The Nevada journal., 1856-08-15

porated in the volume, word for word,
as it came from the venerable states
mans pen. Let the American people
read it and ponder upon it. Here it is:
"Some time in January, 1925, not
long before the election of President of
the United States by the House of Rep
resentatives, the Hon. James Buchanan,
then member of the House, and after
wards for many years a Senator of the
United States from Pennsylvania, who
had been Jealous and influential sup
porter of Gen. Jackson in the preceding
canvass, was supposed to enjoy hisl un-
bounded confidence, called at the lodg
ings of Mr.. Clay, in the city of Wash
ington. Mr.. Clay was at the time in
the room of his only messmate in the
House, his intimate and confidential
friend, the Hon. r. 2. Letcher, since
Governor of Kentucky, then also mem
ber of the House. Shortly after Mr.
Buchanan's entry into the room he in
troduced the subject of the coming Pres
idential election, and spoke of the GER
tainty of the election of his favorite, ad-
ding that he would form the most splen-
did cabinet that the country had ever
had. Mr.. L. asked, how could we have
one more distinguished than that of Mr.
Jefferson, i'll wiich were both Madison
and Gallatin Where would he be able
to find equally eminent men? Mr.. Bu-
chanan replied, "he would not go out of
this room for Secretary of State"
looking at Mr., Clay. This gentleman
Mr.. Clay playfully remarked that he
thought there was no timberthere fit for
a cabinet officer unless it were Mr.. Bu-
chanan himself
"Mr. Clay, while he was so hotly as
sailed with the charge of bargain, in
trigue and corruption during the admin
istration of Mr.. Adams, notified Mr.. Bu-
chanan of his intention to publish the
above occurrence, but by the earnest en-
treaties of that gentleman, he was in
duced to forbear doing So
This passage, we repeat, was written
by Mr. Clay's own hand. We learned
the fact from Mr.. Clay himself, from
Mr.. Cotton, and from an eminently res
pectable relative of Mr.. Clay. The
great Kentuckian, who had borne the
weight of the bitter calumny for more
than twenty years, and seen his highest
political hopes crushed and blasted by
it, did not choose to submit to it longer
out of tenderness to the reputation of an
old political enemy; the deepest regret
felt by his friends is that he submitted
to it so long. Mr. Clay, far from having
signifed that he would support Gen.
jackson for the Presidency III considera-
ton of the Secretaryship of State, had
positively rejected such bargain prof
fered to him by Mr.. Buchanan himself.
Whatever of dishonor, whatever of infa-
my, there could be in bargain, intrigue
and corruption, attached to Mr.. Buchan-
an. We do not believe that he had any
authority from Gen. Jackson to say
what he said to Mr.. Clay, yeti profess
sed to utter fact, not opinion. He un-
dertook to assert, as from authority, that
Gen. jackson would form the most splcn-
did cabinet the country had ever had,
and that Mr.. Clay, if he should support
him, would be the Secretary of State
Mr.. Clay stated in the passage he
wrote for Colton's biography of him, that,
while he was so hotly assailed with the
charge of bargain and corruption during
the Admas administration, he notified
Mr.. Buchanan of his intention to pub
lish the occurrence in question, but was
induced by that gentleman's earnest en-
treaties to forbear doing so. Mr.. Cotton
said in his biography that he had un
derstood that several times in later
years Mr.. Clay had intimated to Mr..
Buchanan that it might be his duty to
publish the facts, and that he was dis
guaded from it by Mr.. Buchanan. We
also know that Mr., Clay often, between
1925 and 1915 contemplated publishing
the facts, and was vehemently urged by
his political friends to doso as matter of
Justice, not merely to his own fame, but
to his arty, and that he was prevented
only by Mr.. Buchanan's entreaties.-
Governor Letcher, who was present at
the interview in January, 1928, and
heard all that passed, was always OF the
opinion that Mr. Clay ought to make
the publication, and often told him so,
but Mr.. Clay was long suffering, and
carried his generosity to far. Mr.. Letch-
er, it seems, after the interview of Janu-
ary, 1925, relieved Mr.. Buchanan ap-
prehension by the assurance that he
would not publish the facts of the inter
view without Mr.. Buchanan's consent.
But so strong and deep was Mr.. Letch-
er's conviction, that the facts OUGHT to
be published, that he wrote to Mr., Bu-
chanan on the subject during the great
Presidential conflict of 1874, declaring,
however, in his letter, that he would not
violate the pledge he had originally Civ
en-. Mr.. Buchanan replied, deprecating
the publication, and requiring the obser-
vance of the pledge. The reply was
made with Mr.. Buchanan's character
istic cunning, and we give it below en-
tire One might think, from the Ian
guage of his letter, that he had no dis
tinct recollection of the conversation
with Mr.. Clay in Mr. Letcher's room III