The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1826-08-03
LYNCHBUaG, AUGUsT3. lao
Mr.. CLAY, No.

| We thiuk that We nave rrdpa,a
pledge IN relation To the vote of I'M
! tleman. We think that W. hav.. ~ sea-
that he was not bound by the inslrnc,;''
! OF hIs constituents TO vote for Con
sou, as they never ~ any lnanaer. ind.
ted preference for either of In. O.
dates returned 10 The House Of Renras".
| taiiyes ;--tnat. even ii he had h.a,
slructed by his constituents to vote a..
particular individual, those instrnc,,.
would not have been binding, because
when the election of President dsv,l,,
on the House OF Representatives. ,be
members of that body act in an orir;n"1s
and not in d delegated capacity, and can
sequenliy, instructions are constit,,li,n.Il,.
imperative that, so far, since the all
! ton, as circumstances have transn;,oa
! fro'a which an opinion could be formad
We are compelled 10 admit that Mr.. CJ.,,,
vote for Mr.. Adams has met with tb, wss,,'
approval of his constituents that NJ
Clay's acceptance OF the Office of Secr.t,.
~ 4 State implies any thing rather than
corruption that personal considerations
compelled him TO support Mr.. Adams in
preference 10 Gen. jackson - that ba
was justified in the course he pursued hv
the warning voice of history, which. aif;t
be- philosophy teaching by exampt.p
ought DOT to have uttered lis ad,nonilloos
and prreepts in vain and, lastly, tbas
lei Mr.. Clay have acted as he would no
matter for whom lac voted, whether far
Mr.. Adams or Geu. jackson, he wonld
have land hilnsrll open To the charge ,f
| corruption aud dishonesty. Ii would An.
pear To us, indeed, that nothing won
have been necessary, IN the very first in.
stance, with an impartial mind, determin.
ed to discard he shaekles of party feeling.
aud 10 do strict Justice without reference
to indi' iduals but to state these simple
propositions, in order TO produce nstan-
taneoas conviction OF the purity of Mr..
Clay's motives, II not Of the CORRECTNESS Of
his vote.
Elaborate argument so often obscures
| what it attempts 10 eiucldate, that we
have more than once iepenird the tener-
~ which prompted the pledge We msde
to defeud Mr.. CLAWS vote and regretted
that We had mol lett ms Justification. aflet
PLAIN nnvardished statement oi the facts.
to the sober reelection OF the people or,
| At least, that VT nadsaUt entrusted us win.
dication TO some ADLER and more InHuen-
tiai pen. Moi because we were conscious
of aoy un.oundness In the premises We
had assumed, ar feared that trfth would
bc puwerl,ss. because OF her uuattracthe
garb bat because we became aware, as
We progressed, of the scantiness Of the
'nateri lis IN our possession, necessary TO
sustain oar ground as satisfactorily as We
could have wished. We referred fre-
quently 10 historical facts. Cor " hich we
merr compelled q rely upon memory all
III ST entirety, hndl Z II Impractcabie, %
The spur of the mompnt. to obtain access
TO the records of thnse iaUis. We ave
satisfied, however. that in ~ reference NJ
tbs character, that We have made, have
we committed The slightest error .JarOrd.
bic to Mr.. Clay because, where We were
not always sure that we were Ireadlng ou
safe gr"u d, We have preferred To permit
important circumstances to pass unno-
ticed ather than incur the possibility oil
mistake, and lis consequent injurious M
iuence. We nave, from the same cause,
been irdnced Ia bring these Nos. TO
close before We had gone through with
all the points upon when we had lnlenu-
I'd to gaze, as we'll as to present several
others in Iess forchle light than We had
originally de~isned We hope, however,
that on efforts, humble and imperfect rs
they have been, will not be- entirely una
saiIng, II the, have produced the etlect
of removing one erroneous impresslon-h
they have infused into the mi of SIM
gle individual "a loop on which TO hang
d doubt" Of the accuracy OF the prrpos-
ferrous charges that have been SO nnhes'-
tatingly, aud, we would fain hope, unre-
aectinsly, made against Mr. Clay, by h's
political opponents, and his personal toeSs
we shall not regret the little labor they
may have cost us.
To those, if any such there ne, VINO
have been led to emit rtaln doubt "het''
pr they may not have been too hastily in'
duced to ION in the hue and cry against
Mr.. CLAY, We would suggest the propne'y
of fartifying this doubt by further resedrC"
into the history of The last twenty years.
reference TO the annals OF ms coun"1
during that interesting period, viii con-
vince them that Henry Clay is not ma"
5 of such a stamp as tn barter punclP'e '"'
power-that, with all his faults, ne na9
never been accused of lack OF In'es'"J
either in private or public life-th"t' .'o' ..
hi. youth upward, he has worn his near s.'
+ IN hi hand and carried his opinions OF, NJ
y sleeve, " for DAVIS to peck ai--anu NO
;. he has always been the intrepid de'e"uU,
q of the rights and liberties ofman 10 e''''
e quarter Of the gobe--It will prove fpo'.
ii will prove that he was one of those va
liant and uncnmpromising spirits ''la1 ="
If Enthusiastically renewed the rt'olnlipl'"; :
d pledge of Hancock, and Jefferson, -; T.
s. our second war of independence, wiz Inv
some OF those who now apply 10 h'''' w.
a. most stigmatizing epithets were n''',,
n. with the Otises, the Pickerngs, the u|'',
:. IL. Stnonn- LIZ L. hAts and other LIa