Micah Taul memoir

51 denied him, to be untramelled, & that he should vote according to the dicrates of his own enlightened judgment. Such was the case, I am very sure, in the County of Clarke, in which I resided, & am address to that effect, signed by hundreds of the citizens of the County was forwarded to Mr. Clay. It was impossible for Mr. Clay, to avoid "suspicion" - Entertaining the opinion he did, of the unfitness of Genl. Jackson, for the office, it was impossible for him to vote for him. He had been also [noted?] with Mr Adams at Ghent, and it was understood, that they were not cordial in their feelings towards each other. Still he had confidence in Mr. A. & well knew & admitted his permanent qualifications for the high office of President of the U. S. His friends, political and personal, desired him to accept the office of Secretary of State, tendered to him by the President. Others not his political friends amongst whom was Col. R. M. Johnson, also desired him, to accept the office, from the best of Motives. Mr. Clay, in my opinion, ought not to have accepted it, if he had not, the charge of "bargain, intrigued" would have had no basis on which to rest. It would have sunk into oblivion in a short time, & Mr. C. would long since have been President of the U. S. I have often taken occasion publicly, as well as privately, to defend Mr. C. against the above charge particularly in a speech made by request of many respectable citizens of the city of Washington at Carusi's Saloon, on the night of the 29th. April 1844. I have been endured there particularly to notice, the charge of "bargain, intrigued" & made

52 against Mr. C. for political affect, & without evidence on account of the prominent part, which I look in defending him. At the May County Court for Clarke County in 1825, there was a very large collection of the people of the County, brought out mainly for the purpose of hearing the Speeches of the new candidates for Congress. After they considered those addresses, I without the knowledge, of, or Concert with any human being took the stand & addressing myself to the assembled Multitude} 1825 said to them substance, that the character of public servants, was public property; that our late Representative (Mr. C.) & present Secretary of State of the U. S. until lately considered as a model of political purity, had been charged with the highest Crime, that a Representative of the people could commit, that of corrupt bargaining for office. I did not believe it; there was no evidence to sustain the Charge & I proposed, that for the purpose of taking some steps in relation to it that we should resolve ourselves into a County meeting : The proposition was received with decided approbation, & on my motion Capt. Chilton Allan, was called to the chair, & I again addressed the audience, concluding with the presentation of two or three Resolutions; one asserting (in our opinion) his entire innocence of the charge against him; & of our unshaken confidence in his integrity & patriotism. Another tendering him the Compliment of a public dinner. The resolutions were adopted by acclamation, with but one dissenting voice. A committee was appointed of which I was Chairman, to address Mr. Clay on the subject, and

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to invite him to partake of the proposed Dinner, at Colo. Taylors, five miles from Winchester on the Lexington road. Mr. Clay attended, and in response to the sentiment embodied in a toast in favor of his innocence, delivered a very hand some & eloquent speech - concluding with the following toast

"The Ladies of Clarke County: good husbands "for the single ones & happiness for all" The Dinner was one of the very best, I ever sat down to, the day was spent in the utmost gaiety & hilarity. Conversation, eating, drinking, dancing &c. &c. Amongst the M. S. may be found a rough sketch of the Meeting in Winchester, & of the address to Mr Clay. These proceedings were published in all the Newspapers friendly to Mr. Clay & were every where considered, as a Verdict of Aquittal from his Constituents. Mr Clay has at all times, very properly considered me one of his best friends; I have always been satisfied that it was fully reciprocated on his part, and I have lately received very satisfactory evidence of that fact in a letter, recommenda tion &c. which I forwarded to the Honble John Bell, (Senator in Congress from Ten) at Washington Copies of which are on file, in the letter bundle of the present year (1849)

(Jan 16. 1850) . The original letter of Mr Clay is on file, in the bundle of Letters, of 1849, having since then been returned to me by the Secretary of the Treasury. I desired to get an appointment at Washington but did not succeed, as I certainly should if Mr. Clay had been President, I did not go to Washington, and confided my application to the [torn] John Bell of Tennessee, who had other [torn]