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THE CONSTITUTIONALIST.
BY GUIEU &- THOMPSON- i
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CIRCILAR OF till. GOLQITTT.
- - j
To the People of Georgia, and especially
to the State Right* E'arly.
Fellow-Citizens : 1 feel it a duty I
owe myself and you, to calmly and
dispassionately present my views of
men and measures. Unaccustomed
to the language of flattery or dissimu
lation, I shall make no apology for the
style in which my remarks will ap
pear. By birth, by education, by ha
bit, and by principle, a Republican,
you will not expect me to play the
courtier. A few years ago, when prin
ciples marked and characterized the j
Republican party of Georgia, (a party |
for which I have always done battle.)
membership would itself have been
sufficient to afford prima facie evi
dence of sound faith and action. From
us, Federalism received no counte
nance ; and the mere suspicion of its
taint was a sufficient signal for our
united opposition. But, under the
mighty workings of some extraordina
ry influence, recent occurrences de
monstrate that its odium is gone, and
that our ancient adversary is hailed as
a boon companion. After all that had
been said and done by my party friends
in the State, I had no right to antici
pate any movement, having for its ob
ject the committing of the party to the
support of General Harrison. lam j
now satisfied that I relied with too |
much confidence on the uncompromis- ;
ing consistency of those with whom I j
have acted, and their readiness to |
make every sacrifice in order to sus-;
tain long-cherished doctrines. The |
meetings" in Monroe and Bibb ; the
meeting in Columbus ; the meeting in
Augusta; the letter ot Col. Dawson ;
and the zealous manifestation of feel
ing that seems to prevail, favorable to
nominating and supporting a Harrison
ticket in Georgia, have made it neces
sary for me to pen this address before
the anticipated June convention. In
differing with strong, influential and
worthy men, whose guidance I have i
long followed, I am not unapprised of
the share of odium I must bear from |
those whose friendship I have long co- i
veted and enjoyed. But as lam not
prepared to rally under the banner of |
General Harrison, and sh»ll feel it m 3" I
duty to use every honorable means
for "his defeat, I solicit the attention of
the honest and independent while 1 as
sign the reasons for my course.
I cannot give him my support, be
cause he is a Federalist; that he sup
ported the hlack-cockade administration
of the elder Adams; that he supported !
the administration of the younger Ad- j
- ams; that he has never changed his \
Federal notions; that he is still a Fed
• eralist ; and must derive his main sup
port from that party.
No matter how little the establish
ment of these charges may operate
'• upon the minds of others, I trust they j
will be sufficient to screen me from
their sneers. It is a thing so easy for |
any man to be branded as a deserter
from his party —for his name to be
; subjected to infamy—that very
v choose rather to float with the tide of
public opinion, than investigate their
position and resist its current; but if I
•-am enabled to prove that General
Harrison is a Federalist, has always
acted with that party, and is now their
candidate, we have always professed
-vainly in Georgia, if we give him our
support. This 1 will now proceed to
do., in a plain and intelligible manner ; j
nor will I leave room lor a doubt on j
the mind of any unprejudiced man.
My fellow-citizens will remember,
that while John Adams the elder was j
President of the United States, during
his administration, the Federal party i
passed the Alien and Sedition Laws,
which gave rise to the Kentucky and
Virginia resolutions of 1798, ? 99. Du- j
ring these years there were no neu- i
trals in public life; it was a time of
severe part\ T conflict, and party lines 1
were very distinctly drawn. I have ;
before thfl ttifc Ist volume of “ Execu
mirage 282. it is
recorded, that- out, the 2,oth of June of
year; 1799, John
Adams, the then President of the U.
States, conferred Upon General Harri-
son the office of “Secretary of the ter
ritory northwest of the river Ohio/’ \
Would not this appointment itself af
ford strong presumptive proof that |
General Harrison was a member of
the Federal part}'? Take into conside
ration the }’car, the time, and the cir
cumstances, the proof would be suffi
cient to shift the onus at least. But the
proof shall proceed : General Harri
son was a delegate from the North
western Territory, to the Mouse of
Representatives of the United States,
during the sessions of 1799 and I SCO: ;
I during the session of that Congress.
I and before its close, he was appointed
b} T John the President, Gov
-1 ernor of the Territory of Indiana.
‘ (*ce Executive Journal, voi. 1, p. 252.)
Now, when we remember that the
i election for President, took place that j
j same year (1800.) and when we recol
lect the great excitement that prevail
ed between the parties, and how hit- !
terly Jefferson was denounced by the
Federalists of that day, and the un
| compromising spirit that prevailed,
where is the man that would dare be
lieve that John Adams, who had be
stowed on Harrison a prior appoint
ment, and who now was enabled to
I judge of bis friendship by his acts
while at Congress, until the time of
his appointment, on the 12th day of
May of that session, would have
made him Governor of Indiana, if lie
had not been his friend, and a mem
ber of his party, opposed to Mr. Jef
ferson and his patty? No man can
doubt it. But be it further remem
bered. that a majority of the Senate
were Federal, who had to ratify the
appointment ; and this too, when uni
versal proscription was the order of
the day, and the celebrated black-cock
ade the badge of Federal devotion.
I It would not seem necessary to pro
i duce other evidence ; but as it is con
! venient, I would call your attention to
1 his own admissions as late as 1820. j
1 In the Senate of the United Slates in ;
I that year (182 C) as may he seen in
I “Congressional Debates,” by Gales &
Seaton, in the first part of the 2d vol- j
time, and at page 359, John Randolph
of Virginia said, that the difference be
tween himself and Harrison was vi
tal : that they ditiered “fundamentally
and totally,” and did when they first
took their scats in Congress. Speak
ing of Harrison, ho said : “ He was
I an open, zealous and frank supporter j
I of the sedition-law and hlack-cockade
| administration ; and I was as zealous, \
I frank and open opponent of ike black
i cockade and sedition-law administra
| lion. We differ fundamentally and .
| totally; we never can agree about mca
! sui es or about men. Ido not mean to I
j diclalc to the gentleman; let us agree !
to differ as gentlemen ought to do, es- j
pecially natives of the same State, who
arc antipodes to each other 111 poli
ties.” Now this specific charge was
made b} r John Randolph on the 20th
of March, 152(3. The reply of Gen.
1 Harrison is reported in the same vol
-1 umc of Debates, and at pages 204 and
j ’5, in which he said, that “he could not |
: refrain from making his acknowlcdg
! ment to the gentleman from Virginia
I (Mr. Randolph) for the notice he had
j been pleased to take of him. He had
I been pleased to say, that in the admi-
I nistration of Mr. Adams, I was a Fed
| eralist; and lie comes to that conclu
' sion from the course pursued by me in
1799 and 1 800.” I wish it borne in
! mind that Mr. Randolph charged him
to his face with bring a zealous , open ,
i frank supporter of the sedition-law and
hlack-cockade administration. He then
proceeds in reply: “At that session,
the gentleman and myself met for the
first time ; he in the station of Repre
sentative from Virginia, and 1 in the
; more humble one of Delegate from
the Northwestern Territory. Having
no vote, I did not think it proper to
take part in the discussion of any of
the great political questions which di
vided the two parties. My business
was to procure the passage of the bills
which I had introduced, for the bene
fit of the people I represented. The
gentleman had no means of knowing
my political principles, unless he ob
tained them from private conversation.
As I was on terms o f intimacy with
the gentleman, it is very probable that
lie might have heard me express senti
ments favorable to the then administra
tion. 1 certainly felt them —so far, at
least, as to the course pursued by it in
relation to the government of France.” I
The charge is made direct and une
quivocal : and the answer docs not
deny, Dut admits,-the charge; but in
sists he made no public speech to that
effect in the House of Represents
,
lives, inasmuch as he had no vote; and
that Mr. Randolph must have heard it ;
from him in private conversations.
Yet he admits the charge time. In j
the same speech, he says; "i'or .
Adams I entertained at that tune, and |
have evei' since entertained , the pieat
est respect. I believe him to he an ho
nest man and a pure patriot; and fits
conduct during that session proved him j
to be such. This opinion, I know, was
entertained by those two able and up
right statesmen, John Marshall and
James A. Bayard.” These are the
expressed opinions of General Harri
son, concerning John Adams and his
administration, in bis speech in 18*2C.
Take the charge made by John Ran
dolph, which he knew to be true be
fore he made it; the acknowledgment:
of General Harrison—his high esteem j
for the purity and patriotism of the |
elder Adams; and ins receiving the
! appointment of Governor of Indiana
from his friend and patron. If he were
now upon his trial for Federalism, he
might pick bis own jury, and they
I would lind him guilty. It may be pro
| per to remark that John Marshall and '
j James A. Bayatd, to whom he refers
| for proof of old John Adams’ patriot
ism, were just as good Federalists as |
himself; and doubtless ihey all enter
tained the same opinions. John Mar
j shall received the appointment of Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court from
John Adams, in 1801, just before he j
went out of office ; and the other gen
tleman, James A. Bayard, a Repre
sentative from Delaware, voted for
■ the Alien and Sedition Law, as the '
| Journal of the House of Representa
! lives will show. The election of the i
younger Adams (John Q.) is much
more fresh in your recollection, and |
j rendered memorable by two cireum- |
j stances ; the first, that Georgia had a
favorite candidate in the held, (Wii- j
liam H. Cravvford); and, second, the ,
i election of Mr. Adams, by what lias
; so frequently been called the coalition
with Mr. Clay. About the coalition I
know nothing—Clay made Adams
I President, and, as was natural enough,
Adams made him Secretary of State.
; At the first session of Congress after
this celebrated election, General Har
risen was a member of the Senate ;
| and the journals will show that his
! votes stand recorded upon all iead
-1 lug measures with the administration.
; Ii was during this administration that,
in the Senate, John Randolph made
| the charge I have quoted, showing that
; from his first acquaintance with Har
rison, up to that time, they had always
differed, and that they never should
agree about men or measures ; the
one being a Federalist, the other a Re
i publican. The appendix to the Senate
; Journal of 1*25 and 1820, will show
that General Harrison voted for that
much abused, wild and visionary mea
sure. the Panama mission. On the 4th
of March, 1829, the administration of
Adams closed; but, before he quit of
fice, he was not unmindful of the friend
and ally of his father, and the conti
nued supporter of himself. On the
22a day of May, 182*. he appointed
General Harrison minister to Colom
bia. What other or better evidence
could be wanted of his being a Fede
ralist of the old and new school ? lie
was the friend, the zealous supporter,
and admirer of the elder Adams and
his bitack-cockade administration. He
was the friend and supporter of the
younger Adams’ administration, and
from both the father and the son re
ceived the reward of faithful services,
by receiving appointments from their
hands.
But, fellow-citizens, if Mr. Web
ster is a Federalist (and this is not de
nied even by himself,) we have other
proof of his Federalism, and of later
date. In his Cheviot speech, of which
so much has been said to further the
claims of General Harrison, delivered
on the 4th of July, 1533, he remarks :
“ I have thus, fellow-citizens, endea
vored to explain to you the principle j
upon which the government of our I
Union is formed. I recommend to |
vou. however, the Proclamation of the I
President of the United States, issued !
on the 10th of December last, and the
speeches of Mr. Webster, delivered
in the Senate of the United States, at j
their last session of Congress, in an- I
swer to the arguments of Mr. Cal- 1
houn, as containing the most eloquent
and satisfactory exposition of those
principles that have recently been pub
lished. By issuing that proclamation,
1 think General Jackson has rendered
a service to his country of greater
magnitude than his splendid victory at
New Orleans.” What think you of
his opinions of the construction of the
Constitution ? If Mr. Webster is lati
tudinous and Federal, so is General
Harrison ; for he lauds and commends
ihe former as an eloquent and satisfac-1
tory constitutional expositor. But ■
I what will the members of the State i
| Rights Party say of his highcommen- ;
nation of the Proclamation ? a paper j
that the friends of the President have
tried to modify and explain. Recent
ly, Mr. Webster, in order to aid Gene- j
ral Harrison in his election, and to cor
reel a falsehood which he says had
been circulated, among other things,
makes the following remarks:
“He [General Harrison] has now been selected
hv the general voice of those irhose political prin
ciples a peer with his oir/t , to go to the head of the
column, and to hear up and advance the flap under
which it is hoped those principles stay he maintain
'■ ed and defended.” !
1 have now shown you that General
Harrison was a Federalist in 1798, in
182 b and 1533, and if Mr. Webster
is authority, in 1849. But the Com
mittee who have charge of General
Harrison and his opinions, confirm the
same thing, in the following language :
“The General’s views in regard to all the iuipor
| taut and exciting questions of the day, have hereto- j
I fore been given to the public fuilv and explicitly;
and that those views, whether connected with con-
I stitutiouul or other questions of very great interest,
have undergone no change.”
I have noticed, among the resolu
tions submitted by the committee at
the meeting in Macon, that it is stated |
that “ on the lormation of the Indiana
Territory he was appointed by Mr. |
Jefferson and by Mr. Madison Gover
nor of that large and interesting de- j
pendancy of the Union.” The com
mittee will perceive they have made a
1 mistake, as i have already shown. In
stead of having been appointed by Mr.
Jefferson, he was appointed by the el- i
der Adams. Mr. Jefferson found him i
; in office when he came into the Presi
; dential chair, and did not remove him; j
so did Mr. Madison. Mr. Jefferson
I found nearly all the offices filled by
, Federalists, very many of whom he
continued. This circumstance cannot
weigh a feather favorable to his being '
a Republican. If any testimony could
be brought to show that he ever claim
ed to be a Republican, it would but
afford evidence of his being a tergiv
ersate]’, and unfit to fe trusted. But
i the truth of his being a Federalist is
so well established, that no unpreju
diced mind can doubt.
Who. then, are the present support
ers of General Harrison ? No one
can doubt that the master-spirits of the
parly are Webster, Clay and Adams;
and although there are now among his
O o
supporters some who have professed
and acted with the Republican party,
yet by far the majority of his support
ers are the Federalists; and if he is
elected, the Government will be under !
the control of that party.
1 will beg leave to present another !
subject to your consideration, worthy
of your serious regard —a subject of
vi al importance to the whole South— |
1 mean the subject of Abolition. It is j
the blindness of stupidity, or the mad-'
ness of party, for any man to doubt :
that the nomination of General Harri-1
son was made with the view and for
the purpose of obtaining strength by i
procuring the votes of Abolitionists.
'The friends of General Harrison say
that he was nominated because it was
thought he could obtain the most votes.
Os this I have no doubt; but the rea
son for believing that he could procure
a better vote than Henry Clay, was,
that he might get the strength and :n
--| fluence of this support, which Clay
could not. There are some tacts which
I know, and a few others to which 1
will refer, upon this subject. I know
that no petition having for its object the
abolishing of slavery in the District of
; Columbia, in the States or Territories,
has been presented this session, but by
j a Whig. I know that no speech has
! been made in favor of Abolitionists,
this Congress, but has been made by
a Whig.° I know that upon the final
vote, to exclude,by a rule of the House,
the reception of these petitions, but one
; Whig from a non-slaveholding State
I voted with us, while four Southern
| Whigs voted against us, among whom
was John i?c!l, of Tennessee, the
I Whig candidate for Speaker I know |
that at least two of the Democratic |
party refused to be made the instru
i ments of presenting such petitions, and ;
! one of them, a Senator from Ohio, a
! non-slaveholding State, where tne abo
litionists are numerous. Mr. Tappan
said: . |
“Ohio will do unto others as she claims that they i
should do to her. As she will not permit any inter- ;
Terence with her own institutions, so she will not per- ;
mit her servants to interfere with the institutions of
other States. I know her will upon this matter; it
is clear and unequivocal. Resolutions of her as
sembly have repeatedly declared her sentiments up
on the' subject matter of these petitions, and her de
cided opinion that the attempt making by these pe-
titioners “is hostile to the spirit of the Constitution,
and destructive of the harmony of the Union-” ami
a recent and more numerous assemblage of Demo
cratic delegates in a State Convention than has ever
before met in that State, with hut three dissentin ’-
voices, adopted the following resolutions:
“Resolred, That, in the opinion of this Convention,
Congress ought not, without the consent of the peo*
pie of the District, and of the States of Virginia and
Maryland, to abolish slavery in the District of Co
i lumbia; and that the efforts now making fur that pur
| pose, by organizing societies in the free States, are
t hostile to the spirit of the Constitution, and destruc
tive to the harmony of the Union.
“Resulted, That, slnverv being a domestic insti
; tution recognized by the Constitution of the United
| Sinus, we, as citizens of a free State, have no right
, to interfere with it; ami that the organization of so
cieties ami associations in free States, in opposition
to t!ie institutions of sister States, while productive
ot no good, may be the cause of much mischief, ami
while such associations for political purposes ought
to be discountenanced by every lover of peace nml
concord, no sound Democrat will have part or lot
i with them.
“Resolved, That political Abolitionism is but an
| cient Federalism, under a new guise, and that the
political action of anti-slavery societies is onlv ado
vice lortlie overthrow of nomocracy.
“I know,sir. that these resolutions express the de
liberate judgment ofthe Democracy of Ohio;as to the
j sentiments ot the opponents of the Democratic partv,
the Ilarnsonians, I know less. Their conduct is
open to observation. i>nt that,it is well known that
they hold in th ir fraternal embrace the entire abo
lition part of tiie population of Ohio.”
Those loots have occurred during
the present session of (’engross, and
yet very many Southern members shut
their eves to these startling truths, and
• 7
are glad at heart that the Northern
Democrats will lose strength in their
respective Districts for giving ns their
, aid. Much pains have hcen taken to
throw poppies over the eyes of the
: South, by attempting to prove that
General Harrison himself is not an
I Abolitionist; but official letters and
speeches prove this—that lie is op
posed to slavery, and desires it abol
: ished. As lam writing for your can
did consideration an unvarnished tale,
I will call to your attention his circu
lar, which he published for the purpose
j of satisfying the abolitionists :
“ Fellow-citizens: /icing called sud
denly home to attend my sick famiiv,
1 have hut a moment to answer a few
ol’ the ‘ calumnies' which arc in circu
lation concerning me. 1 am accused
of being friendly to slavery. From my
earliest youth to the present moment,
I have been the ardent friend of hu
man liberty. At the age of eighteen
I became a member of cm Abolition
Son'eft/, established at Richmond. Va..
; 11 jo object of which was to ameliorate
the condition of slaves, and procure
i
their fj’eedom hv every legal means.
My venerable friend, Judge Catch, of
; Clermont County, was also.a member
of this Societv, and has lately given
me a certificate that I was one. The
, obligations I then came under, 1 have
; faithfully performed.”
This circular proves that he is un
| friendly to slavery, and that he consid
! cred it a calumny to he considered
friendly, necessary for him to rrpcl:
| and it proves that he was so anxious
to retain the friendship of the Ahoii
| tionists, that lie actually thought it no
j cessary to obtain a certificate that he
was a member of an Abolition Society,
i If other proof he necessary to show
i that he is opposed to slavery, and wFh-
I es it abolished, read again that, part of
I Ins speech (a part of which has so fre
-1 qucntly been published m bis defence)
; in which he says : “ Should I be asked
if there is no way by which the Genc
| ral Government can aid the cause o r
j emancipation, I answer, that it has
long been an object near my heart to
: sec the whole of its surplus revenue
1 appropriated to that object.” Kntcr
| tabling these views so strongly disap
probating slavery ; living, as he does,
! in a non-slaveholding State; made Iho
available candidate for the Presidency
: through their influence, and warmly
j supported by Slade. Adams, Granger,
Gates, and other advocates of abolition
in the balls of Congress; who will
i dare believe, if a bill should pass for
immediate emancipation, that he would
affix his veto. Whether he is the ad
vocate of the present action of the
Abolitionists, is very immaterial. H is.
speech at Vincennes shows that he did
not approve of the designs of the abo
litionists : and his vote for the admis
sion of Missouri without restriction,,
are arguments in his favor. But what
is he nowl What evidence have wo
that he is not now an abolitionist? Let
ters have been addressed to him upon
this subject, which he fails to answer.
A committee have now taken charge
of his person and opinions, so far as to
stand between him and the people of
the United States, whose confidence
he seeks, and refuses to give any satis
faction. Will the State of Georgia,
with these facts authenticated, and
staring them in the face, be satisfied
with the remarks he made many years
ago upon this subject, especially when
they know how the list of Abolition
ists have swelled in Ohio since his
speech at Vincennes ? Will they trust
a man who now refuses to answer any