Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-04-16

Hr. adams and The Florida Iytnty-!r. Clay Letter
to Mr.. KendaH duplicating Mr.. .4ddms-Hr. Bred
fores Statemcnt-and Nr. Erring's Statement contr-
matory Of M. C7ay-tfr. adams onm admissions Of
ms h"oo'sd se-Mr. CiOy's stipulatloHs Oh entering
Mr. fdams Cabinet, &c, sc
WAsuINGToS CITY, April 9, lo44.
Dear Sirs-ln the Enquirer Of the 22d ullimo, you
published several letters Of mine The subject OF the
remuneration of Texns and also letter from General
Jackson 10 the Hon. A. V. Brown which enclosed
you a! The same time The letter of General Jackson
announced that after his election the Presidency and
IN ic23 hlr. George w. Ewing, former Minister 10
SPAN, placed IN his hands number of written proofs,
charging Mr.. John Quincy Adams with having ceded
Iexas 20 Spain, in the Florca Treaty OF the gid of
febfuary 1917, ariti0ut fguiralent-and General
jackson expressed his belief from The proofs that The
statement # Mr. Ercing pas true. This most
grave and serious charge and The public expected that
II would have been met by an absolute denial and that
the writer would bc at least dehed TO addure his
proofs. To afford Mr.. Adams full opportunity that
purpose, locus penitentiG Of weeks has been vouch
saed hun, but he has remained as dumb the very
stones II is 10 be inferred, therefore, that he either
seeks refuge from these grave imputa,ions in oblivion
or awaits in sullen and dexterous silence The coming
OF the proofs, before he puts himself upon his defence
This he is entitled to str'et juriS agree and God for
bid, that should withhold from him the centime of q
tyhe of aught that is his due. Now for the proofs
no not no'c-ior, preliminary matter So first arrests
our attention.
In defence of Mr. Adams cession of Texas in 1919,
have heard 1t urged, that when he President and
through MIR. Clay, then Secretary of State, he
nnously endeavored, both 1925 and in 1897 to OBJ
tain rerocession from Mexico, and fixed upon one
million OF dollars as maximum recompense. This s
perfectly true but then several things are 10 be re-
me mbered
lst. That Mr. Adams was not elected 10 The Presi.
dency by the Electoral Colleges but by Congress-tha,
he fell far short Of the popular majority and very
especially deficient in the Southland as he expected
TO again in lS23(which infer from the fact tina,
he did run ihen)iis neither strange, very blame
able perhaps that he should have wooed the South by
he tempting douccur of the re-acquisiton Of Texas
which, even at that day, was proclaimed to have been
needlessly sacrificed.
I'd. But Mr.. Adams was not only elected by Con-
gress, but, all the nation knows, he specially and
par e1ceLence owed his elevation 10 Mr.. Clay. Mr.
knew beforehand, that Mr.. Clays support essen
tal to his ceas-and he felt equally sure, that he
could not safely encounter his opposition the next
popular election for President
Now, II so happened, that Mr.. Clay, in celebrated
speech on the floor of Congress- the Sd Of April 1920,
had mnniuly opposed the cession Of Texas in the Flo
rida Treaty chen awaiting the ratification of Spain }
and strenuously denied Mr.. Adams power TO make
that cesslon lie said that Territory could otbe alien
ated merely by Treaty, and consequently, that, not
,cithStanding The Treaty. TEXAS still oica, &c.
The Treaty had declared, that his Cathol-
c majesty and hence Mr. Clay contended, that it
| boundary previously exciting. 1t was, the con-
trary the Of avowed ccsSion Of Territory from
the United States 10 Spain, &c.
Besides about the time that Mr.. Clay delivered that
speech rumors rife al Washington, that Mr..
Adams had been most dsreputsbly overreached in ne
go,iating that Treaty, both in not excluding by its
terms vast fraudulent grants Of the Spanish Govern
men,, and in making cessons of Territory which the
instructions of the Chevalier Don Luis de Onis (the
Spanish MINISTRY expressly authorised him to relin
quish Now that Mr. Clay heard Of these rumors, and
believed in Them and believed that Mr.. Adams kne,o
that Don Onis had far short of his instructions in
the settlement of boundaries have The most cogent
| proof in his 0'cn handwriting.
IN the files of the United States Telegraph fos the
year 1925 and at page 348, If have noted rightly)
letter is to be found written by MIR. Henry Clay to
Mr. Amos Kendall, dated April 18th, 1920, of which
| the following is an extract
| at has been asserted by member Of Congress,
rs coming from high anthorty, that prior TO the
cuson of the Treaty, hnown to Mr.. adams, that
could haze obtained than Conveyed 10 uslhat
is that The Spanish negotiaior aloced by his iaStuc
inns 10 grant more but that less cas taken because the
Spanish Minister declared if he trent mp 10 his nsruc
inns, he rould be afraid of some personal injury upon
has return home What viii you in the West (Mr.
Kendall then lived at Lexington, Kentucky, and
powerfully edited there the Kentucky ReporerD
think OF the wisdom of that policy which consents to
surrender important part of Territory, from such
motive? Yours, faithfully, H. CLAY"
Aye Mr. Clay-bravely put -bravely put land
no put to you to say, not what the West thought
but wha; you thought of it, and now think of it 2
What four hundred thousand acres Of and-hundreds IF
american c-ens-sr great States IN posse-a east IN
explored Sovereignty in exceeded away to screen
tricky, queruous foreigner from personal injury-nO,
mt euen tha-but 10 quiet his dPprehensions oil some
personal injury! An American Secretary, with full
knowledge of Foreign Minister'S instructions, per-
hitting departure from those instructions, and wan
only sacrificing thereby the great interests OF his
country, committed 10 his charge How monstrous
and astounding aye reucherous to the most solemn
of trusts
But are there any other facts confrmatory of the
rumor to which MIR. Clay makes reference Aye are
there and the table where write, is literally en-.
shroudcd in them Here are some
First of all, | would present statement OF James
w. Breedlove, Esq late Collector Of the port OF New
Orleans formerly Vice Consul there for the Republic
of Mexico, and now in this city. Mr. Breedlove
having communicated TO me verbally the substance Of
the following statement, at my request, be very cour
teously ussented to put the in writing, leaving
me the discretion in the 10 be made of IL, and
due exercise thereofh has brought where it is lie says
"WAsnISeroN Cry, April Q, lS44
al was the Mexican Vice Consul for portion Of the
years 1929, $780, and 1881 In The Of the lat
Ter wear, Senior don Martinez arrived a, N. Orleans
from Mexico, bringing with him the commission Of
Mexican Consul, and instructions from the Mexican
Government to me, directing the Consulate TO be hand
ed over TO him. The numerous consultations neces-
sarily occurring, brought about intimacy between
Don Martinez and myself, which was continued up to
the time that he appointed Minister from Mexico
TO this Government. Ia the of our free and
frequent conversations, the subject of the Florida
Treaty of 1919 was often introduced In the course OF
those conversations Senior Don Martinez informed me
that he Secretary Of Legation 10 The Spanish En-
bassy to this Government, at the time that The Che
Waller Don Luis De Ons, was the accredited Minis
,er-thut he enjoyed that Minister'S full confidence,
and had full knowledge of his instructions from the
King, their Maser-that Don Ons was INSTRUCTED to
negotiate Treaty, which, Unnecessary and demanded,
shond fix The Rio Braro Dbl .Norte, as the Western
boundary line-that in opening the negotiation with
Mr. Adams, the American negotator. he claimed the
Sabine as the boundary line, but without any eIpecta-
ton of its being agreed TO; but upon finding that it
was mol very s,renuously objected to by MI Adams,
he pressed the claim that line, and succeeded in es
tabishing it in the Treaty Don Martinez spoke of it
exultingly, as having obtained an advantage IN the
Treaty beyond any thing which bis Government ex.
pected the result was that II had secured large
and valuable country, which had fallen into the pos
session Of the Republic Of Mexico. These converse
tons were frequently held, and were net considered
confidential by either of us-and accordingly, have
frequently elai.rd them in New ORLEANS, and recently
here. Jas W. DnEED>O'I L.
Thus were we, by the weakness or the ireaciery OF
The American negollatpr his nplacable hostility TO