77/1? Harrisburg Coiivoition of December, ^^39-
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��competition between them ; but the more pronounced and zealous of his supporters were the persistent and efficient advocates of Gen. Harrison's nomination, and the result of the pro- ceedings of the convention was owing in a large measure to their address, per- severance, and determination. Scott had a few earnest supporters in the convention, mostly from New York : but evidently they had no hope of nominating him, and were inspired chiefly by their dislike of Clay ; and when he was defeated, they came readily and heartily into the support of Gen. Harrison.
It was ascertained before the conven- tion was organized that a majority of the delegates had been chosen to sup- port Mr. Clay; and it was easily seen that, if an informal per capita vote should be taken in advance, his nomi- nation was inevitable. It was im- portant, therefore, that this should be prevented ; and Peleg Sprague, who had been a member of the Senate from Maine, having served from 1829 to 1835, ^'^^ ^ warm partisan of Mr. Webster, before any other steps could be taken offered a plan for the action of the convention, which was adopted by a small majority against the earnest opposition of the friends of Mr. Clay. It was substantially as follows : That there should be no vote of preference taken in the convention, until the follow- ing questions should have been deter- mined by the delegations of the several States, each sitting as a committee, to wit : First, Can the state be carried for the Whig candidate for the presidency ? Second, If yes, who is the strongest man to nominate? Third, Can the vote of the State be given to Mr. Clay ?
��A very animated debate sprang upon the resolution, and it only prevailed by a small majority ; where upon the con- vention adjourned for the day. As the delegates were leaving the hall, Benjamin W. Leigh of Virginia, who had been in the Senate from 1834 to 1837 from that State, and a persistent supporter of Henry Clay, remarked to John Tyler, who was one of the vice-presidents of the convention, " Clay is surely beaten. That sharp black-eyed Yankee has stolen a march upon us, and Harrison's nomination is certain." Mr. Tyler ex- pressed his apprehensions about the result, but did not consider the game as wholly lost.
The deliberations of the delegations ran through several days, and every hour's delay darkened the prospects of Mr. Clay. Consultation and compari- son of views ascertained the fact that Gen. Harrison was the strongest man with the people ; and there was never a moment, after the adoption of Mr. Sprague's resolution, that the nomination of another candidate was at all probable.
The delegates generally were moved by a common feeling. The desire to break down the Van Buren dynasty was the all - important consideration, and personal feeling was compelled to give way before it.
Whether any other candidate could have been elected is a question ; but there is every reason to suppose that, had Mr. Clay been nominated, he would have been defeated.
It is said that John Tyler cried when Harrison's nomination was announced to the convention, and Horace Greeley said that the whole Whig party had reason to cry when John Tyler became President.
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