The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-05-21
WORCESTER:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 81, 1925.

LITERATURE AND PATRIOTISM. A short time
since, we published specimen of Gen. lack.
sons literary qualifications, as exhibited IN q,
note addressed by him to the editor IF Tho
/ National Journal Since that time. letter
written by him has been communicated 70 coo
gress, with other documents from the ,,or a..
III pursuance oil call from the House of Repre-
sentatIVes This letter, in addition to the nov,
evidence 1T furnishes of the lamentable defc;er-
cles OF Gen. jackson in the literary qt,ali6ca-
tons necessary for any high civil office. exb;b.
It's all the recklessness of disposition. ard dis
regard Of law, which are so characteristics sc
nm. The occasion of this letter was nc fol
lows In the year 1879, Sas Dinsmore WAS
the United States Agent to the Choctaw ma.
ton of Indians situated between Nosbv;l1o
enn' and Natchez, Miss. By treaty, the citi-
zens OF the United States had the right of trav.
cling on the road through the territory Of tbo
ChoetaW nation, but law of the United States
provided that no slaves should be TRANSPORTED
through the nation without a passport, and IL.
gal evidence on the part of the master of his
property in them. This was intended to pre.
vent the kidnapping of slaves and free NEGROES
and carrying them away to market. Bv ner.
mission OF the Secretary of War, the agent had
been permitted to let them pass without the
required passports, where there appeared no
particular cause of suspicion. But the numer.
Gus evasIons of the spirit of the law, by kdnap-
pers who erticed negroes away from their mas.
ters or otherwise got them into their power
caused much complaint so that the agent came
to the determination of requiring passports in
all cases agreeably to law, and published a no.
tico to that effect dated April II, 1879. This
determination he rigidly enforced, and it pro-
duced various disputes with Gen Jackson and
his friends up to Sept. 1879, when Dinsmore
arrested ten negroes and people of color in pos
session of Mrs. Sibley, for want of passports,
and gave public notice of the same by card
published in the Democratic Clarion at Nash
vile. This aroused all Gen. Jackson's ire. who
thereupon addressed the letter in question TO
G. W. Campbell, Senator in Congress, to pro-
cure Dinsmore's removal.
The following extracts, given ocrJatim ct
'iteratiaa, will serve fair specimen of tho
Styte and SpsTet OF the letter:
You can easily Judge and so can the Secre-
tary OF War, our surprise and Indignation. at
the wanton insult offered to the whole citi
zehs OF West Tennessee by the publication of
MS card IN the Clareon-in which he boasts
that he SET at defiance the Solem treaty that
secures to our citizens and those of the United
States the free and unmoested use of that as
well as the express instructions of the Secratarv
OF War OF the 23rd of March last, and boast his
detention of a defenceless woman 81 her prom
erty-Gnd for aohat the want of pass port
and Tay god is it come to ths-are we free
men or are 1oe Shares is this real or as 10 dream
for what are we involved in War with great
Brtan--is it not for the Support of our rights
as an independent people and nation, Secured
to us by nature and by natures god as well as
Solemn treaties and the law of nations-and can
the SECRETARY of war for one moment retain the
idea, that he will permit this petty Tyrant to
sport with our rights Secured to us by treaty
and which by law Of nature we do possess-and
sport with our feelings by publishing his lac
Tess tyranny exercised Ooer helpless and an
protected .tem0te--if he does he thinks too
meanly of our Patriotism and galantry-were
we base anough 60 Surrender our independent
rights Secured to us by the bravery and blood
of our foro fathers, we are unworthy tho name
OF treemea-and we view all rights Secured to
us by Soien treaty, under the Constituted au-
thority, rights Socuredto us by the blood of our
fathers ana which we never yield but with our
llves--The indignation OF our Citizens arc only
restrained by assurances that government 50