Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-08-07
m.,. MI xsrnon-Jno. 4. VI a.hington.

SATURDAY.. ...>-.......-A AUGUST u leoe
vxcY. MI yernon-Jno. A. w ashington.
A report has recently been put in circula-
ton by a Philadelphia newspaper 10 the erect
that Mr.. JOHN A. WAsHINGToN contrmpiates
removino the remains of his illustrions ances-
tor the FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY, from their
resting place within the grounds purchased
nv the Ladies' Mount Vernon Association.
As the object of the purchase was to get
possession of the tomb and remains OF Wash
ington, as well as the residence, large num-
Der of our contemporaries of the press IN
different sections of the country. proceeding
upon the assumption that the rumor is wen
founded, denounce Mr.. Washington in I'M
measured terms. May they not be wrong!
Mr.. Washington may be very narrow
minded and close listed Spectator, but not
quite so bad az our contemporaries take II LOT
granted he is. Upon this particular subject
we apprehend they are doing him injustice.
AS one of the organs of the Ladies Mount
Vernon Association, we have from the lncep-
ton of the movement to purchase Mount
Vernon, paid considerable attention to every
step of its progress. We know that Mr..
WASHINGTON did not, previous to t. purchase
contemplate any such removal as that charg-
cd nor do we believe that he now thinks OF
such thing When the proposition to pur-
chase was made, on behalf of the Ladies, he
addressed letter to W. F. RITCHII, ESQ., as
senting to it, upon certain conditions, one OF
which was that the title should vest In the
State. but the initial condition was as fol
lows
Ist- The remains of such members of the
Wa.biugton f1DaiIv who nouO are, or may be
hereafter buried IN and around the present raul
SHALL NEVER BE REMOVED nor disturbed Ana
for the purposes of a family burying ground.
the undersigned. John A. Washington and
his heirs shall retain the right oil enclosing
and ornamenting One-half acre OF land, IN
Guiding the vault at present used, with easy
access To II at all times In this hurying
oround. members of the Washington family,
and no one else, may be Inferred. and the
State shall preserve it from injury or desecra-
tion.-Vide Mr. Washington's letter to W. r.
Richie, Jan. l, 1857.
From this. it will be seen that Mr. wash
ington, so far from contemplating removal
of the remains of Gen. Washington, express
ly tipuIated that they, together with those
of the whole family, buried there, should
ssne,er be Teynoped" From his first conditions he
never swerved except upon one point, and
that was the vestng of the title in the State
He agreed, at last, to sell to his country-wo-
men, the State having declared that the title
should be inalienable in them. 1t is not to be
supposed even had he desired to change the
above stipulation, that the Ladies would have
permitted him, and thus given him an oppor'
tunity to defeat the object of their purchase
Until the rumor is verified, we shall, there
fore, treat it as untrue. We regret very much
that it should ever have been noticed by the
press, coming in questionable shape as II
does; for the reason that it is calculated tc
cool the ardor of those enlisted in the work Of
raising the means to complete the purchase
If there is a probability that the remains viii
be removed, what will the Ladies want with
the grounds of Mt. Vernon? To them-to
the nation-to the world their chief value,
is the fact that they are the last resting place
of the greatest and best man of modern times
Robbed of this chief value, who would have
the nearL 10 COHjluue lilc eiiuSSit W oi9S 'AN
RpEcAase. 0Be ond55t the rHaa 70 al
who are periodically laboring in the cause
that the rumor should be authoritatively con-
tradicted. We trust the accomplished Regent
Miss CUNNINGHAM. will do SO, at an early day
In the meantime, satisfied that there is nc
foundation for it, we would urge all ouI
colaborers to speed the good work; and make
Mt Vernon national shrine, ever open to
homage of the world.
=. S. Since writing the above we have ex-
amined our New York budget of the 3rd inst
and find in the Courier and Enquirer the fol
lowing brief extinguisher of the rumor on
which we have commented. As we expected
the original design of Mr. j. A. Washington
has been carried out in his contract with the
Ladies' Mt. Vernon Association:
We are requested to publish the following
extract from the contract made by the La
dies Mount Vernon Association of the Union
with Mr.. JOHN A. WASHINGTON, in reply TO
our extract from the Philadelphia EUenDg
Journal.
BY this it appears that the subscribers to
the Association may feel assured that IN the
purchase the remains as well as the tomb OF
WASHINGTON are secured to them forever.
.'And that the said vault, the remains IN
f"and around it, and the enclosure shall never
'.be removed or disturbed; and that no other
.'persons hereafter shall ever be uttered Or
'.entombed within the said vault or enclo-
.'sure.o