mm
AND
- -
LIBERTY... .THE CONSTITUTION . . . .UNION.
H 4MN1
4
u
1
BY THOMAS WAT4
A t three dollars per annum payable in
ce.
' WASHINGTON' CaKHESPOXDEJfCE,
- FROM THE GLOBE.
MR. BERRIEN TO MR. BLAIR
" L Washington. 19th Julv. 1831.-'
iir, In an article under the editorial head, h&
. ' . . c t l. I : : l i- i - 1 1 .7
. our paper oi uu iiiurinug, wmcu xias reianor-a
.entry versy between the Editor of the Telegraph, and
voureelf, 1 observe the following remarks: ?
; u At this oint, we should mtve-nT'opped
con
jrover.sy, out we nave understood, mat it l
ned
to rive, countenance to. the contradicted st
aent ol
til.' Telegraph thatj Mr. Berrien has recei
a letter
from Col. Johnson, which shows that we
iU. .1 1 : i i u:
no war-
rani jur me ueuiui uc mo.ue as iu iiiiii.
. . ,i i
e the
. i
liberty, therefore, of quoting: from the iefcter. of Col.
Johnnon,-. which we have, his express declaration, that
t he P resilient did not rriake the exaction of the mem
hereof hi" Cabinet, charged by the Telegjaph. The
( '.,.1. says
. "He (General Jackson) ner authorized me to
iicquire social intercourse, .&c.&c. , He always dis-
(aimed it; I told the parties bo."; These are the
- wonU of the Colonel to the word, point, ..and letter.
;ff tins does not satisfy,, we must refer the parties ma
kiag a charge, to the witness called by them."
"'The" reference thus made to me, renders it neces
sary.
that Pshoutd submit the following observations
t me puoiK, anu. ji nave accordingly 10 asK mat you
vill xi vet liern a-plttce iti your paper.
I have not authorized the report of which you speak,
;,iul I would have tol l you so, without hesitation, if
ou li.id intimated its existence to me. That such a
i i nirea would have been more conformable to the views
of Col. Johnson,. I infer frOm the following conside
. rations.'; . . ' ' ..
I have a letter from that "gentleman, in which, af-
. f.F f-tattng his object j and motives, in -seeking the in-
rvlevv, winch, withtthe approbation of the President,
"he laid with Messrs. Branch, Ingham arid myself,
h;j, proceeds) toiremark that he .has not himself seen
the neeessit f, or propriety, of any allusion iniiewspa-
, pers,ttp' this interview, and adds,Uhat if any should
.4 consider it necessary, then the great object should be
to state the conversation,correclly, for which purpose,
his iews were made known in that letter, in order
That any misunderstanding might be corrected.
Acquiescing in, the propriety of tbis suggestion, 1 im
1 . i i'. ... i i i. . i . i .
mediately communicated to Col. Johnson,; a statement
fihe conversation ielerredto,.as it was very distinct
,. 'h impressed upon my memory -and sufficient time
lias not yet elapsed, 1 bellieve, to authorize me to ex
. pert an answer in the regular course of mail. How
4. eveK,t.Uis may be, I have not received any. Indepen
; .ieuny tberetbre of my reluctance to appear before the
: ,pi:bl'uyin relation to any matters connected with the
'Cfhition of the late cabinet, a reluctance which
ouki only be yielded to my own strong conviction of
the propriety of taich a measure, I have thought that
r.he understanding implied in the correspondence, to
which I have referred, would be violated, by publish
ing a statement of what passed at' the interyiew in
;ui st ioh until t could beiaccompanied by the remarks
: of Colonel Johnson, on that which 1 had transmitted to
him. A departure from this understanding, by that
trenflenian himself, would of course relieve me from
--a obligation.' But from the tehor of your editorial'
T articKj, 1 infer, that the act of 'publishing, the extract
trm letter, is not. authorized by him. I adhere
faen fjre at present, to the determination, Which I
; .had tonried ; and assuming that-your object a-s public
i lurnalists, is to present nothing to your readers which
i irso, I take the liberty of suggesting, as well to the
editor of the Telegraph, as to yourself; the propriety
of. abstaining from any partial and imperfect state
merits of the conversation, which occurred at the in
0rvieW;in ijuestion. The delusion produced by such
Matcinents, must be.spedily corrected ; but until that
correction is made, their effect is to mislead the public
. mind, on a subject of awakening interest to the Amer
, " an people.
, I am, very respect fully, Sir, your ob't serv't.
JNO.fMACPHERSOxN BERRIEN.
Xo'Franci P. Bljair, Esq.
, Editor of the Globe.
Mr:
Blair to Mr. Berrien;
; . .Washington, Julv 19, 1831.
Sir: I hate ' this moment received your letter,
V3 which T will give immediate publicity.
I did. not su noose- that von had authorized the re-
?; Hirt, which imposed on me the necessity of giving an
.- '' .tract from Colonel Johnson's letter. Under such
a-m impression- 1 would not have hesitated to. call up-
'-oii you; to .d is vow n. the report I knew was false,
and was merelv circulated tn keen in ronntennnre.
the eluirge made against the President, until it could
jvork s6me prejudice against him in the public mind.
1 did not-. suppose that you were an accessary in this
business, and, therefore, would not insult you by an
iipjiliftitioh which could only be founded on such ah
m:eren"ce-
The: course I. have taken with regard to Col. John
Nprfs Iqttcr. grewout of circumstances which will jus
f ityime to him, although he did not authorize me to
publish his let ter. My sole object was at once to clear
the skirts of the President of a charge which you are
well -aware ought not to.be attached to him; for you
!;'lv,-'is I understand, explicitly declared -that he
'hsrldbmedito you, at .the time when vou Were in.
'oramuuication vith Col. Johnson, any design like
.that now imputed to him. " :
t ri VVitli regard to conversations between voniwlf and
Col
httl
:Ccr
Johnson, I; shall certainly abstain, as J hnvp
terto abstained, from making "any partial onim
fect statements I am,Siryour obedident servant.
F. P. BLAIR.
Mr.
Berrien to Mr. Blair.
j " '.-"Washington, 20th July, 1831.
IK: ur note of yesterday, was received under
. .rcumstances which prevented my immediate atten
tion to it. 1 reply to it now. to correct' thp misanm-p.
pension into wlpch you have been ledr and which,
hv the publicity which you We given to it, is cal-
mated to mislead the public.
, l extract from your note the followinir EPntPn,p.
J My obJfct at once, to deal- the skirts' of
aw r resident irom me cnarge, which you are well
iida-e -ought not to be attached to him, for you have
a understand, explicitly declared, that m disclaiml
(to you, at the time when you were, in commnnirn-
:(n with Col. Johnson, any design like that now irn-
teutohim." '
raake this quotation for the purpose of saving to
uiat- you have oeen entirely mistniormed that
statement contained in this extract is not
vjirranted by any declaration ever malic by me ;
mil still assuming it to be your wish to represent this
; spatter truly to the public, 1 am under the necessity ot
;: asking you to give publicity to this note.
1 ain vyy respectfully, Sir, your obed't serv't.
i JN. MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
1 0 Francis P. Bcair, Esq. h
juixaor of me Lriooe.
Mr. Blair to Mr. Berrien.
VWasSington, July 20, 1831.
i i our n b of this mrning will be given im
oivb k t0 the P- In reference to the subject
cn Jt trc you do me but justice when vou sav
f j
that " wish to represent this matter truly to fhe
public." You will permit me, therefore, briefly to show
the ground on which X felt myself authorized to say
that "you were well a ware," that the charge implica
ting the President, ought not to be attached to him,
and that you had yourself explicitly declared that he
-disclaimed the purpose imputed to him.
As to the first branch ot tins statement, which you
llo not seem directly to controvert, I have to support
me the positive written declaration of Col. Johnson, in
which he says that the President always disclaimed
such a requisition, and that he told you so. Besides
this, I have before me, in the hand writing of the Presi
dent, the identical paper which he read to yourself,
and Messrs. Branch &. Ingham, and which presented
the att itude that he thought it his duty to assume in
relation to the circumstances which affected the har
mony and character of his Cabinet. The course which
he thought proper to adopt, was predicated on informa
tion given him by several members of Congress, shew
incrthat a combination had been entered into, in which
yoursell and the other gentlemen named were con
cerned, to disgrace Major Eaton, and coerce his dis
mission from the Cabinet. After a prefatory verbal
explanat ion of the reasons mducing the interview, the
President proceeded to say, that if it were true that
you had taken the course of which he spoke, he felt
himself called on to make the declarations which he
read to you from his written memorandum, in which
he says that it was, using hisxwn words, "Not only
unjust in itself, but highly disrespecfully to me (the
President) and well calculated to destroy the harmo
ny of my cabinet. The grounds upon which this
opinion is founded, are substantially these. do
not claim the right to i)terfexe, in any manner, in
the dbmesXic relations or personal intercourse ofa
ny member of my cabinet, nor have I in any man
ner attempted it" i-c.
In the conclusion of the same paper, after recapitu
lating the circumstances to which he wished to call
your attention, he says, as the result of the matter,
Therefore have I sought this interview,' to assure
you if there is any truth in the report that you have
entered into the combination charged, to drive Major
Eaton from my Cabinet, that I feel it an indignity
and insult offered to myself, and is ofa character that
will be considered of." .
T his is the grouhd on which this matter was placed
by the President in his interview with you in the be
ginning of the difficulties'. And from it and the ab
solute asseveration of Col. Johnson, I consider my
statement, that you were well aware that the Presi
dent disclaimed all right to interfere and dictate 'the
social intercourse of the family of any member of the
cabinet, to be well warranted.
That I am also warranted in having said that you
yourself had declared that the President disclaimed to
youany disposition of the sort, will appear from the
extract which I make from a letter of your own, now
before me. After recapitulating a' conversation of
your own, held with Col. Johnson, (the tenorof which
youmlorm me, is to be adjusted bet ween you and him, X
you make this single remark in relation to the Presi
dent: i ' J
" In the interview to which I was invited by the
President, some few days afterwards, I frankly expo
sed to him my views oil this subject, and he disclaimed
anv disposition to' press such a disposition."'
In this you have allusion to the written declaration !
read to you by the. Tresidenti, which can beat-fte-owie
interpretation than that which you have given it in
this extract . ' In both joints presented by me, in the
extract quoted in your last note, I feel myself fully su s-"
tained by the documentary evidence, which I now
lay before von ; and 1 trust you will also consider it as
fully vindicating the starement which I have made.
Having thus justified myself, you will permit me to"
conclude my correspondence with you.
I am, Sir, 'your obedient servant,
F. P.BLAIR.
Mr. Berrien to Mr. Blair.
; Washington, 20th July, 1S31.
Sir, I have this moment received your note, in
answer to mine of this date. I make no apology for
continuing thiscorresppndence, although you intimate
a wish to conclude it, because it. will be readily under
stood, that it is in your character as a public journalist,
and not as an individual, that I address you. ; I ex
ercise a right, therefore, which, as the Editor ofa
public, journal, you can with no propriety withhold,
when I claim the insertion of this note in the same
paper which conveys your own communication to the
public. I repeat the quotation from your note of yes
terday: " My sole object wras at once to clear the
skirts of the President of a eharge, which you are well
aware ought not to be attached to him ; for you have,
as I understand, declared that he disclaimed to you,
at the time when vou were, in mmmmn.atinn with
Col. Johnson, anv desimi like that nowimnivted tnhim "
The first remark which I have to make uoon this
quotation, With reference to your observation, that I do
not seem to controvert the first branch of this state
ment, is the following : l Your assertion that I was veil
aware, that the charge against the President, to which
you referred, ought not to be attached to him, was made
expressly to rest upon you?' understanding, that I had
explicitly declared, that he (the President) disclaimed
to me any such design. When, therefore I told you,
that your understanding was not correct, I gave "you
a very broad denial of my having such knowledo-e as
that which you had imputed to me. In more distinctn
terms, however, (it that be possible,) I now renew that
declaration. Ihave no such knowledge. Nay. more,
Sir ; I have no knowledge of the paper, "in the hand
writing of the President," to which you refer. No such
paper was ever read to me, or shown tome, or spoken
of to me. If it had been, I should most certainly not
now have had occasion to address myself to the pub
lic on this subject, through the columns of your paper.
Having thus disposed of the paper to whic h you refer,
and shown, that this can furnish no ground for your
understanding, of what I was or was not aware of,
since J never sa w it, and its contents were never com
municated to we, I advert next to your suggestion,
that this understanding is warranted by Col. John
son's positive asse vemtion. Upon this subject, I have
already told the public through you, that I consider
myself bound by the implied understanding resulting
from my correspondence with that gentleman, not! to
publish any statement of the conversation whichjoc
curred between him, Messrs. Branch and Ingnam
and myself, until he shall have had a reasona
ble time to reply to my letter. I told you, at the same
time, that any departure from this understanding,
whioh was authorized by that gentleman, would ah
solve me from its obligation. I still adhere to this view.,
and content myself, at present, with repeating, in ref
erence to that of which you suppose me to be well aware,
mat l nave no sucn knowledge. The time must
speedily arrive when this forbearance will be no longer
necessary. r r.
: OUT IleXt rpffrnno; ion n laHar rC mina in TLfo inr
Eaton, which
you say is in your possession. As you
have published a,extract, you are bound to give the
correspondence even before that is done, it is very
easy to see that you have entirely misunderstood the
expression which you have quoted that a disclaimer
ot an intention to press a requisition, is a wholly dif
ferent thing, from a denial of ever having made it
and that in using this expression, I couldnoi have had
allusion to a written declaration," which I had never
seen or .heard of.
You will perceive then, Sir, that you are wholly un
sustained in all the points of your statement except by
a declaration which you admit that you have used
without authority, and which will be met if it becomes
necessary. Asa faithful journalist, you will, of course,
seize the occasion to correct your error ; you can, no
doubt, do this, in relation to the paper on which you
have placed so much reliance, by a direct appeal to
the President, who will hot, I think, authorize the
statement that the paper was ever shown to rne. Ho w
ever this maybe, I bear testimony to the truth. Neither
inviting Controversy, nor seeking political effect, I find
myself in a position in which I must either speak, or
silently permit the public to be misled. I have a suffi
cient sense of what is due to them, not to intrude my
self uncalled upon their notice and the consciousness
of what I owe to myself, will not permit me to shrink
from the performance of my duty.
I am, very respectfully f Sir, your obedient servant.
JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
To F. P. Blair, Esq. Kdilor of the Globe.
Mr. Blair lo Mr. Berrien.
Washington, July 21st, 1831.
Sir : Your letter was received late at night, when
the Globe was made up for the press. To give it in
sertion with the correspondence which preceded it,
rendered it necessary that I should defer the whole
until this day, and substitute other matter, previously
set up, for my paper. -
Without adverting to the special pleading of your
letter, (in which, being no lawyer, I have no skill,) I
come at once to the point. You take issue again with
me, by declaring "that no such paper as that quoted
by me was ever read to you or shewn to you, "or
spoken of to you." And you further say, that the
President " will not, you think, authorize the state
ment that that paper was ever shewn to you."
When the statement which I made, predicated upon
Col. Johnson's letter, was impeached in your second
note, I made the appeal to the President which you
seem to think I ought now to make. He immediately
put into my hands the original memorandum which
he wrote and which he read to Messrs. Branch, Ing
ham, and yourself; and I am now expressly authorized
to state again, that in the interview referred to in my
VLdIUV our own letter, quoted
V1 , read to you he pa
have given the extracts, which y
note and in your own letter, ouoted therein, he held in
. J 1
paper Jroni which I
ou say was never
read, shown or spoken of to you. And I am authori
zed Jurther to say, that if you will call on the Presi
dent, he will again exh ibit and ' read to you this ori
ginal docu ment. It was prepared by him in contem
plation that the interview might lead to an immediate
dissolution of his Cabinet, and it was intended by him
to record the basis he assumed in doing an act which
involved his own character, and the interests of the
country. The paper thus prepared by the President,
was communicated at the time to several of his friends,
whom he consulted on the occasion. And the sub
stance of the conversation which preceded and follow
ed the communication, wras also immediately reduced
to writing, and connected with the document read to
you. that nothing might be left to recollection, if cir
cumstances at a remote period shorild - make a refer
ence to it necessary. With regard to a transaction
so recorded, and vouched by the concurrent testimony
ol those consulted on the occasion, there can be no mis
take. A man's memory be treacherous, when the man
himself is honest. I am willing to believe this is your
case. ; You have innocently forgotten the declaration
made by the President, which stands authenticated,
"asJ"ttavc told you, as well as the communication of
the same purport, made to you by Colonel Johnson.
I am obliged to rely on this writen recorl of a fact
rather than on your memory, especially when I find
this positive proof confirming the statement of Col.
Johnson, that the President disclaimed any right or
desire to interfere with the private associations of your
self or your- family, and that you knew it.
I next quoted your own written admission, confirm
ing the statement 'of-Col. Johnson, and the written
record of the President, in the following words " In
the interview to which I was iuvited by the President
some few days afterwards, (after Col. Johnson's visit)
I frankly expressed to him my views on the subject,
and he disclaimed any disposition to press such a re
quisition." .
You say that a disclaimer of an intention to press
such a requisition, is a wholly different tiling. from de
nial of ever having made it."
I thought not, in this case ; because no such requi
sition .had been made. Col. Johnson says, the PresiT
dent disclaimedjoliim any desire to control your do
mestic affairs, or private intercourse, and he told you
so. The record of what the President said to you,
declares, that he claimed no right to interfere" in the
domestic relations or personal intercourse of any mem
ber of his cabinet ;" and, in allusion to the same con
versation, you say, he " disclaimed any disposition to
press such a requisition " When no such requisition
: had been made by Col. Johnson ; Avhen he told you the
j President made none ; and when you do not pretend
he made any, either directly or indirectly, I could
not but understand your declaration, that " he dis
claimed any disposition to press such n requieition,"
as a declaration that he made no such requisition.
But I find, in the character you have always sus
tained before the public, other conclusive proof that tro
such requisition was ever made of you, and that you
knew it. If the President had signified to you, di
rectly or indirectly, that he required you to compel
your family to associate with any one, contrary to their
will and yours, you would not, as a man of honour,
have waited for an invitation to resign. You would
have thrown your commission in the face of the Presi
dent, and said to him, " Sir, I am no longer adviser or
associate with a man who requires me to disgrace my
self and family, though he be the President of the U.
States!!" In your public character, I had a guarantee
that you would not, for the sake of your honor, salary
and emoluments, as Attorney General, sink your
character as a man, by tamely listening to such a re
quisition. No, Sir: it is impossible to believe that you
could have listened to such a requisition ; dismissed
your self respeGt; forgot your southern honor; and
humbly bowed in seeming reverence to the man who
had insulted you, until politely invited to resign !
It is impossible that you could bury such an insult,
profess to be the friend of the President, make the
speech that you did recently in Georgia, and now that
you are out of office, disclose a fact which Would seal
vour own shame. No. Sir; no such proposition was
ever made to you : vou had no cause to complain of
the President ; you eulogised mm in puunuanu pi i vaie ,
and you would have gladly acted as Attorney Gen
eral to the end of his administration, had you not
heen invited to resi&n.
But the circumstances under which the harmony
of the late Cabinet was restored, repel the mlerence.
which you will have it in your last note, that the ex
tract from vour letter to Maior Eaton, leaves open in
thp. flmhio-nnnsnpfia of its expression.; From the mo-
mem that vou denied te the President any participa
tion in the political combination to drive Major Ea
ton from the Cabinet, the usual courtesies were re
newed amono- its members without anv association
between their respective families. Major Eaton
, wnnld have, been as reluctant to receive visitors, dri
ven into his doors by the power of the president, as
they could possibly have been to submit to much ty
ranny and degradation. His house was thronged by
those who were among the most 'respectable people
of the city by the most honorable families visiting
annually" here", and by those from abroad, most dis
tinguished bv station. To the gaiety and respecta
bilitv of parties thus attended, the appearance of per
sons constrained by the authority of the Ex&utive, if
it could have been exerted ior sucn purpose, would
have added nothing. It could have served no pur
pose to have exacted such a requisition as that now
imputed, to the injury of the President. To have
forced the wife of the Secretary of War, upon that
portion of society which was unwilling to receive her,
ihave added nothing to her reputation. It is
ridiculous to impute to the failure of such a design,
the dissolution of the late Cabinet You, I think,
must know that. thia step was the result of the diversi
ty ol political views- which attached the two parties
in the Cabinet , to different divisions of the parties
which became, apparent in the dissention between
the President and Vice President. This produced,
in the then state of the Cabinet, combinations in Con
gress, calculated to defeat the most salutary measures
of the administration. In the opposition which show
ed itself with regard to the Turkish negociation the
members of the. Cabinet favourable to the new 'born
opposition, were expressly exempted in the denuncia
tions of those members of the Senate, who then came
out and disclosed, for the first time, their hostility to
the President and a part of his Cabinet That a
wish to bring Maj. Eaton and his family into society
here, had no influence in producing the dissolution
of the Cabinet, is apparent from the fact that it oper
ated to consign them and him to privacy. The
vvant of the harmony essential to the public Welfare,
however originated, was pregnant with political cf-
lects and produced this result. .
You require me to correct the errorpf my declara
tion, predicated on the information which Colonel
Johnson communicated to me, upon the ground that
I have no authority to use the evidence which estab
lishes the fact. The testimony which I have in rry
possession, under Col. Johnson's hand, satisfies me
thoroughly of the truth of the assertion I have made,
and, therefore, I will not admit it to be an error.
Your exception to the use I have made of this testi
mony, may be applicable as a censure upon my course.
But I consider that circumstances fully justify that
course, and I am only responsible to Col. Johnson for
my conduct in relation to his letter. Your objection
to the authority under Which I have acted as to Col.
Johnson's evidence, does not in the least, change the i
nature ol that evidence. It is as convincing as it
could be under full authority to use it, and probably
more so than evidence purposely prepared for the
public eye.
I You seem to think that I am bound to publish, on
my own account, t he correspondence between Ma
jor Eaton and yourself, because I have used a para
graph having exclusive reference to the President..
I do not think so. I wihhave nothing to do with the
controversy bet ween Major Eaton and yourself. You
have a right to bring that subject before the public in
any way you please, and on your own responsibility.
I will not hesitate to print it, or any part you may
choose to embody in the discussion with me.
I closed my last note to you. by an intimation that
it would conclude our correspondence. 1 did so be
cause the issue between us depended altogether upon
the verity of the statements! -had made, contradicting
assertions in the Telegraph, for which I did not know
that vou were responsible. H hen you volunteered
to question my statements, Haid before you frankly
the ground on which 1 acted; and then, in a second
letter, brought to your view the proof on which, as to
myself, I was willing to rest the issue. But as you
seem inclined to make, through me, an attack on the
President, and to use the correspondence on .which
you entered (certainly without being called for by any
thing I said, as to yourself.) as the medium of bring
ing on a general discussion of the question of the dis
solution of the late Cabinet, I shall certainly sacri
fice my inclination to wdiat you consider my duty.
My reluctance : to continue the correspondence with
you, proceeds from no want of respect to you. But
I believe , the public is sick of the subiect: is sat
isfied with the dissolution of the old Cabinet, and the
formation or the new one; and this induced the in
clination I have evinced, to spare the country the
disgust of the dissection of a subject, which it seems
willing to bury. At all events, the progress we have
made is eulncient for one lecture. It you think fit
we will resume it again. Yours,
F. P.
BLAIR.
MR. BERRIEN TO THE PUBLIC.
From the National Inttlligfinetr".
Circumstances beyond by control have placed me
under the necessity of ; presenting myself to your no
tice. I assert no claim to your attention, which does
not belong equally to every free citizen of the Repub
lic. But I ask, and I feel that I have a right to ex
pect, your candid consideration of this address. Its
object is one of awakening interest to us all. The
position in which I find myself has nothing inviting
in it. It is one which I have not sought, but which
has been forced uponi me, and one in which I am
called upon to vindicate not myself merely, but the
cause of truth, and the best and dearest interests of
the community, at a hazard to which fatuity alone
could be insensible.
The misrepresentations of a public journal profes
sing to speak the language of the President of the
United States, and published under his, eye, have
presented to me the alternative, of submitting to an
imputation, alike dishonorable and unfounded in fact,
or of meeting the issue which has been tendered to
me under the alleged authority of that high officer.
It 1 do not shrink lrom this unequal strife, it is be
cause I have n confidence which has never wavered,
in the intelligence ol my countrymen, a firm and un
shaken reliance in the justice of that tribunal, whose
high prerogative it is at all times, and under all cir
cu instances, to vindicate the cause ef truth.
j I have studiously abstained from any effort to excite
puonc ieeung, m relation to the dissolution ot the late
cabinet. I have felt that the question of its propriety
w-as one, the decision of which belonged alone to the
American people. Personally I have not been dispo
sed to deny the right of the President to exercise his
own free will, as wellin the chanere, as in the original
selection of his cabinet ; and with a perfect sense of the
uencacy oi my own Situation, I would have been; at
all times a reluctant witness in the investigation of the
causes which led to the recent events. It was not
however enough that I should submit myself to his will,
although the principle by which it was avowedly regu
lated could have no application tome; for this I have
unnesitatmgiy done. But 1 have been required si
lently to witness the entire misrepresentation of oc
currences which the public were well aware must
have come under my observation ; nay, to be' publicly
vouched as authority for that which was in con51("l
with my convictions of truth and finally to be called
to vindicate toy own claim to veracity, assailed as i it
is under the alleged authority of the President ol tne
United States, or to submit.to an imputation whien no
honorable man may bear. I mistake the character of
the American people, if they require this. I am i to
tally ignorant of myown, if, under any circumstances,
I could yield to it. If, in the face of this great com
miurity, the cause oftruth can be prostratedby thearm
Of power, at least the privilege of vindicating it, shall
not be tamely surrendered in my person. I will bow
th trip decision ofmv countrymen but whatever that
decision maybe, the high consolation of having faith
fully discharged my duty tothem,andto myself, shall
not be taken from me.
The disingenuous and unmanly suggestion of my
desire to remain in the cabinet of General Jackson,
notwithstanding the occurrences which produced ray
retirement, will be my apology for adverting briefly
to the origin of my connexion wit it, and the circum
stances which induced its continuance. .
r wwif-hout any solicitation on my part, or, so
lar as I know and believe, on the part of any of my
friends, that I was invited to accept the office of At
torney General of the United States. There were
circumstances, temporary in their nature, but still
strongly operative, which rendered it not de irable to
me. 1 felt, however, that I ivas called to decide upon
the question of my acceptance, not merely as an indi
vidual, but as a citizen, and eecially as a citizen of
Georgia. On certain principles of general policy,
some of which were particularly interesting to the
people of that State, the views communicated to mo
by the President, Were in accordance with my own :
and I felt it to be my duty, not to withhold any assis
tance which I could give to carry thera into effect.
The annunciation of the names of the intended
Cabinet seemed to me, however, to present an insu
perable bar to my acceptance of the office which was
tendered to me. I thought I foresaw clearly the evite
which have too obviously resulted from this selection.
A stranger to Gen. Jackson, I could hot with proprie
ty discuss these objections with hirn. I knew, more
over, that some of his confidential friends had faith
fully discharged their duty to him, and to the coun
try by a frank communication of them. In this state-
of thin?9. I Bono-ht thp. r.rnnspl nf rbr?p around me.
To a gentleman Ifigh in the confidence of the Presi
dent, and to a distingished citizen of ray own state
I submitted the enquiry, whether, with this view, of,
the Cabinet which the President had selected, I
could with propriety become a member of it The
former expressed his decide! conviction, founded on a
long and intimate knowledge of the President's char
acter, that lie would himsell speedily see, and correct
the evil. The j latter urged the peculiar relations'of
Georgia with the General Government, as presenting
.a strong claim upon me not to refuse the invitation
which had been given to me I yielded to these sug
gestions, and took myf place in the Cabinet, with a
firm determination to avoid the controversies which
I feared might occur. To that determination I have
steadily adhered. Associating on terms of courtesy .
with my colleagues, my official intercourse with them
was never interrupted by discord. :.-,..
If there were any combinations growing out of the
supposed conflict between the interests of Mr. Cal
houn and Mr. VaiJBuren, I had no part in them
and as little in the supposed measures of that char
acter, having jfor their object to coerce Major Eaionr
to retire frorni the Cabinet or to excludediis family '
from the Society of Washington.-. With mine they
did not associate : but no advance had been made on
either side, and their actual relation seemed therefore -
to lurnish no lust nround ol offence to either nart v.
In this posture of things, and shortly after I had given
an evening party to which Mrs. Eaton had not been
invited, I received and heard with infinite surprise the
message of Col. Johnson. ' '
I could make no mistake as to its character, for
there was a direct and repeated reference to the lare
parties, which had been recently given, by ;Messrs.
Branch and Ingham, and myself. Such a mistake,
if it had been one, would have been instantly cor
rected, froga'the nature of my veply. If the com
plaint had been of a combination to evict Majoix Ea
to?i from office, and not lo exclude his jamilyrom
society, the reference to these evening parties would
have been idle ; & my declaration that I would not ,
permit the President to control the local intercourse of
myself and family, would have been instantly met by
an explanation, which would haveremoved the impres
sion from the minds of Messrs. Branch and Ingham
and myself. Yet we all parted with CoL Johnson,
witi a clear conviction that such a proposition had
been made, and feeling as vve all did, that an indig
nity had been offered to us, there was, as I j. believe, ,
no difference of opinion between us as to the course
we ought to pursue, if this proposition should be .
avowed and pressed by the President. ' ...
This conversation took place on Wednesday eve
ning, and the rumor of our intended removal speedily
became general. On the succeeding day the per-' -
sonal friends of Gen. Jackson interposed, and he was
awakened to a sense xf the impropriety of his projec- 1
ted course. It was then, according to Col.Tohnsoh's
statement to Mr. Ingham, that the paper spoken of
by the Auditor ol the Globe was prepared. My two
colleagues had their interview with the President on ,
the succeeding day, (Friday) and as Mr. Ingham's v
statement, made from fuU notes taken at the time r
proves, no paper was shown to him o?r that oc
casion. Uwmor to a mistake m the communication. .
of the President'3 wishes to me, I did not see j him,
until the succeeding day, (Saturday) and then the
excitementof his feelings had so entirely subsided that
he seemed to me to be anxious to dispose r the sub
ject as briefly as possible. He spoke of the falsehood
of the reports against Mrs. Eaton, of which, he said -hp
had sufficient proof; and upon my declining to
discuss that question, he complained of the injustice
of excluding her from society referred to the large
parties given by Messrs. Ingham and Branch; and
myself, and told me if he could have been convinced
that there was a combination between those genitg
men and myself to exclude her from society, that he
would have required our resignations. He Immedi
ately added, that he was entirely satisfied that there
had been no such combination, and again referred to
those large parties, to the rumors to which they had
given rise, as having produced that impression. Sr
far from then suggesting that information had been
received from any member of Congress; when I claim
ed the right of having the names of any person.? Who
had made to him representations unfavorable to i my
conduct, he still referred to the thousand rumors wmcli
had reached him, as the origin of such impression
which had been made upon his mind. He showed me
no paper spoke to me 0f n0ne-mtimitated to me no
terms which he would hereafier require. By his dec
laration that he did not intend I to -press the requisition
which he had made through:Col. Johnson, I consider
ed theobject of the intcrview.to be to expkun. to rne
themoUvesunderwhichhehadacted , and to announce .
the change of his determination. He accompanied
this with exFesto iof personal kmdness,- which T
thought were intended to soothe the feelings which .
he must have been conscious of having excited. .
Still I thought it was improper for me longer to re
main in the Cabinet Admitting that sufficient atone
ment had been made for the indignity offered by the
message sent through-Col. Johnson, taere was a per
petual liability to the recurrence of similar outrage.
I believed it, therefore, to be my duty to retire. JMvr
friends thought otherwise, and my own sense of what
the interests of Georgia at that particular crisis re
quired, induced me to repress my feelings.
; When at a subsequent period, the controversy 0C-
curred between the President and Vice President, I
thought I saw in this, the evidence of all intention
again to agitate the question, which by the agency of
the personal friends of Gen. Jackson, had been before
happily repressed. The connection of Mr. Crawford
with this controversy, and my own relation to Gen.
Jackson, forbade me to take any part in iti--and I
studiously avoided all interference, except to depredate
Mr. Calhoun's publication. I left Washington on
the fourth day of April, one day after Major Eatoif
had announced to the President his determination to
resign, according to the sjtatement of his (Major
Eaton's) letter of resignation, and not the slightest
intimation was given to me of the intended, chancer
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