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OHROiXWLE AND Sk|tINEL.
AUGUSTA, j
SATURDAY MORMNTi, SEPTEMBER 26.
FOR PRESIDENT, i
WILLIAM HENRY HAI'RISON,
Os Ohio ; .1
The invincible Hero of lippecano* —the incor
ruptible Statesman —the inflexible^iepublican —
the patriotic Fanner of Ohio. I,
FOR VICE-PRESIDENT*. >
JOHN T YL E i*|.
Os Virginia; j*
State Rights Republican of the of ’9B—
—of Virginia’s noblest sons, aiul'en phatically
one of America’s most sagacious, rvirtuous and
patriot statesmen.
TOR FI ECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND Vlv
GEORGE R. GILMER, of Ogl thorpe.
DUNCAN L. CLINCH, of Cam len.
JOHN W. CAMPBELL, of Mi:|cogee *
JOEL CRAWFORD, of Hancock.
CHARLES DOUGHERTY, of Clark.]
SEATON GRANTLAND, of Ba Idwin.
ANDREW MILLER, of Cass.
WILLIAM EZZARD, of DeKalb.
C. B. STRONG, of Bibb.
JOHN WHITEHEAD, of Burke.
■»£. WIMBERLY, of Twiggs.
FOR CONGRESS,
'WILLIAM C. DAWSON, of Greene.
R. AV. HABERSHAM, of Habersham.
JULIUS C. ALFORD, of Troup.
EUGENIUS A. NISBET, of Bibb.
LOTT WARREN, of Sumter.
THOMAS BUTLER KING, of Glynn.
ROGER L. GAMBLE, of Jefferson.
JAMES A. MERIWETHER, of Putnam.
THOMAS F. FOSTER, of Muscogee.
FOR SENATOR,
ANDREW J. MILLER.
FOR REPRESENTATIVES,
CHARLES J. JENKINS,
GEORGE W. CRAWFORD,
WILLIAM J. RHODES.
No mail northof Charleston last night.
.- . m
66 Boys do you hear that ?”
A Meeting of the friends of Reform, in the
Third "Ward, takes place at the La Fayette Hall
to-night. Whigs be at your post.
Hon. Richard W. Hxhersham.
We are gratified to be erabled to inform our rea
ders, that letters have been received in this city
from Washington, announcing the pleasing intelli
gence that our distinguished Representative had
so far recovered from his long illness as to be able
to travel, and we soon expect to see him once more
upon the soil of his native State.
The Postmasters in the various Counties, will
oblige us by sending us returns of the Election by
the earliest mail. Giving us the voles of each
candidate for Congress, and the names and politics
of Legislators elected.
The Better Currency.
Reader in this da} s paper you have a specimen
of the “ better currency ” of which you have heard
so much. It is a notorious fact that while the Lo
cofocos have assumed to be the advocates of a
hard money currency Renounced banks and paper
money, they have in every State in the Union,
when they have had power, increased bank capi
tal and rendered the paper money-* :omparatively
worthless. Yet, notwithstanding all these denun
ciations of banks, here is a great Government Bank,
issuing its Post iYotes'without anything to issue
upon, and dependent upon collections to meetthem.
What would the people of Georgia say. if one of
the banks incorporated byj a Locofoco Legislature,
were to be guilty of such high h&jided measures
as issuing Post Notes,and only path two per cent,
interest. I
But reader what we desire more j articularly to
invite your attention to is, the ftguitfan Ihis Treas
ury shin plaster. Take another l<i>k on its face
and the most prominent device is flercury seated
on a bale of Cotton, barrel of Rije, &c. These
•figures on all bills are generally regarded as em
blematic of the principles by which the makers arc
governed. Who then is Mercury ? * What is he em
blematic oi? That question we wiiv answer in few
words. It is known to all that, th«| heathens wor
shipped many Gods, indeed they hi ' a divinity for
almost every vice or virtue, and Mvrcury was one
of those deities, he was the God 6f thieves, and
was regarded by the ancients anu lias been ever
since considered as an appropriate emblem of thiev
ing. We give his history as recorded by Tooke,
who was familiar with the fabutoiiidhistory of all
(heir deities. Read it and reflect J’Hat this is re
garded by the administration of M:?rtin Van En
ron, as an appropriate emblem of principles
and objects in getting up the Sub-7?i*»sury.
Mercury is described in Tookrfs Pantheon as
attending dying persons, to unlove their souls
from the chains of the body and cur’y them to Hell.
He is the God of Gain, and in the | t of theivipg,
excelled all’the Sharpeis that eve| were or ever
will be; and is the prince and God* of THIEVES.
The very day on which he was bo D he stole some
.cattle from King Admetus’herd, although Apollo
was the keeper of them, who contained much of
•the theft and bent his bow against him ; but in the
mean time Mercury siole even hvs arrows from
■him. While ue was yet an infant, and entertained
by Vulcan, he stole his tools from -Lim. He stole
Venus’ Girdle while she was hugging him. He
intended to steal some thunder, but; vas afraid that
it would burn him. • ?
What an appropriate emblem fpt Sub-Treasur
ers !!! |~ , •
* -y —.
A Voice from Mississippi.— yA e learn from
a gentleman direct from Copiah epunty that an
election held ajiew day since, tlu : j Whig candi
dates for Clerk. Assessor and Conner, were all
three elected. The question was oi? party grounds.
Copiah has heretofore been one of lie strong holds
of liocofocoism in Mississippi, an I is the county
in which (Jen. lirown resides —-f tliciana Whig.
The Veto Power.
If any thing were wanting to exhibit to the
American people the true character of Ihe A an
Buren organs and many of their leaders, tbcii reck
less disregard of truth, and their determination to
sustain their power at the hazard of every thing
huh minded and honorable, the following extract
from the Globe, in relation to the sentiments oi
Gen.JHarrison, would show it most conclusively.
And yet the contents of this extract are quoted by
their organs, and repeated by their brawling par
tizans with all the appearance of truth. Here is
the extract, to which we wish to draw the addi
tion of the reader.
“ In his various speeches and letters, all you can
find is a re.erence to the past and a declaration as
to the future, that be wrll not veto any act which
( digress may pass.”
Mr. Secretary Forsyth so far forgot the respect
due to his station, however little he may have
thought due to himself, as to insinuate such a thing
in his circular, but he has not yet let himselt quite
so low as his dirty mouth-piece, the Globe, which
asserts It as a fact.
Our readers, who arc famiHar with the policy
and usual habits of the Locofoco organs, will not
be astonished to learn that Gen. Harrison never
gave utterance to such a sentiment, but there are
some who will no doubt be astounded, to learn that
Mr Forsyth should lend himselt, even by insinua
tion, to the circulation of such an unblushing and
reckless calumny.
General Harrison on one occasion said, “white
Governor of Indiana he had never vetoed any bill,'
and this assertion, these pinks of virtue and truth
have perverted into a declaration that he never
would veto any law passed by Congress. But what
are we to expect from parly hacks and “pot-house”
politicians, when the man (John Forsyth) holding
the second office in the nation, will endeavor to
give it currency.
Awful Disclosure.
Reader, were you ever in a community where
dame Rumor was rife with a thousand whispers of
some awlul disclosure, which was to destroy the
fair fame of some virtuous citizeu ? If you ever
witnessed such a scene, you can well imagine the
state of tilings that existed among the Locofocos of
this city for the last two or three days. They have
been in great distress, so certain were they that
the character of General Harrison would be sud
denly demolished, if they could only get the mat
ter before the community, but unfortunately lor
them, it is said, the Corporal would not publish the
awful affair in his paper! It savored too much
•of Abolition, to be published in any Southern
paper!
So alarming was this terrible affair, that curiosity
was on tiptoe to ascertain what the horrible docu
ment was, which was to strike terror through the
ranks of Harrison men. And lo ! after two days
excitement, we have been able to lay our hands
on it, and give it to you below.
We copy it from that pattern of virtue and truth,
the Extra Globe ; and that paper asserts that it is
the constitution of the society to which General
Harrison belonged in 1791, and which existed in
Richmond, Virginia.
Survey this document, reader—examine the
preamble and weigh well its contents, and ask
yourself how much like truth it sounds, that such
a society should exist in Richmond, A 7 a. Mark*
also, F. P. Blair and Amos Kendall’s account of
the manner in which it was brought to light,
from a grave of forty years. They obtained it
Horn “an Abolition paper,” but they are very
careful to keep the name of the paper carefully
concealed. Look, reader, for the date of this con
stitution, and see if you can find such a thing about
it ?,
AA’hat then, are your conclusions about the mat
ter ? Do you not see why they have concealed
the name of the abolition paper from which they
say it was taken, and why the date is carefully
avoided ? If they had given the name of any pa
per, and attached to the document a date, they
might have been detected in the forgery, and the
consequent fraud which is attempted to be prac
ticed.
But there is yet another circumstance, which
establishes conclusively, the fraud. The 9th arti
cle says, no man shall be a member who owns a
slave. This is rather an unfortunate article for
the Locofocos, for it is a well established fact, that
General Harrison inherited from his father’s es
tate a large number of slaves, and was obliged to
have owned them when he was a member of the
Richmond Society, for he was only eighteen years
of age.
The thing is too palpable, it bears upon its face
-the impress of a base forgery.
But, say they, General Harrison was a member
of this Society. The Constitution provides that
the members shall affix their signatures to it. Do
you see Gen. Harrison’s name ? Do you suppose
if his name had been among the signatuies, they
would have kept it back ?
The late hour at which we received this impor
tant document, forbids further comment upon this
disgraceful attempt of a prostituted hireling press
to impose upon the public, by sending forth a doc
ument, bearing upon its face the impress of forge
ry, so bold, that he who runs may see it.
From the Extra Globe.
It appears that the constitution of this identical
society was found, some time since, among the
papers of the late Thomas Shipley, and has been
furnished to the public, througn an Abolition paper.
It is as follows, viz :
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE VIRGINIA SOCIETY
For promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the
Relief of Free Negroes, and others, unlawfully
held in bondage, and other Humane Purposes.
From a full beliefthat “ the Lord’s mercy is over
all his works,” that he created mankind of every
nation, language, and color, equally free, and that
slavery in all its forms, in all its degrees is an out
rageous violation, and an odious degradation of hu
man nature: That it is inconsistent with the pre
cepts of the Gospel, of “ doing to others as we
would they should do unto us and that it is not
only a moral, but a political evil, which tends,
wherever it prevails, to deprave the morals of the
people, weaken the bands of society, discourage
trades and manufactures, and rather promotes ar
bitral y power than secures the just rights and libei
ties of mankind : Believing, also, that the societies
already established in othei parts of tho world, for
promoting the abolition of slavery and the slave
trade, have been of real advantage in manifesting
the unrighteous policy of the one, and the iniquity
of the other —WE, THE SUBSCIBERS, in hum
ble hope of contributing our mite to the cause v{
humanity, and the piomotion of righteousness in
the earth have associated ourselves, under the title
of “ The Virginia Society for pomoting the abo
lition of slavery, and the relief of free negroes, or
others unlawfully held in bondage, and other hu
mane PURPOSES.”
For eifccting those purposes, the following Con
stitution is adopted:
Article I. Ihe officers of the Society shall con
sist of a President, Vice President, Secretary /treas
urer, nine acting committee men, and two
corresponding members, in the limits of each
distric t court, all of whom, except the acting com
mittee shall be annually r chosen by ballot.
11. The President, or, in his absence, the A’ice
President,shall preside in all meetings, and sub-
scribe all the p iblic acts of the society, who more
over, shall have the power to call a special meeting
of the society, whenever six members of the act
in'’-committee shall concur in requiring it.
HI. The Secretary shall keep fair records of
the proceedings of the society, and shall cause to
be published, from time to time, such proceedings
or resolutions as the society may order, or the Pres
sident, with the acting committee, may direct.
IV. The Treasurer shall receive all donations,
money, or securi ics, belonging to the society, and
shall pay all orders signed by the President or Vice
President, which orders shall be his vouchers for
expenditures. He shall, before he enters on Ins
office give bond for the faithful discharge of his
duty, for two thousand pounds or such larger sum
as the President and acting committee shall from
time to lime think right.
V. if the President and Vice President. Secre
tary,or Treasurer, be absent at any of the meetings
the society may elect others to act pro tempore, ox
should any of the officers above named resign or
be displaced, the society' shall fill the vacancy in
the mode described by the first article.
VI. The Acting Committee shall transact such
business as shall occur in the iccess ol the society,
and report the same at each halt yearly meeting.
They shall have a right with the concurrence of
the President and Vice President to draw upon
the Treasurer for such sum s of money' as shall be
necessary to cany'on the business of their appoint
ment. They shall also act as an electing commit
tee, and their approbation in writing shall be an ad
mission to such person as shall sign the constitu
tion of the society; five of whom shall be a quo
rum. After their first election, at each succeeding
yearly meeting, three of their number shall be re
lieved from duty, and three others shall be elected
to succeed them.
VII. In all cases where persons legally entitld to
freedom shall be held in bondage, it shall be the
business of the corresponding members, appointed
in the different districts, more particularly to in
quire into and give notice to the acting committee
of all cases, and to procure authenticated copies
from records, or such other writings on testimo
nies as they may think necessary or proper for in
vestigation, of the right and relief of the suffer
ers.
VIII. Every person, previous to his admission
as a member, shall subscribe the constitution of the
society, and contribute not less than one dollar on
admittance, and half a dollar at each succeeding
half yearly meeting, towards defraying the contin
gent expenses: If he neglects to pay the same for
more th in twe years, he shall upon due notice be
ing given him of his delinquency, cease to be a
member: But foreigners, or persons not residing in
this State, may be elected corresponding memners,
without being subject to any payment, and shall
be admitted te the meeting of the society, during
the : r residencein this State.
IX. Two-thirds of the members present at a half
; yearly meeting shall have the power to expel any
person who they may deem unworthy of icrnain
ing a member —and no person shall be a member
who holds a slave, or is concerned in the unright
eous traffic of buying or selling the unhappy race
'of human beings.
X. Twelve members, with President or Vico
President constitutionally assembled, shall be a
quorum of the society for transacting busines c .
XI. The society shall meet on the second day,
called Monday, in the months called October and
April, at such plaice or places as may be from time
to time, agreed on.
XII. No law or regulations of the society shall
contradict any part of the constitution, nor shall
any alteration in the constitution be made without
being proposed at a previous meeting. Ail ques
tions shall be decided by a majority of votes ; and
in case of an equal division, the presiding officer to
have a casting vote.
The present officers of the society are:
ROBERT PLEASANTS, President.
JOHN FINNEY, Vice President.
JAMES SMITH, Secretary.
JAMES LADD, Treasurer.
Acting Committee.
John Chew,
Thomas Pleasants,
James Haoris,
•George Jones,
Henry Featherstone,
Micajah Crew,
John Honeycut,
Richard Graves,
Gressett Davis.
General Harrison’s Speech at the Daytoa
Convention, held 10th Sept. 1840.
REPORT!!) BY W. SNETHEN, OF LOUISIANA,
Secretary of the Conventio?i.
The Convention was organized by calling to
the Chair, Ex-Governor Metcalf ot Kentucky,
and appointing nineteen Vice Presidents, among
whom were, Preston W. Farrar, of Louisiana,
Major A. Miller, of Mississippi, Governor Bigger
of Indiana, Ex-Governer Vance of Ohio, &c. W.
Sriethen, of Louisiana, Secretary.
After a brief and happy address, welcoming the
old Chief to Dayton, from Judge Crane, one of
the \ ice Presidents of the day, General H. rose,
and in a clear sonorous voice that was heard by
eveiy man of the immense multitude before him,
addressed the Convention for nearly two hours.
The appearance of the Old Hero was hailed by
the mighty shouts of thousands for several min
utes. He looks well, is in excellent health, and
speaks with a fervor and animation belonging ra
ther to youth than to age- Compared with other
men whom the writer of this has lately seen and
heard, less in years than the General, there is
not any marked difference of manner or matter.
The fire of his eye is not dimmed by age, nor
has the strength of his manly intellect suffered in
the least. He will go into the Presidential Chair,
a veteran in wisdom and experience, and he will
grasp the helm of state with a steady hand and
firm resolution, ready to administer the people’s
government after the people’s will.
Gen. Harrison’s Speech.
I rise fellow-citiiens: (The multitude was here
agitated as the sea, when the wild winds blow
upon it, and it was full five minutes before the
tumult <)f joy, at seeing and hearing the next
President of the United States, could be calm
ed.) —I rise, fellow-citizens, to express to you
from the bottom of my grateful heart my
warmest thanks for the kind and flattering
manner in wliichl have been received by the
representatives ot the Valley of the Miami.
I rise to say to you, that, however, mag
nificient my reception has beep on this occa
sion, I am not so vain as to presume that it
was intended for me, that this glorious triumphal
entry was designed for on« individual. No. I
know too well that person’s itnperfections to be
lieve, that this vast assemblage has come up
here to do him honor. It is the glorious cause
of Democratic rights that hath brought them
here! (Immense cheering.) It is the proud an
niversary of one of the brightest victories that
glows on the pages of our country’s history,
which summoned this multitude together! (Tre
mendous cheering.)
Fellow citizens, it was about this time of the
day twenty-seven years ago, this very hour, this
very minute, that your speaker, as Commander
in-in-chief of the North Western Array, was
plunged into agony of feeling, when the can
nonadingfrom our gallant fleet announced an ac
tion with the enemy. His hopes, his fears were
destined to be soon quieted, for the tidings of vic
tory was brought to him on the wings of the
wind. With the eagle of triuph perched upon
our banners on the lake I moved on to complete
the overthrow of a foreign foe. The anniversary
of that day can never be forgotten, for every
American has cause to rejoice at the triumph of
our arms on that momentous occasion; but the
brave and gallant hero of that victory is gone,
gone to that home whither we are all hurrying,
and to his memory let us do that reverence due
to the deeds of so illustrious a patriot. From
heaven does his soul look down upon us, and
gladden at the virtues which still animate his
generous countrymen in recurring to his noble
and glorious career while on earth! (Great sen
sation for several seconds.)
I am fully aware, my fellow-citizens, that you
expect from me some opinion upon the various
questions which now agitate our country, from
centre to circumference, with such fierce conten
'ions. Calumny ever seeking to destroy ail that
is good in this world, hath proclaimed that I am
averse form declaring my opinions, on matters
so interesting to you, but nothing can be more
f.tbe. (Cheers.'
Have I not declared, over and often, that the
President of tills Union does not constitute any
part or portion of the Legislative body ? (Cries
from every quarter —you have, you have !) Have
I not said over and often, that the Executive
should not by any act of bis forestall the action of
the national Legislature? (You have, you have! j
Have I not, time out of mind, proclaimed my
opposition to a citizen’s going forward among
the People soliciting votes for the Presidency 1
Have I not many a time and often said, that, in
my opinion no man ought to aspire to the Presi
dency of these United States, unless he is de
signated as a candidate for that high office by the
unbought wishes of the people ? (Cheering.) If
the candidate for so high an office be designated
by the will of a portion or a majority of the peo
ple, they will have come to the determination
of sustaining such a man, from a review of
his past actions and life, and they will not exact
pledges from him of what he will do, and
wbat he will not do, for their selection of
him is proof enough, that he will carry out
the doctrines of his party. This plan of
chosing a candidate for the Presidency is a
much surer bar against corruption than the
system of requiring promises. If the pledging
plan is pursued, the cftect will be, to offer the
Presidential chair to the man who will make the
most promises! (Laughter.) He who would
pledge most, he who would promise most, would
be the man to be voted for, and I have no hesita
tion in declaring my belief, that he who would
subject his course to be thus tied up by pledges
and promises, would not stoop to break them
when once in office. (Cheering.) Are my views
on this topic correct, or are they not? [With one
voice the multitude indicated they were.]
If, fellow citizens, we examine the history of
all republics, we shall find that as they receded
from the purity of Representative Government,
the condition of obtaining office was the making
of promises. He who hid the highest in promi
ses was the favored candidate, and the higher the
bids, the more marked and certain the corruption.
Look at the progress of this thing in our own
republic. Were any pledges required of your
W ishington or your Adams'?—Adams was the
candidate of the federal party, and as a States
man, was bound to carry out the principles of
his party. Was his successor, Thomas Jeffer
son, the high priest of constitutional democracy,
called on for pledges ? No. His whole life was
a pledge of what he would do. And if we go back
to this old system of selecting men for the Pres
idency, whose past career shall he a guarantee of
their conduct when elected to the Chief Magis
tracy of the republic, the nation would advance
safely, rapidly, and surety in tfie path of prosper
ity. But of late years, the corrupting system of
requiring pledges hath been adopted. The Pres
idency hath been put up to the highest bidder in
promises, and we see the result. It remains for
you, my fellow citizens, to arrest this course of
things. (Cries of—we will, we will.)
While then, fellow citizens, I have never hesi
tated to declare my opinions on proper occasions
upon the great questions before the nation, I can
not consent to make mere promises the condition
of obtaining the office which you kindly wish to
bestow upon me. My opinions lam free to ex
press, but you already have them, sustained and
supported by the acts of a long and arduous life.
That life is a pledge of my future course, if I
am elevated by your suffrages to the highest of
fice in your gift. (Immense cheering for several
seconds.)
It has been charged against me, fellow citi
zens, that lam a federalist. While I acknow
ledge that the original federal party of this coun
try was actuated in its course by no improper
motives, I deny that I ever belonged to that class
es politicians. (Tremendous cheering.) How
could I belong to that parly ? I was educated
in the school of anti-lederalism, and though too
young to take an active part in the politics of the
country, when, at the erection of the Constitu
tion, the nation was divided into two great parties,
my honored father had inducted me into the
principles of Constitutional Democracy, and my
teachers were tr.e Henry sand the Masons of that
period. He, who declared that the seeds of mon
archy were sown in the soil of the Constitution,
was a leader in my school of politics. He, who
said, that “if this government be not a monar
chy, it has an awful squinting towards a monar
chy,” was my Mentor. (Immense applause,)
Some time elapsed before order could be restored,
at hearing these emphatic declarations of the
General.) If 1 know my own feelings, if I know
my own judgment, I believe now as I did then,
with the patriarchs of the Jeffersonian school,
that the seeds of monarchy were indeed sown in
the fertile soil of our federal Constitution, and
that though, for nearly fifty years, they lay dor
mant, they at last sprouted and shot forth into
strong and thriving plants, bearing blossoms and
producing ripe fruit. This Government is now
a practical monarchy! (Loud and long cheering,
indicating that the people felt the full force of his
declaration.) Power is power, it matters not by
what name it is called. The head of the Gov
ernment exercising monarchical power may be
named King, Emperor, President, or Imaum,
[great laughter,] still he is a monarch. But this
is not all. The President of these United States
exercises a power superior to that vested in the
hands of nearly all the European Kings. It is a
power far greater than that ever dreamed of by
the old federal parly. It is an ultra federal pow
er, it is despotism !—[Cheering.] And I may
here advert to an objection that has been made
against me. It has been said, that, if ever I should
arrive at the dignified station occupied by my
opponent, I would he glad and eager to retain
the power enjoyed by the President of the Uni
ted States. JS'ever, never. [Tremendous cheer
ing.] Though averse from pledges of every
sort, T here openly and before the world declare
that I will use all the power and influence vested
in the office of President of the Union to abridge
the power and influence of the National Execu
tive ! [lt is impossible to describe the sensation
produced by this declaration.] Is this federalism ]
[Cries of no, no, for several seconds.] In the
Constitution, that glorious charter of our liber
ties, there is a defect, and that defect is, the term
ot service of the President was not limited. This
omission is the source of all the evils under which
the country is laboring. If the privilege of being
President of the United Spates had been limited
to one term, the incumbent would devote all his
time to the public interest, and there would be no
cause to misrule the country. I shall not ani
madvert on the conduct of the present adminis
tration, lest you may, in that case, conceive that I
am aiming for the i‘residency, to use for selfish
purposes. I should be an interested witness
if I entered into the subject. But I pledge my
self before Heaven and earth, if elected Presi
dent of these United States, to lay down at the
end of the term faithfully that high trust at the
feel of the people ! [Here the multitude was so
excited as to defy description.] Igo farther. I
here declare before this vast assembly of the Mi
ami Tribe [great laughter,] that if I am elected,
no human being shall ever know upon whom I
would prefer to seethe people’s mantle fall; but
I shall surrender this glorious badge of their au
thority into their own hands to bestow it as they
please ! [nine cheers.] Is this federalism 1 [i o,
no, no.] Again, in relation to the charge of be
ing a federalist, I can refer to the doings previous
to, and during, the late war. The federal party
took ground against that war, and as a party,
there never existed a purer band of patriots, for
when the note of strife was sounded, they ralli
ed under the banner of their country. But pat
riotic as they were, I do know that / was not
one of them! [cheering.] I was denouncml in
unmeasured terms as one of the authors of that
war, and was held up by the federal papers ol the
day, as the marked object of the party. I cnu.d
here name the man who came to to me, and a
more worthy man never lived, to say that he was
mistaken in his views of my policy, as (loverner
of Indiana, when I was charged by the lederahats
as uselessly involving the country in an Indian
war. He told me that I acted rightly in that
matter, and that the war was brought on hy me as
a matter of necessity. [Cries of—name him. name
him.] It was Mr. Gaston, of North Carolina,
[Three cheers.] Is this a proof that I was a fed
eralist 1 [No, no, no,]
I have now got rid, my fellow citizens, of this
baseless charge,—no—l have not. 1 here arc a
ew more allegations to notice. lam not a p<o
fessional speaker, not a studied orator, but 1 am
an old soldier and a farmer, and as my sole ob
ject is to speak what I think, you will excuse me,
if I do it my own way. [Shouts of applause,
and cries of—the old soldier and farmer for us.]
I have said that there were other "allegations to
notice. To prove that I was a federalist, they
assert that I supported the alien and sedition
laws, and in doing so, violated the principles and
express words of the Constitution. I did not,
fellow citizens, ever participate in this measure.
When those laws passed, I was a soldier in the ar
my of the United States ! (Applause.)
Again, they censure me for my course in Con
gress. when I served you in that body as a repre
sentative of the North West Territory. And
here 1 will advert to the fact that I represented
at the lime, a territory comprising now the States
of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. I was
the sole representative es that immense extent of
country. (A voice here cried, —“and you are
going to he again!” Tremendous cheering.)
As I understood federalism to be in its origin, so
I uuderstaruTit to be now. It was and is the ac
cumulation of power in the Executive to be used
and exercised for its own benefit.—Was my con
duct in Congress then such as to entitle me to the
appellation of federalist ?
(Cries of no, no, and cheering.) I had the
honor as Chairman of a Committee in the year
1800, to devise a bill which had for Us object to
sna'ch from the grasp of speculators all this glo
rious country which now teems with rich har
vests under the hands ot the honest, industrious
and virtuous husbandmen. (Immense cheering.)
Was I a federalist 1 (Cries of no, no, no.) When
I was Governor of Indiana, ask how the unlimi
ted power bestowed upon me, was exercised, —a
power as high as that exercised by the present Pres
ident of the U. S. I I was their sole monarch o! the
North West Territory ! (Laughter.) Did I dis
charge my duties as Governor of that vast Ter
ritory in such away as to show that was I in love
with the tremendous powers invested in me ?
(Here some 4000 persons in one quarter of the
crowd raised their hats in the air and rent it with
shouts of, —no, no. no. They were the delega
tion from Indiana. This prompt response from
so many persons produced great sensation )
There is an essential difference between the Pres
ident of the United States and me. When he
was in the Convention which remodeled the Con
stitution of New York, he was for investing the
Governor with the appointment of ■>heritfs.
When I was Governor of Indiana and possessed
the power of appointing all officers, I gave it up
to the people! (Immense excitement and great
cheering.) I never appointed any officer what
ever, while Governor of Indiana, whether sheriff,
coroner, judge, justice of the peace or ought else,
without first consulting and obtaining the wishes
ofthe people. (Shouts of applause.) Wasthisan
evidence that I was a federalist I (No, no, no.)
I think I have now shown you, fellow-citizens,
conclusively, that my actions do not constitute me
a federalist, and it is to them that I proudly point
as the shield against which the arrows of my ca
lumniators will fall in vain. (Immense cheev
‘ mg-)
Methinks, I hear a soft voice asking—are you
I in favor of paper money 1 J AM. (Shouts of
1 applause.) If you would know why lam in fa
i vor of the credit system, I can only say, it is be
cause lam a democrat. (Immense cheering.)
, The two systems are the only means, under
• Heaven, by which a poor industrious man may
become a rich man, without bending the knee to
colossal wealth. (Cheering.) But with all this,
• lam not a Bank man. Once in my life I was,
, and then they cheated me out of every dollar I
> placed in their hands. (Shouts of laughter.)
• And I shall never indulge in this way again ; for
• it is more than probable that I shall never again
I have money beyond the day’s wants. But lam
, in favor of a correct banking system for the sim-
J pie reason, that the share of the precious metals,
' which, in the course of trade, falls to our lot, is
» much less than the circulating medium which our
. internal and external commerce demands, to raise
• our prices to a level with the prices of Europe,
1 where the paper system does prevail. There
• must be some plan to multiply the gold and silver
which our industry commands; and there is no
I other way to do this, but by a safe banking sys
' tern. (Great applause.) I do not pretend
. to say that a perfect system of banking can be
s devised. There is nothing in the offspirng of the
r human mind, that does not savor of imperfection.
■ No plan of government or finance can be devised
' free from defect. After long deliberation, I have
» no hopes that this country can ever goon to pros
-1 per under a pure specie currency. Such a cur
• rency hut makes the poor poorer, and the rich
! richer. A properly devised banking system alone
i possesses the capabili ty of bringing the poor to
r the level of the rich. (Tremendous cheering.)
■ I have peculiar nations of government. Per
haps I may err. I am no salesman, by profession,
5 but as 1 have already said, lam a halfsoldicr and a
I half fanner, and it may be, that, if I am elected
' to the first office in your gift, my fellow-citizens
i will be deceived in me. but I can assure them,
that if, in carrying out their wishes, the head
• shall err, the heart is true. (Great huzzaing.)
My opinion of the power of Congress to char
ter a Nalionl Bank remains unchanged. There
1 is not in the Constitution any express grant of
5 power for such purpose, and it could never be
constitutional to exetcise (hat power, save in the
i event, the powers granted to Congress, could not
be carried into effect, without resorting to such
! an institution. (Applause.)—M r. Madison signed
the law creating a National Bank, because he
1 thought that the revenues of the country could not
; be colluded or disbursed to the best advantage
without the interposition of such an establish
: ment. I said in my letter to Sherrod Williams,
1 that it was plain that the revenues of the Union
• could only be collected and disbursed in the most
• effectual way by means of a Bank, and if I was
■ clearly of opinion that the majority of the peo
ple of the U. Slates desired such an institution,
then, and then only would I sign a bill goin** to
1 charter a Bank. (Shouts of applause.) I have
never regarded the office ot Chief Magistrate as
conferring upon the incumbent the power ofmas
• tery over the popular will, but as granting him the
power :o execute the properly expressed will o
: the people and not to resist it. With my mother’s
1 milk, did I suck in the principles on which the
Declaration of Independence was founded.
(Cheeiing.)
That declaration complained that the King
would not let the people make such laws as they
wished. Shall a President or an executive officer
undertime at this late time of day. to control the
people in the exercise of their supremo will
No ' 'he iKSt guardian of thoir
o,n n jhls, Opplanse,] and it is the duly of their
executive to abstain from interfering in thwarting
the sacred exercise of the law-making functions
ot their government.
In this view of the matter I defend my having
signed a well known bill which passed the Li
gislature while I was Governor of Indiana. It is
rue my opponents have attempted to cast odium
upon me for having done so, but while they I
engaged in such an effort, they impugn the hon I
and honesty of the inmates of the L(Vr
who demanded the passage and signature
bill. The men who now dare so arraign »h
people of Indiana for having exercised iheir ri d V*
as they pleased, were in the nurse’s all
when that, bill passed the Legislature. What <
they know of the pioneers of hat vast Wl ‘i',° 0
ness. I tell them, that in the Legislature which
passed the bill exciting so much their horr
there were men as pure in heart, and as d,J P *
guished for their common sense and high \ ‘T’
grity as any who set themselves up for mode's
the.-e days. [lmmense cheering,] I g| orv •'J
carrying out their views, for in doing so. I
milled to the law-making "power, in accord,
with the declaialien of independence, I ( j,|j ance
prevent the people from making what J uw « .i* 101
pleased ! [Cheering.] lc - v
If the Augean stable is to be cleansed, it
be necessary to go back to the principles of J e jp .
son. (Cheers.) It has been said by the H et ”
the Madisons, the Graysons and others, that 3
of the great dangers in our Government i s
powers vested in the General Government w 0 u V
overshadow the government ofthe Stales. Ther
is truth in this, and long since and often h aV( /r
expressed the opinion that the interference ofu I
General Government with the elective 1 ranch !*
in the States would be the signal for the downfall
of liberty. That interference has taken p| a( ,
and while th? mouths of professed Democrat’
appeal to Jefferson and declare they arc
by his principles, they are urging at the sameti me I
100 000 office holders to meddle in the State elec
ti ms! And if the rude hand of power be not
removed from the elective franchise, there will
soon be an end to the Government of the Union
(Cries of assent.) It is a truth in government
ethics, that when a large power comes in contact
with a smaller power, the latter is speedily destroy
ed or swallowed up by the former. So’in regard
to the General Government and the Stale Govern
ments. Should I ever be placed in the Chief
Magistrate’s seat, I will carry out the principles
of Jackson, and never permit the interference of
office holders in the elections. (Immense ap.
plause.) I will do more. While I will forbid
their interference in elections, I will never do
aught to prevent their going quietly (o the polls '
and voting, even against me or my measures.
No American citizen should be deprived of hig
pow er of voting as he pleases.
1 have detained you, follow-citizens, longer
than I intended, but you now see, that I am not
the old man on crutches, not the imbecile they
say I am,—(cheering)—not the prey to disease, fc
—(a voice cried here, —nor the bear in a cage,)'
—not the caged animal they wittiy describe °nie
to be. (Great laughter ana cheering..
But before 1 conclude, there are two or three
other topics I must touch upon.
The violence of party spirit, as of late exhibit
ed, is a serious mischief to the political welfare of
the country. Party feeling is necessary in acer
tain degree to the health and stability of a republic,
but when pushed to too great an extent, it is detri
mental to the body politic, it is the rock upon
which many a republic has been dashed to pieces.
An old farmer told me the other day. that he did
not believe one of the stories circulated against
me, and he would support me, if I were only a
democrat. (Laughtc-.) But if I support and sus
tain democratic principles, what matters it, how
lam called!—lt matters a good deal, said he,—
you don’t belong to the democratic paity! |
(Laughter.) Can any thing be more ruinous in ■
its tendency to our institutions, than this high
party spiiit, which looks to the shadow and not ‘
to the substance of things? Nothing, nothing, i
This running after names, after imaginings, is
ominous of dangerous results. In the blessed j
hook, we are told that the pretensions of false
Christs shall be in future times so specious that j
even the elect will be deceived. And is itnotso
now with democracy? The name does not con
stitute the democrat. It is tho vilest imposture
ever attempted upon tbe credulity of the public
mind, to array the poor of the country under the
name ot democrats, against the rich anff style them I
aristocrats. This is dealing in fables. The na- I
tural antagonist of democracy is not aristocracy.
It is monarchy. There is no instance on record
of a republic like ours running into an aristocra
cy. It can hurry tuio a pure democracy, and the
confidence ot that democracy being once obtained
by a Marius or a Carsar, by a Bolivar or a Bona
parte, he strides rapidly from protessions of love I
for the people to usui pation of their rights, and
steps from that high eminence to a throne! I
[Cheering.] And thus in the name of democracy j
the boldest crimes are committed. Who forgets
the square in Baris, where ran rivers of the peo
ple’s blood, shed in the name of democracy at the
toot of the statue of liberty? Che: isb not the I
man, then, who under the guise and name ofde- I
raocracy, trios to overthrow the principles of |
Republicanism as professed and acted upon by il
Jefferson and Madison. [lmmense cheering.] l|
Genera! Hanison here adverted to the calura- I
nics put forth against his military fame by that I
noble pair of brothers, Allen and Duncan, and in
severe, but just terms, exposed the falsehoods of
these villtficrs. He proved they \vere guiliy of
lalsfying the records ofthe country, and in a brief
and lucid manner vindicated himself and the hon
or of the nation from the aspersions of these and
other reckless politicians. He showed that the
received history of his brilliant career in the North
west had been stamped by the impress of truth,
and he will soon find that a generous and grale
iul people will testify their admiration ot hisglor*
ous services in their cause by raising the brave
old soldier to the highest office in their gift.
A precious inheritance, continued the General,
has been handed down to you by your forefathers.
In Rome, the sacred fire of fabled gods was kept
alive by vestal vtrgins, and they watched over .he
gift with eager eyes. In America, a glorious fire
has been lighted upon the altar of liberty, ami to
you, my fellow-citizens, has it been entrusted in
safe-keeping to be nourished with care and to s '
tered forever. Keep it burning, and let the sparks
that continually go up from it fall on other altars
and light up in distant lands the fire of freedom,
i he Turk busies himself no longer with his ha
rem or his bow-string. To licentiousness have
succeeded the rights of man, and constitutions
are given to the people by one despotic rulers.
Whence came the light that now shines in that
land of darkness ? It was a brand snacked fro® i
your own proud altar, and thrust into the pjt® |
of Turkish oppression. Shall then the fat-sf' 11
light upon the shrine of American liberty evir ;c |
extinguished? [No, no, no] It would not be ]
your loss only—it would be the ioss of the wh o ’* I
world. The enemies of freedom in Europe a.c
wakhing you with intense anxiety, and your 1
friends, like the few planets of heaven, arc pray 1
ing for your success. Deceive them not, but |
keep the sacied fire burning steadily upon y° u ‘ j
altars, and the Ohio Farmer, whom you | j
*o make your Chief Magistiate, will, at tb £ en J
of four years, cheerfully lay down the authority I
which you may entrust him with, free from a ‘ flj
ambition. It will have been glory enough to f I
me to i>e honored as those pure and honest I
licans, Wash in ton, Jefferson, and Madison were j
honored-—with the high confidence of a g rca " ■
noble, jusi* and generous people.' (The excit B
merit and cheering continued for several minut** ■
and the multitude were swayed to and fro, a»t‘ i|
leaves of the forest in a storm-wind,) I
Much as we rejoice at the brilliant victories B
which have of late been achieved under the P 3 B
triotic banner of Harrison and Reform, we canm- I
avoid indulging a feeling of deep rnortitica'.im 1 ■
when we realize the strange fact, that Missoun »
rendered herself obnoxious to the charge ol |
ingratitude, by casting her vote in favor of 1 J|
rival. Spaniel like, sfre has cringing!) 1 \ 1
hand which smote her. When that State app lieu |