The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-10-11
A...C0STRHHpTl0N no HIsPORY.
Statement OF Hop. Jacob Thonpson-
sghyj and How Me Went 10 North

Hen, Thomas L. Clingman, Of North
Caroiha, has recently published book
from which tho following incident is ex-
traeted.
! "About the middle of December, 1860,
1 had OCCASION 70 SEQ The Secretary Of the
Interior ( Hon. jacob Thompson) on some
official business. On my eutering the
man, am gi&d You ohave tcaliedii for I
intended presently 70 go up to the Senate
to see you; 1 have been appointed com
missioner by the State II, Mississippi to
10 down to North Carolina to get your
State TO seoede, end Ilwished TO talk with
you ae.out. your Legislature before start
down in the morning to Raleigh, and to
flearn what you think Of my chance Of
success" / said 70 him, L did not know
,h, that you had resigned He answered,
Oh, no, have not resigned Then I
morning NO. he answered, Il do not
intend TO resign, for Mr. Buchanan wishes
US all TO hold out and go out with him
on the fourth of March, But said /,
does Mr.. Buchanan know for what pur-
Certainly he knows my object Being
surprised by .ttis statement I told Mr.
Thompson that Mr. Buchanan was prob.
ably SO much, perplexed by his situation
that he had no. fully iconsidered the mat.
ter, and that as he was already involved
in difficulty, we ought not to add 10 h;n
burdens aud then suggested to- Mr..
Thompson that he had better see Mr..
Buchanan again, and by way of inducing
him to think tho matter over, mention
what had been saying to him. Mr.
Thompson said, We'll, can do so, but
think he fully understands IT, In the
evening met AIR. Thompson at small
social party, and as soon as approached
him he said, I knew could not be mis-.
taken told Mr.. Buchanan all you
said,i and he told me he wished me 10 ,goS
and hoped might aucceed.' / could not
help exelaiming, Was thege ever before
any potentate who sent out hiB own Cab
met minister to excite an inshrfection
against his government Fn - l'H \ :.
The attention Of Mr.. THOMPSON having
been called to this extract by Hon. Jere-
miah'S, Black, OF Pennsylvania, who was
also smember of Mr.. Buchsnau's cabi-
net, Mr.. Thompson responds in O let
ter to Mr.. Black, dated Memphis,
Tenn, September 81, 1877, in which he
says;
"Mr. CliDgmau here attempts TO repeat
verbatim private casual conversation
which occurred between us near seven.
teen years ago. remember we'll, Just
before my departure for North Carolina,
i had q conyersation with Mr.. Clingman,
and l remember also the information
Wished him tn give me. I. wsss &C learn
from hiWfhe political '6tatqs 4ilfbrent
memberS OF the 1egisiattre;s buC the con-
versation made no impression on my
mind, and.l should have forever forgot
ten IL but for this reminder. It is I'M
possible now to recall particulars.-
Whether,he asked If 1 had resigned or
not I do hot remember; but what Is its
sequehce Il i could not have forgottens
When told I had not, he assumed thas
he advised me to see the President again
on the subject, and that in obedience TO
his suggestion did 90 and came TO him
and told him the -ssult, This is an i'm.
possibility. To Awe suggested such O
thing to me by Mr.. Clingman would have
been an impertinepce that I could no.
have overlooked, and had such q thing
been suggested know i would have
scorned toreport back, and, above all,
would have scorned tc report q salsehood
of the 5asest kind. HellMr. Clingman)
says, 7 (Mr. Thompsen) told Mr.. Buch
apan all you Mr.. Clingman, wonderful
man) said. and he told me he wished me
I to so, and hoped ] might succeed in in
ducing North Carolina to secede.' Now,
IL f,told him all this, / repeated to him
whatI kne'- then aud know. now to be
false and uh nnded. Therefore, kncg
i never said any such thing, and ali OF
this is from Invention, simple fc:ioa Of
Mr.. Clingman. Then follows his excla-
nation: 'Wss there ever before any po-
tentate who sent out his own cabinet
ministers TO excite en- insurrcction agsiust
his government? which I must have
heard, and yet made no reply to it and
took no exceptions to it. This carries an
absurdity on its face. Having said this
much about this most remarkable revela-
ton, I feed bo1ud, in publication Of the
truth of history, aud in justice to the
i, memory OF q chief magistrate who held
the reins Of government in the most try
ing crisis in the history of the govern.
ment, to explain solne Of the facts con-
nected with my mission to North Caro-
| lima.
f'Some time in the month of Decern.
ben 1885, while gas Secretary of the
Interioc the Governor of Mississippi sent
l me letter requesting me to act as q
commissioner Of that State to the State
of North Carolina, and urge to cooperate
With Mississippiin measures for the pro.
/ lection and maintenance of Southern
| rights. This appointment was unex-
pected, and took mc by surprise. was
| known as o co.operationist, and was op.
| posed q separate State action. be.
! Iieyed all, the, Southern States should
| have O perfect understanding with each
other, and when the time came for move,
1 ment--if movement must be mRde--they
should all Get together and simultaneous.
| ly. At that timo Mr.. Buchanan had sent
to Congress hisa very able message, in
which he denounced accession as here.
| sy, unconstitutional and unauthorized.-
differed from that message in this
That whileI admitted the constitution
| did not provide this remedy for, the
4 States, yet each had retained the right
from which :, they, had never parted, te
" e.. &C. >,.. .. r @ .:s i
conferred upon the general government
and hreaume7 the full exercise of them
! But rs held, no naaz ,wanld Justify Sc
cession which was not sufficient to jnstif,
revolution,1 aud as there was not ant
could 6ot'bo dating the administration
or Mr: Bhcha1an any justifying cause o.
secession, and rs our ,diGere1ce was /.
mere abstract one, could with proprie
ty hold my place in the Cabinet. Wher
the Qoyern0E's letter was received aud
had determined It was my duty to accep
tha appointment. L ann1hL and nhtainer
d private interview with the President
and told him j wished O leave of absepcl