The Wheeling repository — Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.], 1808-02-04 00:00:00, page 4

Count y f om the States. Tivese
t plans f. c re proposed, and there rejected,
ns lie often solemnly assured *;nc* thro’
the means of a Mr. George Nicholas, to
w hom among others they v cre commu
nicated, hut wlm spuvnrd the idea of re
ceiving foreign money. Power then
proceeded to Detroit, to see Gen. Wil
kinson, and was sent hack bv him under
guard to New-Madrid, whence he re
turned to New-Oi leans. Power’s se
cret instructions were known to me af
f rwards, and I am ennbkd to state,that
the plan then contemplated, entirelv
failed.
At the periods spoken of, and for a
long time.afterward , I was resident in
the Spanish t rritorv, subject to the Spa
nish laws, and will.out any expectation
of becoming a citi/. n of the United
States. My obligations were tin n to
conceal, not to con m tnicate to the go
vernment of the l ’uked S ties,the pro
jects and enterpri:-' s,which I have men
tioned, of t’ne Spanish government.
In the month of October 1798,
I vifited Gen. Wilkinfon, by his
particular requeft, at the camp at
Lohus Heights, where he had
fhortly before arrived The Ge
neral had heard of remarks made
hy on the fubjedt of his peniion,
which had rendered him untafy,
and he was defnous of making
fonie arrangement with me on
the fubj dt. I pa fled tluee days
and ni hts in the General’s tent.
”1 he chef fubjedts of our conver
fation were, the views and enter
prifes of the Sp mi(h government
in rc ation to th ? United hiates,
in ! (peculations as to the iclult
of political affairs. In the courfe
of our converf tfon, he (feted
that there was (till a balance of
ten thoufand ollars due him hy
dio Spanifh government,—tor
wh th he would gladly take in
exchange, Governor Gayofo’s
plantation near the Natchez,who
Hi giit reimburfe himlelf from
■tlie trealury of ew-O:leans.—
f alked the General if this (urn
v / /
’ was due on the old bufinefs of
j the penfion. He replied that it
. was; and intimated a wifh that I
fhould propole to Gen. Gayofo a
; transfer of his plantation for the I
money due him from the Spanifh
i trealury The whole affair had I
f always been odious to me, and I '
1 dec!i ed any agency in it. 1 ac- j
| knowledged to him, that 1 h id
often fpoken freely and publicly
! of his Spanilh penfion, but told :
; him 1 had communicated nothing
to his government on «hc fubjedt. i
1 advifcd him to drop his Spa- |
nifh connexion. He juftifi d it i
heretofore from the peculiar fitu- •
ation of Kentucky, the difad van- |
tages that country laboured under j
at the period when he formed j
his connections with the Spani
ards, and the doubtful and dif
trafted ftafe of the Union at that
time, which lie reprefented as
bound together by nothing bet
ter than a rope ol land—and he
affured me folemnly, that he had
terminated his connections with
the Spanifh govc rnment, and that
they fhould never be renewed.
1 gave the General to underftand,
that as t he affair flood, I Ihould
not in future fay any thing about I
it.
From that period until the |
prefent, l have heard one report j
only of the toimcr connection
being renewed, and that was in
i Sc4 Ihortlv after the General's
depa tore from New-Orleans, 1
had been abfent for two or three
months, and returned to the cny
not long after Gen. Wilkinfon
fail d from it. i was informed
1 by the late IVUiyor (of Ncw-Or
1 leans) that reports had re-- h d
the ein s of the Governor,of a 1um
|
| of ten thoufand dollars ha.iDg
been received by the General, of
the Spanifh government, while
he was one of the commiflio: eis
for taking poffeflionof Lou fiana.
He wifhed me inquire into the
truth of it, which I agreed to do
on condition that 1 might be per
mitted to communicate the ftif
picion to the General if the fad
alLdged again!! him could not
he verified Th s w as afleived ’o.
I made the inquiry, and fatisficd
myfelf, hy an infpedtion of the
treafury book-, for 1804, that the
ten thou find dol'ars had not been
paid. I then communicate ' the
circumfiance to a friend of the
General, Mr. Evan Jones, with a
requeft that he would inform
him of it. The report was re
vived at the la ft fcffion of Gon
grefs, by a letter from Col. Fer
dinand C laiborne, of Natchez,
to the Delegate of the Mifliffippi
territory. A member of the
houfe informed me, that the mo
ney in qucftion was acknowledg
ed to have been received at tlie
time mentioned, but that it was
in payment for tobacco. 1 knew
that no tobacco had been deli
vered, and waited on Gen. Smith
for information as to the receipt
of the money. He difavowed all
know ledge of it, and i took the
opportunity of affuring him, and *
as many others as mentioned the
fubjedd, that i believed it to he
falfe, and gave them my rcafons
for the - pinion.
1 hi fummary neceiTirily omits
many details tending to Ci rrobo
tate and il'uftrate the fadts and
opinions I have hated No allu
hon has been made to the public
explanations of the tianfaddions
r< fi rred to, as made by the Ge
nual and his friends. Do far as