American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1825-04-05

derived from The wishes OF the Ohio delegation.
majority Of it, during the progress oil inc 'ess'o
made up their opinions to support MIR. ADAMS, a"u
thew were communicated to me. They saio' Oh'o
supported the candidate who was the cholce OF ne"
,uckv. We failed in our common exerslons 10 Sc
cure his election. Now, among those retu' neu
we have a decided preference, and we think you
ought to make some sacrahcc to gratiiy US. was
not much due to our neighbor and irie"d.
considered with the greatest respect, the resou-
ton of the General Assembly Of Kentucky request
inc the delegation to vote for General Jackson
That resolution, it is true, placed US in peculiar
situation. Whilst every other delegation, rom
every other state in the Union was lett by IT'S Le
psature entirely Tree examine the pretensions Oh
all the candidates, and to form its unbiased Juog
mept, the General Assembly Of Kentucky thought
proper to perpose and to request the Delegation 10
give its vote to one of the candidates, whom they
were pleased to designate. tet sincere uesife
Ito comply with request emanatlng from source
SO respectable if could have done so CONSISTENCY
with those paramount duties which owed TO You
and to the country. But, after full and anxious
found 1t incompatible with my best
ludgmen, of those duties to conform 10 the request
|oi the General Assembly. The resolution asserts
that it was the wish Of the people oil Kentucky, that
their delegation should vote for the General. II
Ibid not inform me by what means that oooy mao
arrived at a knowledge Of the wish OF the people,
knew that it. members had repaired 10 Frankfort
before departed from home to come to Washing
ton. knew their attention was liked on important
local concerns, well entitled, by their magnitude,
exclusive civ to engross it. No election no geneial
depression of the popular sentiment had occur ed
since that in November, when electors we're cho-
sen. and that the people, by an overwhelming mo
jo,ity. had decided against General Jackson.
could not see bow such an expression against MIN,
could be interpreted into that oil desire for his cleo
ton. If, as is true the candidate whom they pre-
ferred were not returned TO the House It Is equally
true. that the state Of the contest, as presen ed
itself here me, had never been consldered discus
sed and decced by the people OF kenlucky'n their
collective capacity. What would have been their
decision on this new state of the question, might
have undertaken to conjecture, but the certainty OF
Iany CONCLUSION of fact, to their opinion, a, which
could arrive, was by no means equal to that GER
ltainty Of conviction Of my duty to which was car
led by the exeriion Of my best and most deliberate
reflections. The letters from home, which some
Of the delegation received, expressed the most OPP
posIte opinions, and there were not wanting IN
stances of letters from some OF the very members
who had voted for the resolution, advising differ
ent course. l received from highly respectable
portion OF my constituents paper. insttuctlng me
as follows: We, the undersigned voters IN the
Congre,sion District, having viewed the instruc
ton or request of the Legislature OF Kentucky, on
The subject of choosing President and Vice Pesi-
dent of the United States, with regret. and the said
request instruction to our representative IN Con
gress from this District, being without our know
edge or consent; we, for many reasons known to
ourselves, connected with so momentous an occa-
sion hereby instruct our Rei esenatNe in Congress
to vote on this occasion agreeable 10 his own iudg
ment, and by the best fights he may have on the
subject with, without. the consent OF the Legis
lature OF Kentucky" This instruction came both
unexpected and unsolicited by me- and i, was ac-
companed by letters. assuring me that it expressed
the opinion OF a majority OF my constituents
could not, therefore, regard the resolution conclu
sive evidence OF your wishes.
Viewed as a mere request, as it purported 10 be,
the General Assembly doubtless had the power to
make it But then, with great Difference, think il
was worthy Of serious consideration, whether the
dignity OF the General Assembly ought to have in
duccd it TO foil bear addressing itself, not 10 another
legislative body, but 10 small part of it, and
lquesting the members who composed that part in
a case which the constitution had confided to them
to vote according to the wishes oil the General AS
sembly, whether those wishes did or did not con
form 10 their sense of duty. could not regard the
resolution as an instruction; for, from the origin oil
our State, its Legislature has never assumed, nor
exercised the right to instruct the Representatives
in Congress. did not recognise the right there
fore. Of the Legislature to instruct me. recog
nised that right only when exerted by you. That
The portion OF the public servants who made up
the General Assembly have right to instruct thai
portion of them who constituted the Kentucky dele
cation IN the House Of Representatives, is PROPOSE
ton too clear to be argued. The members of the
General Assembly would have been the first to be
hold as presumptuous interposi'on, anyinstrucon.
1t the Kentucky delegation could have committed
the absurdy to issue, from this place, any instruc-
ton to them to vote in particular manner on any
oil the interesting subjects which lately engaged
their attention at Frankfort. And although nothing
is further from my intention than to impu,e either
absurdily or presumption to the General Assembly