The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1827-08-22
3l0ItftcII.
From the Lancaster (Penn.) Journal
MIR. BUCHANAN'S ANSWER TO GE
JACKSON


JACKSON
The Cincinnati Advertiser was last night
! placed in my hands by friend containing an
address from General jackson to the public,
! dated on the 18th utimo, in which he an
nounced me to be the Member of Congress
with whom he had conferred, as stated in his
! letter to Mr.. Beverly of the 9Th of June last
The duty which | owe to the public, and to
myself, now compels me to publish to the
world, the only conversation which | ever held
with General Jackson upon the subject Of the
last Presidential election prior to its termina-
| ton.
! In the month of December, 1924, short
! time after the commencement of the session of
! Congress, heard among other rumours then
! in circulation that General Jackson had de-
| termined, should he be elected President, to
continue Mr.. Adams in the office of Secretary
! of State. Although | felt certain he had new
or intimated such an intention, yet was sem
sible that nothing could be better calculated,
| both to cool the ardour of his friends and in
| spirc his enemies with confidence, than the be-
| lief that he had already selected his chief com
! petitor, for the highest Office within his gift /
! thought General jackson owed it to himself
and to the cause in which his political friends
were engaged to contradict this report and
to declare that he would not appoint to that of
fee the man, however worthy he might be,
who stood at the head of the most formidable
party of his political enemies. These being
my impressions, addressed letter to conf
dental friend in Pennsylvania, then and still
| hiph in affiaA, "s>I es~l' IL -. E~rueter, oI4d
| one who had ever been the decided advocate of
| General Jacksons election, requesting his
opinion and advice upon the subject. | receiv-
| cd his answer dat ed 9th December, 1924, up
on the 29th, which is now before me, and which
strengthened and confirmed my previous opin-
ion. 1 then finally determined, either that
would ask General jackson myself or get
another of his friends to ask him whether he
had ever declared, he would appoint Mr.. Ad-
ans his Secretary of State. In this manner,
hoped a contradiction of the report might be
obtained from himself, and that he might
probably declare that it was not his intention
to appoint Mr.. Adams
A short time previous to the receipt of the
letter to which have referred, my friend Mr.
Markley and myself got into conversation as
we very often did, both before and after, upon
the subject of the Presidential election, and
concerning the person who would probably be
| selected by General Jackson to fill the office of
Secretary of State. feel sincerely sorry that
| am compelled thus to introduce his name, but
| do so, with the less reluctance because it has
already, without any agency of mine, found its
way into the newspapers, in connection with
this transaction.
Mr. Marlley adverted to the rumor, which
have mentioned, and said it was calculated to
tinjure the General. He observed that Mr..
Ciay's friends were attached to him, and that
he thought they would endeavor to act in con-
cert at the election, that if they did SO, they
could elect either Mr.. Adams or General jack
son at their pleasure but that many of them
would never agree to vote for the latter, if they
knew he had predetermined to prefer another
to Mr. Clay, for the first office in his gift; and
that some of the friends of Mr.. Adams had al
ready been holding out the idea, that in case
he were elected MIR. Clay might probably be
offered the situation of Secretary of State.
, / told Mr. Markley that felt confident Gen.
eral Jackson had never said he would appoint
Mr.. Adams Secretary of State because he
; was not in the habit of conversng upon the
subject of the election and if he were, what
ever mi ght be his secret intention, he had more
} prudence than to make such declaration.
mentioned to him that | had been thinking
: either that would call upon the General my
self, or got one of his other friends to do so
and thus endeavor to obtain from him con
tradiction of the report although L doubted
!, whether he would hold any conversation upor
the subject
MIR. Markey urged me to do so and oh
: served if General Jackson had not determined
whom he would appoint Secretary of State
and should say that it would not be MIR. Ad
! ans, it might be of great advantage to GU
cause, luI us 81 W ueCldlc, upol MS OWll du
: thority we should then be placed upon the
same footing with the Adams men, and nigh
S fight them with their own weapons That th'
: western members would naturally prefer vot
o ing for western man, if there were proba
t biiity that the claims of Mr.. Clay to the sec
c ond office in the Government should be fairly
: estimated; and that if they thought proper t.
+ vote for General Jackson they could soon dc
eide the contest in his favor
A short time after this conversation, on til,
! 3Oth of December, 1S24,-Q am enabled to fl,
, the time not only from my own recollection
S but from letters which wrote on that day, OF
r the day following, and on the I'd January
: 1850 I called upon General jackson. Afte
the company had left him, by which | fount
n him surrounded, he asked me to take wall
with him, and whilst we were walking togeth
= er upon the street introduced the subject
: told him wished to ask him a question in re
9 lation to the Presidential election, that knew
h he was unwilling to converse upon the subject
that therefore il no deemed the question i'm
It proper, he might refuse to give il an answer
3 THAT my only motive in asking it was friend
n shin for him. and trusted he would cxcus