The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-05-12
DOMESTIC.
MIR IN.nAM TO HIS CoSsrlfUES1s
[From the Doyisio@n Democrat, April Is
TO The People Of The counties Of Bucks,
N,,lb,, nafn, HUME and piEp


.larlhdmgfon, U8ynt and Pike.
/ FgLIaw ltTIzENs The momenlons
duty, de,ols,d b, the constitution on the
members Il the las, congress, has justly ~
eitrd an esfnest anxiety 10 ihe public mind
to tecome accurately aud truly Informed
of every incident cannericd with the dis
charge of that duty. This alone would
be sufficient reasoa Tor tue eommunica-
ton I am about 10 make to yon, but am
! also imrelled by oiher considerations 10
solicit your attention at this time
| Az occurrence which happened between
/ Mr.. kremer, q member from thls state, and
/ Mr.. Clay, late Speaker of the House of
! Representatives aud now Secretary of
/ State of the United Statts, has been made
+, the occasion of mol little misrrpresenta-
ton of my conduct and motives, a. well
/ by certain public prints, rs by the Srcreta-
] ry of State himself. The latter has recent
ily published an elaborate defence Of his
conduct IN reply To n communication All
dressed by Mr. Kremer to his constituents,
on the 26ll, of February last. In this pa
per Mr.. Clay has deemed 1t necessary, in
aid of his defence, 10 charge upon certain
persons Il conspiracy of winch he says,
Mr.. kremer WAS tue organ The allega
| lions in support of this charge are, that Mr..
| kre n,r, was not the auihor Of the letter IL
the Columbian Observer !; thai il was al
terwaIds adopted a. his own and TO Mr..
Crowninshirld late Secretary Of the Navy,
hr declared that he WAS mol the author of
the letter thai Mr.. kremer would no
doubt have made n satisfactory atnncmeni
for the injury done him Mr.. Clay II he
had been left to the impulses of his native
honesty , that Mr.. lngham, Of Pcnnsyl
sania, got hold of paper which had been
shcwn 10 Mr.. G., containing IN explanation,
which il was stated Mr.. kremer WAS vii
llng ~ his place To make that mir. Ing
ham put the paper IN his pocket, aud ad,i
sed Mr.. kfemer not Ia take any step with
out the appreciation ri his friends : that, as
Mr. Clay presumes. lac had takrn, or III
lhcr that there had been .Joreed upon HIM,
the advice of his friends, and no more was
heard Of the apology
Mr.. Clay by these allegations, unqucs
iionably intends 10 transfer To others whom
he deslgnates as consplrat0rs, and among
whom he endeavOrs To give me a coDsplcn
Gus place, as much rs possible of the odlum
he acknowledges tn have incurred. " this
admitted Of doubt, could refer To his lre
qnrnt cont ersatinns with those who dccn
ed It their interest Ia support him, ~ which |
~ | was informed, he directly imputed IN
me The authorship of the letter 10 the CO
lumbar Observer.
Before | proceed tn state the facts up
ON this subject, 1t may be proper TO remark, |
that | had had but little intimacy with /
Mr.. emer, before the publication of Mr.
Clay g card less | am sure, than with any
other of my colleagues. Thus circnm
slanccd, | received the paper ut my room
containing Nj. Clay's Card. The first
thought suggested by lis terms, WAS that it /
was "a suicidal act Of y Responding des
perado :" Further reflection, Influenced b, /
II knoWlrdgr of Mr.. tlAy's character and +
feeling, suggested that the act, however
rash in appearance, was deliberately done.
Subsequent events have confirmed this %
pnion. | repaired III the house about the
usual time of assembling, where | met Mr.,
kremer, and upon making some enquiries,
he freely communicated to me the facts
aud circumstances upon which he relied
for the support of the statements contain
ed in his letter. Believing from the re
presentations he made, that he could iusti
fy himself, did mol hesitate to give him my
opinion whenever he desired il. lie was
a,saiIed by the Speaker OF the House of
Rrprcsentati, es, of the influence of whose
seen and felt il. THIS assaant was also
an aspiranl for the presidency Of the L.
States, whose friends, as they often said IN
my hearing, held the balance of the ap
preaching election in their hands Mr..
Clay was therefore not oniy AIMED with
present hut prospective power. tie had
e,nced in his card the deepest indignation,
and had his intcmperate vengeance been
directed exclusively, against Mr.. kle
mer, his character rs an honest man
and his relation To me as representative
from the same state, imposed an obhsa
tion Of duty to endeaVor 10 have justice
done him.
Such was the common feeling OF nearly
the whole delegation, aud ii have become
more conspicuous IN this matter than my
colleagues, | owe IL chiefly Ia the maligaiA
of Mr.. Clay ; but there we're otnrr Cunsi
deratons, uniting with those already men
tionrd, To determine my conduct ON this &c
casiOn. There was in Mr.. Clay's card, a
! tone of menace, which he seemed to
have thought he could not make strong
| q Ough TOR his purpose, without the USE oil
bullying eplthels. fhe menace embraced
the Nhole Pennsylvania delegation, and ]
! had no doubt bat 1t was purposely written,
not oniy 10 deter them, but others, from
pursuing the freedom in their correspon
Ch.ncc, OF which Mr.. Clay has since com
planned so heavily. " Letters" says he,
were ISSUED fro n the mandatory at
Washington, to come back, after perform
ins long Journeys, for Washington consump
ton He was attacked, by means Of these
Washington letters, simultaneously, from
Boston To Charleston a crisis appeared
10 have arisen in his public lile,' and he
issued his card . The card WAS there
fore intended, as is now acknowledged, for
other letter writers than Mr. krsmer, who
were TO be deferred from writing by thlo
new species -f political argument. Mr..
Kramer was 70 be the ostensible target.