The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-09-24

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for three days past the card OF Mr., frames :
Blair in relation to the completely of Mr.. Buch-
anan in the bargain and corruption charge
against Mr.. Clayin 1824-5. 1t first appeared,
IN the Nashville Banner. and from that journal
has been copied in the n. York Evening Post
and Richmond Wing. These are the only three
papers in which we have seen It entire It
Should be published at length in all the politll-
cal papers, but its extreme length renders such
publication impracticable. The expose con-
tanned in this address is complete and irretuta-
BILE. Whatever may be thought OF Mr. BLAIR
for his freesoil opinions, hels a man OF truth
and unmpeachable integrity. He was the
bosom friend of general Jackson to the day Of
his death-his trusty counsellor and the lega-
tee of his private and public papers. The
statements of man standing in the relation he
did and does 70 the old hero, living or dead,
are not to be assal'ed.
Mr.. Buchanan has placed himself in an ugly
position He is completely cornered, and the
charge against him, which has SO often been
made, of duplicity, intrigue and treaehery, is
fixed upon him, and cllnched by the expose OF
Blair, beyond the least chance OF extucaton
A or exculpation. Every one is familiar with the
dirty business, which is SO dlscredItable to MI
Buchanan gentleman and man OF honor
We will briefly recapitulate the leading facts:
In 1926 Mr.. Buchanan attempted to form CO.
altion between general Jackson and Mr.. Clay,
which he undertook to effect by intlmatlng to
general Jackson that there was an understand
mo between Mr. Adams and Mr.. Clay that one
should be president and the other secretary of
state, and proposed that the general should
fight them with their own weapons, and let his
friends understand that he would place Nh
Clay at the head of the state Department.
proposal which was rejected with indignation.
There was at the time no good feeling be-
tween Jackson and Clay, and the former selz-
ed this occasion for making the charge of CHAR
gain and corruption against Messrs. Clay and
! Adams, and gave Mr.. Buchanan as his author
ity. This revelation forced Buchanan out, and
while he did not dare to make the charge di-
rect and explicit, he published a letter with the
following covert and base insinuation: s'The
facts are before the world that Mr.. Clay and
his particular friends made Mr.. Adams presi-
dent, and that Mr. Adams Immediately there
after made Mr. Clay secretary of state. The
people will draw their own differences from such
conduct and the circumstances connected with
it. They will Judge Of causes from effects"
This was written in 1926. At a dinner ia
bic in Washington city, in 1845, Mr.. Buchanan
said to senator Mangum of North Carolina,
that he did not believe the charge of bargain
and corruption against Mr.. Clay, and never
had believed it. This remark was made in the
presence of major VIM. B. Lewis, formerly
second auditor of the treasury, who repeated
it in letter to general Jackson. The general
replied to this letter shortly before his death in
| 1915. 1t has recently been published, and
contains the following remarks:
s!Your observations with regard to Mr.. Buch-
anan are correct. He showed want of moral
courage in the affair of the intrigue of Adams
and Clay-did not do me justice in the expose
he then made, and | am sure, about that time,
did believe there was perfect understanding
between Adams and Clay about the preslden
cy and the secretary of state. This am sure
Of But whether he viewed that there was any
corruption in the case or not, l know not, but
one thing | do know, that he wished me to COM
bat them with their own weapons-that was
let my friends say if [ was elected l would
make Mr.. Clay secretary of state. This, to me
appeared deep corruption, and repeled it with
that honest indignation as which | thought
it deserved ANDREW JACKSON"
This letter, the authenticity of which is be-
ing among the Buchanan men. The dead lion
has many admirers, yet, who refrain from kick
| ing him; and the idea Of vindicating Buchan-
an at the expense. Of the old hero. is not to be
thought of. And yet, by what expedient can
they neutraize the damning evidence of Mr..
Buchanan's corruption, intrigue and disslmu-
lation, as furnished by this letter? They must
either do as that renegade wing journal, the
! Louisville Courier, has done, stigmatse the old
hero of New Orleans as infamous, an unmanly,
vindictive old tyrant, with no touch of justice
or magnanmity toward an opponent or rival,
with s'no use for friends only to make tools Of
them;" or they must resort to another shift by
representing the old gentlemen when he wrote
the letter as imbecie and irresponsible.
This latter is the course that has been adopt
ed to blunt the edge of this cutting letter. The
wire pullers Of Buchanan have been operating
upon a profiigate and weak minded man, the
adopted son Of the old general, and the bearer
of his honored name, to enter his solemn pro-
lest against the unscrupulous use of the private
and confidential correspondence of his (adopt-
ed) father etc., and he proceeds to say that
his letter 'tdid not contain any deliberate con-
victon of his mind, y but that
4. ttWhilst suffering under a painful, whitening
disease, and earnestly pressed by every artful
suggestion, he would have been more than hui
man if he had not permitted expressions of
momentary irritation to creep into private let
tiers; and the fault Of the expression was not
in him who wrote, but rather in those whom he
unwisely trusted" a %
Mr.. Blair, in his address, exculpates himself
triumphantly from this accusation Of making
an s'unscrupulous use of private correspond
enee," and exhibits in glazing coors, thereck-
lessness of the character Of Andrew Jackson,
junior He establishes the uniformity Of gen
eral Jackson's opinions of Buchanan as to the
''deep corruption" Of the, proposal which Mr..
Buchanan had himself made to him in the win
ter Of l824-'25 and presents conclusive proofs
on the point that Buchanan was the originator
of that attempt at bargain and intrigue" which
he endeavors to fix upon Mr.. Clay. t
Mr.. Blair then proceeds to colate the evil
dence Of Carter Beverly, general Jackson, Mr..
Clay Mr.. Webster, Mr.. Markly and general
Eaton, all going to prove conclusively that the
| idea of bargain and intrigue in the winter of