Bedford inquirer and chronicle. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1854-1857, 1856-07-11

Clay and his particular friends made .Nr.
.addms President, and Gay Secretary Of
State. The people gcil draw their own IN
ference from suct conduct and tie circuas-
stances connected tifb ii. They wal Judge
| Of the cuuse from the Effect"
| Mr.. Clay and bis friends regarded Mr..
Buchanan's letter as exculpating him and
them from the charge Of having authorized
Mr.. B. to propose terms toGeneral jackson
in relation to their votes, and SO indeed it
did. And yet it was SO cunningly written
that the whole Of Mr.. Clay's political enc
mics throughout the nation considered il
and treated it not as yindication of the
Kentucky statesman, but as 'sconfirmation
strong" Of the truth of tile accusation
against him. Thus the whole calumny ORR
| ginated in Mr.. Buchanan's statement to
General jackson, and, when the author of
the statement was required by jackson or
his organ to write il out in the shape Of a
letter, he SO performed the appointed task,
as while shrinking from any direct confr-
nation Of the impression be had previously
given to Gen. jackson, to afford pretext
to the whole Jackson party to assail Mr.
Clay as traitor to his country, and there
was not Jackson newspaper or jack
son politician in the nation that did
not treat Mr.. Buchanan's letter as evi-
dence of bargain, intrigue, and corruption
between Dir. Adams and Mr. Clay.
The specific charge, as already stated,
which was made against Mr.. Clay, aud which
Dir. buchanan was cited as a witness to
prove, was that Mr.. G. had proposed to
make Gen. jackson President if he himself
could be Secretary Of State. This charge
involving the inference that BIr. Clay did
vote for Mr.. Adams for the promise of the
secretaryship, was the charge BY means of
which the party, that MIR. Buchanan then
acted with and ever afterwards acted with,
broke down the greatest and best man of bis
age. Aad now. fellow-countryulen We ask
YOU to mark the final development of facts.
! The real truth is, that instead Of Mr.. Clay
suggesting TO Air. Buchanan during the
pendeney of the Presidential election in
the House of Representatives in 1925 that
he aud his friends would support General
jackson if he could have the Secretaryphip
Of State under Kim. Mr.. Buchanan himself
actually sought Mr.. Clay, and, in the pre-
sence of third gentleman, explicitly de-
clared to him, that in the event of bis yot-
| ing for Gen. jackson and the election of
the latter, he would have the Sccretaryship.
Mr. Clay's intimate personal friends often
heard him make this statement in the after
years Of his life, aud we, with bali dozen
others, heard him say in the Presidential
campaign of 1874 that he wouid not be
willing to die without leaving it ON record.
And he did not die without leaving it on
record. a few years ago Mr. Calvin Col
ton published the Life Of Henry Clay, in
the preparation OF which he visited Ashland
and had free access to many of Mr.. Clay's
private papers. Ho devoted considerable
portion of bis book to the old bargain, in
trigue and corruption story, and NIr. Clay
wrote out one passage Of it with his own
hand. That passage was incorporated in
the volume word for word as it came from
the venerable statesman's pen. Let the
American people read it aud ponder upon
it. Here it is:
ssSome time in January. eighteen humid
red and twenty-five, aud not long before the
election Of Presidepl of the United States
by the House of Representatives the Hon.
James Buehanan,> then member of tie
House, and afterwards many years Sena-
! tor of the United States from Pennsylvania,
who had been jealous and influential sup
porter of General jackson IN the preceding
canvass, and was supposed to enjoy his un-
bounded confidence, called at the lodgings
of Mr.. Clay, in the city Of Washington
MIR. Clay was at the time in tie room of his
only lnessmate in the House, his intimate
and confidential friend, the Hon. K. Z.
| Leteher, since Governor Of Kentucky, then
also a member of the House. Shortly after
Mr.. Buehanan's entry int the room he ia-
trodueed the sabject of the approaching
Presidential election, and spoke of the GER
tainty of the election of bis fayorite, adding
that he would form the most splendid cabi-
net that the country had ever had. Mr.
Letcher asked, how could he have one more
distinguished than that of Mr.. Jefferson.
IN which we're both Madison and Gallatin !
Where would he be able TO find equally
eminent menl Mr. Buchanan replied, 'he
would not 20 out of the room for Secre-
tary Of State, looking at Mr.. Clay. This
| gentleman (Ir. Clayl playfully remarked
tnat he thought there was no timber there
fit for cabinet officer, unless it were Mr..
Buchanan himself.
"SIr. Clay, while he was SO hotly assailed
with the charge of bargain, intrigue and
corrpption during the administration of Mr..
Adams, notified Mr.. Buchanan of his inten
ton to publish the above occurrence, but
by the earnest eatreaties of that gentleman,
be was induced to forbear doing so"
This passage, we repeat, was written by