf. Enquirer and Governor McDon
ald. — The leading editorial in the Enquirer
of yesterday, is devoted to an examination of
the heresies, real and pretended, of Governor
McDonald. It has mixed up just enough of
fact, in the article in question, to add additional
poignancy to the slanders which ensue. —
With the constant and repeated professions of
the Enquirer—which it seizes every opportu
nity to communicate to the world—of its vast
regard for truth—and its exalted appreciation
of that virtue -on the very eve of an impor
tant election, and before time is afforded for
contradiction—it charges Governor McDonald
with being a high tariff man—a Consolidation
ist—as believing in the overruling power of
the General Government in all cases ; with be
ing an oj>en and consistent Federalist —as
considering the Supreme Court of the United
States the sujrreme arbiter in all criminal ca
ses as desirous to annihilate State sovereign
ty; as believing in the constitutional power of
Congress to abolish slavery in the District of
Columbia; and as designing “to sport with the
feelings of his constituents,” when be sugges
ted to the Legislature some measure of re
lief.
The Enquirer has destroyed the effect and
design of its own article, by its general, un
discriminating charges against Governor Mc-
Donald. The Enquirer, in this instance, has
described too large a circle. No individual en
tertaining the obnoxious sentiments here at
tributed to Governor McDonald has been el
evated to official station in Georgia, in modern
times—much less to so exalted a position as
that of Chief Executive Magistrate of the
State. The thing is preposterous, and will
be so pronounced by every intelligent man.
We fear the Enquirer is, in this case, very
much in the condition of the knave who affects
accuracy and candor, for the purpose of move
successfully imposing upon those he means to
deceive.
The distribution and pre-emption act.
—The Enquirer of yesterday, in endeavoring
to hunt up reasons to excuse one of the bad
measures of its party, speaks of the amend
ment of Mr. Berrien, as obviating some of the
injurious effects of the Distribution Bill. This
amendment provided that, when it became
necessary for revenue to raise duties higher
than 20 per cent ad valorem, the Distribution
should cease.
The Enquirer omitted—unintentionally
doubtless !—to state that the amendment of
Mr. Clay, varying somewhat in its terms from
that of the former Senator, was finally adop
ted.
Will the Enquirer have the magnanimity to
state next week that the amendment of Mr.
Clay, (the one in force,) provides that the
Distribution shall, in no event, cease until June
1842—-and that if it became necessary to
raise duties higher for revenue than 20 per
cent, the increased duties shall be put on such
articles of fore'gn production, as compete with
the home manufacture. Is this, or is it not the
substance of the amendment of Mr. Clay 1—
And does it not design a totally different ac
tion from the amendment of Mr. Berrien*
which the Enquirer has imposed on its readers
j as the prevailing and existing amendment 1
The nomination of Mr. Everett as Minister
to England was confirmed by a vote of 23 to
i J
19. The injunction of secrecy has been re
moved, and we shall soon know how Senators
were ranged on this question.
HON. JOHN FORSYTH.
We have given up a large space in this
day’s paper to a vindication of Mr. Forsyth
from charges, at different times preferred, and
quite recently repeated in a public press in
this State, involving his character as a Public
Officer, and his integrity as a man. These
charges have reference to certain acts or re
ported acts of Mr. Forsyth, connected with
the purchase of Indian reservations in Alaba
ma, under the Creek Treaty of 1832, and his
individual interest in those purchases.
The first public announcement of the ac
cusations against Mr. Forsyth, in a circum
stantial form, was made in the spring of 1840,
by Duff Green, in a paper published by him
at Baltimore, called the Pilot: and it is not
improbablethatt.be Hon. John C. Clark, after
the receipt of the very significant note of Mr.
Forsyth, adopted that side-way mode to secure
their introduction to the Public, rather than
to assume the responsibility of ushering them
forth over the sign manual of the Whig Exec
utive Committee at Washington City, of which
Mr. Clark was, if not the Chairman, certainly
the most important member.
Mr. Forsyth having now retired from office,
and these accusations having again been
brought prominently before the Fubli?, hv one
of the leading presses in the State of his resi
lence, it has been deemed proper to commu
ticate all the facts and circumstances which
lave formed ‘he pretexts for reports and state
nents, prejudicial to the integrity of one of
t ie most eminent citizens of the country.
The language of the vindication is strong
nd pointed; and, in its references to the Geor
gia Journal and its Washington ccrrespond
!nt —is extremely harsh. The naturally ar
ient temperament, and the political associa
ions of the author of the letter in the Journal*
vhile in Washington, associations disposed
o encourage hostile feelings towards political
pponents, may have led him to place an erro
leous estimate upon the importance and per
ineucyof the circumstances there detailed to
am—subsequently embraced in his letter to
he Georgia Journal -and now satisfactorily
‘xplained in the communication published to
ay-
TAXES.
The Enquirer ofyesierday denies the cor
edness of the Table of Taxes-fur 1840 and
1841, taken from the Federal pub
.shed on the first page of this day’s paper.-
I'he same paper of the 21st inst., received
asl evening,’in republishing (he Table, makes
me following remarks:—
Taxes. —Since the following tab!.* ofTax
js was published, doubts have been raised by
;ome as to its correctness. The books are
m file in the Compt'oiler’s office, showing
.vhat we state as to ihe taxes of every County
m be true, wliich*every one may examine and
compare for themselves —and when any dis
pute may exist as to the tacts in reference to
the tax in any county, by referring to the
books in the Clerk’s office of the Inferior
Court, or the one in the Collector’s possess
ion, and comparing the amount with the
-tatement made in this table, those disposed
o deny its trutli will be satisfied of its cor
rectness.
Mr. Webster identifying himself with
tiie Tyler party—be that party Fist
Flesh — or Fowl. —Mr. Webster hr ad
dressed a note to the National Intelligencer,
in which lie gives the following as one of the
reasons for remaining in his present position :
“ First, because I have seen • > sufficient rea.
ons for the dissolution of the late Cabinet, by
ihe voluntary act of its own members.”
Again he says—“ If I had seen reasons to
resign my office, I should not have done so
without giving the President reasonable notice
and affording him time to select the hands to
which he should confide the delicate and im
portant affairs now pending in this Depart
ment.”
. Rather a significant indication of the opinion
of Mr. Webster as to the course of his late
colleagues.
McLeod. —The Savannah Republican of
the l 8 h September, contains the subjoined :
“ Our affairs with Great Britain. —
Nothing has yet transpired, says the Wash
ington Correspondent of the Charleston Cour
ier, under date of the 13lh inst. in regard to
any change of the relations between this
country and Great Britain. But some cir
cumstances go to corroborate the statement
of Sir John Harvey, that Mr. Fox was instruc
ted to demand the release of Mc Leod or his
passports. On Saturday, the President ex
piessed the opinion to several gentlemen with
whom he was conversing, that there was a
probability of the occurrence of a war with
Great Britain before the expiration of six
months.
“ In addition to this, one of Mr. Fox’s fam
ily, it is rumored, has stated that he would re
turn home in less than two months, unless the
McLeod question was settled. But the per
emptory demand which Mr. Fox may be in
structed to make has not yet been made. He
may have indicated the circumstances under
which he is to present it.”
LAY.; FROM WASHINGTON.
We take the following letter from the Char
leston Courier of the 17ih inst.
Washington, Sepl. 14, 1841.
The Senate adjourned at Imlfpasi 11, last
night after confirming all the nominations,
with the exception of those of Bela Badger
ard Gov. Ritner, which were rejected.
The nomination of Gov. Everett as min
ister to England, was confirmed , after a warm
opposition. Trie injunction of secresy was
removed from the proceedings on the sub
ject, and we shall soon have the debates and
votes thereon. The Cabinet is now com
plete, Mr. Charles A. Wickliffe having been
appointed Post Master General, and Mr.
Webster having determined in compliance
with the wishes of the President and the ad
vice of his private friends, to remain at the
head of the State Department.
The Whigs of the House and Senate held
a caucus, yesterday morning, and adopted an
address to the Whig party of the United
States, which was reported by a Joint
Committee appointed for the purpose. The
address is from the pen of John P. Kennedy,
member from Baltimore, and is said to be an
able, dignified apd conciliatory document.
I understand that some of the Whigs de
nounced Mr. Webster, in caucus, for consen
ting to remain in the Cabinet; but it is pre
sumed that the great bodv of the part}’ will
be gratified at the event, and particularly
those who may feel desirous of a peaceful and
favorable adjustment of the difficulties pend
ing between us and Great Britain.
The House had no quorum during the
day, and only met to exchange the usual
communications with the House and the Pre
sident.
Iteiri3 from the Charleston Courier of the 17th instant.
Mr. Charles A. Wickliffe, the new Post
Master General, was in Congress from Ken
tuck}', from 1823 to 1833.
Mr. J. N. Barker was nominated to the
Senate, on the 13th inst. to fill the First
Comptrollers!]ip, vacated by the promotion of
Mr. Forward to the Treasury Department.
Mr. Barker was Comptroller immediately pre
ceding Mr. F.
Me. Clay. —lt is said that Mr. C! cill
retire from the Senate to give place in Mr.
Crittenden.
Whig Caucus.— “ We learn,” says the
Madisonian of the 15th inst., “that the Whigs
of Congress, before t; a met in
caucus and agreed upon the pu.dication of an
address to their brethren of the United States.
King Caucus is sometimes an intolerant
tyrant, and it would not be surprising if some
of his subjects rebelled.”
Adjournment of Congress. Congress
adjourned on Monday last, after a laborious i
session of more than three months, having
learned the gratitude of the American People’
by a series of important, wise and humane
acts of legislation—being only prevented by ;
Executive prohibition from rendering the po
pular obligation yet greater, by the charter of.
a National Bank, the restoration of a sound
currency and well regulated exchanges, and j
the consequent more complete renovation of j
commercial, agricultural and manufacturing
industry. The House adjourned at 7 P. M-
The Senate continued in Executive Session
until 11 F. M. and then adjourned.
The Madisonian, the official organ, in speak- ‘
ing of the new cabine*, including Mr. C. A.
Wickliffe, of Ky., the new Post Master
Genera], says:
“These are all able, learned, distinguished,
and patriotic men of eminent purity and integ
rity of character and sound principles. They
all, we believe, without exception, (even Judge
Upshur,the Virginia Nuliifier, included.) du
ring the struggle of IS4O, favored the cause
which resulted in the election of Harrison and
Tyler. The country will see, in the selection
of such men, the evidence of Mr. Tyler’s sa
gacity and discrimination, and an earnest of
his constancy to the principles and the cause by
which he came into power.
New Cotton. —About twenty bales of the S
new crop have been received at the ware j
houses in this city. The average price is |
from (5 to 7 cents.—Enquirer ofyesierday. j
The New Cabinet. —It is remarked that.!
all the newly appointed were originally Jack j
son men.—Savannah Georgian.
Communicated.
The Milledgeville Journal of tin- 27th July I
contains an attack upon the Hon. John Forsyth, j
in a letter from the junior editor written at
Washington, and published’ by his senior as- j
sociate, with hypocritical expressions of sur- j
prise and regret, designed to give additional
effect to calumnies as blundering as they are
base. These persons can scarcely be so pre
sumptuous as to imagine that the opinion of
any honest man, in Georgia, or out of it, can
be affected by their coarse and clumsy fabri
cations ; or i) simple as to expect that flic
distinguished object of their slanders would
-'oop to defend his character from such mis
siles, cast by such hands. Il thirty years of
a life past in theeyeof the people, and much
of it in conspicuous station, cannot shield a
character tried and winnowed by fierce and
frequ? nt political conflict, then are the good
name and fame of a public mm at the mercy
of every contemptible assailan*, or miserable
libellist It inns’, in the first place, strike
every one as prep sterous. that, if nothing
could be made of these charges during the
late angry and protracted canvass, when the
Departments were full of spies eager to give
information hostile to the Administration, they
should suddenly assume a formidable shape
when fashioned by the hands of the vagrant
editor of a ribald newspaper, from shreds of
gossip picked up in the kennels of Washing
ton. These gentlemen must entertain no
very small opinion of their prowess and im
portance. Any notice of them and of their
fabrications would ho entirely superfluous, did
they not present a fitting occasion to expose
the profligacy to which\he leading whig pa
mper of the State is prostituted by political ani
mosity and personal depravity. I’he following
is the letter of the correspondent of the Jour
nal, preceded by the candid and reluctan no
tice of the senior editor.
From the Georgia Journal.
The Hon. John Forsyth.—Our Wash
ington Correspondence of to-d iv, will lie
found of an interesting character. Tne letter
of onr Jcrmoß of ilie 16.1i, handles ihe Hun.
John Forsyth, without gloves. Such ex-
positions as are made in that letter, are far
from affording us ihe slightest possible grati
fication. True, Mr. Forsyth is our political
(lie—one, whose blow, in past days, when lie
d;d strike, scattered political destruction, al
most in our ranks ; and even recently, in the
Capitol of our Slate, did he make an effort to
rally the young “Democracy ’ to the over
throw of those whom we are proud to call our
associates. But lor ali this, we cared not
a straw. We knew that lie was laboring in
a bad cause, and, despite his opposition, were
we certain of victory. As . a politician, to
foil h : m in his schemes —schemes that we con
sider ruinous to the Republic—would, to us,
ho a work of pleasure. In oilier respects,
John Forsyth was to us, a Georgian —>>ne
who had he'd high stations both in our State,
and the Federal Government—one whose tal
ents and eloquence we feit justly proud of;
and although we could not possibly hope to
ever view lum as a political friend, we vet
never had any inclination to detract from his
fame, or to view him in any other light than
that of a high minded, honorable, but misia
ken politician. It is, then, with regret that
we read, the exposition which our Junior
lias made in his leiter ol the 16'b, inst.
That Mr. Forsyth mav be able to explain
the whole matter to the perfect satisfaction
of the citizens of Georgia—many ot v.horn
in the Creek Country,’ had relatives and
friends butchered up by the indians, who, but
for the land speculators had never raised the
tomahawk, or used the scalp knife —is our ar
dent hope. We hear that gentleman no
malice, but if the charges to which we allude,
cannot he explained away to the satisfaction
of the country, we,shall make bold to speak
of him and them as the circumstances of the
case will justly warrant us.
Washington City, July 16.1541-
The various Departments are busily en
gaged in attending to the ordinary course ot
holiness, and overhauling old accounts. It is
said, that, in the course of examination many
dark l inking transactions win h occurred du
ring the last administration are coming to
liiliit, connected with the specula!ons ol ihe
oliicers of the Government, in lauds, &.c. &e.
I he fact is, it would take ten years, and per
haps longer, to ferret out arid expose ihe ras
cality that was practfed and concealed (in
falsifying the record*) by oliicers of llie Gov
ernment. Many ot these concealments are so
ingeniously done, that the probability is they
never will be exposed. These concealments
have been made in many instances, for the
purpose of shielding from public condemna
tion some of the most distinguished men of
the Van Buren party, and ot those who have
been most protected, a 1 from disputable
conduct, is the Hon. John For-yth.
You well recollect the immense difficulties
the Government had with the Creek Indians,
in Alabama, in reference to their Reserva
tions. It was desirable to rem ve them by
purchasing out tiieir c.aims, but .vnen this was
attempted, a certain company formed at Co
lumbus, contributed to defeat the views of
Government altogether, and hv keeping the
Indians in Alabama, one irritation added to
another, produced the war of 1836, which
lost the lives, and had come so nigh prostra
ting the pecuniary fortunes of so many of our
citizen Mr. Forsyth, while holding the re
lation of Senator in Congress, and hriving ac
cess the vto ail the secret movements of
Government, became a member o* that com
pany. Messrs. John Crowell, Enoch Par
sons and 8. B. Parsons, were appointed com
missioners to take the census and locate the
reservations of the Indians, and in pursuance
of their further appointment attempted to buy
out from the Indians, their reservations; but
such was the interference of this company
and others, that the Commissioners were, in
their report to Gen. Cass, induced tossy, “ no
mans were left untried, either of artful insin-
Uation or even of fraud and falsehood to ad ‘
vance tlieir own private views to the utter sac
rifi.ee of that of the general good.” “ The
Indians being rendered averse by the prejiuii
ces and suspicions, which it is apart of their
policy to inspire them with, from contracting
with the Government.”
Indeed, the Commissioners go on to state
! and directly charge, that certain individuals in
andabout Columbus, were fully informed til
| every step taken as soon it’ not sooner, than
they were themselves—that by these means
( the individuals were enabled to thwart the
views of the Government, and, after the
j council broke lip, some of those individual*
! openly boasted that they had knowledge in
advance, and knew a I about the course the
; Government had taken, (which enabled them
to defeat the wishes of the Government) and
that what was concealed from others, they
had learned, through an honorable Senato
from Georgia, alluding to .Mr. Forsyth.—
These charges are made in the report of the
; Commissioners to the secretary of War, hot
this officer, or Mr’ Elbert Herring, doubtless
; to shield Mr. Forsyth and his company from
| public censure, wholly suppresed this part oi
the report. It might be answered that Mr.
(Forsyth was a member of no such company.
■ that there is no evidence of it, and that, to re
j!y upon public report to accuse him would I
be unjust. But this cannot be urged. Mr. j
Forsyth admitted partic pation in the cnrripa-!
, ny in a letter fried in the War Department, j
| and that fact shows a combination between !
the officers of government, and the specula !
tors, fur the purpose of suppressing reports i
made by other officers—in which political j
friends were involved. The facts showing
that Mr. Forsyth as Senator received official
information as to the movements of the gov
ernment, tiiat he communicated facts within
his Knowledge as Senator to a company, of
which he was a member, 1o enable that com
pany to defeat jhe views of the Government,
stamps a stigma upon his character, which
nothing ran wipe out.
But this is not ail. During the time the
Government was engaged in trying to malm
some arrangement for the speedy removal ol
the Creeks, Mr'. Forsyth fearing that the
Government would triumph, in despite of the
action o'’ Ins fri rids—on the ! July, 153.3,
addressed a letter to the War Department, in
which lie contends that the Government has
no right to make any such arrangement as
was in contemplation. &e. &e. says “a com
pany WAS F ‘RMEiI IN GEORGIA AND ALABAMA
FOR THE PURCH SE OF RESERVATIONS. I BE
( CAME A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY,” &.C &C
----i stating that the company had purchased some
I lan h. but proposing, if the Government suc
ceeded, to relinquish his and the company’s
claim, fora reasonable advance upon their ex
penditures, &e. &,c. In 1937, however, a
Mr Parker, near Wctumpka, _ having had a
claim tosome land, which claim was approved,
hut was’reversed by Mr. Whitcomb, who was
subsequently appointed—supposing that Mr
Forsyth was interested in the claim opposed
to his. and that he was instrumental in having
Mr. W. appointed, for the purpose of having
his interests more ful'y protected—addressed
a letter charging Mr. F. with speculating
in lands, See., and die fact having been com
municated to Mr. F. he immediately addressed
a letter to a Mr. Woodbury, pronouncing the
charges to hi “fa'se, and tl e ie ult of g eat
| filly or gross misrepresentation.” Aid fur
i ih'r, saying ‘ I mvr. not, and neve: had
i ANY INTEREST ITT THF, QUESTION of float 3 , TOO
j pre-emptions, or reserves ” —thereby g;v-
I in-r a direct contradiction to his letter of Jo'v
1833, in which lie sa vs—“l became a mem
ber of the company “ for the purchase of res
ervations” Sf-x. I intended upon hearing of
| this sffir, to forward copies of the papers
j ahoveallud and to. Ibr publication, so that the
j people could have all the facts b fire them.
| hu* as if is against t! e rules of the several
! Departments, to give conies or extracts of
j papers on file in their < ffic.es, except to per
sons personally interested, or in compliance
with a call from either house of Congress, I
was not permitted to take copies or extracts,
and wi!! nor sav that I <?ive the exact lan
(riiacje of’ the papers—hut l have not given
more titan they will warrant. I do hope
Congress will appoint a commit tee io exam
ine into tltese ll> : nio, and i>’ it will, ibe people
will learn mtteh more than what I have giv
en.”
In this letter (the vulgarity of the .style is
its slightest fault) it is charged or insinuated,
first, that the co . pany of which Mr. Forsyth
was a member, by thwarting the views oi the
government, occasioned the Creek war and
the consequent loss of life and property ; se
cond, that Mr. Forsyth employed tiie influence
of his senatorial and political position to ob
tain information which liq communicated to
enable the company to defeat the views ol t.ie
government ;3d that the ad ministration conceal
ed these facts in order to shield Mr. Forsyth ;
fourth, that he stands convicted under his own
hand, of a palpable contradiction. A lew re
marks made only to expose and stigmatize e
press which degrades its party by the employ
ment of such base instruments lor such pro
fligate purposes, will lay 7 hare to every eye the
absurdity of these libels.
The company which was formed shortly af
ter the first treaty for the removal of the
Creeks from Alabama, lor the purchase oi
their reservations, and ol which Mr. Forsyth
was for a short time a member, embraced some
of the most respectable men in Georgia, among
whom were some conspicuous adherents of
the whig party. These gentlemen will not
be a little surprised to learn that its object
was to defoat the views of Iho government,
and that its efforts occasioned the Creek war
with all its attendant horrors. To attempt to
refute so | reposterous a charge would be to
insult the intelligence of the people ol Geor
gia. Its discovery was reserved for the sa
gacity 7 of this roving editor, in whose candid
mind, his honest instigators found a congenial
receptacle in which to deposite the egregious
offspring of malice begotten upon stupidity.
The character of this company, its object and
its relations with the government, are truly and
clearly explained in a letter ol Mr. i'orsyth
addressed to the War Department, the 22nd
July, 1833. (See appendix No. 1) The last
paragraph especially, of this letter will chow
whether it was the design of the company to
thwart or defeat the views of the government.
To his associates, Mr. Forsyth gave such in
formation as it was proper to communicate,!
and which w as accessible to any citizen vvliOj
might take the trouble to seek it. ‘1 h s was
his duty, and to perform it he had no occasion
to avail himself of liis senatorial station or
political influence. The accusation that he
did so is an impudent and gratuitous ialse
| hood.
The thi*" 1 charge in this flimsy tissue of
mendacit founded upon the omission oi a
passage m a report, transmitted to the Senate,
by the Secretary of War. The full corres
pondence (See append.x Nos. 2,3, 4, 5,0, /,
and 8,) which embraces the report with the
omitted passage printed in italics, will explain
why it was oimtted, and show that so far troru
improper concealment being practised, atten
tion was specially invited to the omissions,
with the assurance that “they shall be supplied;
if the Seriate deem it proper.” Common
sense as well as decency 7 inculcates the pro- ,
priety of omitting in published reports, unless’
when specially required, charges and insinua-;
tions against respectable men, vague, preuia
: ire, or unsustained. In the present case, the j
uj, ,e boastings of persons who are not even!
named are stated as ascribing to a Senator;
h ghly improper conduct or intentions. Be
this as it may, the suppression was made by
the War Department. The public will see
that the reasons given for it were just and
proper. The following etter shows, not only
with what readiness, but contemptuous indif
ference, all the papers heretofore alluded to,
including an ‘ entire copy of the report, were
communicated by Mr. Forsyth.
To Joseph Bryan and Thomas J. Abbott.
Although 1 take them to be not at ali scru
minus, to prevent misconception, 1 g ve ex
press permission to Joseph Bryan and J homes
I. Abbott, of Alabama, to make such use of
he papers herewith transmitted, as may be
nost agreeable to themselves.
J. FORSYTH.
Washington, April 20, 1839.
It is here seen that a complete copy of this
report and correspondence has been in private
md inimical hands ever since April, 1834, and
hat it was communicated by Mr. Forsyth him
self in a manner calculated to invite or rather
stimulate its hostile use, if practicable. Can
any thing then he more flagitious than the as
sertion ot this mendacious scribbler, that both
as it regards the omission of the obnoxious
passage it the report by the Secretary ol
War or Mr. Herring, and the actual conceal
ment of charges “to shield Mr. Forsyth and
his company from public censure”? He
talks of concealment, when he must have seen
a perfect copy ot the report, &c. in private and
probably inimical hands, and when he has
copied portions of the very passage in that
report, the suppression of which is the pretext
of his slanders ! But more of this hereafter.
This fugitive editor has gone even farther.
Because Ins mind, obtuse by nature, and tho’
sharpened by malice, is not able to distinguish
the purport of language, he does not hasitate
to accuse a gentleman of the highest charac
ter, personal and political- of palpable se 1-
I contradiction 1 His own dull malignity is
made a foundation for the foulest imputations,
as if men of integrity held their reputation
by the tenure oi his grovelling comprehension.
A Mr. Parker, of Wetumpka, Ala , in a letter
addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury
(see Append x No. IX,) charged Mr. Forsyth
with being “opposed to the success of pre
emptions and floats upon certain abandoned
reserves,” and of having “procured the ap
pointment of Mr. Whitcomb on account of
his known opposition to the adverse claimants
under pre-emptions and floats.” To the
charges in this letter Mr. Forsyth replied very
briefly and pointedly, as follows :
Washington, May 23d, 1837.
Dear Sir—ln the leiter of A. Parker of the
9th May, dated at Wetumpka, Ala., th u
three allusions to me by name, all of which
are false, and the result of great ,oily or gross
misrepresenlat ion.
1 have not, and never had. any interest in
the question of floats and pre-emptions or
| reserves. 1 was perfectly ignorant ot Mr.
j V\ hitcomb and of ins intended appointment
i uniii aiter it was made. Ido not remember
to have even heard his name mentioned. Al
though as Secretary of State, 1 have as much
right to speculate in iand- as Mr. Parker or
Mr. Any-body-eise, l have no interest by pur
chase or any other way in any land out ol
Georgia. J. FURSi ill.
Mr. Woodbury.
The reader will remark in the letter to Mr.
Parker th s passage : “1 have n<t and never
had any in erest in the question of floats and
pro- * options or reserves.” In Ins letter to
the War Department ot July 22d, 1833, Mr.
| Forsyth stale.- aiat “ a company was formed j
i in Georgia and Aiabauia for th* purchase oi
| reservations. 1 became a member of the
| company,” &c. These are the passages whit h
| it is said give each other a direct contradiction,
j What crazy malignity I Mr. Forsyth does not
j assert that he has not and never had any in
terest in reservations, but in-the question of
I floats and pre-emptions or reserves. Tne
charge was tbit from interested motives he
| was opposed to the adverse claims of pre-emp
tions and floats. Has reply is, that he had not,
and never had. any interest in the quesiim of
pre-emptions and floats, or reserves. i o
c ontrovert this assertion it must first, l a shown
that such a question or conflict as that spoken
| of in Air. Parker’s letter, had ever arisen iie-
J ‘ween the company to which Mr. 4orsyth
I belonged, and the claimants under pre-emp
! i ions or finals : and secondly, ” hat such ques
! lion or conflict arose vvhde he was a uiem.ier
of that company. How gross ihe attempt,
then, to torture his declaration into a denial of
the .act, known to hundreds, tiiat lie had ever
had an interest in reservations.
But it would be worse than superfluous to
take any farther notice of this malignant lar
rago of ili-digested crudities, widen are too
duil to stimulate even the prurient appetite
for slander. Even for such vile uses, less
blundering workmen must be employed.—
Meanness and malice will not suffice without
a certain degree of ingenuity. There is,
however, some It e skili maiFs'e! in the
attempt at the close of this biundaring epistle,
to make truth itseit the minister of falsehood,
but that is a skill which unscrupulous profli
gacy never fails to supply 7. “ 1 intended, upon
| hearing ol this affair,” observes this candid
| gentleman, “ to forward copies of Ihe papers
above alluded to, for publication, so that the
people could have all the facts before them, j
but as it is against the rules of the several ,
Departments to give copies or extracts oi pa-;
tiers on file in their offices, except to persons j
wrsomuy interested, or in compliance with a |
call from either house of Congress, 1 was
not permitted to take copies or extracts, and
\\;iil not say that i gi\e the exact language of j
the paper:—but 1 have not given more than j
they will warrant.” It is true that such a rule
as is here stated exists, and a very proper one I
it is. But the impression sought to be created
is tharit has operated as a barrier to the in- j
formation sought for in tins case. Where, !
then, did the gentleman get Ins extraclslj
The Departments would certainly not be so !
profl gate as to deny the papers to an imper- i
tinent curiosity, and yet permit every uriprin- !
cipled vagabond that chose, to extract from j
them or io mutilate and garble them at pleas- j
ure. So far, however, from this rule of the
Departments having prevented an unreserved
publicity m this case, as insidiously and false
ly intimated, it has been shown that a copy of
Mr. Forsyth’s letter to the War Department,
and of the entire report vvi’h accompanying
correspondence, had been furnished by him
self to Bryan and Abbott, the latter of whom
had been Clerk to the Commissioners, and
therefore, must have known the contents oi ;
the report as well as those wiio drew it up j
Ii is from this quarter, d.recfly or indirectly,
that the information must have been furnished
which has been so basely perverted. Yet
this bungling calumniator complains of the
impropriety o! procuring papers from the De
partment to which it is next to certain that he
did not apply for them ; to which, indeed, be
had no occasion to apply, since, as is obvious,
be had been permitted to see these papers in
private and hostile.hands, and even to make
extracts irom them ! The hypocrisy ol this
pre eace is only matched by its stupidity.
That he did not apply for the correspondence
of Mr. Barker is evident from the letter of the
ch;el Clerk of the Treasury Department, Mr
j McClintock Young. (See Appendix No. X.)
; But here the plea of impossibility to see the
papers is equally false and flagitious, for a
copy had been furnished by Mr. Forsyth to
the notorious John C. Clark nearly a vear
ago, at the very height of the Presidential
contest, when every hole atid corner was ran
sacked by an unprincipled opposition hich
j tnat person was perhaps the most ui^_
J lous instrument, forjfi th, with which 1o black
;en the Administration. The le’ter of Mr.
j Forsyth to Clark is here given to show tha!
| he provoked the use of the correspondence
I communicated by the same contemptuous in
| difference which he displayed to Bryan am
i Abbott.
Washingtox, Sept. 2-1, 1810.
lion. J. C. Clark, —Sir: Having learned in
an accidental conversation with Mr. \Y oodbu
ry yesterday, that you had applied to him foi
a copy of a “letter from me, dated 27tii May,.
1837, I have taken the trouble to procure n
and now send it to you lor your special
You will find also a copy of tfio
fetter which gave occasion to it.
Now, sir, having thus ministered to your
laudable curiosity, 1 cannot suppose you will
lecliwe to make a suitable return by informing
ne w hat business you have with this corres
pondence.
I am, sir,
Your ob’t serv’t,
JOHN FORSYTH,
To this letter Mr. Clark made no reply.
The writer of the Journal has evidently seen
the correspondence thus communicated, sot
he has made extracts from it, and yet he a/Fects
to deprecate the concealment enforced by the
Departments, of papers which have been long
since communicated entire to hostile and un
scrupulous parties, not only without reserve,
out with intentionally insulting notes ! Is any
hing more wanting to convict this mendacious
scribbler of the grossest hypocrisy, malevo
lence and stupidity. Docs lie think that his
impotent malice can turn to account slander
ous imputations, which even the practiced
profligacy of an old partizan hack whetted by
die acrimony of a fierce political conflict, and
provoked by the most taunting defiance,
shrunk from in despair? )et such are tlio
means and instruments employed by the lead
ing Whig press in tins State to accomplish its
political ends. Can they be characteristic of
he party of which tins viie and vulgar print is
the principal organ ! If so, then has Georgia
indeed fallen from her high estate : then have
the sentiments, the morals and the manners
if her public men been sadly vitiated by the
conflict through which they have lately passed.
There was a time, and that not distant, when
in the midst of the most ardent political con
tentions. some degree of decency, if not delica
cy, was preserved ; some respect for private
reputation, if not for public eminence, was
entertained; when ti e least scrupulous of
her sons would have shrunk instinctively Irom
such prostitution.
Columbus, Svpt. 8. 1841.
The undersigned having seen the attack
made upon the Hon. John Forsyth by the ju
nior editor of Ihc Georgia Journal, in relation
o the transactions of vvliat was called the Co
lumbus Land Company, of which we were
members, feel it our duty in justice to Mr.
Forsyth, a* 5 well as ourselves, to make the foi
:owing statement: The Columbus Land Com
,'Riiy was formed by articles of agreement, in
I vhejjsiHiimer of 1832, and was originally com
posed < following persons, viz: Seaborn
Jones, i. . Shorter? James S. Calhoun, Par
ish Carler, Seaton Grant Hand, Anhui B. Davis,
Alfred Iverson, Stewart & Fontaine, Hampton
S. Smith, Stephen M. Ingersoll, Henry Bran
ham. Joel Branham, Edward Cary, M. V/.
Perry, George W. Dillingham, John G. Wor
sham, J. VV. Freeman, J. R. K- T. Walton,
James Wadsworth, Anderson Abercrombie,
and Jonathan A. Hudson,, each having one
sli ire, • xcept the last named gentle nan, who
only had a half share—considerable sums of
money were called in and pa.d upon the shares,
from time to time amounting in the aggrega o
to the sum of § 113,500 —agents were appoint
ed to make contracts with the indivic'u 4
i Creeks, for tlieir Reservations, and a number
o < ontracts were rn; and —Mr. Forsy h became
jin eris'ed in l lie company by taking one L- If
,ol Mr. Iverson’s share, some time m the f 11
of 1832. At the time an eflbrt wrs made by
he Got eminent, to buy out the individual
reservations eii masse, by a subsequent treaty
at E- r j flit he 1 TheJEoiLimbus Land Coirpa
i ny b id ma-.ie a large number of contracts wuh
tue Indians, and had advanced to each or.e
! some money, making in the aggregate a con
j siilerable sum. It having been generally un
i derstooil throughout ‘he country that the Go
vernment were about to make such a treaty
■ 1 as a hove alluded to,-* he Columbus Land Com
pany requested Mr. Forsyth, then at W ash
j mgion city, and &• member of the Senate, tre
• file a protest in their behalf,, before the Secre
j tary of War, agalu.-t the right and justice of
the proposed arrangement,.unless ihe Govern
j meut would guarau'ee the restitution of the
! sums paid out by the company upon their < on—
tracts, with a reasonable advance thereon.
‘Fins protest it. was understood at the time, was
I hied by Mr. Forsy tn, and was. in accordance
j with tiie wishes and instructions of the com
jpany. The proposed arrangement by the
Government lade i, and the company proceed
,ed in their operations. It is due, however, to**
, the company, to say that no improper eflbrts
were used by them to defeat the views- or plans
ol the Government; on ihe contrary, they were
favorable to the success of the proposed mea
sure, if the rights of the company were pro
tected. We turther state that neither at tins
i or any other time, did the company receive any
; inhumation iropi Mr. Forsyth, in relation to
the views or movements of ihe Government,
i which was not open to all and in fact of gen
! oral notoriety. The company carried on its
operations in pun basing reservations, until Die
! l itter part oi the summer of 1834. In Dec,
of that year the company ceased their opera
tions, sold a part, and d.vided the residue of
their lands, and dissolved the copartnership,
j The contracts made by ihe company have not
! been impeached tor fraud, and have been ap
; proved. Indeed the concern was dissolved
belore those frauds were commenced, which,
lit has been alleged gave rise,, amongst other
j causes, to the Creek War of 1333, I he in
i'erest which Mr. Forsyih held in saidcompa
•, was transferred by him to his son John
1 1* orsyth, jr. upon his appointment as Secretary
of Siaie by Gen. Jackson, since which time,,
he has not within our knowledge been inter
ested either directly or indirectly in the pur-,
chase of Indian lands, or any portion of the
public domain. We would further state that
no contract or purchase made by the Colum
bus Land Company, ever came in contact with-,
any right of pre-emption or float. The transac
tions oi the company were exclusively con
fined to Creel: Indian Reservations, and no,
question between them and pre-emptions or
Float s evf*r arose, so far as we are informed
or believe.
AT,FRED TVERSIN,
SEA BOHN JONES,
A VHE HU ROM HI E,
CHARLES D. STEWART.
APPENDIX NUMBER I.
Shortly aiter tiie last treaty was made with
the Creek Indians for their removal from the
| lauds occupied by them in Alabama, a com
pany was formed in Georgia and Alabama, for
i lie purchase of reservations. I became a
member of the Company, and in their behalf
sought information at the War Department
o! tiie iuten ions of the Administration and of
he construction put on different clauses of
.hat instrument. I gave to the Company all
lie information obtained, and under the belief
hat their project would not be in opposition
to the designs of the Executive, but rather
promotive of the great object of speedily re
moving the Creeks to the West, they pro
ceeded to make contracts, and have paid, be
-ides the expenses of agents, &e. earnest
money to tiie amount of •8>27,000, contracts on
the condition of being submitted to tiie Bresi
lent for his approbation. Hid the Company
loubted, which they never did, that they were
operating in accordance with the wishes of
the Executive, all doubts would have been
removed by a letter written a few months
since ot the Secretary of War to Col. John
Milton of Columbus, in which he intimates
that the Government had no desire to pur
chase the Indian lands, that there was no in-
Juce.’i i do so, for that private purchaa
ieis v coming forward with sufri dent
-pirit to insure the Indians fair prices. I li
ter these circumstances the person?? ii.o ret led
,ere greatly surprised at the late • ■ tha
Government to treat with the 1 whins tor all
ue Keservations, disregard, rig the c tracts
nade by individuals with the i aiians for ‘ii p :r
separate property. As it is unde. s'o m ihat
he design of making a geuer-n uuang*;..amt
or all tiie reservations with ;bu r; ■ • or m :
lividual Indian is not give i *;., ti) grounds
upon which it is believed, nosu b irrmce nedf