ASHLAND, June 14, 1851.
MY DEAR SIR,—I duly received your favor of the 29th ultimo, stating that
some of my friends in New York have it under discussion, to make a movement to
bring forward my name for the Presidency; and inquiring, in entire confidence,
what my own views and wishes are, upon the subject. I have delayed transmitting
an answer to your letter, from a desire to give to its important contents the
fullest and most deliberate consideration. That I have now done, and I will
communicate the result to you.
You will recollect that the last time but one that I was in the city of
New York, I had the pleasure of dining with you and a number of other friends
at the house of our friend M————; that we then had a frank, full, and
confidential conversation on the connection of my name with the next
Presidency; and that I then declared that I did not wish ever again to be
brought forward as a candidate. From that declaration, I have never since
deviated in thought, word, or deed. I have said or done nothing inconsistent
with it; nothing which implied any desire on my part to have my name presented
as a Presidential candidate. On a review and reconsideration of the whole
matter, I adhere to that declaration.
Considering my age, the delicate state of my health, the frequency and
the unsuccessful presentation of my name on former occasions, I feel an
unconquerable repugnance to such a use of it again. I can not, therefore,
consent to it. I have been sometimes tempted publicly to announce that, under
no circumstances, would I yield my consent to be brought forward as a
candidate. But I have been restrained from taking that step by two
considerations. The first was, that I did not see any such general allusion to
me, as a suitable person for the office, as to make it proper that I should
break silence and speak out; and the second was that I have always thought that
no citizen has a right to ostracise himself, and to refuse public service under
all possible contingencies.
I might here stop, but I will add some observations on the general
subject of the next election. I think it quite clear that a Democrat will be
elected, unless that result shall be prevented by divisions in the Democratic
party. On these divisions the Whigs might advantageously count, if it were not
for those which exist in their own party. It is, perhaps, safest to conclude
that the divisions existing in the two parties will counterbalance each other.
Party ties have no doubt been greatly weakened generally, and, in particular
localities, have been almost entirely destroyed. But it would be unwise to
suppose that, when the two parties shall have brought out their respective
candidates, each will not rally around its own standard. There may be
exceptions; but those, on the one side, will probably be counterpoised by those
on the other. I believe that no one in the Whig party could obtain a greater
amount of support from the Democratic party than I could; but in this I may be
deceived by the illusions of egotism. At all events it would be unsafe and
unwise for a candidate of one party to calculate upon any suffrages of the
other. While I do not think that the hopes of success on the part of the Whigs
at the next Presidential election are very flattering or encouraging, I would
not discourage their putting forth their most energetic exertions. There are
always the chances of the war. The other party may commit great blunders, as
they did recently in your State, in the course of their Senators, who opposed
the enlargement of the Erie Canal; and as they are disposed to do in respect to
the lake, river, and harbor improvements.
No candidate, I hope and believe, can be elected who is not in favor of
the Union, and in favor of the Compromise of the last Congress (including the
Fugitive Slave bill), as necessary means to sustain it. Of the candidates
spoken of on the Democratic side, I confess that I should prefer General Cass.
He is, I think, more to be relied on than any of his competitors. During the
trials of the long session of the last Congress, he bore himself firmly,
consistently, and patriotically. He has quite as much ability, quite as much
firmness, and, I think, much more honesty and sincerity than Mr. Buchanan.
If I were to offer any advice to my friends, it would be not to commit
themselves prematurely to either of the two Whig candidates who have been
prominently put forward. Strong objections, although of a very different kind,
exist against them both. They had better wait. It will be time enough next
winter to decide; and I am inclined to believe that both of those gentlemen
will find, in the sequel, that they have taken, or their friends have put them
in, the field, too early.
Besides pre-existing questions, a new one will probably arise at the next
session of Congress, involving the right of any one of the States of the Union,
upon its own separate will and pleasure, to secede from the residue, and become
a distinct and independent power. The decision of that momentous question can
not but exert some influence, more or less, upon the next Presidential election.
For my own part, I utterly deny the existence of any such right, and I think an
attempt to exercise it ought to be resisted to the last extremity; for it is,
in part, a question of union or no union.
You inquire if I will visit Newport this summer, with the view of
ascertaining whether it might not be convenient there, or at some other Eastern
place, to present me a gold medal which I understand my good friends are
preparing for me. I have been absent from home fifteen out of the last nineteen
months, and I feel great reluctance to leaving it, during the present summer.
If I were to go to the Eastward, I should have to return early in the autumn,
and soon after to go back to Washington, unless I resign my seat in the Senate
of the United States. Under these circumstances, my present inclination is to
remain at home and to attend to my private affairs, which need my care,
Should my friends persevere in their purpose of presenting me the
proposed medal, some suitable time and place can be hereafter designated for
that purpose. Surely no man was ever blessed with more ardent and devoted
friends than I am, and, among them, none are more or perhaps so enthusiastic as
those in the city of New York. God bless them. I wish it was in my power to
testify my gratitude to them in full accordance with the fervent impulses of my
heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment