Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1844-08-01
From the n. Y. Tribune
The Cisicy Dues.
The Albany Atlas says

res'ed under this i,npu'alon. Agsn aud again
John Quincy Adam. branded him on the floor
OF Congress, as one whose hands were drip
ping with the blood Of CIlley' Al last Mr.
Wise was forced 10 excuIIaie himself, aud he
charged, what has never been denied that
HENRY CLAY wa, The secret nsligalor of the
duel, had managed ii 10 lis fatal termination,
and had penned The challenge 10 Ciliey with
his own hand, AMI that il was his own hand
hat alone dipped with the blood of murder
The Tribune chooses to look back into the
history OF this duel, and seeks 10 lay the bur
den OF guilt on lis victim. II complains that
Mr. Ciley refused to fight with lir. Web6"
We are often amazed AT he recklessness
with which the leading Loco Foco presses will
assert the most glarirg laleehuods Wien
achere, have we " complained that Mr.. Cllley
refused 10 fight with Mr.. Wehb?" Never We
should have honored, praised him for refusing
To fight with Webb or anybody We cerlainlv
think he should have fought with Webb ii any
body, both because his controversy was entire
y with Wehh, and of his own making, and be-
cause, as popularity appeared 10 be his object,
Webb was clearly The man for him. Graves
was unwlliingIy y involved IN The trouble, with
no ll-IeelIng toward any parry, and only anx-
ious to escape with honor This Ciliey might
easily have allowed and should have DONE
he had only 10 receive Webh's note, which
was courteous and peaceful, aud answer it ike
frank, true man, stating IN substance UhGt he
had said about " ebb and Uhy he had said ii,
and declining any responsibility 10 any man for
his acts Representative Of the People
The whole Country would have applauded this
course. Or, if he had resolved 10 refuse Webb's
note, he had only 10 say in wiring, as Mr..
Graves understood him 10 say verbally, that,
without implying any disrespsct 10 any one, he
declined TO give any explanation (save to his
constituents Of his acts as Il Member of Con-
gress, aud there the matter would have rested,
a, least SO far as Mr.. Graves was concerned.
But Cllley fell into The hands of bad advisers,
and most deplorabe tragedy was the result.
On the heads of those advisers his blood resls
evermo;e.
The Atlas states untruy that Mr. Wise
charged Mr.. Clay with having insliga,ed the
Duel--or being responsible for IL. Mr.. Wise
indeed, when stung by Disappointment at his
failure to be chosen Speaker of The last Wing
Congress (which he attributed to Mr. CIay's in-
auence) and goaded by the reproaches of Mr.
Adams respecting his agency in the Duel, said
lha,
With regard to the preminaries Of that
duel, II was not my advice, bui that of a high
er, better, and more distinguished man Mr..
Clay1 iha, was relied on"
But this ebullion of phrenzy is contradicred
by notorious and indispuiabe facts. The gisl
of the charge agains, Mr.. Wise was that he
and the other Second might and should have
settled the iificully-lhere being no i'll will be-
tween the paries-if not before, al least after
the first fire. II was the extraordinary ferocily
Of three deliberate rfle-shOs from each party
that shocked The nation, and called forth the
denunciations of Mr. Adams and others But
Of all this MIR. Clay knew nohing--knew not
that the prellmnarles were settled until after
the parties had gone out, and on the first init
nation of the fact, he started with friends in
anxious haste to separate them. II he had but
known where the duel was To be fought an hour
before il took place, he would have prevented
ii il in The power of man. Hear the explicit
testimony Of Mr.. Graves IN his letter Io MIR.
CLAY:
g | do not recollect naming the suhlec, 10 you
until the morning before the meeting, when
called at your room, think with Mr. Wise, and
exhibited 10 you The correspondence, aud per-
haps detailed the circumstances of the affair."
] remember tha, you suggested TO me some
modification of the challenge which had writ
ten, by which mllder language was employed,
and the door was not so completely closed
against adjustment. | recollecl well, at the
time you gsesied the modification which be-
lieve was written by yourself on another piece
of paper. you stated that you thought The mat
ter ought 10 be and would be amicably adjusted,
and in this | remember Mr. Wise concared
with you in opinion. recollecl this the bet
ter, from the convlcion, resting on my mind al
the time, that there were influences which
though, saw more fully than any of my friends,
that initiated against this view of the subject
some Of which think | mentioned TO you in
reply 10 your suggestion that you thought the
mailer would be adjusted without hostile
meeting. | adopted your form, with but lule
or no modlfcalion, and suppose destroyed it,
and that drawn by myself
1t is utterly untrue that you ever exhibited
10 ne any wish that the meeting should take
place. | believe ! had no friend in Washing
ton who more regretted it. | recollect, after
the affair, when we met al your boarding house,