- Wakeman T. B.
- Spear William.
Mr
Wakeman came this morning, and I had a conversation with
him of about two hours— He was very urgent that I should accept the
invitation of the American Institute of New York to deliver the address
at their Anniversary Fair, but gave me no reason for it which could
outweigh or balance my reasons for declining. I desired him to assure
the Society of the grateful sense which I entertained of the honour they
had done me by the invitation, and especially by the manner in which
they had conveyed it; to add the assurance of my hearty good wishes for
the prosperity of the Institute, and for the prosperity of their cause,
and further to say, that if in the public Station which I occupy, it may
be in my power to render them any service, I shall always eagerly avail
myself of it— I stated to him a part of the reasons which require my
perseverance in declining to deliver the Address. The general
considerations, which dictate the policy of sustaining and cherishing
the manufacturing interest were obvious, and had been presented with 58eloquence and ability, by the gentlemen, who had
delivered the Addresses of the three preceding years—Judge Baldwin, Mr J. P.
Kennedy and Edward
Everett. To repeat them could neither excite much
interest, nor much promote the purposes of the Institute— Should I
undertake to deliver the Address, it would be expected of me and I
should myself hardly be justified in undertaking it, but with intention
of presenting the subject under new and different views; and my own
opinion was that the great difficulty under which the manufacturing
interest of the Country labours, is a political combination of the South
and the West against it.— The Slave-holders of the South, have bought
the co-operation of the Western country, by the bribe of the Western
Lands; abandoning to the new Western States, their own proportion of the
public property, and aiding them in the design of grasping all the Lands
into their own hands— Thomas H.
Benton was the author of this System, which he brought
forward as a substitute for the American System of Mr Clay, and to supplant him as the leading
Statesman of the West— Mr Clay, by his Tariff-compromise with Mr Calhoun
abandoned his own American System— At the same time he brought forward a
plan for distributing among all the States of the Union the proceeds of
the Sales of the Public Lands— His bill for that purpose passed both
Houses of Congress, but was veto’d by President Jackson, who in his annual Message of December
1832. formally recommended that all the Public Lands should be
gratuitously given away to individual adventurers and to the States in
which the Lands are situated— Now if at this time, on the eve of a
Presidential election, I should, in a public Address to the American
Institute disclose this state of things, and comment upon it, as I
should feel it my duty to do, it would probably produce great excitement
and irritation—would be charged with having a political bearing, and
subject me to the imputation of tampering with the election— Mr Wakeman said that this had opened to him a
new volume, and explained to him many things which had seemed to him
unaccountable— Still he thought my opinions might be presented in such a
manner as would not be irritating or offensive, and the Institute would
take measures for giving a very extensive circulation to the Address—
They had printed 1500 copies of that of judge Baldwin, which had also
been printed in Newspapers to the amount of eight or ten thousand— They
would circulate still more of an Address from me— I said there were
other reasons which admonished me to avoid at this time any occasion of
bringing myself before the public eye—particularly on account of the
part which I took in the controversy with France, and in that between
Ohio and Michigan, both of which I expected would occupy much of the
attention of Congress at their next Session— I did not satisfy Mr Wakeman, and although I did not assign to
him the strongest of my reasons for persisting to decline, I did not
satisfy myself— The strongest of my reasons was a conscious inability to
fulfil the expectations of the Institute and of the Public if I should
comply.— Those expectations would run high, and would be disappointed—
They would turn to disgust, and my discourse instead of having any
beneficial influence upon the public mind, would be turned as an
instrument of obloquy against myself— So it has been with the exertions
I have made against Free-Masonry— So it has been with all my labours for
internal improvement 59for the support of the
manufacturing interest, and for domestic industry, and free labour. So
it was for my honest ardour in the dispute with France at the last
Session of Congress, and so it will be to the end of my political life—
Laudatur et alget. Nothing but an overruling sense of duty can justify
me in giving any of my opinions to the public— No volunteering for me—
Mr Wakeman took leave, thanking me for
the politeness of my reception of him, and with a promise that I would
answer Mr
Sullivan’s Letter. William
Spear came, and I went with Charles and him to the Rail-way quarries. There we met
Mr
Bryant, who went with us over the ground to the two ledges
upon which the Lessees are at work upon my land— Winkley and his party upon one, as yet
unsuccessful; Dudley and his company upon the
other, where they find excellent stone, but which is likely to be soon
exhausted— Bryant said the Railway-company wished to purchase 12 feet
wide on one side, and 25 feet wide on the other, along the whole length
of their Railway across my lots— We took notice of the bounds of my
lots, and returned home to dine— The fatigue of the morning walk,
produced a sluggish afternoon and my daily task remained almost wholly
neglected.