Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/223

Rh Webster was an exception. Having consulted the members of Congress from Massachusetts, he resolved to remain in his place if he could. He was with the President when Ewing's letter of resignation was brought in. John Tyler, Jr., who acted as the President's private secretary, gives the following account of what happened: —

“He (Webster) then, in his deep-toned voice, asked: ‘Where am I to go, Mr. President?’ The President's reply was only in these words: ‘You must decide that for yourself, Mr. Webster.’ At this Mr. Webster instantly caught, and said: ‘If you leave it to me, Mr. President, I will stay where I am.’ Whereupon President Tyler, rising from his seat and extending his hand to Mr. Webster, warmly rejoined: ‘Give me your hand on that, and now I will say to you that Henry Clay is a doomed man from this hour.

What he meant was that the alliance between Webster and himself would serve to detach the Northern Whigs from Clay's following, and leave him in a hopeless minority. John Tyler forgot that Clay was what Webster was not, — a leader. When Clay cut loose from the administration, he resolved to take the whole Whig party with him.

The quarrel between Tyler and his party created the intensest excitement at the time, and has remained one of the sensational chapters of our political history. It was wrong to accuse Tyler of breaking his pledges in disapproving the bank bills. He had never promised to aid in establishing a national bank, and there were very good