Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1836-10-24
From the Dfidpdre STATE .JouannL
GENERAL HARRISON AND JOHN RAN.
Dol pII

u IA u
DOLPII.
\ friend OF ours, who has for many wears been
rarllcn1r in recording passing events, has given
h permission 10 copy from his 9id, y, the follow
ing l'assarc describing u scene which occurred in
thu Senate 81 the l.. States more than ten year,
ago. IL" happened To be ~ Washington NJ the
period when The late Mr. Randolph was in the
lnl career ct the N'rnlrni warfare Which hc wagcd
against the administration of Mr.. Adams and made
the Senate Chamber dav after day, the theatre of
his denuncinions against him and his prominent
supporters. Mr.. Randolph lived lonr cnone |, 10 NJ.
knowledge and lament the mistake he had made
III promoting the election OF General Jackson. and
his sincere repentance should be remembered 10
his credit, while we condemn the means h, which
he advanced that object. The scene described in
the sublo'ned extract from the diary, is the iden,i-
cal one 50 often referred To IN the Rlchno nd En-
qnrer and Other administration papers, when Mr.
Randolph is said To have convicted General liar
rlson oil the high crime OF being iederalist u
crime deemed sufficiently heinous in som. part, of
our country To annihilatc the man who is suspected
! OF II, even under the administration OF thu, man
"h" pledged hinsclfio Ut down tho mo Nsrnn,
PARTY SrmT."
EXTRACT.
1926, March 20. visited the Senate Chamber
to-day and was fortunate enough 10 find the celc-
bratcd John Randolph on his legs, aud in the
|
could not learn from any Thing he said for il is
a Characteristic Of his cloqucncc, that he ramblrs
wide OF the mark and speaks of almost every th,np
but the question rca under discussion. lie was, AT
tins time, running tilt against General Harrison,
Senator OF Ohio, aud the style in which he ,ssail-
ed hi II was 81 personal and acrimonious, that !
was surprised he was permltt Il 10 proceed. He
rakcd up the "reminiscences OF nearly thirty wears,
advcrtcd to the period when Congress was sitting
/ Ia tltr her He'd stu
MacpInrson's blues, the alien aud sedition laws
and all the by-gonc political sins of that dav, aud
turning 10 General Harrison with most icrocious
aspect. and pointing to him with his long finger, he
charged him with beng black coekado iedcrali>i
ot '9S; standing army man, one who had voted
for the alien and scdiiion laws, and Ind been land
in love with the leading party in povcr--hc de- |
sgna,cd him :" MILITARY SaIrap." who had been
apponleda Governor OF provinces by John Adams,
DC. &c. lie pursued This strain Of nuperatlon for
some fifteen minntrs when some other idea seized
his hayward fancy aud led him upon another !
scent
AS soon as i. sat down General Harrison rose,
and rs ! thought, with remarkable GOODNESS and
temper, considering the vnuont and unprov oked
character OF the attack observed, that the sxtraoi
binary manner in which his name had been broush,
before The Senate, by the Senator from Virginia,
probably required some notice from him, though
he scarcely knew how to treat such charge ~
had been advanced against him seriously The
gentleman had charged him with being black
cockadc iederast in '9S, aud with having voted Tor
the standing army and tho alien and scdilion laws.
He had not SO fertile memory the gentleman
from Virginia, could ho ut command call up all
Tho transactions Of nearly thirty years ago lie
could say however, that 1T the time alluded to, In
was not party man in the sense the Senator from
Virginia uscd-hc was a delegate Of territory
which was just then rising into importance, and
having no vote on the general questions before
Congress, it neither hi, duty nor the interest o
those whom he represented, to plunge into the tur
buleut of general politics which then aeirated
the ma ION. There were questions OF great impor-
lance To the North Western territory then before
Congress- questions upon the proper settlement Of
which, the future prosperity Of that now important
portion of the Union greatly depended. Standing
he did, the sole representative III that territory,
his greatest ambition was to prove himself faithful
to his trust bv chcriSne its interests, and nothing
cold have been suicidal peruicous to those
! he represented than for him to exa>perate either
party by becoming violent partisan. without The
power o aiding cliher party, because he had ~
vote any political question. This was his posi-
| tion. Although he had his political principles AS
firmly fixed those ofthc gentleman from Virginia,
il was 40 business Of his to strike where he could
not be felt, and where The blow must rccoil upon
himself and those whom he represented. II. wore
no cockade black or tr-colorcd AT that day-and
never wore one but when lie in the military
service of his country. But he seriously
charged with the hcinous offence of associang
with tedcrai gentlemen. lie plead guilty--he re-
.pccicI the revolutionary services Of Prcsiden'
Adams, and had paid that courtesy which was due
to him as "A and AS Chief Magistrate. He also
associated win such men as John Marshall and
has. A. Bhyard-was the acknowledgement Of sucl
guilt to throw him out of the pale of political salv-
tion
On the other hand, he on intimate terms
with Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Gallatin and with the whole
Virginia delee alton, among whom he had kins-
men aud dear friends. They were his principal
associates in Philadelphia, in whose mess he bad
often met the gentleman who now his
and With whom he had spent some of the happes'
hours of his life. ii true, the Senator al
legged, he had been appointed Governor of the
North Western territory by John Adams--so had
he been bv Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
: He was not in congress when the standing army
r was created, and the alien aud sedton laws were
passed, and il he had been be could not have vo.
+ ted for them, and would not 1t he could. Ii wa