- Huntt D
rHenry
The Rain and thawing, a mild and moderate rain, continued till this
morning and afterwards it cleared off cold again— Dr Huntt was
here more full of politics and personalities than of physic— He says
Mr
Calhoun’s pamphlet is to be published to-morrow Morning—
Duff Green Editor of the
Telegraph has been elected by both Houses Public Printer for the next
Congress. Green is understood to be in the interest of Mr Calhoun— A new paper published twice a
week, and called the Globe, has been established, supposed to be under
the auspices of Mr Van Buren, Secretary of State— These are the
two Candidates in Embryo for the succession to the Presidency— Each of
them must have his Newspaper, and in our Presidential canvassing an
Editor has become as essential an appendage to a Candidate, as in the
days of Chivalry a Squire was to a knight— Dr Huntt is grievously annoyed by the appointment of H. Ashton, as Marshal of the District
in the place of his father in Law Tench
Ringgold— Ashton is a small lawyer, originally a toaster
of Crawford as long as
there was a prospect of creeping into an Office by puffing him— When
Crawford was distanced in the field, he like John P. Van Ness now the Mayor of the City crossed over
into the Jackson camp, and both
were members of the central Committee, which took charge of his cause
and his person at the time of his Election— All the members of this
Central Committee had already obtained offices, and Ashton had long 122given out that this place had been promised to
him when Ringgold’s term of service should expire. When Mr Monroe
was here last Winter he dined with President Jackson, who affected to
treat him with affectionate respect and kindness, and on taking leave of
him Mr Monroe said to him that he might
probably never see him again— That he would venture to ask of him only
one favour and that was to recommend Marshal Ringgold to his kindness;
and then he spoke with much feeling of the causes of his own attachment
to Ringgold upon which Jackson took Monroe’s hand pressed it between
both his own, and said—“Say not one word more, Mr Monroe,” which Ringgold took for an inviolable promise that
he should be continued in his place—Jackson now denies that he meant it
as a promise, or even as encouragement to Mr
Monroe to expect that his wish would be gratified. But he told Ringgold
that it was a poignant mortification to him to pass him over and
nominate another Marshal most particularly because he knew it would
displease his two old friends James Monroe, and George Gibson— And he promised to give
him a better place— But this case with many others has afforded
demonstration of the prevailing influence of Spies and Informers. A
captious complaint was made against Ringgold to me by two Justices of
the Levy Court, of the County of Washington, as having misapplied monies
collected by him for the County expenses, and which they wanted to
improve the roads to and from their own houses— I made enquiry into the
facts—satisfied myself that there was no foundation for the complaint,
which I accordingly dismissed— When Jackson came in the Levy Court
Justices, returned to the charge—Jackson in his superabundant Zeal for
Justice, decided against Ringgold—compelled him to pay the money to the
Justices, and drove him to the recovery of his Money by suit at Law—
Ringgold instituted the suit, and has just obtained the Judgment of the
Supreme Court of the United States in his favour— The public have to
refund with costs and charges, the monies extorted from Ringgold, by the
Summary Justice of the Bashaw President— Ringgold had been advised by
Van Buren to shew a popular voice in his favour by obtaining signatures
recommending him for re-appointment, and accordingly procured about 1800
of the most respectable names in the district— They had not the weight
of a feather— In expostulating with Jackson upon his disappointment,
Ringgold found that Jackson’s Earwigs such as Frank Key had whispered to him that Ringgold had made
some unguarded comment upon the unsullied chastity of Jackson’s wife— Jackson told him
however that it had gone in at one Ear and out at the other— But he had
heard that when the Ex-Presidents Madison and Monroe were nominated by my friends in
Virginia as Electors of President and Vice-President, Ringgold had gone
express to Mr Monroe at Loudon to persuade
him not to decline. Ringgold not only denied the fact, but affirmed that
he had on the contrary defended and justified Mr Monroe for declining against the opinion of Mr
Southard— The denial did not avail him—and such is the
rancorous and vindictive character of Jackson—that in all probability
this secret charge was the Seal upon the fate of Ringgold— I walked in
the middle of the day to the Capitol Square; called at Stone’s shop; and saw his Plate of the
Book label, which is nearly finished— Received a Letter from Mr Monroe, which I immediately answered—