The Democrat. (Columbus, Ga.) 1830-18??, August 13, 1831, Image 1
cos am i:;*iz:i hautlett-editor. IS PUBLISHED KVEIty WEEK IN Columbus (Geo.) by C. E. BARTLETT k It. FLATTER at Throe Hollars per annum if paid in advance or Four Dollars at the end of the year. It is axpocted tiiat. all application for subscription from a distance will be accompanied with the money. Advertisements will bn inserted at reasonable »ates. Sales of land and near roes, by adminis trators, executors or guardian® are required by law to be he'd on the first tuesds v in the month, between tho hours of lit o'clock in the forenoon 4- 3 in the afterno >n, at. tho court house of the county in which the property is situated. Notice of these sales must be given in a public Gazette fixt v days previous to tho day of sale. Not ice of the sale of personal property must be give! in a like manner forty days previous to Jje day of sale Notice to debtors % creditors of an estate must be published forty days. 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But a small number o'er what '- requi red for present substribers will bo published in hc'dl Audrcs (orders post paid) SAMUEL C. ATKINSON. 112 Chcsnut Street. Philadelphia iptlons for the above • ie Jived ul thin office. TU TIIE PUBLIC. Circumstances beyond nty control have placed me under the necessity of pre senting myself to your notice. 1 assert no claim to your attention, which does not belong equally to every free citizen of the Republic. Rut I ask, and, I feel that 1 have a right to expect, your candid con sideration of this address. Its subject is one of awakening interest to us all. The position in which 1 find myself has no thing inviting in it. It is one which 1 have not sought,but which has been forced upon me, and one in which I am called upon to vindicate not inyself merely, but the cause of truth, and the best and dear est. interests of the community, at the hazard to w hich fatuity alone could he insensible. The misrepresentations of a public journal, professing to speak the langueag of the President of *he " United States, and published under his eye, have pre sented to me the alternative, of submiting to an imputation, alike dishonorable and unfounded in fact, or meeting the issue which has been tendered to me under al leged authority of that high officer. If 1 do not shrink from this unequal strife, it is because I have a confidence which lias never wavered, in the iuteuligence of my countrymen, a firm and unshaken reliance in the justice of that tribunal, whose high prerogative it is at all times, and under ail circumstances, to vindicate the course of truth. I have studiously abstained from any effort to excite public feeling in relation to the disolution of the late Cabinet. 1 have felt that the question of its propriety was one, the decission of which belonged alone to the American people. Personally I have not been disposed to deny the right ofthe President to exercise his own free will, as well in the change, as in the or iginal selection of his Cabinet; and with a perfect sense of the delicacy of my own situation, I would have been at all times a reluctant witness in the investigation ofthe cases which led to the recent c veuts. It was not however enough that I should submit myself to his will, al though the principle by which it was a vowedly regulated, could have no appli cation to me; for this I have unhesitating ly done. Rut 1 have been required si lently to witness the entire nnsrepresen- j tution of occurrences which the public j were well aware must have come under my observation; nay, to be publicly vouched as authority for that which was directly in conflict with my convictions of truth—and finally to be called to v indicate my own claim to veracity, assailed as it is under the alleged authority of the President of the United States, or to submit to an imputation.which no hon orable man may bear. I mistake the character of the American People, if they would require this. 1 am totally igno rant of my own, if, under any circum stances, 1 could yield to it. If, in the face of this great community, the cause of truth can be prostrated by the arm of power, at least the privilege of vindica ting it, shall not be tamely surrendered m person. I will bow to the decison of my countrymen —but whatever that de cision may be,the high consolation of hav ing faithfully discharged my duty to them, and to inyself,jghall not lie taken from me. The disingenuous and unmanly sug gestion of my desire to remain in the Cabinet of General Jackson, notwithstan ing the occurrences which produced my retirement, will be my apology for ad verting briefly to the origin of my conn exion with it, and to the circumstances which induced its continuance. It was without any solicitation on my part, or, so far as I know or believe, on the part of any of my friends, that 1 was invited to accept the office of Attorney General of the United States. There were circumstances, temporary in their nature, but still strongly operative, which rendered it not desirable to me.— I felt, however, that I was called to decide upon tile-question of my acceptance, not merely as an individual, but as a citizen, and especially as a citizen of Georgia. — On certain principles of general policy, some of which were particularly interes ting to the people of that State, the views communicated to me by the President, were in accordance w ith my own : and I felt it to he my duty, not to withhold any assistance which I could give to carry them into effect. The annunciation of the names of the intended Cabinet seemed to me however, to present an insuperable bar to my acceptance oftlie office which was tendered to me. I thought 1 foresaw clearly the evils which have too obviously resulted from this selection. A stranger to Gen. Jackson, 1 could not with propri ety discuss these oujections with him. 1 knew, moreover, that some of his confi dential friends had faithfully discharged their duty to him, and to the country, by a frank commuication of them. In this state of things, I sought the counsel of those around me. To a gentleman high in the confidence of the President, and to a distinguised citizen of my own Strife, I submitted the inquirry whether, with this view of the Cabinet w hich the President had selected, I could with propriety be come n member of it. The former express ed bis decidedconvict ion,found* and on along tr and i-i! mate knowledge of the Presi j dent’s dittiuctur, that he w ould himself ■ speedily see, and correct the evil. The Cittcr urged the peculiar relations of Geor gia with the General Government, as presenting a strong claim upon me not to refuse the invitation which had been given to me. I yielded to these sugges tions and took my place in the Cabinet, with a firm determination to avoid the controversies which I feared might oc cur. To that determination 1 have stead ily adhered. Associating on terms of courtesy with my colleagues, my official intercourse with theta was never inter rupted by discord. If there were anv combinations grow ing out of the supposed conflict between the interests of l\lr. Calhoun and Mr. Van Buren, 1 had no part in them—and as little in the supposed measures of that character, having for their object to coerce Major Eaton to retire from the Cabinet, or to exclude his family from the society of Washington. With mine they did not associate ; but no advance had been made on either side, and their actual relation seemed therefore to furnish no just ground lof offence to either party. In this pos , tore of things, and shortly after I had giv j en an evening party to which Mrs. Eaton lmd not been invited, I received and heard with infinite surprise the message of Col. Johnson. I could make no mistake as to its chai acter, for there was a direct and repeated reference to the large parties, which had i been then recently given by Messrs. Branch and Ingham, and myself. Such 1 a mistake, if it had been one, would have been instantly corrected, from the nature of my reply. If the complaint had been of a combination to cvcit Major Eaton from office and not to exclude his family from society, the reference to these eve ning parties would have been idle: and my determination that I would not per mit the President to control the local in i tercour.se of myself and family, would , have been instantly met by an explanation, ; which would have removed the impress j ion from the minds of Messrs. Branch & j Ingham, and myself. Yet we all parted | with Col. Johnson, with a clear convic ; tion that such a proposition had been 1 made, and feeling as we all did, that an j indignity had been offered to us, there was, as I believe, no difference of opinion j between us as to the course which wc ought to pursue, if this proposition should be avowed and pressed by the President. This conversation took place on Wed nesday evening, and the rumor of our in tended removal speedily became general. On the succeeding day, the personal friends of General Jackson nterposed, and he was awakened to a sense of the impropriety of his projected course. It was then, according to Col. Johnson’s statements to Mr. Ingham, that the paper spoken of by the Editor ofthe Globe was prepared.—My two Colleagues had their interviewwith the President oil ihe suc ceeding day, (Friday) and as Mr. Ing ham’s statement, made from full notes ta ken at the time, proves, no paper teas shown to him on that occasion. Owing to a mistake in the communication of the President’s wishes to me, I did not see him until the succeeding day, (Saturday,) and then the excitement of his feelings had so entirely subsided, that lie seemed to me to be anxious to dispose of the sub ject ns briefly as possible. He spoke of the falsehood of the reports against Mrs. Eaton, of which he said he had sufficient proof; and upon my declining to discuss that question, he complained of the in justice of excluding her from society: re ferred to the large parties given by Messrs. Ingham and Branch, and myself, and told me if he could have been convinced that there was a combination between those gentlemen and myself to exclude her from society, he would have required our resignations. He immediately added, that he was entirely satisfied that there had been no such combination, and a gain referred to those large parties, and to the rumors to which they had given rise, as having produced that impression. So far from then suggesting that information had been received from any member of Congress, when I claimed the right of having the names of any persons who had made to him representations unfavor bletomy conduct, he still referred to the thousand rumors which had reached him as the origin of such impression which had been made upon his mind. He showed me no paper —spoke to me of none—inti mated to me no terms which hr would here after require. By his declaration that he did not intend to press the requisition which he had made through CokJohnson, I considered the obj ect of the interview to be to explain to me the motives under irhich he had acted, anil to announce the change of his determination. He accom panied this with expressions of personal kindness, which I thought weie intended j to soothe the feelings which be must have I been coneious of having excited. Still I | thought it was improper for me longer to i remain in the Cabinet. Admitting that ! sufficient attorn ment had been made for the indignity offered by the messsge sent through Cnl. Johnson, there was a per : petual liability to the recurrence of sim i dar outrage. I believed it, therefore, to he mv duty to retire. My friends thought < fhenvise, ami my own sense of w] at the ; interest of Georgia at that particular cri -1 sis required, iuduced me to repress my 1 feelings. AV hen at a subsequent period, the con troversy occurred between the President ind Y r ice President, I thought I stnv in this, the evidence of an intention j gain to agitate the question, which by the agency of tlie personal friends of Gen. J ackson, had been before happily repressed. The connection of Air. Crawford with tins controversy, and my own relation to Gen. Jackson, forbade me to take any part in it, —and I studiously avoided all inter ference, except to deprecate Mr. Cal houn’s publication. I left Washington on the fourth day of April, one after Ma jor Eaton had announced to the Presi dent his determination to resign, ace or ding to the statement ill liis(Maj. Eaton’s) letter of resignation, and not the slight est intimation was given to me of the intended change in the Cabinet. But when 1 saw the correspondence between t lie President and the several Heads of Departments, I could not doubt fora mo ment how, and by whom, ihe dissolution had been produced. 1 did not feel at ! liberty to express my views general, until my return to Washington should enable me to dissolve nip connection with the President; but to a few friends who had the right to understand my actual posi tion, I stated the litter impossibility of my continuance in the Cabinet, unless the President could place the retirement of my colleagues oil other grounds than those which I believed to have occasioned it, and such as I could approve. In full view of the speedy disolution of all con nection between the President and my self, 1 availed myself of the occasion af forded by the kindness of my fellow cit izens of Savannah, to do an act of Jus tice to his public conduct, on a question vitally interesting to the people of Geor gia. If there be any man who is incapable of understanding, or of appreciating the motive which prompted this act, 1 can not envy his feelings, and will not at tempt to enlighten his understanding.— I returned to this city, had a conversation with the President, of which the promi nent points are adverted to in my letter of resignation which immediately followed it, and having brought up the public bu siness, which was in arrear, retired from office. While these occurrences were in pro gress, Major Eaton addressed to me a letter of like import with his first com munication to Mr. Ingham. lie called upon me to sanction or disavow the state ment in the Telegraph, that my family had refused to associate with his. 1 an swered by detailing the conversation which had passed between inyself and Col. Johnson, and stated that 1 had sub sequently expressed the same view s to the President, who had disclaimed any dis position to press this requisition, refer ring to that which 1 had previously stated to have been made through Col. John son. The Editor of the G lobe lias publish ed this detached sentence of my letter, and has made an important attempt to distort its meaning. The public shall judge of the whole correspondence for themselves. I had no disposition to pub lish this correspondence. Perfectly sat isfied that it would at all times speak for itself, and not emulous of reputation to be acquired in such controversies, I have re sisted the numerous calls which have been made upon me through different journals to give it to the public. But the Editor of the Globe is in possession of it, and by the publication of an isolated extract, at tempts to do me injustice. I exercise a right, therefore, which belongs to me, when I take from him,this unfair means of of annoyance, by giving the whole to the public: CORRESPONDENCE. Friday Night 17th June, 1931. Sir: I have studied to disiegard the abusive slanders which have arisen thiough so debased a source as the U. S. Telegraph. I have been content to wait for the full developement of what he had to say, and until persons of responsible character should he brought forth to endorse his vile abuse of me. and of my family In that pa per of this evening is contained the following remark of my wife: “It is proven that the Sec retaries ofthe Treasury and of the Navy, and of the Attorney General, refused tx associate with her ” This publication appears in a paper which professes to be ftiendly to you, and is brought forth under your immediate eye. I de sire to know of you, whether or not you sanc tion this statement, or disavow it. The relation we have sustained towards each other authori zes me to demand an immediate answer. Very respectfully J. H. EATON. Jno. M. Berrien, Esq. Washington, 18th June. 1831. Fir: I received to day your note of last night, in which you call my attention to an article in the U. S. Telegraph ofthe 17th inst. i slating to yottr wife—and desiring to know whether 1 will sanction or disavow that statement, you add “the relation we have sustained towards eacli other, authoiizes me to demand an immediate answer." To this inquiry preferred as a matter of right, and piesentcd in the form of a demand, my an swer must lie brief. It corsists in tiie simple denial of the claim which you assert, i cannot recognize your right to interrogate me, concei ning the statements ofthe Telegraph,or of atn other public jouina I, wkiekaro made without my agency. You might with equal propriety select an article from ativ newspaper in the U nion. lor the purpose of putting me to the ques tion—and if the claim which you assert lie well founded, I might be required at the instance ot any person agrieved to giro my cot f> ssion if faith, in relation to tho vuiioiis s'a cim ids lo lo found in any of ih< journals, in v hu ll my nan.e may chance to be mentioned. Such a demand, f therefore, cannot be admitted tor a iiuf'i j. j ' But a tho' gb 1 cannot recognize y KflV lime I : ther as derived tiorn the uu, oilier | j sustained towaitfs each o 1 *" J—YO. source, to make the demand p:c‘, ..ltd by yr ur note, lam not q .ite sure, hr hi., a t the P' si tiun in which we stand before the public, that I cr it acquit my selt u> the community or to my seif foi declining to answer your inquiry. In the progress of those i vents which have at length result' and in the dissolution < f the Cabinet, my deterinii i ii*>n has been not t<> do arty act which was calculated to provoke controversy, n r tn di viate under w hatever urgency from that line of cordu.-t, which my own sense of propriety prescribed Acting up-n this deter mination. 1 have necessarily pursued a course, which a refusal (o answer y<« r inquiry might seem to indicate a unwillingness to avow. Sui h an inference w ould be mijiist as it regards myself, and delusive in relation to the public. Although therefore I have the ne st unallected reluctance to enter upon such a subject, and certainly do not acquiesce ip your tight to de mand it, it seen s to me that you have by mak ing the inquiry, impo-ed upon me the oldiga t on to do so, fiom a just consideration of what I awe to myself and to llio public. 1 have then to state to yon, tiiat up to the time of vonr mar riage, I hud not hoard tho ru:mis, which Slave smeo in various forms, been pie;ented to the ptihltc, and was ignorant of Airs. E .ton s rela tion to the society of this place. 1 aec pled your invitation to he piesent at your wending, therefore, with no distrust of the propriety of my doing so, other than that wtiich resulted from my own situation at that period. You ate yourself no douht awaie how much that event, and your subsequent introduction into the l al>- inet, made these rumois the sui ject of conver sation. I could not longer continue in ignor ance of that which was publicly and generally spoken of, and it consequently became necessa ry for ino, embarrassed us the questb n was, by the o fficial relation in which we stood to each other, to determine upon my future cmid cl. In doing this, it did not seem to jue to be necessa ry, to decide upon the truth or falsehood of tho statements which were made It w r as sufficient to ascertain the general sense of the community of which 1 had recently become a member; and having done so, to conform to it. In (he winter of 1830, as I presume is known to you, l was called on by a gentleman, who represented him self as acting, and who 1 doubt not did act, un der the authority of the President, to express with precise reference to this subject the rt-gret which he felt Ihe want of ha. 1 ninny, or of social intercourse among the members of his Cabinet, and to announce his determination at any rale to have it Messrs. Ingham and Branch were present at this interview'. The fact was dis tinctly staled that they and inyself had success ively givon very large par ies tu which Mrs Ea ton had not been invited We were then told that on such occasions at least the Ftesident would expect in future a social mteicourse be tween our respective families. Theie were va rious other suggestions made during this con* versation, but the recapitulation of them is not rendered necessary by your inquiry. 1 answer ed to this communication for inyself, that I would not permit the P esident, nor any other individual to reguiate the social intercourse of inyself or family—and that if such a requisition was p rsevered in, I would retire from the offi cial situation which I held In tho interview to which I was invited by the President some few days afterwards; I frankly expres-ed to him my views en this subject, and he disclaimed any disposition to press sncli a requisition lam not aware that any ether occasion has occurred in which tho question of an intercourse between your family a - 'd mine lias boon presented to mu or to my family. 1 am, very respectfully, sir, your obcdiont ser vant. jno. McPherson berrien. To J. 11. Eaton, Esq. Monday Morning, 8 o’clock. Sir— l have received your note of the 18th instant It may become necessary for me toof- Ter something in reply. Fortin present I have engagements w hich prevent me frcin doing more than to acknowledge that it has been received. Very respectfully, 20th June, 1831. J 11. EATON. MR BERRIEN. June 22d, 1831. Sir: I have not had leisure to reply to yous letter of the 18th until to-day. It involved mat ter which it behoved me to give a full and calm consideration to. That has been given. f felt indisposed to believe that those attacks of General Green eould bo authorized by you, or were made under your sanction. Your declara tion is evidence of the correctness of what 1 was before impressed with I take occasion there fore, with pleasure, to acknowledge the frank ness with which you have disavowed an agency in this nefarious business. Respectfully, your most obedient, J. 11. EATON. J. M: Berrien, Esq Washington 23d June, 1831. Sir: Y'our note of yesterday w T as received in tho course of the day I wastco much indispo sed, however, to reply to it at the moment, and do so now merely to prevent misconception. In your note of the I7lli instant yon called up i on me to sanction or disavow the statement con tained in a publication in the Telegtauh of that \ date. I could not recognize your light to make this demand, but for the reasons mentioned in nty reply, I thought i! was proper to state to you w hat I had done, in relation lothis matter. To do this wa ■ the only object of that note. You are quite right, however, in believing that I had no agency in procuring the publica tion of the statement referred to. And advert ing to the spirit of your last note, I have no hes itation in thus confirming the conviction which you liavu expressed. I am, respectfully, JN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. To J. 11. Eaton, Esq. Shortly after this, I received a letter from Col. Johnson, which, with my re ply, I feel myselfbonnd now to give to the public. I have auxiously desired to delay this until I could receive Col. Johnson’s answer. Perhaps I have waited long enough; lor my reply, ac cording to the memorandum which I have of it, was dated on the 7th instant. But it is not this circumstance which has determined me. Col. Johnson has furnished to the editor of the Globe a statement full or otherwise-, of what passed between Messrs. Branch and In gham and myself ami himself, on the occasion so nflen refl-rred to. Extracts | from this statement are used to do I injustice. This is done, to ,l«r . i -,i ... ~ .. .. Johnson, without the authority ot „„ . • . hut he hits furnish + Hnd , h , ive no are thus .mpro£ (v „ f| wpond . alternative*. untiri(ll . ( , !* M< * IVJ" ■»^*i^p , ihlisl | Col. Johnson's »s Itn act of justice to him, that sme public inny he in full possession of his statement. My reply follows; mid after this the letter and statement of Mr. Ingham, to whom, us well us to