The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-01-22
From, the National Inteliigencr.
\ bstrn elton OF icn. JacksOM's Message.


MEssRs EDIToRs: have just observed, copied
into the Republic of Wednesday. the following ex-
tract from speech of John c. Rives, esq, delivered
some years ago before the Democratic Association
of this city, and by him recently published;
alt is so generally known that Gen. jackson
was a man who, above all others, took 'responsi-
biity' in peace in war, that the word brings to
the minds OF The people of this country his name
almost as certainly the letters which spell it..
But it is not SO we'll known that he made others
take it in times of profound peace. know it well.
He made me take it, and that made me know him
| so well. The occasion for making me take 1t was,
his annual Message got out from the Offices of the
National InteAigencer and the United States Iee-
graph before it was sent to Congress, soon after
came into the Globe ofice-thc first session OF the
twenty third Congress, believe-and afterwards,
as long as he was President, he gave all his mes
sages to me to have printed, with the edmonton:
will hold you responsible, sir, if that Message
gets out before Congress is ready to receive IT..
Don't let any person-not even one OF my Cabinet
officers-have copy Of it before send 1t to Con
gress.' F"
In this speech Mr.. Rves tells only part of the
story--as much, doubt, he knows on the par
tcular subject of which he speaks in the above
tract Having had charge Of the Message at the
time referred to, will tell the rest; promising,
however, that in the interval between the prepare
ton of this Message and that Of the following year,
which was given to Mr. Rives with such special
iniunctions to his responsibility, there had been
| a rupture between General jackson and the editor
of the Telegraph, account Of the sympathies OF
the latter with Mr. Calhoun, which resulted in the
establishment of the Globe newspaper to supcrsedc
the Telegraph the official organ Of tho Govern
ment.
The copy of the Message which " got out' from
the office Of the Telegraph brought there by the
Presidents private secretary, accompanied with
instructions to furnish copies, as they
could be printed, to sundry gentlemen fully pos
sessing the confidence of the President, amongst
whom were included the members of the Cabinet,
the heads of several of the bureaus, and at least
one person who did not hold office in either of the
! Departments The copies authorized to be thus
furnished not limited to copy for each
person, but varied in number from two to half a
dozen, and in one, if not in two cases, yet larger
number allowed II is within my know
ledge that one of these parties did not even wait
till the entire Message got on the press before
he sent part of it to an editor in the West, and
that another OF them took an early opportunity to
mail probably dozen copies to different cities of
| the Union, some being addressed to editors, and
others TO individuals not connected with the public
press. Other gentlemen may have disposed OF their
copies in like manner AT all events, il was in
this way that the Message " got out before it
sent to Congress-" and believe General Jackson
fully satisfied TO ho,o it got out. Therefore
his caution, at o subsequent period, In specially
imposing tue " responsibility" on Mr.. Rives, and
the particularly OF his injunction to him, Don't
let any person, not eren one Of my Cabinet officers
have copy of it before send it to Congrcss for
experience had demonstrated to the General the
| indiscretion Of the privilege which he had pre-
viously granted TO some of his political friends and
advisers
have thus completed the story in justice to the
typographical profession, none OF the members Of
which have ever known, in the course of many
years experience, to commit breach of trust
such as might be inferred from the marks of Mr.
Rves. will add, it is my impression that the Of
fee OF the InteAgencr was not favored with copy
OF the Message referred to until the day of is de-
livery TO Congress, when there no opportuni
ty to send it from that office by mail in advance Of
its delivery.
Very respectfully, SC,
WILLIAM w MOORE