Newspapers / The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, … / Aug. 9, 1831, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
(QVVe Copy from Mr Berrien's Address the following letter from Col. Johnson, and his reply. The Ameri can Sentinel says, the Colonel is ex pected in Philadelphia in the course of a few days the Philadelphia IT. S. Gazette states that the Address of Mr. Berrien, and the accompanying correr-pondence, are but ;cakes and custards," as Saucho was wont to say, to what is about to appear and the Washington Telegraph adds: ''We know not what is about to appear. We presume that all, that the worst will not appear before the meeting of Congress; but we know enough to feel authorized to say, that there are facts yet behind, of much more weighty import ihdn any thing which have been given to the public. We do not believe that these will appear until after meeting of Congress. " We will endeavor to avoid surfeiting our read ers with this subject, at the same time presenting such parts of the authentic documents that may appear, as will enable them fully to comprehend it, in all its bearings. Col. R. M. Johnson to Messrs. Berrien and Ingham. Great Crossing, mhJiic, 1831. 5 Gentleman: The Telegraph lias alluded to some communi cation made to you by a mem ber of Congress, authorized by the President the substance of which is, that the President wished to coerce a social inter course between your families and Mrs. Eaton. I see the Globe denies it. I have tho't it barely possible that the allusion could be made to me, because if I had ever communicated such an idea, I should have done the most palpable, gross, and wan ton injustice to the President; for he disclaimed, on all occa sions, any right, or desire, or in tention, to regulate the private or social intercourse of his Ca binet. The President had been induced to believe that a part of bis Cabinet had entered into a deep laid scheme to drive Ma jor Eaton from his Cabinet,and of this he complained. I did not believe it, and, as the mutu al friend of all concerned, 1 pro posed that 1 should have the op portunity to converse with that portion of his Cabinet before he had an interview with them, and he acquiesced and the in terview which 1 had with you, resulted, as 1 understood, in a better understanding, and in fact I considered it a reconcili ation. Whatever cixuui from me, upon the subject of a social intercourse, was the sugges tions of my solicitude to resTore harmony among friends. My object was peace and friend ship. 1 have never considered myself at liberty to say any thing about this interview ex cept to a discreet and confiden tial friend. I should not think any of the parties justified in representing for publication in newspapers, what any of the other parties said, without sub mitting such statement for mu tual examination; for the plain reason that such conversations arc too easily misunderstood. 1 may well remember what I have said myself, but may not so easily represent what vou have said, or intended to say. I have not myself seen the ne cessity or propriety of any allu sion in newspapers, to our in terview, which was among inti mate and bosom friends, where the conversation was free and unreserved, and for the object of peace and friendship. But if any should consider it neces sary, then the great object should be, to state the conver sation correctly; for there can be no motive to misunderstand the facts. For fear that allu sion should have been made to myself, as the member of Con gress, and believing it barely possible that I may have been misunderstood on the particular point alluded to, I have felt it my duty, and due to that perfect friendship which has existed be tween us, to make known these views, that the proper correc tion may be made, as a misun derstanding without the neces- sity of any formal publication from either of us, and without even a disclosure as to what member of Congress allusion was made. Sincerely and truly your friend, Richard M. Johnson. Messrs. Ingham & Berrien. The absence of Gov. Branch has been the only cause why this letter was not also addres sed to him. Mr. Berrien to Col. Johnson. Washington, 7th July 1831. Dear Sir: Yours of the 30th ult. addressed jointly to Mr. Ingham and myself, has been duly received. I have noted your view of the occurrence to which it refers, with a perfect disposition to meet you in the spirit of frankness and of good feeling, which is expressed in your letter. It is an evidence of my reluctance to engage in controversy, that I have abstain ed from going before the pub lic, notwithstanding the multi plied misrepresentations with which the newspapers are teem ing. I still desire to avoid this necessity but as circumstan ces beyond my control may ren der it indispensable, I acquiesce with the less reluctance, in the interchange of recollections which you propose. I am to speak of what occur red at the interview which took dace between you, Messrs. Branch and Ingham, and my self, at my house. You had, as I afterwards understood, held previous conversations on the same subject with one or both of those gentlemen, but I was perfecily unprepared for the in terview, until the moment when you announced its object at my house. The impression made by your annunciation was such as not easily to be effaced from my memory. You began by expressing the friendly regard which you felt for those gentle men and myself, and by stating that this was the motive for your interference. You told us that an impression had been made upon the mind of the Pre sident that a combination exist ed between Messrs. Ingham, and Branch, and myself, to ex clude Mrs. Eaton from the so ciety of Washingtonthat he was excited by this representa tion, considering it as an at tempt to wound him through Major Eaton that the Presi dent had seen with pain the want of harmony among the members of his Cabinet that he was determined to have har mony, and that his determina tion would be announced to us in the course of the week. You i added that you had in the mean jtime sought this interview with the approbation of the Presi- jdent, Irom motives of regard for all parties. You mentioned. as circumstances which had contributed to produce this im pression on the mind of the President, that Messrs. Branch, and Ingham, and myself, had successively given large parties to which Mrs. E. had not been invited and while you disclai med any disposition on his part to require an intimacy between our families and that of Major Eaton, you added, that he would in future expect that at least on such occasions as that to which you had referred, (that is to say, when large or general parlies were' given,) that Mrs. E. should be invited. I replied to you that not having been previously advised of the intention to hold this interview having had no conference with the other gentlemen, I must be considered solely re sponsible for what I was about to say. I then observed that I would not permit the President or any other man to regulate the social intercourse of myself or family and that if such a requi sition was persevered in, I would retire from office. You expressed your regret at the terms of this answer and I re marked that it was indifferent to me in what terms it was con veyed, provided the substance was retained but that from this I would not depart, I under stood you to disclaim any inten tion on the part of the Presi dent to require an intimate in tercourse between the families of .Messrs. Branch, and Ing ham, and myself, and that of Major Eaton, but to express with equal clearness his expec tation that when we gave large or general parties Mrs. E. should be invited and it was my purpose to deny altogether his right to interfere in this matter. The replies of the other gentlemen were, accord ing to my recollection, substan tially the same but I shall en close copies of your letter to them, and leave them to speak for themselves. The impression which this conversation made upon my mind is clear and distinct; and it is not probable that it could have been effaced from my me mory. My own disposition was instantly to resign my of fice. Iti consenting to retain it, I yielded to the opinions of those in whose judgment I had confidence, and to my sense of what was due to the interests of Georgia, at that particular junc ture. My remembrance of this con versation is moreover confirmed by a recollection of what oc curred on my subsequent inter view with the President, in which a particular reference was made to it. When he spoke of acombinaiion between Messrs. Ingham and Branch, and my self, to exclude Mrs. E. from society, I claimed, as matter of right, to know the names of the persons by whom such a representation had been made. He sai(J the impression had been derived from the various rumors which had reached him; spoke of the parties which had been given by those gentlemen and myself, to which Mrs. E. had not been invited and add ed that the reports against her were foul calumCnies. I remon strated against his having adop ted an opinion dishonorable to any member of his Cabinet on mere rumor, but expressly de clined to discuss the question of the truth or falsehood of the reports to which he had refer redtelling him, that, without undertaking to decide whether they were true or false, it was my purpose merely to conform to the general sense of the com munity of which I had become a member; and that I could not be induced to change that de termination. The decision of the I resident not to pursue this matter further, I understood at the time to have been produced by the representations of some o his most intimate and person al triends. Such is my understanding of the conversation referred to in your letter. I look to it as the origin and continuing cause of the distraction of the party, which has thus lost the means of doing much good which it might have effected. But I am not desirous to bruit it to the world. If, without imputing to me the alleged want of harmony in the Cabinet, my retirement is placed on the ground of the President's mere will, so far as 1 am concerned, it is well. I do not dispute his right to ex ercise that as he thinks fit; but for the sake of my children, I will not submit to the continued misrepresentations of the nub- lie journals. The best legacy 1 have to bequeath them is the untarnished reputation of their father. I can easily conceive, also, that a state of things may exist, in which a sense of duty to the public will compel me to speak. But 1 hope such an emergency will not arise. 1 ought perhaps to add, tnat I have already stated to Major Eaton the substance of this, so far as it was necessary tu an swer a call which he made up on me to avow or disavow the statement in the Telegraph, that my family had refused to associate with his. It was not necessary, however, to mention your name, and it was conse quently not mentioned. I spoke of the interview as having been had with "a gentleman who re presented himself as acting, and who I doubt not did act under the authority of the President." Having now replied to your let ter, I will only add, that, should our recollections differ, I shall regret it. But that I have tak en great care not to put down any thing which is not distinct ly impressed upon mine. 1 am, dear Sir, respectfully, yours, John MAcniEiisoN Berrien. Hon. It. M. Johnson. TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1831. ELECTION RETURNS. Beaufort County William S. Rowland, Senate. Richard H. Ben ner and David C. F mons. State of the Poll: Rowland 591, Latham 199 Bonner 737, freeman 733, Satterihwaite 652. Congress, Hall 846, Lloyd 438. Currituck Jonathan "Lindsay, S. John B. Jones and Benjamin Sim mons, C. Congress, Wm. B. Shep herd 54S, John H. Wheeler 014 ArA Willis W. Boddie, & Jo- sepn ttrrington and Ueo. Boddie, C Franklin -Wm. P. Williams, A Gideon Glenn and James Davis, C. Warren John II. Hawkins, S. John Brags and Thos. J. Judkins, C Granville William M. Sneed, S. Spencer O'Brien and James Wyche C. State of the Poll: O'Brien 722, yche 70S, John C. Ridley 700, Parker F. Stone 160. New members. iiumors. The Norfolk Herald, of rnoay ast, says: "The rumor goes tint Mn:T. i ii ... " aji j.aion cnancnged Mr. Ber rien on Monday week." CTThe Washington Telegraph contains another letter from the Hon. J. D- Ingham to the President of the U. states, whicii occupies seven col umns of that paper. It is in reply to ihe letter of the Pra.i,ui. 1:L v-w fc o unvaic secretary , and some strictures of the Wobe on Mr. Ingham's conduct, &c. 1 he last Aup-usta C nnstitlltinnnl.'.l states that Mr. Crawford's "final re ply to Mr. Calhoun may be expected n,?Zday- IlwiU ar in the . ! Pistareens Tho tJo..,l stale, (by an officer of one of thM in that place,) that one sor 0r reens, (that with a head on on ?-?a' is worth fully '20'cenu, while ,h!,dy er sort, which is most fm.. LQ" us, is worth only about 16 cenV' ' Horrible. The Edenton P says: "We learn that a man hTt name of Ccmbs, has been corner to jail in Windsor, Bcnie Co e charged with having murdered f wife and child by beating and dro ing them. Some of the pariicu? have come to our knowleiW l . ars knowledge. h' this unnatural and unfeeling Wrct i will shortly be arraigned before bar of his country to answer t0 charge, we forbear mentioning ik The Duplin Murder A pondent of the Newbern Sent 111 hnnnnnn i corres. ioel suspected ot the murder or t T 1 I . - 4 noyie, nas ueen sausiactorily esl l lished and that Moses Hmdl young man who was the immedi nt:iiiuJi ui uic ueceaseu, has bee committed to Kenansville jail, to staM preaching term of the Superior Court. Siocco Springs. We flnc ,ief . lowing description of the attractions of this celebrated walericg-place ic the Raleigh Register, given 9P tract of a letter from a gentleman fa icu oiiuccu oprmgs, July 4th, l friend in that city: "I really was sadlv din. pointed and truly sorry to h?. you could not meet me here at the time you promised. I came 1 1 t 1 1 ana nave ueen here nearly ever sinee, enjoying myself as up!! as ever man did. You can form no idea how much pleasure we see; the visitors here, comprize ladies of wealth, accompW. ments and beauty, families of standing, and young gentlemen of intelligence and humor. I must not forget, while I think of it, to tell you that our old friend is here again in all hisglo- ry. His freaks of conversation, his pungent repartee, and forci ble remarks, and then his gal lant demeanor, render him an indispensable or sort of "sine qua non" to the Common wealth of Shocco Springs, as a Virginia Monthly Court Lawyer would tell you. Beauty, yon know, will render any place in teresting beauty, which, a? Johnson says, lias overpowered the resolutions of the firm, and the reasonings of the wise, rou sed the old to sensibility, and subdued the rigorous to soft ness. This same sort of beau ty has been too plentiful at Shocco this summer for me. It has dethroned all my reason, and paralized all its attributes by its irresistible form. But still time passes pleasanly,a you must come out to enjoy some of our walks, with the ladies, to the Springs and in the grove, join us in a cotillion or mingle in social chat, hear good music on the Piano and now and then take a glass of Mrs. Johnson's exquisite icecream, before I go dovvn.to the sandy roads, marshy grounds and frog ponds of Your friend and serv't. Appointments by the Ph' dent. Louis MeLaue, of D aware, to be Secretary ofie Treasury of the U. States. Martin Van Buren, of Neff York, to be Minister Plemp tentiary and Envoy Extraordi nary of the United States, to the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Ahnpr Vnil rf Wmv-York, tO be Secretary of Legation to the TT t rr. 1 rr.. Rrl- united ivmgaom or ureui -tain and Ireland, in the placed Washington Irving, Esq. 0 has signified his wish to retire Robert B. Gilchrist, l the United States for the Dis trict of South-Carolina, m the i1Vi iictvucra nnpp talor says: Vc are requested lo place of Edw. Frost, resign6
The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 9, 1831, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75