The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-04-06
The Cutting anil Breckenridge Corrcspon-
denCe

We publish elsewhere the correspondence
which passed between Messrs Breckenridge and
Cutting, and their seconds, in relation to the
recent misunderstanding between them. So far
as the partioe thcmsrlye, concerned we have
of course no comments to offer on the conduct
each has thought fit to pursue. Both Francis
B. Cutting and John G. Breckenridge are well
known to be men of honor and without
knowledge of the circumstances of their recent
den3ele, any one would be entirely justified in
asserting that each had demeaned himself as
became gentleman. We may safely leave the
correspondence itself to tell the tale of the ne
gotiation which happily averted the duel.
There is portion of the quarrel, however,
and a most material one on which that cores
pondence sheds no light. In none of the letters
we now publish is the slightest reference made
to. the real origin and cause of the dispute.
From the time the offensive words were uttered
to the final settlement we are placed in posses
sion of every occurrence in minute detail but
what took place before the utterance of Mr..
breckenridge speech. what motives inspired so
unusual an attack on member of the House,
what agency set in motion the contending pas
sions, we are still left to conjecture. The
omission is the more to be regretted as
in comparison with these facts, the subse
quent debates as to how the parties were to
shoot one another sink into absolute insic-
nifcance. 1t is of very little consequence to
the world at large whether Mr.. Cutting or Mr..
Breckenridge was in fact the challenged party:
the time and place of meeting, the weapon
with which the deed was to be done, and the
distance at which the parties were to stand,
are all matters on which Colonel Hawkins may
expatiate with the gusto of veteran amateur,
but which are entirely devoid of serious in
terest to the public. Not 80 the original injury.
1t is of consequence that the original cause
which so nearly exposed the lives of two of our
best men should be known This is the only
point worth ascertaining in the whole affair.
Had the quarrel ended, as it very nearly
did, in meeting, and had one or both
of the parties been killed, the question
would then have been, not what nego-
tiations interviewed between the insult and
its fruit? but what caused the insult, which
caused the death of Cutting or the loss of
Breckenridge? And we must not allow the
lucky result of the good sense of the parties
the iudicious services of their friends. or the
unseen hand of fortune, to divert us from this
proper inquiry.
To us it is as clear a. MONDAY that man of
Mr.. Breckenridge's character could not have
been betrayed into the gross attack he made
upon Mr.. Cutting by the natural impulse of his
own heart. He must have seen as well as we
do that Mr.. Cuttings motion was strictly par
liamentary and correct: that the mover was
as lie said in favor of the great principle
of the bill; and that to impute to him
treachery in what he did, or in other words
| to charge him with the basest duplicity
was neither justified by his character nor by his
act. We cannot believe that Mr.. Breckenridge
was wilfully blind to these very obvious facts.
He must have had some unseen motive-somc
stimulus urging him forward insidiously to do
what his better nature rcproved-some malign
prompter beguilng him to play uncoasciously
the very part of which he accused his antago.
mist. Such coincidence as this Mr.. Brecken.
| ridge coming forward voluntarily of his own
| accord just in the nick of time to try to crush
| the most dreaded leader Of the national demo
rat 3, and with the same blow to throw the re-