Washington [ga.], Jan. 1st, 18441
Dear Stephens,
. . . The session2 passed off
well. We succeeded in carrying everything but the Court3 — lost that
in the Senate by three votes. When I was at Milledgeville I thought its passage
would have injured the party4
but benefitted the country; but from the general regret expressed at its
loss among the people since we adjourned, I am inclined to think it would have
been popular with the people. The session is decidedly popular with all
classes. The people are better pleased than they have been for many years with
their legislature, and I begin to think our power in Georgia is tolerably
firmly fixed. Our election for Congress took place to-day. I have not heard
from all the precincts, but from what we have heard Wilkes will give a
considerably increased majority to Clinch,5 say over 100 votes. I
have no doubt of his election by at least four thousand. The Democrats made a
false move on the Rail Road question,6 which I think will very
seriously affect them in the Cherokee counties.7 They made a party
question of its abandonment. The Whigs stood up well in the House and tolerably
in the Senate. We had to gild the pill a little for them. But I have no doubt
but that a large majority of the people are opposed to its abandonment, and
since our adjournment I see some of the Democratic papers are inclined to claw
off. Even the Columbus Times talks softly on the subject.
The congressional district bill is a fair one. We had to
gerrymander a little in order to give the Democrats their third district — the
first instance I expect of a party's ever doing that thing for the benefit
their opponents. The Senatorial district bill looks strong but is in
fact weak — we could have done much better with greater appearance of fairness
but every Senator almost was fixing for himself. Crawford8 is
much pleased and says we have left him the State government in such condition
that if it is not satisfactorily administered it will be his fault.
Write me as often as you can. It will give me pleasure to attend to any business
for you.
_______________
1 Erroneously dated Jan. 1, 1843, in the original.
2 Of the State legislature.
3 A bill to establish a supreme court for the
State of Georgia.
4 Whig.
5 Duncan L. Clinch, Whig candidate for Congress.
He was elected in place of John Millen, deceased.
6 The question of completing or abandoning the
Western & Atlantic Railroad, then under construction by the State of
Georgia.
7 The northwestern portion of Georgia, recently
vacated by the-Cherokee Indians.
8 George W. Crawford, then governor of Georgia.
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. 53-4
