The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-10-28
MIR. CIINGMAN AND THE PRESIDENTIAL CAN.
DIDATES

which he avowed his decided preference for
Gen Pierce, for the Presdencyyon Pro-Slavery
grounds.
In ls4S, he opposed the nomination of Gen.
Taylor, because his position on the Slavery
Question was unknown. After his election,
his course on that question convinced Mr..
Clingman that he had not misjudged him.
According to Mr.. C., the sudden demise OF the
President prevented an open collision. The
following statement throws a great deal OF
light on the Anti-Slavery feeling of General
Taylor:
about the first of July, 1850 it was deter
| mined at a meeting of decided majority OF
| the Southern Wing members of Congress, that
| it was our duty, before an open declaration OF
| hostilites to advise the then President of our
purposes. sc. Three gentlemen were selected
| for that purpose, to wit the Hon L. M. Con-
| rad. the present Secretary of War the Hon.
| Humphrey Marshall of kentucky; and the
| Hon. Robert Toombs of Georgia. They in
| accordance with the views of the meeting, sep
arately called on the President and gave him
to understand that he must expect our deter
mined opposition if he persisted in resisting
| such compromise as we advocated, and in
| sisted on his policy of admitting California and
New Mexico as States and supporting the
claim of the latter to the territory on this side
| of the Rio Grande. According to their several
| reports to us, Gen. Taylor was unyieding, and
| frankly declared to them that as soon as the
| Constitution of New Mexico reached him,
which he looked for in a few days he should
send in a message to Congress, recommending
| it's admission at once as State, as he had
done in the case of California that he also de-
clared that Texas had no right to the territory
| claimed by her, and that he was disposed to
support the claim of New Mexico against her.
| TO one of these gentlemen, he said that he
was placed in such position that he would
probably be forced to sacrifice one wing OF his
| party; and that we ought not to expect him to
sacrifice eighty-four men from the North rath-
er than twenty-nine men from the South, these
being the number of members of the Northern
AMI Southern sections of the Wing party in
| Congress The great body of the Southern
members of Congress, with Mr.. Clay at their
| head, would thus have been thrown into oppo-
sition, and would have been compelled, with
the nd Of the conservative men of the North
to fight the whole force of the administration"
Soon after this, Scott came out with letter
courtenancing Canadian annexation, and dis
courtenancng Mexican annexation. This, Mr..
Clingman regarded as declaration against
| the South and bid for Northern favor The
subsequent course OF the General was in keep
ing with this so as to ALLEVIATE the confidence
of Southern men,
Mr.. Clingman does not think any practical
| issue is involved in the present contest except
the Slavery Question, and on this Gen. Scott is
not to be trusted. The objection, that by re-
fusng to vote for Scott, Pierce may be elected,
he thus meets:
"But it may be said that if we refuse to sup
port General Scott General Pierce will be
elected. If he were dangerous man. there
might be force IN the objection. have close
ly scrutinized his course since the beginning of
the canvass Upon all questions connected
with slavery and the rights of the South no
man that know Of from any section of the
Union, has better record While he has been,
far as | know, true to all the great essential
interests of his own section, his votes and
speeches prove him to have been eminenty just
and liberal to us. Since his retirement from
Congress, his course has been consistent and
national. He was active in putting down. in |
the Democratic Party of New Hampshire, John
p. Hale, the abolition candidate for the Presi-
dency. More recently he did the same with
respect to Atwood. Mr.. Atwood, political
and personal friend of General Pierce was
the Democratic nominee for Governor Shortly
before the election, when there was every pros
pect of the success of Mr.. Atwood-as his Op-
ponent, the Wing candidate, was, like all the
other Wings of New Hampshire, hostile to the
Fugitive Slave Law-he likewise wrote a letter
expressing his opposition to that measure.
General Pierce being only then private cti-
zen, was under no particular obligation to in
terfere. He might too have said that both
the candidates were merely standing on the
same ground Besides, neither he nor the peo-
pie of New Hampshire had any practical in
terest in the Fugitive Slave Law. 1t was there a
mere question of justice to the South and vet
General Pierce took it upon himself to travel |
some distance to see Mr.. Atwood; and on his
refusal to take back his letter, he commenced |
a movement which resulted in degrading At
wood from his position as the Democratic can
didate for Governor and in substituting a sound
man in his place. 1t was thus that Gen Pierce
private citizen, under no especial obligation
to take SO much trouble and odum on himself |
acted from mere determination to do Justice
to the constitutional rights Of the South How
does Gen. SCOTS conduct compare with it In
Pennsylvania Gen. Scott was nominated for
the Presidency by the same convention that
nominated Gov. Johnston for reelection But
Gov. Johnston refused to sign bill passed by
the Democratic Legislature of PENNSYLVANIA.
to facilitate the execution of the Fugitive Slave
Law, and was in fact, avowedly hostile to that
measure. Here, then, was proper case for
the interference of Gen. Scott, he being associa-
al in tbn ,f ba Al
Johnston
Poor Mr. Clingmanl Has he forgotten the
New Boston speech of Gen. Pierce-the public
declaration attributed to him, of adherence of
Slavery and the Fugitive Law We learn that
the Wing Committee in this city have been at
great pains to circulate throughout the South
a pamphlet of fourteen pages designed to prove
that General Pierce is more than tainted with
Abotionism, and dwelling largely on the fact
that he is supported by Northern Abolitionists
The principal points Of the publication are
81. That he voted, as amember of Congress,
in 1884, against granting to Edmund Brooke,
of Virginia the privilege Of removing two
slaves to the District of Columbia
80. The New Boston speech Parson Fosss
affidavit revamped with aihdavits Of some ten
or fifteen other abolitionsts
80. Extracts from the New Hampshire Patriot
in 1s4s and lS49, to the effect that the New
Hampshire Democrats were more favorable To
the Wilmot Proviso than the Wings of that
State
"a. An extract from Mr. Haynes speech.
in the Pittsburg Free Soil Convention, in which
considerable stress is laid ON the fact that
Martin Van Buren, John A. Dix B. F. Hallet.
I. h Benton, and others, support General
Pierce
A,,;Jet tb;a non e III. -,