Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

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1MEMOIRS OF JOHN ADAMS DIX.

speaking or writing would have been called forth. It would have
turned upon the efficiency of a single mind acting upon a great body
like New York, and the utter insignificance of Canada to Quebec at the
opening of the war. Mr. Clinton is no ordinary man, and though his fame
is as lasting as the waters of the great lakes, he will be politically prostrated again, if he and his distinguished friends are found in the ranks
against Mr. Adams. Mr. Clinton and his friends must not be found in
opposition to the administration of Adams, if they intend to hold the
government of New York. If you cannot bring yourself to entertain
kind feelings toward Mr. Adams, you can, I hope, desire the political
prosperity of Mr. Clinton. If so, give him your most zealous, your most
devoted support as Governor of New York, and never allow him to be
represented as in opposition to the National Government. Re-elect him
by some twenty thousand majority, and then, yes, then keep quiet, at
least modest, on the Presidential question. I am out of all patience
with the ridiculous, the empty friends of Governor Clinton, who name
him for the office so well filled by Mr. Adams before they are sure of
even the State of New York.
" You are presumed to know me; you do know me; and on all proper
occasions I ask you to say that I am devoted to the administration of
Adams, and that I think the State of New York would be disgraced if
she should again forget what is due to Clinton.
"Mr. Adams is willing to believe you are his friend. Your burlesque
of Governor Troup's Message* is too good to be lost. It gave the President a few moments of the most hearty enjoyment. Be not alarmed:
he can enjoy a good thing in silence as well as any man.
" What think you of our friend Calhoun's speeches to the South? I
pray God that he may prosper, but believe me when I say that he cannot
be President of this happy country before he is turned of sixty. He will
be convinced of this truth before he is much older, and then he may
place his influence where it may serve the cause of a great man. Write
me often and fully. Yours, JAC. BROWN."t
* George M. Troup, Governor of Georgia, and a pronounced " States
Rights" man.
t By way of sequel to this letter I have placed in the Appendix a
document which, probably, now first sees the light. It was found among
my father's private papers, endorsed by him, and carefully put away. It
is interesting, not only as a contribution to the political history of the
era, but also as showing how intimate were the relations between General Brown and my father, and how ample were his opportunities of