POLITICAL DISPUTATIONS.
BALDWIN--A YANKEE'S POLITICAL STABILITY--THE YAZOO QUESTION--PARTY
FEUDS AND FIGHTS--DEAF AND DUMB MINISTERS--CLAY--JACKSON--BUCHANAN--
CALHOUN--COTTON AND FREE-TRADE--THE CLAY AND RANDOLPH DUEL.
Among the early immigrants into Georgia were Abraham Baldwin and
William H. Crawford. Baldwin was from Connecticut, Crawford from
Virginia. Baldwin was a man of liberal education, and was destined for
the ministry; indeed, he had taken orders, and was an officiating
clergyman for some time in his native state. His family was English,
and has given many distinguished men to the nation. After he arrived
in Georgia, where he came to engage in his vocation, he very soon
ascertained his profession was not one which in a new country promised
much profit or distinction; and possessing in an eminent degree that
Yankee "_cuteness_" which is quick to discover what is to the interest
of its possessor, he abandoned the pulpit for the forum, and after a
brief probation in a law office at nights and a school-house by day,
he opened an office, and commenced the practice of law in Augusta. He
had been educated a Federalist in politics, and had not concealed his
sentiments in his new home.
Mr. Jefferson and his political principles were extremely popular in
Georgia, and though there were some distinguished Federalists in
Augusta who were leaders in her society, their number in the State was
too insignificant to hold out any prospect of preferment to a young,
talented, and ambitious aspirant for political distinction. Baldwin
was not slow to discover this, and, with the facile nature of his
race, abandoned his political creed, as he had his professional
pursuits. He saw Crawford was rising into public notice, and he knew
his ability, and with characteristic impudence he thrust himself
forward, and very soon was made a member of Congress. Here he was true
to his last love, and became a leading member of the Republican party.
By his conduct in this matter he made himself odious to his New
England friends, who were unsparing of their abuse because of his
treachery.
For this he cared very little; but bore well in mind that "the blood
of the martyrs was the seed of the church," and that the hate of the
Federalists was the passport to Republican favor. His zeal was that of
the new convert, and it won for him the confidence of his party, and
rapid preferment in the line of distinction. He was a man of decided
abilities, and seemed destined to high distinction; but dying early, a
member of the United States Senate, his hopes and aspirations here
terminated. The State has honored and perpetuated his name by giving
it to the county wherein is situated her seat of government.
Crawford, like Baldwin, taught, and studied law at the same time. He
was usher in a school taught by his life-long friend, Judge Yates.
When admitted to practise law, he located in the little village of
Lexington, in the County of Oglethorpe, and very soon was not only the
leading lawyer, but the leading man of all the up-country of Georgia.
Eminence is always envied: this was conspicuously the fortune of
Crawford. The population of the State was increasing rapidly, and
young aspirants for fame and fortune were crowding to where these were
promised most speedily.
The Yazoo question had created deep animosities. General Elijah
Clarke, and his son John, subsequently governor of the State, were
charged with complicity in this great fraud. The father had
distinguished himself in repelling the Indians in their various forays
upon the frontiers, and was a representative man. With strong will and
distinguished courage, he, without much talent, was conspicuous among
a people who were, like himself, rude, unlettered, but daring, and
abounding in strong common-sense.
There was a young man at the same time, a devoted friend of young
Clarke, and follower of his father: he was an emigrant from one of the
Middle States. Violent in his character, and incautious in the use of
language, he very soon became offensive to his opponents, and sought
every opportunity to increase the bad feeling with which he was
regarded. Siding with the Yazoo Company, he soon made himself odious
to their enemies. The parties of Republicans and Federalists were
bitter toward each other, and feuds were leading to fights, and some
of these of most deadly character. The conflicts with the Indians had
kept alive the warlike spirit which the partisan warfare of the
Revolution had cultivated at the South, and no virtue was so
especially regarded by these people as that of personal courage. The
consequence was that no man, whatever his deportment or
qualifications, could long fill the public eye without distinguishing
himself for the possession of personal bravery.
The Clarkes were the undisputed leaders of public opinion in the
up-country, until Crawford came, and, by his great abilities and
remarkable frankness of manner, won away to his support, and to the
support of his opinions, a large majority of the people. This was not
to be borne; and young Van Allen was willingly thrust forward to test
the courage of Crawford. Duelling was the honorable method of settling
all difficulties between gentlemen, and Crawford was to be forced into
a duel. If he refused to fight, he was ruined. This, however, he did
not do; and Van Allen was slain in the affair.
This but whetted the rage of the Clarkes, and John Clarke was not long
in finding an excuse to call to the field his hated foe. In this duel
Crawford was shot through the left wrist, which partially disabled
that arm for life. But this did not heal the animosity; its rancor
became contagious, and involved the people of the State almost to a
man; nor did it end until both Clarke and Crawford were in the grave.
The history and consequences of this feud, and the two factions which
grew out of it, would be the history of Georgia for more than forty
years. Each had an army of followers; and all the talent of the State
was divided between and leading these factions. There were many young
men of decided talent rising into distinction in the professions, who
were of necessity absorbed by these factions, and whose whole
subsequent career was tainted with the ignoble prejudices arising out
of this association. Among the most prominent and talented of these
was John Forsyth, Peter Early, George M. Troup, the man _sans peur,
sans reproche_, Thomas W. Cobb, Stephen Upson, Duncan G. Campbell, the
brother-in-law of Clarke, and personally and politically his friend,
and who, from the purity of his character and elevated bearing, was
respected, trusted, and beloved by all who knew him; Freeman Walker,
John M. Dooly, Augustus Clayton, Stephen W. Harris, and Eli S.
Sherter, perhaps mentally equal to any son of Georgia.
With the exception of Upson and Troup, these were all natives of the
State. Upson was from Connecticut, and was the son of a button-maker
at Watertown, in that State. He was a thorough Yankee in all the
qualities of perseverance, making and saving money. He was a pure man,
stern and talented; and as a lawyer, was scarcely equalled in the
State. He and Cobb were students, and _protégés_ of Crawford, and both
signalized their whole lives by a devotion, amounting almost to
fanaticism, to Mr. Crawford and his fortunes.
George Michael Troup was born at McIntosh's Bluff, on the Tombigbee
River, in the State of Alabama. His father was an Englishman, who,
during the Revolution, removed to the place since called McIntosh's
Bluff. Mr. Crawford soon became prominent as a politician, and
adopting the party and principles of Jefferson, was transferred in
early life to the councils of the nation. In the United States Senate
he was the compeer of Felix Grundy, John C. Calhoun, Harrison Gray
Otis, Rufus King, Daniel D. Tompkins, William B. Giles, Henry Clay,
and many others of less distinction; and was the especial friend of
those remarkable men, Nathaniel Macon and John Randolph.
At this period, there was an array of talent in Congress never
equalled before or since. The aggressions of English cruisers upon our
commerce, and the impressing of our seamen into the English service,
had aroused the whole nation, and especially the South; and the fiery
talent of this section was called by the people, breathing war, into
the national councils.
Crawford was in the Senate from Georgia, and was a war-man. John
Forsyth, John C. Calhoun, David R. Williams, George M. Troup, John
Randolph, Philip Doddridge, James Barbour, Henry Clay, and William
Lomax from South Carolina, were all comparatively young men.
Lowndes, Calhoun, Clay, and Troup were little more than thirty years
of age, and yet they became prominent leaders of their party,
exercising a controlling influence over the public mind, and shaping
the policy of the Government. Crawford was the Mentor of this ardent
band of lofty spirits--stimulating and checking, as occasion might
require, the energies and actions of his young compeers. So
conspicuous was he for talent, wisdom, and statesmanship, that he was
proposed by the Republican party as a proper person to succeed Mr.
Madison; and nothing prevented his receiving the nomination of that
party but his refusal to oppose Mr. Monroe. His magnanimity was his
misfortune. Had he been nominated, he would have been elected without
opposition. The golden opportunity returned no more. He had succeeded
Chancellor Livingston as minister to France, and of these two, Napoleon
said "the United States had sent him two plenipotentiaries--the first
was deaf, the latter dumb." Livingston was quite deaf, and Crawford
could not speak French. At the court of Versailles, he served
faithfully and efficiently the interests of his country, and returned
with increased popularity. He filled, under Mr. Monroe, the office of
Secretary of War for a short time, and then was transferred to the
Secretaryship of the Treasury.
In the Cabinet of Mr. Monroe there were three aspirants for the
Presidency: Adams, Crawford, and Calhoun. Between Crawford and Calhoun
a feud arose, which was mainly the cause of Mr. Calhoun's name being
withdrawn as a candidate, and the substitution of that of General
Jackson. Crawford was one of the three highest returned to the House,
and from whom a choice was to be made.
Some twelve months anterior to the election he was stricken with
paralysis; and both body and mind so much affected that his friends
felt that it would be improper to elect him. Nevertheless he continued
a candidate until Mr. Adams was chosen.
Mr. Clay had been voted for as a fourth candidate, but not receiving
electoral votes enough, failed to be returned to the House. Being at
the time a member of the House of Representatives, it was supposed he
held the control of the Western vote; and consequently the power to
elect whom he pleased. Mr. Clay was a great admirer of Mr. Crawford,
though their intimacy had been somewhat interrupted by a personal
difficulty between Mr. Randolph and Mr. Clay. Mr. Randolph being an
especial friend and constant visitor at Mr. Crawford's, it would have
been unpleasant to both parties to meet at his house.
Only a few years anterior to Mr. Clay's death, and when he was
visiting New Orleans, the writer had frequent interviews with him, and
learned that he preferred Mr. Crawford to either Adams or Jackson; and
was only prevented voting for him by the prostration and hopeless
condition of his health.
The political friends of Mr. Clay from the West knew of this
preference, and would have acted with him, only upon condition that
Mr. Crawford should make him a member of his Cabinet. This was
communicated to Mr. Clay, who assigned his reasons for declining to
vote for Mr. Crawford, and avowed his intention of giving his vote for
Mr. Adams. Upon this announcement, it was urged upon Mr. Clay that Mr.
Adams was uncommitted upon the policy which he had inaugurated as the
American System; that he stood pledged to the country for its success;
and that, without some pledge from Mr. Adams upon this point, he would
be hazarding too much to give him his support--for this would
certainly make him President. Mr. Clay's reply was:
"I shall, as a matter of necessity, give my vote for Mr. Adams: Mr.
Crawford's health puts him out of the question, and we are compelled
to choose between Adams and Jackson. My opinion with regard to General
Jackson is before the nation, it remains unaltered. I can never give a
vote for any man for so responsible a position whose only claim is
military fame. Jackson's violent temper and unscrupulous character,
independent of his want of experience in statesmanship, would prevent
my voting for him. I shall exact no pledge from Mr. Adams, but shall
vote for him, and hold myself at liberty to support or oppose his
administration, as it shall meet my approval or disapproval."
Mr. Adams was elected; and the friends of Mr. Clay insisted that he
should accept the position of Secretary of State in the new Cabinet,
which was tendered him by Mr. Adams. Mr. Clay thought it indelicate to
do so. Whether true or not, the nation awarded to him the making of
Mr. Adams President.
General Jackson had received a larger vote in the electoral colleges
than Adams, and his friends urged this as a reason that he was more
acceptable to the nation, and the voting for Adams on the part of Clay
and his friends was a palpable disregard of the popular will; and that
Clay had violated all his antecedents, and had thus deserted the
principles of the Republican party.
The friends of Mr. Crawford were silent until the organization of the
new Cabinet. There had been a breach of amicable relations between
Crawford and Jackson for some years, and of consequence between their
party friends; and it was supposed from this cause that Mr. Crawford
would unite in the support of the Administration; and when it was
known that Clay had accepted the premiership, this was deemed certain,
from the friendship long existing between Clay and himself. The
terrible paralysis which had prostrated Mr. Crawford extended to his
mind, and he had ceased to hold the influence with his friends as
controller, and had become the instrument in their hands.
General Jackson received a hint that it would be well to have healed
the breach between himself and Crawford. This it was supposed came
from Forsyth, and it is further believed this was prompted by Van
Buren. It may or may not have been so: Mr. Jackson's acuteness rarely
required hints from any one to stimulate or prompt to action its
suggestions. All Washington City was astounded, one Sunday morning, at
seeing the carriage of Jackson pull up at the residence of Mr.
Crawford; for their quarrel was known to every one, and it was
heralded through the newspapers that a reconciliation had taken place
between these great men. The interview was a protracted one: what
occurred can only be known by subsequent developments in the political
world.
Van Buren had supported Crawford to the last extremity, and was
greatly respected by him. His intense acuteness scented the prey afar
off. Mr. Calhoun had been elected by the electoral colleges
Vice-President, and this position, it was thought, notwithstanding his
devotion to Jackson, would identify him with the Administration. He
was young, talented, extremely popular, ambitious, and aspiring, and
it was the opinion of all that he would urge his claims to the
succession.
The indignation which burst from the Southern and Middle States, and
from many of the Western, at Mr. Clay's course, and the great
unpopularity of the name of Adams, was an assurance that without great
changes in public opinion Mr. Adams' administration would be confined
to one term. Mr. Crawford was out of the question for all time, and it
was apparent the contest was to be between Calhoun, Clay, and Jackson.
They had all belonged to the Jeffersonian school of politics--had
grown upon the nation's confidence rapidly through their support of
and conducting the war to its glorious termination. But this party was
now completely disrupted; and from its elements new parties were to be
formed. It only survived the dissolution of the Federal party a short
time, and, for the want of opposition from without, discord and
dissolution had followed. The political world was completely
chaotic--new interests had arisen. The war had forced New England to
manufacturing; it had established the policy of home production, and
home protection; the agricultural interest of the West was connected
with the manufacturing interest of the North, and was to be her
consumer; but the planting interest of the South was deemed
antagonistic to them. Her great staple, forming almost the sole basis
of the foreign commerce of the country, demanded, if not free trade,
an exceedingly liberal policy toward those abroad who were her
purchasers.
The war had given a new impetus to trade, new channels had been
opened, the manufacture of cotton in England had become a source of
wealth to the nation, and was rapidly increasing. America was her
source of supply, and was the great consumer of her fabrics, and this
fact was stimulating the growth of cotton into an activity which
indicated its becoming the leading interest of the South, if not of
the nation. The course of trade made it the great competitor of home
manufactures: this would seem unnatural, but it was true--the one
demanding protection, the other free trade. The source of supply of
the raw material to both was the same, and America the great consumer
for both. Protection secured the home market to the home manufacturer,
compelling the consumer to pay more, and sell for less, by excluding
the foreign manufacturer from the market, or imposing such burdens, by
way of duties, as to compel him to sell at higher prices than would be
a just profit on his labor and skill under the operation of free
trade, and which should exempt from his competition the home
manufacturer in the American market.
All these facts were within the purview of the sagacious politicians
of the day; and were evidently the elements of new parties. Mr. Clay
had already given shape to his future policy, and had identified the
new Administration with it. It was certain the South with great
unanimity would be in opposition, and the sagacity of Van Buren
discovered the necessity of uniting the friends of Jackson and
Crawford. Should he, after feeling the political pulse of his own
people, conclude to unite with the opposition, such a union would
destroy Mr. Clay in the South, but might greatly strengthen Mr.
Calhoun; his destruction, however, must be left to the future. He was
not long in determining. The reconciliation of Crawford and-Jackson
made the union of their friends no very difficult matter. Mr.
Randolph, Mr. Macon, Mr. Forsyth, and Mr. Cobb had expressed
themselves greatly gratified at this restoration of amity; and at an
informal meeting of their friends, Randolph said, in allusion to this
adjustment:
"I have no longer a fear that the seat first graced by Virginia's
chosen sons will ever be disgraced by a renegade child of hers."
Soon after the inauguration of Mr. Adams, and the adjournment of
Congress, the nation was startled with the charge of corruption in the
election of Mr. Adams. At first this was vague rumor. Mr. Clay was
charged by the press throughout the country with bargaining with the
friends of Adams, to cast his vote, and carry his influence to his
support, upon the condition of his (Clay's) appointment to the
premiership in the Administration, should Adams be elected.
There was no responsible name for this charge; but at the ensuing
session of Congress, a member from Pennsylvania, George Creemer,
uttered from his seat the charge in direct terms. This seemed to give
assurance of the truth of this damaging accusation. There was no
public denial from Mr. Clay. The press in his support had from the
first treated the story as too ridiculous to be noticed other than by
a flat denial; but the circumstances were sufficiently plausible to
predicate such a slander, and the effect upon Mr. Clay was beginning
to be felt seriously by his friends. In the mean time, rumors reached
the popular ear that the proofs of its veracity were in the hands of
General Jackson, whose popularity was running through the country with
the warmth and rapidity of a fire upon the prairies.
There was now a responsible sponsor, and Mr. Clay at once addressed a
note to Creemer, demanding his authority for the charge. This was
answered, and General Jackson's was the name given, as his authority.
Mr. Clay sent his friend, General Leslie Combs, with a note to
Jackson, with a copy of Creemer's communication. Combs was a weak,
vain man, and so full of the importance of his mission that he made no
secret of his object in visiting Jackson at the Hermitage; and it was
soon running through the country in the party press, each retailing
the story as he had heard it, or as his imagination and party bias
desired it. It was soon current that Mr. Clay had challenged General
Jackson, and a duel was soon to occur between these distinguished men.
General Jackson, however, gave as his author, James Buchanan, of
Pennsylvania. In turn, Mr. Buchanan was called upon by Clay, but he
denied ever having made any such communication to General Jackson; at
the same time, making certain statements under the seal of secrecy to
Mr. Letcher, Clay's friend. What these revelations were will never be
known: death has set his seal on all who knew them; and no revelation
disclosed them in time. Long after this interview between Letcher and
Buchanan, the former called on the latter, and asked to be relieved
from this imputation, and for permission to give to the public these
statements; but Mr. Buchanan peremptorily refused. Mr. Letcher
insisted that they were important to the reputation of more than Mr.
Clay: still Buchanan refused; and to this day the question of veracity
remains unsettled between Jackson and Buchanan. The public have,
however, long since declared that General Jackson was too brave a man
to lie.
Toward the close of Mr. Clay's life, one Carter Beverly, of Virginia,
wrote Mr. Clay some account of the part he himself had taken in the
concoction of this slander, craving his forgiveness. This letter was
received by Mr. Clay while a visitor at the home of the writer, and
read to him: it dissipated all doubts upon the mind of Mr. Clay, if
any remained, of the fact of the whole story being the concoction of
Buchanan. Creemer was a colleague of Buchanan, and was a credulous
Pennsylvanian, of Dutch descent; honest enough, but without brains,
and only too willing to be the instrument of his colleague in any
dirty work which would subserve his purposes.
Beverly was one of those silly but presumptuous personages who thrust
themselves upon the society of men occupying high positions, and feel
their importance only in that reflected by this association; and ever
too fond of being made the medium of slanderous reports, reflecting
upon those whose self-respect and superior dignity has frowned them
from their presence. Creemer died without divulging anything; probably
under the influence of Buchanan, and it is not improbable he was in
ignorance of the origin of the slander. Beverly knew of its utter
falsity, and was as guilty as the originator, and his conscience smote
him too sorely to permit him to go to the grave without atonement, and
consequently he made a clean breast of it to Mr. Clay.
Mr. Clay and Mr. Buchanan entered public life about the same time,
when they were both young and full of zeal. They belonged to the same
political party, and became warmly attached. They were, however, men
of very different temperaments. The professions of Mr. Clay were
always sincere, his love of truth was a most prominent feature in his
nature, and his attachments were never dissimulations: to no other
person of his early political friends was he more sincerely attached
than to Buchanan--he was his confidential friend; he was never on any
subject reserved to him; and so deep was this feeling with him that he
had called a son after his friend--the late James Buchanan Clay. When
he learned that all his confidences had been misplaced, and that the
man whom he so loved had sought to rob him of his good name, he was
wounded to the heart. He struggled to believe Buchanan was wronged by
General Jackson; but one fact after another was developed--he could
not doubt--all pointing the same way; and finally came this letter of
Beverly's, when he was old, and when his heart was crushed by the loss
of his son Henry at Buena Vista, of which event he had only heard the
day before: he doubted no more. I shall ever remember the expression
of that noble countenance as, turning to me, he said: "Read that!"
Rising from his seat, he went to the garden, where, under a large
live-oak, I found him an hour after, deeply depressed. It was sorrow,
not anger, that weighed upon him. In reply to a remark from me, he
said:
"How few men have I found true under all trials! Who has a friend on
whom he can rely, and who will not, to gratify his own ambition,
sacrifice him? I was deeply attached to Buchanan; I thought him my
friend, and trusted him as such--through long years our intimacy
continued. You see how unwisely this attachment was indulged; I have
misplaced my confidence; I am willing to disbelieve this statement of
Beverly; he is known to you; I believe he is a miserable creature, but
his testimony is but a link in the chain of evidences I have of
Buchanan's being the author of this infamous story. It was artfully
concocted and maliciously circulated. He was too shrewd to commit
himself, and employed this creature to go to Jackson, who lent a
willing ear to it; and he communicated it to Creemer. Yet it was
settled upon him by Jackson. Beverly told Jackson he was sent by
Buchanan, and now the world has the story denied by Buchanan, and I
have it confessed by Beverly. All the mischief it could do, it has
done; and this death-bed repentance and confession must command my
forgiveness of poor old Beverly.
"I was not unaware of the hazards of accepting office under Mr. Adams,
and yielded my judgment to gratify my friends. I was deeply solicitous
of rendering the country independent: our population was increasing; I
was sure large immigration would add to the natural increase; and I
felt it was the true policy of the Government to commence the
manufacture of all articles necessary to its population, and
especially the articles of prime necessity, iron and clothing. We had
the minerals, the coal, and the cotton; and the sad experience of the
recent war warned us to prepare against the same consequences should
we unfortunately be again in a similar condition. I was satisfied that
this policy would meet powerful opposition by those who supposed their
interests affected by protection; and I knew, to build up the
manufactures at home, they must be protected against foreign
competition--at least for a time. Once capital was abundant and
largely invested in manufacturing, with an abundance of educated
skill, this protection could be withdrawn; as home protection would
not prevent home competition, and high prices would stimulate this
competition to the point of producing more than was necessary for home
consumption; which would force the manufacturer to find a market
abroad for his surplus; this would bring him into competition with the
European manufacturer, and he would be compelled to be content with
the prices he could obtain under this competition; this would
necessarily, by degrees, reduce prices at home, and finally obviate
the necessity of protection. Already this has come to pass. The good
of the country I thought demanded this; and for this I exerted all my
powers and all my influence; never for a moment doubting but that in
time and from results the whole people would approve the policy. Nor
did I ever anticipate any political result to my own interest. I have
never thought of self, in any great measure of policy I may have
advocated. I have looked to final results in benefits to the country
alone, with a hope that my name should not be a disgrace to my
children, who should witness the working and the effect of measures
connected with my public life. With an honest purpose, I feared no
consequences; and desiring, above temporary popularity, the good of
the country, I assumed all the hazards and consequences which my
enemies could torture out of the act of accepting office under Mr.
Adams. I have never regretted it, and have lived to see the slanderers
of my fame rebuked by the whole country.
"This terrible Mexican war now raging, I fear, is to result in
consequences disastrous to our Government. That we shall drive Mexico
to the wall there cannot be a doubt. We will avail ourselves of the
conqueror's right in demanding indemnity for the expenses of the war.
She has nothing to pay with, but territory. We shall dispossess her of
at least a third, perhaps the half of her domain; this will open the
question of slavery again, and how it is to be settled God only knows.
For myself, I see no peaceful solution of the question. The North and
the South are equally fanatical upon the subject, and the difficulties
of adjustment augmenting every day. You will agree with me that the
institution violates the sentiment of the civilized world. It is
unnatural, and must yield to the united hostility of the world. But
what is to be done with the negro? You cannot make a citizen of him,
and clothe him with political power. This would lead rapidly to a war
of races; and of consequence to the extinction of the negro. He will
not labor without compulsion; and very soon the country would be
filled with brigands; the penitentiaries would not hold the convicts;
and the public security would ultimately demand that they should be
sent from the country.
"To remove such a number, even to the West Indies, would involve an
expense beyond the resources of the Government; to force them into
Mexico would make her a more dangerous and disagreeable neighbor than
she is; besides, this would only be postponing the evil, for I
apprehend we shall want to annex all of Mexico before many years. As I
remarked, I can see no peaceful solution of this great social evil;
but fear it is fraught with fatal consequences to our Government."
John Randolph, soon after the election of Mr. Adams, was sent to the
United States Senate by Virginia. His enmity to Mr. Clay had received
a new whetting through the events of the year or two just past; and
the natural acerbity of his nature was soured into bitter malignity.
He believed every word of the story of Creemer, and harped upon it
with the pertinacity of the Venetian upon the daughter of Shylock. He
was scarcely ever upon the floor that some offensive allusion was not
made to this subject. It was immaterial to him what the subject-matter
was under discussion: he found a means to have a throw at the
Administration, and of consequence, at Clay; and bargain and
corruption slid from his tongue with the concentration of venom of the
rattlesnake. The very thought of Clay seemed to inspire his genius for
vituperation; his eye would gleam, his meagre and attenuated form
would writhe and contort as if under the enchantment of a demon; his
long, bony fingers would be extended, as if pointing at an imaginary
Clay, air-drawn as the dagger of Macbeth, as he would writhe the
muscles of his beardless, sallow, and wrinkled face, pouring out the
gall of his soul upon his hated enemy. It was in one of these
hallucinations that he uttered the following morsel of bitterness, in
allusion to the story of bargain and corruption: "This, until now,
unheard-of combination of the black-leg with the Puritan; this union
of Luck George with Blifell," (an allusion from Fielding's novel of
"Tom Jones.") Language could not have been made more offensive. But
the fruitful imagination of Randolph was not exhausted, and he
proceeded with denunciation which spared not the venerable mother of
Mr. Clay, then living--denouncing her for bringing into the world
"this being, so brilliant, yet so corrupt, which, like a rotten
mackerel by moonlight, shined and stunk."
This drew from Mr. Clay a challenge, and a meeting was the
consequence. There was no injury sustained by either party in this
conflict, the full particulars of which may be found in Benton's
"Thirty Years in the Senate;" and I have Mr. Clay's authority for
saying that this account is strictly correct.
In General Jackson's letter to Carter Beverly, he states that Buchanan
came to him and stated that the friends of Mr. Adams had made overtures
to Mr. Clay, to the effect that, if Mr. Clay would with his friends
support Mr. Adams, and he should be elected, then he would appoint
Clay to the position of Secretary of State; and that Buchanan
recommended Jackson to intrigue against this intrigue.
Buchanan denied the statement _in toto_. Beverly wrote a letter, in
1841, admitting the falsehood of a former letter of his; and again,
another to Mr. Clay, in 1844 or 1845, asking Clay's forgiveness for
the part he had acted in the matter.