Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-10-24


Breckenridge Committee in Kansas an
certain citizens of that Territory. [ hav
no means of knowing whether this CORE
spondence is genuine or fictitious. I
voice" Fictitious, undoubtedly" hav
looked over the names attached to it. AM
recognize no one as personal acquaint
ance. In this correspondence, 1 am dis
tinctIy charged with being the author o
the Lecompton Constitution. Great laugh
ter / do not blame you for laughing a
that statement. [Renewed laughter !
there is any statement on earth that ough
to seem Iudicrous and Iaughable, it is
charge of that kind. But. nevertheless
the charge is distinctly made, that no
only devised the LecOmptOn Constitution
but that II was submitted to me. and tina
| approved it, together with the plan o
submitting the slavery clause. Laugh
ter. desire to say to you that it is falls
in every particular. Immense applause.
| never saw the LecOmpton Constitution
until after it had been adopted in Kansa.
by the Convention, and sent TO the Presi
dent of the United States for acceptance
| never saw the schedule by which the
slavery clause was submitted until after i
was forwarded to the States for publica
ton. ] never heard, nor conceived, mol
dreamed that any man on earth ever thought
of such scheme. Imake these statements
distinctly, without eqUivOcatiOn or menta
reservation. 1 appeal 10 God, in the pyesenc,
of high HdUea and his G1dieIace, that the cllojg.
IS taLse / care mt 1Eho D1ode At. Tremen-
dous applause 1t seems as if the Dis
uniOnists of the South and the Abolition
lists of the North are determined TO hunt
me down by all the means that malice can
invent T"That's So" "Thev can't do
it" 'Neyer, never" you are too much
of giant" and applause.
Now l intend to submit to you a sim
pie statement of facts on this subject.
Before left Washington, in the spring of
1857, after Mr.. BuchanaD'S Inauguration,
the President rendered to Robert j. Walker
the office of Governor of Kansas, which
he declined to accept. Mr.. Buchanan sub
sequently appealed TO me to 90 and see
Mr.. Walker, and urge him to accept the
upon the ground that he
(Mr. Buchanan) believed the peace of Kan
sas. the peace of the country, and the
Union itself, was in danger, and that Mr.
Walker was the only suitable man in
America to administer that office in such
4 juncture of affairs.
l visited him accordingly, and urged him
as a patriot to make the sacrifice, and go
to Kansas. Mr.. Walker replied that if
the President put it upon the ground that
the Union was in danger, and that he was
the man to perform the high trust-under
these circumstances he would not decline
but that he would never 90 to Kansas I'M
less the Administration stood pledged to
the principle that the Constitution, what
eveT it might be when formed in Kansas.
should be submitted to the people for ac-
ceptance or rejection. He also said that
before he would go, he must know dis
tinctly that every Federal office holder in
Kansas would aid him in carrying out that
principle. And he mentioned Mr. Calhoun,
the Surveyo of Kansas, as the
man having the greatest power, by his
patronage in surveying the public lands.
L reported these facts to Mr.. Buchanan,
and he declared that the programme
marked out by Governor Walker was the
one under which his Administration would
sink or swim. Mr. Buchanan then re-
quested me to see Mr.. Calhoun, who was
then in Washington, and say to him that
he must act in concert with Gov. Walker
[ told him he had better give his own
orders to General Calhoun. / was informed
by General Calhoun that the
President sent for him, explained to him
he programme agreed upon between Gov.
Walker and himself, and told him (Cal-
lOun) that he was expected to carry it out
N good faith. At that stage of the pro-
,eedings / left Washington. and returned
to my home in Chicago. y few weeks
after. messenger brought me the card of
I -
see him, at the Revere House. in Chicago.
did so; and as soon as L entered his
,oom, he produced a roll of papers, and
said that he there held in his hand the
inaugural address TO the people of Kansas,
which he was going to publish, as soon as
lie arrived in the Territory. He further
,aid that it had been agreed to by the Pre-
,ident and his Cabinet, and that then had
him to come By lray Of Chicog0. and
tap one day IN that city, an order to get tie
lsseat Of Senator Douglas TO IT, Applause
Governor Walker then proceeded to read
hat inaugural address, and when he got
o that part of it in which he stated he
vas authorized by the President. and by
very member of his Cabinet. TO say that if
he Constitution was not submitted to the
,eOple, IT would not be accepted by Con-
-ress. | asked him whether he had that
distinct understanding with the President
md the Cabinet. He replied . Yes" and
hen turned over his manuscript. and said
hat he had read every word of it to Presi-
lent Buchanan; that the President had aD-
proved of every word and syllable in it.
,ut wanted to make one or two verbal al
eratiOns, IClicb lee permitted him to do, and he
llOlrsf me TO examine The iHterlineations an tue
IocllBlent IN Mr. BuclaHan's Olcn hr719,gyi-
ing. Tremendous applause. Thus I
Iad before my own eyes the unerrfng evil
Ience that the President had endorsed the
document | asked Gov. Walker if he had
cad it to the Cabinet, and he answered. Not
he whole of it but that he had attended a
abinet meeting, and discussed it all over.
nd stated all its propositions: and that
very member of the Cabinet. except one.
Ordially approved of it. He also said that
7hen that one member of the Cabinet dis
pprOved of it, he told the President that
e would not go to Kansas; that he would
Ot enter that Territory with any one
member of the, Administration against him
hat thereupon the dissenting member of
be Cabinet withdrew his objection, and
hey all pledged themselves to stand by
i'm on the principle of submitting the
constitution to the people. fCheers.
/ then informed Governor Walker that,
s Senator. had no hesitation in assur-
lg him that | should require the best
violence the nature of the case would ad-
lit of; that the Constitution to b. adopt
d in Kansas vas the act and deed of
hat people, and that i believed that the
ubmissiOn of that Constitution to the
ote of the people was the best means of
scertaining that fact. GCries OF. g Good"
nd cheers | also told him that l was
ot prepared to endorse the proposition
hat the President and Cabinet had any
hing TO do with the matter; that did
ot know what the Executive Department
f the Government had to do with the
constitution of Kansas; and that. in my
piniOn. the people were to make IL as