The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1854-10-04


sa a g
CT
HON. A. H. STEPHENS AND JANE
w GRIMES.
RI Il will be remembered that in canvassing fe
Governor, Mr.. Grimes, magni6ed tie Nebrask
bill into a monster of such kideoas pr ,por, ion:
that hundreds of nen in the state. were induce
to believe that the soil OF Iowa, was to BE- forth
with converted into Slave Tertiary, So inteu
was he in his efforts to force this absurdiy upo
. the people, that he quoted the Hon. A. H. Ste
phens, of Georgia, to sustain him.
! The following letter from Mr. Stephens, il
\ reply TO one from Mr.. Hem, shows how u,terl.
untrue this story was and to what lengths
wiley politician will 60, when he gets into
tight place. 9sas
! From the Fairfield Sentinel
fsU Fairfield, Sept 13, 1854.
i Mr.. SHEwARD.- 3-
| , DEAR SiR:-ln justice TO the Hon
A II. Stephens aud myself-both ot us having
been misrepres. nted by certain abolition news
| papers, and by the aboition candidate tor Gov
ernor-l desire you to publish the enclosed let
ter. - Yours, truly,
B. HEM
Washington, ID c., 2o,h July 1854.
DEAR SIR-l am obliged to you for calling
my attention to en- article in the "lowa Observ-
er" of the 18th OF June, commen nting upon my
| reply TO your note OF inquiry OF the 10Th oi
April, touching the correc ness Of q statement
made by Mr. James w Grimes in an address
to the peopl. of Iowa; and also to an article in
the .Ledger," published at Fairfield. Iowa, OF
the same date, on the same subject. 1t is a
matter Of regret to me that these Articles owing
to nv absence from Washington City on visit
to Georgia, were not brought to my attention
earlier but, even late as il now is, deem it
pr"per that should not let them pass without
notice. The writers OF both these articles affect
to treat my answer to your inquiry of April, as
eyas,ye on my part, and not fully meeting The
statement Of MIR Grimes, 10 which your note
referred Now, wish briefly to say to you,
aud to all whom it may concern, that no evasion
was extended by me. My answer was intend d
to be iuil, positive and explicit, and was 50 con-
s,dered by me a, the time.
The allegation Of MIR. Grimes was, that ga
distinguished Representative from Georgia has
"announced that in Is years Iowa will be slave
"Siate.'' To this said on the part of myself
and colleagues of the House, who joined me in
I. e reply, 1--WE are utterly at loss TO imagine
"upon what grounds Mr. Grimes could have
s.fuunded the assertion made in the extract from
..hs address to VIII ch you have called our stten-
.s,ion No such idea certainly was ever advarc-
Vrd or any one from which such an inference
"could BE- drawn, in any speech made by either
..of u.s. We can but regard the statement there
store, as part of tina, general oystem OF misre-
representation which many OF The enemies OF
s.tirr equal, Just and republican principles OF the
:. NEBRASKA aud Kansas bill: have resorted to,
..tor the purpose of misleading the minds of
:. the people Of The Nor.h,ra States upon
them.
The .lIegation was that an announce me nj had
been made by some Georgia Representative; no
name was mentioned, nor any particulars given
u pom inquiry of Us whe her the statement was
true, myself and colleagues answered IN language
which deemed dislinct, emphatic, and quite
pointed enough that no such announcement had
eyer been made by either OF us. How we, or
either of US, cou d have bren considered hav
iay made an announcement" of such propps-
iti0n in any way less formal than in speech,
did no, occur at the time, and may now
be le I for Mr. Grimes to explain, and he pub
.ic to deu rinine.
Blu, the writer in the Observer says:
s.Mr Gri n-s DOES not accuse hIm MIR. Ste
sphens) ofmakiay The assertion ia spe<ch,-t
sit was in private conversation with Judge
s Mason;yet Mr. Stephens wished 10 t.uihbie on;
..of i, in this way, &c &c.
Now, in reply 10 this, | wish to saw that the
allegation OF Mr.. Grimes to which was reply
ing as not that which this writer states. 1t
made no reference TO me, personally, al all IL
m ade no ailusion tn what had been said IN spri-
vate conversation by any ofthe q oryia ReL-
resentatives, with Judge Mason, or any body
else. 1t simply asserted ,ha, an announce,iltn ut
had been made, &c. Thi, s'private canversa-
ion version "f the matter seems To have been
an alter thought Whether This be ga quibble"
or not viii mt s,y, but il is Ger ainly IN d |
uf the first statement IL is IN MIR |
Crimes second address, which you have hand |
I'd me, that see tas turn Is given to the matter |
nd 10 this qualification of the s.charge' have
but word or two TO say. Mr.. Grimes gives |
no st,tement from Judge Mason, The wr ter
N the "Lcdger" assumes that MIR. Crimes has
shift-I the onus of any issue that may arise from
his own shoulders to those Of Jadge Mason
He ais assumes that as between Judge Mason
md myself the people of Iowa would have but
title difficulty in determining. They know
him, says he, to be .san honorable man." and
hey know me /" to be one OF the most rabid
,ulltiers OF the South, who, on all occasions,
mas del,ghed in insulting the freemen OF the
North
| shall say nothing in displragempnt of the /
.honor'' or integrity of Judge Mason; my &C
auaintance with that Gentleman is limited The
people Of iowa doubtless know him much better
han do, and great deal better, am well
aware. than they know me; but this will say
from nv acquaintance with him, limited as it is,
cannot allow myself to believe that he ever
authorized Mr.. Grimes to make the allegation |
which he did;-and until have some evidence |
10 The contrary ,therrfure, shall torbear all fur
lhrs remarks upon that point This, however,
will say, in most emphatic and unequivocal
teru,s, that if Judge Mason, any body Else,
ever heard me say in any conversation, either
private or public, at the dinner tatle or else
where, any ything from which he even drew the
inference that entertained the opinion, or in
tended to announce it as my opinion, that Iowa
would be slave State in Is years, or ever al
any time, he or any other such person was en-
tirely mistaken in drawing any such inf, renee
never entertained such an. opinion, and never
intended by anything that ever said to any
body, to convey :he idea or to make the impres
sion that did. With the domestic affairs OF
Iowa have no concern, and take no interest,
further than to indulge desire to see that young
State advance in power and prosperity with her
older sisters of a common Republic. The state.
nent in the Ledger tina, am known -.to BE- one
s.of the most rabbd Dulltiers of the South, who
ton all occasions, has delighted in Insulting the
ssfreemen ofth North" is altogether graiuitous,
ungenerous aud unjust. And it It is in this
character am known to the people Of Iowa, ii
is only because l have BEEN sadly misrepre sent
ed to tIem,-or rather it is because | am not
known to them at all. And though this writer
speaks Of me rs who delights TO insult the
people Of the North on all occasions, yet think
it would be q difficult, matter tor him t, make
good i,i< acc casa.ion by shnwing a "single in
stance in which have ever in grd in thus
favorite propensity. Whatever may have been
my political errors, or the errors of the Sc, uli
fiers, IL is we'll known by ,hrse who know me.
that have never been subject to the charge of
being attached to their sect, or of being a be
lever in their doctrines. Whoever accuses me-
sf sectional hostility to any portion ofthis Union
dues injustice to himse as well as a great wron.
to me. These are feelings 1 have mel yer i,,lup
ed in Ii an unkind word ward the people .,f
the North, generally ever escaped me, | am no,
aware oft. That have felt il my duiy 10 de
nOunce a certain class of men in The Nnrth Is
true: but il has only been that class who hav.