Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1849-04-05

was so cold and repulsive that saw all
familiar personal intercourse was at an end,
and Of course did not attend the dinner
given to him. Irepeat that / did not treat
Gen. Shields with "coldness and unkind-
ness" for l entertained, at that time, none
other than the most friendly feelings to-
wards him ; and confidently appeal to the
whole history up to this time Of our per-
sonal, professional, and political inter-
course to support this declaration. As to
eligibility to the office Of Senator, can
only say that ''propagated'' no "report, :"
here, or elsewhere, in relation to it. In
conversation upon the subject, / stated to
friend fact, which the record of the Ell
bingham Circuit Court will establish and
"blood' no matter where or how sspour-
ed out," cannot alter that record, or change
the constitution Of the United States. The
assertion Of Gen. Shields that I charged
him with "ineligibility," in an spticle in
the St Louis Republican, not only is not
true, but without any color Of truth. I
positively assert, and defy contradiction,
that ] did not write, nor cause to be writ
ten, that or any other article, for that or any
other paper, in relation to this subject.
Not the least SO of the many remarka-
bic passages Of the letter Of Gen. Shields
is the following:-"On this subject have
simply to say that had l been defeated by
you on that ground, 1.-THE ground of ineli-
gibility, } l had sworn in my heart that you
aersr should hape prcfied by your success !;
and, depend upon Il, you'd haze kept my
ro.O regardless Of consequences. Certain
y it is fortunate for the honor of the coun-
try that this rash .vow" has BEEN. cancell-
ed' by my defeat! General Shields sub
mits his pretensions to a seat in the Sem
ate to Democratic caucus Of the Illinois
Legislature, and agrees expressly, or by
the clearest implication, that he will abide
their decision; and yet it appears that at
the very moment che had sworn in his
heart to defeat the will of the party if it
had pronounced in favor Of his most prom
inent competitor /; and, in order to accom-
plish his purpose, he determines to per-
petrate an assassination for such is the
obvious import Of his language. Such a
design and such a deed are revolving to the
American character. They are worthy
only Of the most infamous age Of Italian
crime. If our political contests are to be
mingled with, or followed by, personal vi
olence, how long will our elective system
endured. Without further comment, / SUBJ
init this extraordinary passage to the con-
sideration of candid men, Christians and
patriots, who love and respect the laws
and institutions Of our country, and desire
to guard and defend them against all vio-
Gen. Shields says In 1910 gave him
something in the shape Of final certif-
cate Of naturalization which was 'to sim
plify the proof in case Of difficulty The
naturalization laws do not recognize Some
thing or any thing in the shape of final
certificate to simplify proof in case of
difficulty or for any other purpose
How, then, could /, a circuit judge, have
given him any such paper ? The state
ment has no fact, legal provision, or prob-
ability to support it. The truth is, no
such certificate was ever given by me-
He may, or may not have procured copy
of the record Of his naturalization under
the seal of the court and that is the only
certificate / could have had any connection
with directly or indirectly. The first and
only knowledge ever had Of Gen. Shields
father, either in connexion with his citi-
zenship or in any other connexion, / de-
rived from an article published in the St
Louis Republican short time subsequent
to the election Of Senator. And have
yet to see or hear Of any man in Illinois or
elsewhere who knew that his father was
even resident of this country. Gen.
Shields says knew that he (being a mi
nor at the time was naturalized by the
naturalization Of his father, because he
told me the circumstances Suppose he
did tell me so, (Which / positively deny,
does that make it so? Even though. his
assertion might convince me Of the facts,
bundle of certificates from me, no matter
how strong, would be Of no legal value
If it be true that his father was in this
country and natnralized, is it possible that
Gen. Shields should know the fact, and not
know the State and county where it occur
red? When authentic copies Of these ma
.turalization papers, if they exist, could be
SO easily procured, is it not strange that he
should attempt to extort from me by me-
mace, statement, which, If obtained, could
have no legal bearing on the subject?
What the consequence" are which
General Shields gives me ''fair warning"
if / persist in what no sane man will call
injustice, | am equally ignorant and IN
different to. One thing is certain, be they
what they may, have not given, nor shall
l give him, any statement" Of the charac.
ter required, either quietly" or upon
imperative demand"
In conclusion, / will state that have
neither provoked nor desired the necessi-
ty that has impelled me to make this COM
munication. respectfully submit it I'M
der the full conviction that it is called for
by the circumstances.
SIDNEY BREESE.
Washington, Feb. 26, 1849.
CALIFORNIA, IN THE WOODS PIECE, }
January 2, l849.
Editors Picayune Every newspaper
I see from the States (and they are nigh
tv few \ contains one or more letters from