Elberton, Ga., July 7th, 1848.
Dear Sir: I wrote you by the last mail in relation to
the inquiries contained in yours of the 20th June and promised to write again
when I could procure better information. I saw here last Tuesday, Col. John D.
Watkins from the neighborhood of Petersburg and had a conversation with him
about the prospects of democracy in that quarter. He informs me it is true
Speed has declared for Taylor and has been that way inclined for a year past. I
learn also it is extremely doubtful that Speed voted for Polk, and the general
impression is he voted with the Whigs in that contest. Watkins says he (Speed)
can't influence a single other vote, and all the democrats there besides, are
unanimous and enthusiastic for Cass. A little to my surprise I learned that Dr.
Danelly and he both are, and have been all the time, out and out Cass men. At
our celebration here on the 4th a Mr. Vinson Hubbard, heretofore considered a
Democrat, offered a toast the substance of which was that Gen. Taylor might be
elected and fill the office as Washington did.
This looks a little dangerous and I think it probable he will support
Taylor, though we shall not cease until after the election in our efforts to
reclaim him. He is a poor man and is living on land free of rent, belonging to
a strong Whig, and this possibly explains the heresy. The toast he gave however
hints at the only quarter whence we may expect danger in the present campaign.
The fool-idea constantly harped upon by the Whig press, of having a second
Washington in the chair of state, has turned some weak heads. It had begun to
tell upon the public mind before the democratic press noticed the operation, and
now we should work vigourously and direct our attack to this point. Our Editors
are much to blame in this matter. They seemed to have a sort of reverence for
Taylor, which was very ill-timed, and refused to lay hands upon him, even after
he was nominated by the Whig convention of Georgia. What is once acquiesced in
by a party, though but for a short time, is hard afterwards to be contested,
and we are now reaping the fruits of having indulged in the weakness of
admiring military prowess. As far as my humble efforts could go, I at an early
day charged Taylor with being a Wilmot Proviso man. Notwithstanding he was
already the candidate of the Whig party in Georgia, the Democratic press
differed with me and took the trouble to write and publish articles to show
that I was wrong, thereby defending a Whig candidate. In the Constitutionalist
of July 21st, 1847 you will find the charge made by me, fully sustained by
documents, and in the same paper a reply by the editor defending Taylor. I am
glad to see they are getting back in the right track, and the only difficulty
is they may not have time to undo all the mischief they have wrought. I throw
out these views to you because you may do something to help these Democratic
Taylor champions out of the fog. From a close observation of the prejudices and
opinions of the people around me I am satisfied they are well grounded. Could
not you send Vinson Hubbard (at Elberton) some document showing Taylor had at
last succumbed and taken purely a party position, also one of the same sort to
Jesse Dobbs?
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.
114-5
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