The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-08-17

he should see it, 50 that lac may furnish his
friends with the necessary explanation as to
what he meant by making short work Of it,
and not quarrelling with Senator's 1t is but
justice to Mr.. Wentworth to say that there is
nothing in his record, throughout the struggle
on the Nebraska Bill, which indicates dispo-
sition to play false to his constituents"
| 1t never alluded to it, directly or indirectly.
During my whole course in Congress, the Tn
bune has been rather friendly 10 me than other
wise. Considering that | am as strong DEM
ocrat as the editors of the Tribune are Wings,
have rather had cause to wonder at Its man
| itold kindnesses TO me.
But it now looks as if some persons in Hi
nois have persuaded them that the cause Of
| the Wing party in Illinois would be best pro-
NOTED by cutting down the only Democrat in
Illinois who voted against the Nebraska and
Kansas bill, in all its stages, and the Tribune
forsakes the abuse of the friends of the Ne
braska bill, and turns upon mo. Even were
the above letter genuine, it would net justify
the attacks of the Tribune upon me, for that
paper has my previous record. 1t knows my
views recorded in its own columns, on the yeas
and nays, all through Mr.. Polk'5 and General
Taylor's Administrations and those views may
be briefly summed up thus:
Wherever Congress has the power, it
should exercise 1t, to prevent the extension OF
slavery
The first clause of the letter would mean
that the bill is now before the Senate When
the bill comes to the House. Mr. Cutting, of
New York, or some one else, will move 10 refer
it to the Committee of the Whole and hope
it will be 80 referred, and thus mako short
work Of it. This, in view Of my former course.
would be fair construction for was conf
dent that the success of Mr.. Cuttings motion
would kill the bill forever, as you know it did
that one, and that the House had to take an
other
The second clause Of the letter, If genuine
would not bear the construction that | wanted
Office for myself or friends or that | would
vote for the bill rather than differ from them
for had always differed from them On this
subject And, besides, | have the notorious
fact before me, that they had been very uDsuc-
cessful in getting for our State its due share Of
Offices, and so there could be nothing hoped
for in that direction. A fair construction Of
these favors referred to- would be such as a
member Of Cor gress would, in faithful dis
charge of his duty have right to ask Of Il
colleague in coordinate branch Whilst q
bill was pending before the Senate, the Sen
ators had these duties to discharge; and it i'll
became me- as colleague Of theirs, to cen
sure their course. But when the bill came
before the House, it was my right and duty TO
take an independent course and if then
differed from them, they had no right to com
plain, n0r was | to be moved if they did.
My prior COURSE in Congress would have
justified such construction, had the letter
been genuine.
As had not kept copy Ct my letters and
as had had tho assistance eff clerk in many
instances, before making any stir about this
pretended letter, | deemed it my duty to write
to my friends fDr a certified copy of any letter
had written to David Wheeler, Esq, and the
circumstances attending the publication Of this
pretended letter.
That certified copy is as follows:
WAsHINCToS, february %, 1851.
DEAR SIR: Yours received with great pleas
ure There is no business for route agent to
do nowhere being only Geneva and De
Kalb Centre on the railroad. There will be
likely to be no agent until the road reaches
Fulton.
Who shall be postmaster ct Blackberry Dc
pot! ! must get separate cih;e there and
not disturb yours.
You talk about my course On Nebraska
BE aware, my dear sir, that | am not in the
Senate, where | have no doubt my friend
would like to ecc me. When the Nebraska
bill comes to the House, We hope to make quick
work with it.
have to use our Senators too often to quar-
rel with them unnecessarily. But, tchcH re-
sponsiJ5iuies Lgitimateiy double on me, l am
not The man gou votcd for i do net meet them
as becomes a Representative Of my people,
Your obt scrv't, JNo. WENTWORTH.
ID. Wheeier.
|, William B. West of Blackberry, Kano
county, Illinois, do certify that the above is a
correct copy Ct letter from the Hon John
Wentworth to David Wheeler.
WILLIAM B. WEST.
Dated Blafk5srry, W, July I, 1854.
The difference between the two letters is very
apparent The last is amere business letter, in
answer to one written touching the arrange
meut of the mail upon railroad route that
had Just been opened in that locality
The circumstances attending tho publication
of the fraudulent letter were as follows:
Certain gentlemen, calling themselves Ne
braska Democrats, had come to the conclusion
that it would be better to elect Wing TO Con-
gress, than a Democrat who had opposed the
Nebraska bill, who would be likely to oppose
that whole series of Slavery prOpaganding
measures of which the repeal Of the Missouri
Compromise was but the beginning, and they
were consulting with certain gentlemen of the
Wing party, when it was stated to them that a
VINO Ddu DCtIl an ai-cuI lNT Il GET
tain newspaper opposed to me- had heard a
letter read by this David Wheeler, which as.
serted that | had made up nv mind to 20 with
our Senators. An effort was q. once resolved
upon, to get copy or a sight Of that letter
but it resulted in report that the letter was
destroyed. Under general belief that such
was the case, this letter published IN the Ir,-
bune was fabricated and sent out to MIR Vince |
ler's county, TO Wing paper, for publication, |
in order to give a stronger confirmation to 1t.
Copies Of the paper containing 1t were then |
forwarded to the Tribune and thus was the
pretext furnished for the desired separation OF
myself from my Wing colleagues IN the Tn
bunc's general recommendation that all who |
opposed the Nebraska bill shOuld be reelected. !
Ii was a base fraud, got up Oh purpose to give
the New York Tribune q pretext to denounce
me because am Democrat; which it seems
very ready TO do, as it yields its columns to
those Illinois politicians here, who, by tele
graphic dispatches and letters, have been play
ing their part in this programme to injure me,
or any Democrat of similar views to myself
No longer ago than the 27:h, it published
an UNANIMOUSLY libellous article against me, in
letter dated in this city on the 6.h. That
letter was either written by or under the die
tation of citizen Of Illinois, who is a party
to this Chicago programme. 1t charges me
with altering the Minnesota Land bill, when
| was absent from the city when the bill was
SO altered, and when it passed both House and
Senate; and this, too, after the Tribune itself
had published the fact that General Stevens,
of Michigan, had stated, upon the floor of the
House of Representatives, that he gave the
order to have the bill altered, and that the
Clerk himself made the alteration under his
direction A committee has since reported
upon this matter, and corrobOrated the state
ment of General Stevens, and implicated no.