a meeting of some eight or ten for that purpose & after hearing it read was decidedly in favor of publishing it as it came from him without any alterations or omissions, but I was overruled by Gen'. Hamilton, Elmore & some other of the politicians who thought that there were some things in it which would give offence to the Van Buren Wing of the Democratic party & prevent their supporting Mr. C. on some future occasion & accordingly some of the truest & best passages in it were entirely left out & others modified and blunted." From-Duff Green. To-R. K. Crallé, Lynchburg, Va. Dated-Washington, March 18, 1844 [Franked by D. H. Lewis]. "I have written to Mr Calhoun that I know that you will accept the situation of Chief Clerk and urged your appt.... There are others pressing for the place-The President wishes you to get it." From-Dixon H. Lewis. Dated-House of Representatives, March 19, 1844. "Yours of the 8th reached me, & I showed it to Judge Scott of Richmond, who was one of the signers of the Calhoun Address-He says the concessions were mutual, but that Ritchie suppressed those made by him & his friends & published only the concessions of Mr. Calhoun's. It had a most fatal effect among our friends out of Virginia, by whom it was looked on as unconditional surrender." "But it is of no consequence. Everything depends upon the Texas question..... The beauty of the thing is that Providence rather than Tyler has put Calhoun at the head of this great question, to direct its force & control its fury. It is understood by letters from him that he accepts. Thus you see that instead of my going into a Department & offering you a clerkship Calhoun will do it--Green has already spoken to Tyler about it & he wants you to be the man. Of course you know Calhoun will prefer you." "It is understood the preliminaries of the Treaty have already been arranged & only awaits (sic) the special minister who is daily expected." From-Dixon H. Lewis. To-R. K. Crallé, Lynchburg, Va. Dated-House of Representatives, April 2, 1844. "You cant imagine how much Calhoun was delighted with your offer to take the place. Come & come quickly, as he needs you every hour-& every important matter is now on his hand."-Denny Coll. From-Duff Green. To-R. K. Crallé, State Department, Washington City. Dated-[City of] Mexico. October 28, 1844. "I refer you to my note to Mr. Calhoun & to Gov Shannon's dispatches for my view of the state of things here. There is but one move by which we can prevent the British gov. from getting possession of the Californias, & of Oregon. And as that will need some explanation of details, I reserve my views until I see you." He does "not wish the president to place [his] name before the Senate" until he returns, as he does "not expect to retain the office [of consul] at Galveston." From-R. K. Crallé. To-[J. C. Calhoun]. Dated-Lynchburg, May 18, 1845. "The result of our elections shows an increased strength in the Democratic Party in almost every section of the State; 1Cf. pp. 975-982 in Correspondence of John C. Calhoun, Fourth Report of the Manuscripts Commission, American Historical Association, 1900. and as yet I have met with but two or three individuals who are not decidedly favorable in their feelings towards youAlmost every influential man in the Party openly professes this; and your friends have better reasons to be satisfied with the present state of things than at any past period. Still the time must come for some action, and much depends on the manner and the moment. I have written to Hunter, and requested him to consult with others upon the subject. If we act too precipitately we shall furnish the corrupt Junta in Richmond with weapons against us; while, on the other hand, if we delay too long we shall allow them to mould public sentiment to their own purposes..... I have no doubt that when he [Ritchie] breaks ground it will be on the old topic of the Baltimore Convention, the Union of the Party &c. &c. Ought we to consent to go into a Convention? If not, ought not the matter to be discussed, without reference to individuals, in the public prints? Is not this the proper time for it, before Parties have taken position? Would it not, at least, draw from our opponents, their purposes in the future? I would like to hear your views on these points. "It is evident that everything depends upon the position Virginia shall take;-and I hazard nothing in saying that the hands of your friends would be greatly strengthened by a visit to the State. Indeed this is essential. You ought, in justice to them, to yourself, and to the cause, to visit the State during the summer-There is a stronger and more general interest felt by the people to see you than any other public man; and I venture to urge it on you as a public duty, that you visit the Springs as early in the season as possible— Your purpose to do so should be made public, as thousands would probably go to see you who might not otherwise be aware of it until too late-I could have the annunciation made here."-Denny Coll. From-Duff Green. To-R. K. Crallé, Lynchburg, Va. Dated-Washington, March 5, 1847. "Mr. Calhoun received your letter just as he was starting last night and I write at his request to say that he [will] answer it when he gets to Pendleton. "It was impossible for him to get a vote on his resolutions. He prepared an address to be signed by the representatives and senators from the southern states but it was too late to accomplish it and they adjourned without doing anything. "He left in good spirits and under a belief that the democratic members are disposed to conciliate him. But in this he was wrong-Never did they feel more hostile to him. He is, as they believe, the only obstacle to the consummation of their plans of power and patronage and hence they will wage an unrelenting war on him.-Their purpose is to drive the party into a convention and his sin is that his influence will be exerted against it. The movement in Virginia is for the purpose of intimidation and it will have its effect in your state and elsewhere. "We want a press. It will be greatly to my prejudice but I am about to publish "The Telegraph' again and will treat Mr Polk and the War with fairness & candor, and in the spirit of kindness but I will show that Ritchie and Buchanan are guilty of the war and much more. Upon them I will wage a war as bitter as that which they wage on Mr. Calhoun. "One of the most efficient means of attack on them will be a history of the Convention and of the Caucus system-in all the states. I know no man who can give the history of the Richmond Junta as well as you can and I must assign you that duty. "I am going into the matter in earnest if I find the country prepared to respond to me, and I trust that you will write to me, frequently and with candor." From-Dixon H. Lewis. To-[R. K. Crallé]. Dated-Washington, May 11, 1848. "I have received your kind letter & take up my pen merely to relieve you from any impression that there are unkind feelings between Mr Calhoun & myself-Far from it, I never admired him more, nor loved him better-I have differed with him as to the Mexican War-I think he carried his antiwar feelings, in which I fully sympathized with him as to Oregon-too far as to Mexico. I told him so before he gave the vote & tried for the first time in my life to control his course by dissuading him from giving that vote..... I don't wish to argue with him,-nor do I wish to see him misconceive as much as he does-the conduct & consequences of action of those who voted for the War-My opinion was that it ought to have been considered & treated as a war to extend the territory of the South-against those who were ripe for a severe flogging-If Mr Calhoun had have taken this course he could have controlled it & all the politicians in the Country could not have kept him from being president -I was provoked, I confess, to see him throw the game away..... He reminds me of a great general-who wins great battles & then throws his life away in a street fracasBy his self sacrificing course, particularly on the Mexican War he has lost the Presidency-& he has put himself in a position where not a friend he had out of Carolina could sustain him & live-I vowed freely but at the same time, kindly and in the language of perfect respect, my difference with him & this has been taken unkindly by some of Mr Calhoun's close friends & I fear, that even he, himself, has been so little accustomed to see his friends think & act independent of him-that he has not taken it well." From-Duff Green. To-R. K. Crallé, Lynchburg, Va. |