Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-08-21
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" failed him, while General JacksoD's frient
ID said just the contrary. If Mr. Buchana
10 had been honest in that letter, and told th
J. truth, so that il could not be interpreted
two ways, to suit either party, Mr.. Cla
r, would have been vindicated before the worl,
n As it was, however, though Mr.. Clay
n friends could get all they wanted out Of i
d his enemies could do The same; and tha
e was exactly what Mr.. Buchanan intended
: The consequence was, that the charge g
4 gaiLst Mr.. Clay, made by General Jackson
y continued in all force, and Mr.. Clay suffer
ed all the disadvantages of il; whereas,
! Mr.. Buchanan had told the plain ruth, il
p lain language, Mr.. Clay's enemies woul
! have been slenceG forever. From tina
f hour 20 the day OF Mr.. Clay's death, he suf
fered all the Disadvantages of his amazin!
4 injustice. Mr.. Buchanan held Mr. Clay
f)rtunes in his hand, and by his want o
fidelity to truth, and by his overwhelmin,
desire not to contradict, and thus pleas
General Jackson, he prevented Mr.. Clay
rising to the Presidency in all future time
In other words, the greatest and best maj
the country has ever produced was sacrifice'
by Mr. Buchanan; and over this mighty ruin
which his own hands created, Mr.. Buchanan
is now attempting 10 walk into the Presi
dental chair!
Of this affair, the Louisville Journal says
"To show the terrible exposition made BY
Mr.. Clay id Colton's biography of him wa:
regarded at the time, we NAV mention the
tact. that. when it appeared, all the Demo
cratic organs were startled by it. Mr.. Buch.
anan was then no candidate for Office, and
on that account it created less powerful
impression that it would otherwise have
done, but we wildly remember the sensa.
ton manifested ty the Democratic papers
especially those of Pennsylvania. We
copied into the Journal an article from the
most prominent and influential of them all
declaring, as several of them did, that Mr.
Buchanan must respond to and refute the
charge made against him, or expect to be
dispensed with by his party.
"And We and hundreds of Wing editors
called upon him and defied him to respond
while yet Henry Clay and r. p Letcher
were living to meet any denial or equivoca-
tion that he might put forth. But he re-
piled not He uttered no word. He could
not be induced either by the warning threats
of po itical friends. or the loud defiance and
demands Of political opponents TO open his
mouth Humblv he bore from the greatest
man then living upon the earth published
charge, which, if true, exhibited the most
irredeemable in fanny on his part
"And now we ask the old friends of Hem
ry Clay, we ask the Old Line Wings, We
| ask all honorable men, we ask the whole
American people, what they think OF James
Buchanan, end how they mean to act to-
ward him! D, what shame! what burn
ing shame, what an everlasting shame it
would be, if the American nation, after hav-
ing thrice rejected Henry Clay from the
Presidency on account o. charge OF bar
gain and corruption resting on the alleged
authority of James Buchanan, and all be-
cause Mr.. Clay listened to The earnest pray
ers Of Mr.. Buchanan, the proposer of bar
gain -a=ah corruption, and spared him for
nearly the lifetime of a generation, were
now to elect that same Mr.. Buchanan to
the Presidency Truly It would be almost
enough to make a man sick of his species."
We happen to kno v, that Mr.. Buchanan,
who was Mr. polk's Secretary of State,
when Coitom's Life and Times of Henry
Clay was first published in 1916, sent down
to Col. Seatun one of the editors of the
National Iateiligencer to borrow his copy,
which he, of Course, read so far as it per-
tanned to himself. He must have seen that
for his own reputation, it required an an
swer. if it could be answerable. But he
was silent, and has never opened his mouth,
although called upon 10 answer it, equally
by political friends and foes.
1t will have been seen from Mr. Clay
statement, that Mr.. Buchanan's proposal to
him was made in Gov. Letcher's room and
that Guv. Letcher was a witness. 1t also
appears that Gov. Letcher has something
else to say besides his evidence to support
Mr.. Claws statement; for appended to that
statement, which appears in Mr.. Clay's own
hand wiring, We observe the following note
addressed to his biographe-, also in Mr..
Clay's own hand: --- --5-.>,
"ErSee Mr. Letcher as TO what passed
between him and Mr.. MISUNDERSTANDING
disavJwal of the charge In speech TO the
House, &C."
1t would seem. however, that, unknown
to Mr. Clay. Mr.. Buchanan had obtained
pledge from Gov. Letcher not to reveal what
had passed between him and the Governor.
without his (Mr. Buchanan's) leave. In
1914, when Mr.. Clay was candidate for
the Presidency, the old charge of bargain
against Mr. Clay was revived, and Gov
Letcher wrote 10 Mr.. Buchanan requesting,
as We suppose from the nature OF the an
swer. to be released from his promise Of
silence as to what had passed between them
on this subject, ard he received from Mr.
Buchanan, the following lettef which is pub
lished in CoLion's Priuaie Correspondence Of
Henry Clay, page 49l:
NE. BUCHANAN TO R. p. LETCHER.
"LAYcAsTER. June 81, 1874.
"MY DEAR SIR:--l ths moment received
an answer cannot perceive what good
purpose it would subserve Mr.. Clay to pub.
Iish The private and unrese:yed conversation
to which you refer. was then his ardent
| friend and admirer: AID much of this an.
cient feeling still! survives, notwithstanding
our political differences since. | did him
ample Justice, but nc more than justice both
| in speech on Chiffon resolution and in nv
letter in answer 10 General Jackson. ~
81 have not myself any very distinct re-
collection of what transpired IN your room
nearly twenty years ago, but doubtless |
expressed a strong wish to himself, as had
done hundred times to others, that he
might vote for Gen. Jackson, and if he de-
sired it become his Secretary of State
Had he voted for the General, in case of his