The examiner., 1849-06-30

civil government and human liberty are so wor.
thy Of consideration, that IL would be good
work to exhibit TO the world some Of these
opinions at this time. II should make vour
treatment OF me the occasion OF such a work,
hope II will not give you any new Offsnee.
/ You take upon you 10 state my political
opinions You say: "lt is a fact notorious to
those who know you, that y9u are a whig. a
| Henry Clay whg, and quite q bitter wing" Do
you profess to be an acqusIntsR nee Of mae, or
10 know anything Of my o2iuions1 ! conceive
all this 10 be equally imPertinent and OitciOUs.
Nor do i suppose that our fellow citizens care
a straw about my political opinions. any more
than yours But am not ashamed OF my Prin-
ciples on any subject, and viii slate them on
this.
If It make one "whig" to have mere agree
ment Of opinion, aud mole general sympathy
with the wings than with the democrats, Is
these parties have stood for some time past
not agreeing wholly with either, but taking the
liberty ia all things 10 think for himself, then
certainly, am whig. Bat, 10 fact, have not
been accustomed for many Ysars, 70 eoRtem-
plate such questions with any special Interest
while have been wearied OeI with the strife
Ind collisions Of these parties.
IL you mean by a"Hsnry Clay whig,' one
who holds Mr.. Clay in profound sdmiralion aud
respect among the greatest Of statesmen aud
orators, and who cherlshes grateful sense Of
his long and faithful services to this Country,
then surely, am l such Wing. In my letter
in the Democrat, Feb. 20tb, already quoted,
had alluded TO Mr.. CLAY in such terms, IS prove
that could not have wished 20 make any sup
pose, that wss his political enemy. said 10
the editors; 81 am sure il will not offend you,
gentlemen, IL | quote as expressing my views
and feelogs on this subject, the wOr6s Of q msu,
who, though a political opponent, You will sc-
knowledge 10 be among the hrst Of living states
men, and Of whom you will not deny, that
through long aud evsndul life he has always
stood among The hrmest and the boldest friends
Of human liOerty-'God,' he says, who knows
my heart, knOws that love Liberty, and ardent
ly desire the freedom " the human race; bot |
desire the freedom Of my own country above
all other eountriss-that Of my own face before
ali other races This is the basis oi the plaza
advocate. In the spirit Of these views, sup
port a systsm Of very gradual EmaBeiPstiVn,
looking 70 the removal OF the liberated slaves"
Bat II by a "Eenry Clay whig." you mean
one who desired the nomination oil Mr.. Clay
rather than General Taylor, for the late Prrsi-
dental struggle, then as usual you misrepresent
me. thought that Mr.. Clay had allowed his
name to be proposed often enough 10 the ATsefi-
can people, as one willing 10 be President-and
that respect for himself forbade him 70 do 50
again, unless 1t were called Tor BY the eOUR-
Try more loudly, mole clearly, and more gener-
ally than l supposed IT was l desired the sie-
yaiion Of General Taylor 10 the Presidency
not because he had proved himself q great war
rior, but because believed him TO be an honest
man, and a true lover Of his eOuntry-to whom
Divine Providence had given the rare felicity Il
such a position, would enable him, 10 That
exalted station, TO soften the rancOr, d not 10
bre ak up the distinctions. Of parties Whether
he NJ, "a win for himself this eOnsummate glory,
and brirg so great a blessing 20 the whole eO0n-
try. even vOu, sir, | suppose, will hardly iasist
that Il heeo,7es me at this time 10 conjecture.
One thing 4 will add, that out OF NY OH
fashioned democ. -acy, had such conhdencs "a
the people, and h td also such respect for the
leading men Of Goth PARTIES, as to bviisIe 'hat
the country would be s.'ir, under the kindn' $
Of a experimenting Pr0vIL enee' IN the hsn1s
OF any Of them. | need say hOthihg more %
make IL plain that you have hsst, " eno ia'seiy
called me "bitier Whig." I con. ideally ap-
peal from your sentence 10 all who rea,. hno~
ne, who will bear me witness, that while N1a-
eesi none Of nv opinions, have tskrn no pal
IN the politics Of the country, beyond the SIM
pie and unObtrusive exercise OF the right Of
suffrage. You cannot deny, sir, that the PIES
sat state Of things in Kentucky Is not SnIy Pc
ealiar, but OF extraordinary isi-rest-asd prey
nant with the Greatest issues--tO the COmmon-
wealth, aud 10 myself and my pOsIrriIy-uo
less than to you and yours Nor will you csBy,
that II slavery be a political Question, It j. sl-s
one Of moral aud philaHthrOpic aspects, in
which every good man, no less thaa every cili-
zen, whichever may be his opinion OF the na-
ture Of the institution, must take a pro(oaud
interest. There is the greater Injustice. there
fore, and the less sense, IN yoUr hsrsh cOndem-
nation Of me a minister Of the gospel, for
having taken part in public discussions Of
slavery and Emancipation. For beside that YOU
might have known, as you probably eiI, that
have done 50, only when specially invited, by
those who wished to hear Hs-Or, as 10 the
press, when | had been called in question ia
a way which required II at my hands, you can
hardly be ignorant that the liberty OF speech and
Of the press is guaranteed 10 me BY the COnsIiIa-
ton. / deem II unnecessary, therefore, ~
swer your impertinences on this part Of the
subject here, the more especially as you heard
me discuss il the other day, when there seemed
some occasion for IL.
Finally, sir, | beg leave to say, that feel Gu
rious TO understand the real motive Of your con-
duct on this occasion. Personally, you must
have been destitute Of all sufficient motive to
tfaduce me. You and | have never met, l
think-nOr IN any way crossed each others
path. | do not understand whether yeu are a
religious man or not IL you are, u is strange
that you had not a kinder heart towards a broth
er, even though YOU supposed him 10 be ia error.
Ii YOU are not, but ever so irrcigOus, l
can scarcely imagine, that your dislike OF rvli-
gion would pour itself out cOPionsly and
with so great bitterness on my head, Just be-
cause l am a minister. You know that am
not candidate for Ofice-nOr have you any
reason TO fear that may ever be in your way ON
that subject. In short, sir, have been able 70
conjecture but one solution Of the matter HOa
can tell me whether IL 10 the true one. Does q
show the real naked Pro-slsvery sPirit-a spirit
that would sabdUe every thing 10 itself, brow
beating the white man IL tramples upon the
blackf Have you shown the wOrmwOOd and
the gall which that spirit infuses-which gen
erous, pure, and upright men throw oh-as
Paul shook the viper from his hand, aud feit no
harm-but which vulgar, little, aud malignant
minds will cherish, and then spit out on their
opponentsi | am happy to indulge the hope
/ that the friends Of Emancipation will moi meet
il often in this struggle. commend TO 700, II
YOU are not incapable Of SPPreeiating Il, The ex-
ample Of the gentleman, whom you lately saw
me meet In public discussion. Que Nho main-
isins his principles like man without ever for
getting that he is a gentleman
lam yours, with all due respect,
WILLIAM l. BREcKIsRIpeE-
Jefferson CO., June 20, '49.
| P.S. IhOps that all editors Of newspaper,
who may publish Mr.. Graham's attack On me,
/ ill 10 ma tha iusfica 10 n Dublish NV defence.