Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1842-01-01
LETTER FROM Nh. LEIGH.


GnNrLnaES: In an editorial article pub.
lisAed in your paper of the LIST inst it is sta
ted that
$50 far from Mr.. Tyler having been Sc
lected at Harrisburg in obedience to the
popular will he had scarcely been thought
of for the nomination. Mr.. Tallmadge was
the universal choice Of the Wing party, and
had he consented to accept, would have re-
ceived the unanimous nomination of that
enlightened Convention. Next to Mr. Tall
madge, Mr.. Leigh was the choice of the
Harrisburg Convention, and had not his
honorable but overstrained scruples of del
icacy interposed, Mr.. Leigh would have
been unanimously nominated, and would
now have been President of the United
States. by The ,oay, tos hGoe not get forgiv-
en- him for suffering a mere fantasy to mar
the public happiness, and TO impose upon as
such an abortion of a President as John Iy-
ler)
ave are dealing in history, not in fiction.
Mr.. Leigh having declined, for the refined
scruple that to accept the nomination from
body of which he was member might
be imputed as procuring his own nomna-
ton, Gov. Owen, of North Carolina, then
suggested Mr.. Tyler, for the sole reason
that his name had been on the White ticket
in 1886, and had thus been heard of in the
South and Southwest. No other name was
mentioned, and Mr.. Tyler was accepted as
an alternative, not choice. In fact, nobody
thought about the Office as of any import
ance, or cared much who filed it. We
guess they will be more peticier another
time. In Virginia, where heis best known,
Tyler was so entirely obnoxious, from his
conduct at the Senatorial election in 1889,
that no body of Wings would have trusted
him for any place; and the proof of the
factis, that the Virginia delegation at IIar-
risburg refused to vote for him to a man,
conceaing their motives, however, under a
plea of dei,cacy! We said above that Ce
are dealing an history, not in fiction"
From whatever source you have derived
the information on which you have found
ed this statement, must request you TO let
your readers know that you derived no
part of it from me; and as, under the cir
cumstances of the publication, my silence
might be regarded as confirmation of the
statement. must say further that the infor-
nation you have received is erroneous in
respect both TO Mr. Tyler and to me.
1t is my belief that after Gen. Harrison
was nominated for the Presidency, Mr.. Ty-
Ter ,oaS the choice of majority of the Har-
risburg Convention for the Vice Presden-
cy, and am quite sure that | was not-as
sure as can be of any thing which depends
on the evidence of facts passing under my
own eyes. A succinct account of the trans
action will render this plain.
The Convention met, and was organized
on Wednesday morning. A resolution was
adopted, after some debate, that general
committee should be appointed. to consist
of committees to be appointed by the res
pective delegations from the several States.
to collect the votes of the several deIega-
tons for the nomination of fit persons for
the office Of President and Vice President
of the United States-each delegation to
give the same number of votes in making
the nominations as the State it represented
was entitled TO electoral votes in the cleo
tion-and whenever any one person should
have a ma iority of the whole number of
such votes, the nomination to be reported
to the Convention.
The several delegations appointed their
committees to compose the general commit
tee, on the same evening or early Thursday
morning. The delegation from Virginia
appointed me alone to act as the committee
on its part; all the other delegations appoint
ed three members, except one or two which
had not as many as three delegates in at
tendance.
The general committee met early Thurs
day morning, and appointed Gov. Owen,
of North Carolina, its chairman, and Mr..
Bacon, of Connecticut. Secretary.
The first step of the general committee
was to collect, through the agency of the
particular committees of which it was com
posed, the sense of the individual members
of the Convention as to the nomination for
the Presidency Itappeared that there was
a plurality of the individual votes for Mr..
Clay, but not majority of the whole. The
other votes were divided between Gen.
Harrison and Gen. Scott.
The general committee next proceeded to
collect the votes of the delegations for the
nomination for the Presidency. Itappear-
ed that there was plurality of them, but
not majority Of the whole for Mr.. Clay,
the other votes being divided between Gen.
Harrison and General Scott The voting
for the nomination Of President continued
all day Thursday and Friday, without anv
other interInission than what was necessary
to enable the particular committees to re-
port the result of each vote to their respec-
tive delegations. On Friday night, ma
iority Of the electoral votes were cast for
the nomination of Gen. Harrison. Upon
which it was agreed that the general COM