Washington, D. C., May 17, 1844.
Dear Thomas, Your
favour from Savannah was duly received yesterday and I feel greatly obliged to
you for it. I was not unapprised of the movements of the Locos at home upon the
new issue got up by Captain Tyler, nor was I at all surprised at it, as
I remarked in the House. So soon as the late tariff bill “humbug” was disposed
of I had no doubt as a party, like most men when publicly condemned in the last
court, they would in mass cut out for Texas! And so it seems what I predicted
as a result has come to pass. But it will avail them nothing. Mr. Tyler may
consider that the people of this country are as much lost to all sense of
national honor as he is of personal, and that they place no higher estimation
upon good faith than he does, but he will find himself mistaken and will be
brought to see that they do not look upon breach of faith, meanness and perfidy
in the same light that he does. I wish I had time to write you a full letter
upon this subject but I have not. Suffice it to say that the whole annexation
project is a miserable political humbug got up as a ruse to divide and distract
the Whig party at the South, or peradventure with even an ulterior view — that
is the dissolution of the present Confederacy. That is not yet quite free from
disguise but I only believe it lies near Mr. Calhoun's heart. And as for Tyler,
he would willingly destroy a country which he has [word illegible] deceived and
betrayed when he is satisfied that he can no longer be its chief ruler. He and
Calhoun both know that the Senate would never prove themselves so lost to all
sense of national honor and good faith as to ratify their treaty. This they
know well. As for Tyler I do not know but he fool-like did think that perhaps
others had as little regard for these qualities as himself and had as little
abhorrence for meanness and perfidy as himself. But Calhoun knew better. It is
all a trick — one of his desperate moves or strokes to produce dissention in
the country for his own personal aggrandizement. But as I said, he will not
succeed. Van Buren will be nominated at Baltimore, a kind of [schism?] will
ensue and the dissenters will run a Texas man for the South and Van
Buren will run at the North, and the whole for the purpose if possible
of driving the election to the House where they know Van Buren will be elected.
For it is now the general belief that without some such trick Clay's election
is inevitable. So far as Tyler is concerned in the project it has been for his
own aggrandizement. So far as Calhoun is concerned it has been done to [set?]
up a Southern party. So far as the Locos are concerned — I mean
by them the old Simon pures, it has been to distract the Whigs, upon the old
principle “divide and conquer”. But again I say it will not succeed. When the
people of Georgia see all these facts and know everything relating to the
treaty it will be by all sensible men of all parties I think universally
condemned. But I have not time to give you details. You may have seen it said
in the papers that he (Tyler) has actually called out our military forces and
stationed two regiments on the confines of Texas and several sail in the
Gulph — a virtual declaration of war — without consulting Congress. This is
true, and a greater outrage upon the constitution has never been committed by
any President. I should not be surprised if he is impeached.
[P. S.] I have not got time to look over the [above?] to see
if spelling is correct.
[Marginal P. S.] Chappell1 is completely off, and
every Whig should know it.
________________
* A prominent attorney of Sparta, Ga., whose daughter
married Stephens's half-brother Linton Stephens in 1852.
1 Absalom H. Chappell, Democratic congressman
from Georgia, 1843-1845, standing for reelection in 1844.
SOURCE: Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, Editor, The Annual
Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1911, Volume 2: The
Correspondence of Robert Toombs, Alexander H. Stephens, and Howell Cobb, p.
57-8
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