Nathan Sargent from John M. Clayton, Aug. 2, 1843

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New Castle Delaware - August 2. 1843

My dear Sir,

Your letter of the 29th instant was received day before yesterday, and I have taken time to consider the paragraph enclosed in it because it sounds to me to disown great consideration.  Your paper is understood to be as true an exponent of the real intentions of Mr. Clay as we have in the Whig ranks.  The paragraph if published will be extracted into many papers & will be received as expressing what is really smart to be done in case we succeed.

Now I will not say that I find any thing objectionable in the principle of the paragraph.  Indeed it is worthy of a patriot’s heart.  But I doubt the expediency of publishing it at this time.  The conduct of Tyler is such as to create the strongest jealousy on the subject of appointments.  The Whigs say they have been proscribed for more than fourteen years & that if the next run they are called who to vote for, mean to continue this proscription of them & their children they will not vote.  A belief that Mr. C. would call around him their political enemies or give any of them the power to proscribe Whigs again would be fatal to his election.