Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1856-07-02
Henry Clay and James Buchanan.


attention of all honest and honorable men, ant
especially of old line Wings, the former supper
tiers of Henry Clay, and the present reverers o
his memory The boast has been made that the
old line Wings will, as general rule, support
Mr.. Buchanan for the Presidency. we shall see
All of our old politicians have vivid recollec
ton of the leading events of the election o
President by the House of Representatives il
the early part of 1926. Mr. Clay was then
member of the House, and he cast his vote ant
his influence in favor of John Quincy Adams
who was elected over General Jackson and Mr.
Crawford Mr.. Clay was subsequently selected
by Mr.. Adams as his Secretary of State At {
latter period Mr.. Clay was charged by his poll
teal enemies with having sold his vote to Mr.
Adams for the Secretaryship, and we all know
that this cruel and monstrous charge, though
abundantly refilted in every form in which re
fuation was possible or conceivable, involved, tt
great extent, the ruin of Mr.. Clay's political
fortunes. But for that charge, he would after
wards have been elected President of tho United
States almost by acclamation.
Foremost those who charged that Mr.
CLAWS vote was given to Mr.. Adams on account
of promise of the Seeretaryship of}State was
General Jackson. The General gave the name
of Mr.. Buchanan as his authority for the truth
of the charge. Mr.. Buchanan had held q pri.
yate conversation with him upon the subject,
making such statements rs left no doubt upon
the subject in the Generals mind. In fact, the
General did not hesitate to say, after that inter
view. that Mr. Buchanan had come to him with
full authority from Mr., Clay or his friends to
nropose terms to him in relation to their votes,
that is to propose to vote for him for the Presi-
dency if he could promise office to Mr.. Clay
OF course. Mr.. buchanan was called on to put
into the form of letter what he knew upon
the subject and what he stated to General jack
son. lie accordingly wrote the letter which at
terwards became famous in the controversy
That letter was most adoritly written with q
view TO relieve the author from the excessively
painful position in which he stood. lie dared
not say that he ever had any authority from Dir.
CLAY or his friends to propose terms to General
Jackson, vet he carefully so shaped his language
as to afford Mr.. Clay and his political enemies
pretext for repeating the atrocious calumny a.
gainst him. lie expressed his own belief OF the
bargain and corruption story. lie says: "lhe
facts are before the scorM that Mr.. clay and has
particular friends made Mr.. adams President,
and CMy Secretary Of State. Tile people a0Hl
lruso their ocn inference from such c0ndatct and
the circumstances connected Nth it. They |iH
judge of the cause from the etect."
Mr.. Clay and his friends regarded Mr. Buc-
hanan's letter as exculpating him and them from
the charge of having authorized Mr.. Is. to pro-
nose terms to General Jackson in relation to
their votes and so indeed it did. And yet it
was so cunningly written that the whole OF Mr.
Claws political enemies throughout the nation
considered it and treated it not as n vindication
of the Kentucky statesman but as confirmation
strong" of the truth of the accusation against
him. Thus the whole calumny originated in
Mr.. Buclanan's statement to General Jackson,
and. when the author of the statement was re-
ouired by Jackson or his organ to write it out
in the shape of letter, he so performed the ap-
pointed task, aswhile shrinking from any direct
confirmation of the impression he had previous
" given to General Jackson, to afford pretext
to the whole Jackson party TO assail Mr.. Clay as
n traitor TO his country, and there was not a
Jackson newspaper or Il jackson politician in the
nation that did not treat Mr.. Buchanans letter
as evidence of bargain, intrigue, and corruption
between Mr.. Adams and Mr.. Clay.
The specific charge, as already stated, which
was made against Mr.. Clay, and which Mr. Buc-
hanan was cited Us o witness to prove, was that
Mr.. G. had proposed to make General jackson
President if he himself could be Secretary OF
State. This charge involving the inference that
Mr.. CLAW did vote for Mr.. Adams for the promise
of the Secretaryship, was the charge by means
of which the party that Mr.. Buchanan then act
ed with and ever afterwards acted with, broke
down the greatest and best man OF his age
And now, fellow countrymen, we ask you to
mark the final developement of facts The real
truth is that instead of Mr.. Clays suggesting to
Mr. Buchanan during the pendency OF the Presl-
dent election, in the House of Representatives,
| in 1926 that he and his friends would support
General Jackson if lie could have the Secretary
ship of State under him, Mr.. Buchanan himself
actually sought Mr.. Clay, and, in the presence
to a third gentleman, explicitly declared to
him, that, in the event of his voting for General
jackson and the election of the latter, he would
have the Secretarysl:p.
Mr.. Clay's intimate personal friends often
heard him make this statement in the after years
of his life, and we, with half Il dozen others,
heard him say in the Presidential campaign OF
1914 that he would not be willing to die with
out leaving it on record. And he did not die
without leaving it on record. a few years ago
Calvin Cotton published the life of Henry Clay,
| in the preparation of which he visited Ashland
and had free access to many of Mr.. CIay's pri.
vate papers. lie devoted a considerable portion
of his book to the old bargain, intrigue and cor
ruption story. and Mr. Clay wrote out one pass
age of it with his own hand That passage was
incorporated in the volume word for word as il
came from the venerable Statesman's pen. Let
the American people read it and ponder upon it
Here it is
"Some time in January, eighteen hundred and
twenty five and not long before the election o
President of the United States by the House o
Representatives, the Hon. James Buchanan, then
member of the House, and afterwards many
years Senator of the United States from Penn.
syvania, who had been jealous and influential
supporter of Gen. Jackson in the preceding can.
vass, and was supposed to enjoy his unbounded
confidence, called ut the lodgings Of Mr.. Clay,
in the city of Washington. Mr.. Clay was at the
time in the room of his only messmate in the
House, his intimate and confidential friend, the
Hon. r. p. Letchersince Governor OF Kentucky,
then also member of the House. Shortly after
Mr.. Buchanan's entry into the room he intro
duced the subject of the approaching Presiden-
tial election, and spoke of the certainty OF the
election of his favorite, adding that lie would
form the most splendid cabinet that the country
had ever had Mr.. Letcher asked how could he
have one more distinguished than that OF Mr..
Jefferson, in which were both Madison and Gal
| latin2 Where would he he able to find equally
eminent men9 Mr. Buchanan replied, 'he
would not 90 out of this room for Secretary
of State looking at Mr.. Clay. This gentleman
(Mr. Claw playfully remarked that he thought
there was no timber there tit for cabinet OIL
Ger. unless it were Mr. Buchanan himself.
"Mr. Clay,while he was so hotly assailed with
the charge of bargain, intrigue, and corruption
during the administration of MIR. Adams, ,nouhed
Mr.. buchanan of his intention to publish the a.
bove occurrence but by the earnest entreaties
of that gentleman, he was induced to forbear
doing So"
This passage, we repeat, was written by Mr..
Claws own hand. We learned the fact from
Mr.. CLAY himself, from Mr.. Cotton, and from an
eninenty respected relative of Mr.. Clay. The
-, .,.l.o hnl Lorna tho Aveirht of