Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1829-02-17

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who are now deceased, respectfully to ask
from you such full and precise statement
of the facts and evidence relating to this
accusation, as may enable us fairly to meet
and answer it.
The object Of this letter therefore is. to
request you to state
First, Who are the persons, designated
as leaders Of the party prevailing in Mas
sachusetts in the year 1908, whose object.
you assert, was and had been for several
years, dissolution of the Union, and the
establishment of a separate Confederation
and
Secondly, the whole evidence on which
that charge is founded.
1t is admitted in the statement of the
charge, that it is not proyeable in a court
oflaw, and of course that you are not in
possession Of any legal evidence by which
to maintain it. The evidence however
must have been such as in your opinion
would have been pronounced unequivocal
by upright and honorable men of dis
eliminating minds /; and we may certainly
expect from your sense of Justice and self
respect, full disclosure Of all that you
possess.
A charge Of this nature, coming as it
does from the first magistrate of the nation,
acquires an importance which we cannot
affect to disregard !; and it is one which
we ought not to leave unanswered. We
are therefore constrained, by a regard to
our deceased friends and to our posterity,
as well as by sense ofwhat is due to our
own honour, most solemnly to declare
that we have never known nor suspected
that the party which prevailed in Massa-
chusetts in the year 1903, Or any other
party in this State, ever entertained the
design to produce dissolution of the
Union, or the establishment of a separate
! Confederation. til impossible for us in
any other manner to refute, or even to
answer this charge, until we see it fully
and particularly stated, and know the evil
dence by which it is to be maintained.
The undersigned think it due to them
selves to add, that in making this applica-
ton to you, they have no design nor wish
to produce an effect on any political party
or question whatever. Neither is it their
purpose to enter into vindication or dis
cussion Of the measures pulickly adopt
ed and avowed by the persons agains,
whom the above charge has been made.
/ Our sole object is to draw forth all the ev-
idence on which that charge is founded,
in order that the publick may Judge Of its
application and its weight.
] We are, Sir, with due repect,
I Your obedient servants,
/ H. G. OTIS,
/ ISRAEL THORNDIKE,
! T. H. PERKINS,
WIN. PRESCOTT,
DANIEL SARGEANT,
/ JOHN LOWELL,
WIN. SULLIVAN,
j CHARLES JACKSON,
/ WARREN BUTTON,
BENZ. PICKMAN,
HENRY CABOT,
Son of the late George Cabot
C. C. PARSONS,
Son of Theophilus Parsons, Esq, deceased.
FRANKLIN DEXTER,
Son the late Samuel Dexter.
j Mr.. Adams, in his original publication
in the National Intelligencer, had said o.
'' certain leaders of the party which hac
!. the management of the State Legislature
in their hands, that he knev from uneguiU
ocat eridence, 4" that their object was, ano
had been for several years, dissolution
of the Union, and the establishment of a
separate confederation" Every body &C.
quainted with the history of the time
knows, that if there were any men emit
tied to the distinction Of leaders Of the
federal party, the gentlemen whose name,
are annexed to- htssc---s~"g Ietter, were
avs LIEN; and they themselves now
declare, that they a0ere associated in poll.
!. ticks with the party prevailing here at the
period referred to, some Of them concurred
an all the measures adopted by that party,
and they all ,0armly approved and sup.
ported those measures. If they had moi
so declared, the fact was too notorious to
admit of moments doubt, and the idea
of any other set of men, by whom these
gentlemen, and the rest OF the federal
party were led, would be altogether RI
diculoas. Ii would therefore have been a
childish affectaton of modesty in them,
and might have been attributed even to a
meaner feeling, TO pretend to doubt,
whether they were included in the scope
of the charge as it is published by Mr..
Adams. Having thus avowed themselves
to have been associated with the federal
party, and although they modestly discIaim
the title of " leaders, concurring in, APP
proving, aud supporting all the measures
adopted by that party, they ask Mr.. Adams
to name the persons referred to by him in
his charge, and to state the whole evil
dence, for the information of the pubIick,
on which the charge is founded--not legal
evidence, for that he had disclaimed be-
ing possessed of, but such evidence as
would have been pronounced unequivo-
cal. bv upright and honorable men of