Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1857-11-13
Frsm the National 1ntelIIgenccr.
A CARD, (2).

In recent political address General FIJI
low charged that Mr.. Trist, with my assis
/, tance, had, in Mexico, administered brib,
to President or General Santa Anna, &c
By card in the National Intelligencer,
promptly replied that / was morally Ger
tain Mr.. 7. had not paid cent, in the wa,
!, of bribe, to any body whatever in Mexi
co, and l solemnly added that was per
sonally totally ignorant of any bribe o.
any sort whatever, great or small, being
paid to that high functionary (Santa An
ma, } or to any other, directly or indirectly
for his use or benefit, by or on account oi
any American officer or agent, civil or mill.
tary. My denial General Pillow calls Gin
rejoinder) 'evasive," "a mere quibble,'
and he affects to support his first assertion
by extracts from "the sworn statements of
Generals Quitman and Shields" which,
he says, he has procured from the record
of the, War Department"
/ Entertaining for those Generals %. &
50 high admiration and respect, ] was in
haste-not that there was anything mate
rial in the extracts-to learn from the War
Department the charter of the (to me) un-
known "record" quotedby General Pillow.
l have but now received a copy of the
document, and in some of its other aspects
it shall, presently, receive passing notice,
Suffice it to say, in this connection, that
neither Of the statements produced by
General Pillow, with SO much gravity,
contradicts me in the least on the only
point in question, viz: the ten thousand
dollar bribe; for neither of those Gener.
ais pretends to know to whom the bribe
was paid, nor did any other American ev-
er hear me whisper the name or names of
the receivers, until confdentially disclos-
ed on the final settlement, at the War
Office, of my secret disbursements. Gen,
Pillow, however-"most ignorant of what
he's most assur' d first assumes that he
has had confded to him great secret, and
next betrays it by letting the world know
that he had the honor of being trusted
The Mexican newspapers, ] learn, have re-
Gently been filed with notices of General
Pillows denunciation of General Santa
Anna, mixed up with the inquiry, "JVho
is the most infamous? He aoho receices
bribe, or the tanctionary ,oho, IN uiolation Of
his o'on and his country's honor, disclOses the
name Of traitor?'
But this case, bad as it is, does not stand
alone in our recent annals (and, of course,
nothing so base could have occurred in
our earliest history,) for Jan. 80, 1857, a
plant Executive was made, by the plastic
hand of malignant Secretary, to commu-
nicate to the Senate, for pubHcation-with-
out any conceivable purpose, but at the
expense Of national faith and honor, to
give me annoyance-the entire account
had confdentially rendered to the War
Department of my secret disbursements
in the Mexican war; 1t is true that names
had been suppressed by me, in the written
items; but many entries were rendered.
and now stand so published in this man
ner: "Paid messengers Of the Consul $780,;
"Paid an Englishman to report violations
of the armistice, $780," "Paid a member
of the municipality, S162 so" &c. AL
ready in consequence of this publication,
five highly respectable residents of Mexi-
co--utterly guiltless of bribery, but liable
to suspicion under those designations
have, through a distinguished channel
made application to me for exoneration.
Gen. Pillow speaks feelingly of "great
and patriotic statesman who was Gin 1886
Chief Magistrate of the nation" his some
time law partner, who had made him
Major General; the same who, early in
the war, sent for me, and in the kindest
and most beseeching manner solicited my
personal sympathy as well as professional
aid in conquering peace, promising me
his entire confidence and support; the
same who, before had REACHED Mexico,
endeavored, first, to appoint lieutenant
general to supersede me; and, failing in
that, next thought of placing me under
the same party, appointed a major-gcneral
(and of course) my junior; the same who,
it turns out, appointed Gen. Pillow spy
on the conduct of Mr.. Trist and myself;
and the same "great and patriotic states
man" who, having failed in nearly every
promise he made me, finally, when the war
had been ended, released from arrest three
officers who had been engaged in con.