The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-02-24
Hon, A. Ursnup.
RICHMOND, Feb. IA, 1912,

RICHMOND, Feb. IA, 1912
DEAR JupGE Your letter under date Of the 18th in
slant is al hand, and in answer have to say that in
the year 1885 ! think, you and myself were going
from Williamsburg To take the steamboat for this
place When the boat came to the wharf for us, and
we got on board Mr. Philip Harrison was there and
told me that he was on his way TO Williamsburg to
attend YOU court. | remarked to him that you had
adjourned your court and was on your way To Rich
mond. Mr.. Harrison appeared vexed at your having
adjourned your court before he got there, and said
you ought to be impeached and removed from the
bench that instead of attending to your Judicial du
ties you going about the country preaching your
hesh doctrines of notifications did not think any
thing of Mr.. Harrsons strong language in relation
10 notification Iknew he thought it the greatest of
all political hereses, and believed there was die
renee between il and disunon.
Last winter, when your name was spoken OF in
connection with the Office Of United States Senator
Nr Harrison came to me and said that you were not
tit for the place, that you were disunionst, which
did not surprise me at all nor did even ask him why
he thought 70, because knew he thought notification
and disunion the same concluded he only alluded
to your being nufer | said to Mr.. Harrison
that if you nominated for the office of Senator,
that would tell the House that you nullifer,
and state all your opinions fully and fairly Mr.
Harrison and myself parted; / heard no more of his
objections. mentioned the conversation to several
OF our fretds and they agreed with me in the opn-
ion that MIR. Harrison meant nothing more than that
you were nullifer, have always considered Mr..
Harrison belonging to the old Federal party, and t
do not remember ever to have seen one Of that high
~ respectable and intelligent party, who did not
think, like Mr. Harrison, that notification and dis
union were one and the same. The ground taken by
those in the Virginia Legislature in 1875 against the
adoption OF the resolutions Of John Taylor Esq, was,
that they would inevitably lead TO disunion. The
Republicans of that day thought differently as they
do now. They were right then, and SO | think they
are now. %4 a. =.
You also ask me TO say whether have had OPP
portunity of knowing your political opinions. have.
We have been acquainted for about ten years, and
have, during that time, conyersed frequently about
RI d the P9csd Sf phs wh haTs Ssfn
in company, and | have always heard you contend
that yours were the true conservative principles of
the Constitution / never but one nullitier who
disunionst, | remember that you, he, and my
self were together; were discussing various sub
jects about men and measures, when he said nulif-
cation would do very well in ordinary eases, but that
he thought that the time for disunion had arrived.
You at once entered into an argument with him. to
show him the error of his opinion. You contended
that disunon must inevitably be succeeded by war,
which you seemed to deprecate more than any thing,
except to be plundered of our property or liberty.
have always heard you contend that, sooner than
one great central Government built up on the
ruins OF the CONSTITUTIONS and the rights and liberty
of the people destroyed, you would see dsunon. You
contended that, in such case, disunion would be
proper, because there could be no longer rational
hope OF right or Justice from the Federal rulers
You said that when such an event happened the
Government had failed TO be what il intended to
be by its Trainers and that it had virtually dissolved
itself. "H:
| have given as briefly as | could, such iniorma-
ton as you ask of me | am afraid that have crowd
ed so much together, that you will hardly under
stand it.
In haste, am very truly your friend,
ID ~