Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1844-05-29
For the AdUcTtiscr.


has been carefully considered. 1fyour reply,
to US, was intended as specimen Of wit, we
will not deny that you have been eminenty
successful, the severity of your satire being
only exceeded by its refinement. We think
it, however, somewhat unfortunate for your
cause, that you should haye selected this
occasion to indulge your genius in that wayi
for though we may attribute your reply
10 the more superabundance Of brllliancy |;
others may be so uncharituble, as to suppose
that it resulted from your inability to defend
either your own course, or the principles OF
your candidate. In short, that il was mere
device 10 avoid replying 10 questions you could
not answer. The world you know is not char
liable. We are led to this remark, too, from
the impression which your course has made
upon our own mind. We are not, we must
confess, entirely free from the suspicion that
you do find some little difficulty in answering
our questions, and, al the same time, maintain.
ing your consistency. When we think Of the
dilemma in which yoI are placed, we some
times almost regret that we ever began this
correspondence, and we would, even now,
drop it if you would only open your columns
for fair discussion of the great questions at
issue. The truth is, we do not. for reasons
which we will explain, blume.you for support
ing MIR. Clay; but only for The manner in which
you DO it. We believe, moreover, that ill we
began this correspondence, you were rot con-
scious Of any Inconsistency in tnrning from Mr..
Calhoun TO him. We look upon your present
support Of MIR. Clay as the result Of accident
and want of political information, rather than
the want ofintegrty: In fit Of honest indig-
nation, against Mr.. Van Buren, for intrigueing
Mr.. Calhoun out of the nomination'by the Bal
timore Convention, you declared yourself in
favor of Mr.. Clay, without thinking ofhis pr,n.
ciples. We suppose. that, fthe truth had been
known, you had been supporting Mr.. Calhoun
without any particular reference to his You
went for him, as you would have gone for any
friend, who was a acandidate for Tax Collector,
or the Captaincy of Beat Company. because
you liked hin, and not because you saw IN
him, the embodiment of a set of principles,
which would, you believed, ifcarried out, con-
duce to the permanence Of the Union, and the
prosperity and happiness ofthe whole country.
Twas the man not the measures you were
supporting, and such we believe are the feel
ings which now influence you in supporting
Mr.. Clay. You go for him, because you like
him, and dislike Van Buren,, unconscious that
by SO doing, you are assisting in the establish
ment of a system Of policy, which must prove
| highly detrimental 10 our interests, subversive
of the Constitution, and, destructive perhaps,
Of the government itself. If we be not incor.
rec, i'll this opinion. you may, in one sense Of
the word, be said not to have acted inconsis.
tently. For, we suppose you to have been
Influenced by the same motives in supporting
both Mr.. Clay and MIR. Calhoun-personal
predeliction. This is The only explanation,
which our confidence in your integrity, will
perm, US to make of the apparent paradox Of
changing, in one week, from the support Of
QUO Of these distinguished individuals,o that Of
the other, who are thevery political antipodes
Of each other. II is dangerous in politics, as in
private affairs, 10 trust to the guidance Of pas.
sion and prejudice, instead Of settled principles
and views of sound policy; and he who does,
must expect to commit many errors, and, ifin
public life, TO be frequently subjected 10 the
morti6cation' OF seeing them exposed. Should
This be your situation, 1t is your misfortune
not our fault. But, be that as it may, you may
rest assured that you can gain nothing by lon
ger silence. Thetharges have been made, and
ifyou do not answer, they will be taken pre-
confesso against both you and your candidate.
We will only add, in this connexion,' that we
shall, on your own account, regret to learn
that our surmise, as to your motives, for sup
porting Mr.. Clay, is incorrect; for we would
not willingly believe, that you know Mr.. Clay's
principles, and support him because you ap'
prove of them. In our opinion, it is better to
be weak than criminal The leaders of his
party, in the South, who understand his poll
cy, aud appreciate its fatal tendency, and ye'
support him, and attempt, by appeals to popu;
lar prejudice, to blind the people to their own
interests, deserve, in our opinion, the deepest
condemnation, and The bitterest denunciaton.
They "know the right and yet The wrong pur-
sue." Butyou, we have never classed among
these-we have believed yours to be "an er-
ror of the head, and not Of the heart" and have,
therefore, excused much that would otherwise,
have deserved deep and severe censure. This
belief, and our kind feelings towards you per.
sonally, render it peculiarly unpleasant to US,
10 be forced to inAict pain upon you, as we
feel we do, by continuing this correspondence.
On our own account, therefore, us we'll as on
yours, we wish You would either frankly nc.
| knowledge yo,lr error or CLEARLY define yon.