Newspaper Page Text
[Public— No. 13.]
AN Act to provide for the erection of p üblic buildings in the
Territory of Florida.
Be it enacted by tho Senate an I House of Rcprescntalives \
ts the United States of A ‘H- ric i in Congress assembled, That i
'the stun of twenty thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, '
granted to the Territory of Florida, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of de
fraying the expenses of erecting a suitable State House or pub
lic buildings in the Territory of Florid t, for the u*e and ac
commodation of the Territorial Legislature of said Terri on;
nnd in which building w hen erected and completed, the office of 1
the Secretary of said Territory *hnil • kept, and also the pub
lic record* tmd archive* of * dd Territory.
Sec. 2. An I b- it firtk r enielel, Pi tat the said sum of
m utey appropriated by the first section of this act shall be paid
over to the Treasurer of said Territory on the order of the!
Governor, ait I shall be expended tor the purpose aforesaid, un
der the dircctiou of the Governor ami Legislative Council and i
in such way and manner, ami at such times as they shall, by i
law or resolution lor that purpose prescribe. Provided, That;
the passage of this law shall not nt any time be field as an rn I
gagemvnt on the part of the United States for any further i
appropriation to the objects hereinbefore mentioned.
Approved, March 3d, 1839.
[PUBLIC —No. 1.5.]
AN ACT to authorise the rotistr action of < ertain improve-:
tnents in the Territory ot Wisconsin and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the I nited .SVufcc of America in Congress assembled, That lor
the further survey and an eslim He of the cost of improving the
navigation ot the Neenah and Wisconsin rivers ami connecting I
the same by a navigable canal or water cotmnmiica'ion, two
thousand dollars he, ami the same are hereby appropriated;
and that the following sums of money be, nn I the same are j
hereby appropriated for the construction of mails in the ret-'
ritory of Wisconsin, to wit;
For the c.instruction of a road from Rie’me. by Janesville to i
Sinipee, on the Mississippi, ten thousand dollar-;
For the survey and construction of a mid from Sink harbor, J
on lake Michigan, to Dckorice, on the Wisconsin livei, five
thousand dollars.
For the construction of a road from Fond du Lac, on lake i
Winnebago, by Fox lake, to the IX iscotisiii river, five thousand
dollars.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sum of two!
thousand dollars, appropriated by the act of the seventh of Ju-:
ly, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, entitled “An act making!
appropriations tor certain mads in the Territory of Wisconsin”
for a railroad, shall be applied by the Secretary of War to the !
survey ofll.e ino-l eligible mute for a railroad from the town
of Milwaukee, on L ike Michigan, to such point ot the Mis
sissippi river as may be d emed most expedient.
Approved, March 3d, 1839.
[Public —No. 16.]
AN ACT to repeal the second section of “An act to extend
the time for Inciting \ irginia military land warr mis and re- i
turning surveys thereon to the General L ind Office,” ap
proved July seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 1
Be it enacted by the Senate an I House bf Represinlalires of
the I njted States of America in Congress assembled, That the !
second section of “An act to extend the lime fir locating Vir- !
giuia military laud warrants and returning surveys thereon j
the General Land Office,” approved July seventh, eighteen i
hundred and thirty-eight, be, and the same is hereby repealed. |
Approved, March 31, 1839.
[Public —No. 17.]
AN ACT for (lie relief of Umbrella-makers. ... ■
it ena, led by the Senate and House of Representatives of \
the I nited States of America in Congress assembled, That
there shall be refunded, out .d’the Treasury, to such umbrella
makers as have imp tried umbrella stretchers since the passage ;
of the act entitled “ An act to alter ami amend the several act
imposing duties on imports,” approved the fourteenth day of
July. A.4). eighteen hundred and thirty-two, all excess of duty !
lieyond what such importers wool I have been,required to pay if
the provisions contained in the tenth and twelfth clauses of the |
second section of said act had at all times since its passage been i
suspended in their operation in the same manner as they were !
suspended by the act of the second of March, A. D. eighteen
hundred and thirty three, entitled “An act to explain and
amend the several acts imposing dtt.ies on imports, passed the
fourteenth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirtv
two, so far as relates to liardwase and certain manufactures of
copper and brass and other articles,” and by other subsequent
acts of a like character.
Approved, March 3d, 1839.
[Public —No. IS.]
AN ACT to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to purchase
a tract oflaud beh •nging to the heirs of John Harris, deceased,
being within the limits of the navy yard in Charlestown,
Massachusetts.
Be it ena del by the S note an 1 House of Representatives of'
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
Secretary of the Navy be and he hereby is authorized and re
quired to purchase certain lands situated within the limits ofthe
navy yard in Chalestown, in the Stale of Massachusetts, said
land being the property ofthe heirs of John Harris, late of said
Charlestown, dr ceased.
Sec. 2. Av Ibe it' farthere:i id I. Th it the price and value
of said land may be fairly ami justly estimated, the Secretary
ol the Navy is hereby authorized to agree with said heirs in se- ,
lecting and choming three disinterested, discreel, suitable men,
who, alter being sworn, and having full v examined said land, |
shall estimate and appraise the same : Provided, It can be pur- !
.chased for a reason able sum.
SEC. 3. t\nd be itfurther enacted, That, when the appraisal
«hall be made known to the Secretary aforesaid, and a go >d
anil sufficient deed of the same land shall be tendered or given
<to the United Stales by the said heirs, then the Secretary ofthe j
Navy shall p>y said heirs the amount of said appraisal, being '
the con-idetMiion f>r the premises, out of any money in tin-!
Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Approved, March 3 I, 1839.
[Public —No. 20.]
AN ACT making a don ilimi o| laud to the Territory of Io- '
wa, for the purpo-e of erecting public boil lings there, it.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Repn scntaticcs
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, I'li -t I
there be, and hereby is, appropriate. 1 ami granted to the Ter
ritory ot lowa, <me entire section of land, of any of the sur
veyed public I .nd in said Territory, for the purpose of erect
ing tltereon the public buildings for the u-e of the Executive
and Legi.laiive d -partments of the Government of the said !
Territory: Provided, That the said section of land shall be !
selected under the uthmity of the Territorial Legislature, the!
seat of Gover.itn'lK locoed thereon, and notice of said selec
tion officially returned to the register of the land office in the
district in which tl.e laud i« situated within one year from the
passing ol this act: Anl provid: I further, That nothing here
in contained shall authorise the .selection rd' the sixteenth sec
tion in any townsii'p reserved lor the use of schools, nor ol
■any lot reserved (or public purposes; and that in the selection 1
to be made as aforesaid, no pre-existing improvement or right j
to pre-emp ion recognised bv law shall be prejudiced thereby.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacte!, Thi if, at the time of
the (election of the section of land to be made as aforesaid, the !
contiguous section* thereto have not been made subject to 1
public sale, or being so subject have not been sold at public
sale or by private entry, th n each and every section contigu-I
ons to said selected section, and not so sold, -bail be thereafter !
reserved and withheld from sale in any mami<-r, until the fur- 1
liter order ol Congress thereon. But nothing herein exoress- ‘
svd shall be construed to restrain the said Territory of lowa,
after appropriating a sufficient quantity of laud within said se ,
lectetl section for the site and accommodation of the public
buildings, fro n selling ami disposing ofthe residue of said *ec- '
tiott in lots or otherwise, for the u*r of still Territory, in the
erection and competiou of said buildings.
Approved, March 3d, 1839.
[Pi BLIC—No. 22]
AN ACT granting to the Judges of the Supreme Court of
lowa the same compensation a* by law is given to the Judges
lite Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
Z/e it. enacted by Hie Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, Tfiiit
from and after.the commencement of the next quarter, after
the passage of ibis act, the Judges of the Supreme Court of;
lite Territory of lowa shall receive the same salary as jg m»w
received by the Judges of the Territory of Wisconsin.
Approved, Mandi 3d, 183->.
POLITICAL.
SPEECH OF MR. ROANE,— Of Vihgima.
[concluded.]
In Senate, I'riday, Fybuary 15, 1839.
Mr. President, before I came hero ns a Senator, t-wns person
ally unacquainted with Martin Van Buren. My colleague knew him
intimately ; ho had served with him in public life ; ho had stood
shoulder to shoulder with hint in this Chamber, in resistin'’ the powcr
. lul and combined assauits which were made on the great measures
( of J .ycksmi’s admmistialion ; he had zealously supported his election
to th<> Presidency ; he had voted for me as one of the electors of Vir
ginia, substantially pledged to vote for him; and 1 have no hesitation
in saying that amidst all the foul charges brought against this then
personal stranger to mo, the support which my colleague thus gave
him, strenghthened my confidence in the correctness of the vote I
! had given for him at the polls, and afterwards bestowed upon him as
a member of the Electoral College. On my arrival here as a Scca
tor, I determined to endeavor during my stay in this city, to form a
; personal acquaintance with the President, and to judge for myself in
regard to the many charges which had been brought against him.
. Accident has afforded me a fuller opportunity for this investigation
than I could have anticipated; and, sir, I hive scanned, with a
: scrutinizing rye, as fur as my poor abilities would enable me, the
character, opinion, and conduct of the man. I have, sir, when the
“curtain of ceremony was drawn to the skies,” and which it was
utterly impossible for him to know the operations of my mind,
“ tented him (o tho quick.” I have looked, but looked in vain, sir,
I for all those leading char.ictcristic traits of non-committalism, and
| management, and inttiguo, and “ mighty magic,” wherewithal he
was so loudly charged. 1 believe, sir, that his first message to the
Congress of the United States has hushed forever all the croakings
; about his non-conimittalis ir; and that all tho slang about his magic
arts ceased as soon as it was found powerless to dupe and deceive th*
people. Does dny one pretend that the President Ims as yet viii'/nted
any of the principles which those who selected, ex;v; v ((>d him to
maintain? Let the continued, the untiring a-'.j temorselessoppo
: sition of the far greater part of those w’. tU O pp GSl .j his election, an-
I swerthe question: let those of ’.’.,eni who now give either the cold,
; i elm t am appi<ilja’'.on of sileiine, oi are willing to receive, as a “ good
hidftray , ‘,iuse t " the once by them denounced ami reviled “pet
bat'l;” “experiment,” answer the question. And how is it, why is
I it, that 1 find my colleague now pulling kindly in the traces with
i these gentlemen, and charging upon the President duplicity and
■ diception ? Bat, sir, he says he was the friend and best friend, of
the President, for that he advised him beforehand—nnv, sir, he
i learned him—not to recommend to Congress his scheme of a Sub-
I'reas-ry. Ay, sir, he advised the President, and he did not follow
■ his advice ; lie warned him, and Im did not heed his warning, but
■ went on to discharge his high duty according to the dictates of his
own judgement and conscience.
Sir, suppose some kind friend, (and would that he could have
1 found such a one) knowing of suspecting that my colleague intended
: to recommend to Congress his favorite “ pet bank scheme,” had
1 have gone to him and told him that it was an exploded experiment;
that it had been already fully and fairly tried, and, in his own impres
sive language, l4 had signally and momnfully failed;” and advised
and warned him not to submit it ; and that, notwithstanding all this,
he thought it his duty to think that that friend ghould have manifest
ed towards him the feeling and temper which he, on all occasions,
I evinces towards the President ?
! My colleague has opposed all and every scheme thought of foi
| rustudy and disbursement of the public mbm-y, except the one which
' he introduced, which has notoriously met with less favor in Con
gress and elsewhere than any other yet suggested. He c ndemns,
j with unmeasured censure, the President for again recommending to
j Congress a financial plan, which my colleague says, has been repu-
I dialed by the voice of Congress and tho nation, lie knows that the
; people have mil yet finally or fully passed upon that plan. He
km.ws (h it it has twice received the sanction of this hotly, and each
1 time been defeated by a small majority in the other House of Con
! gress; and yet, strange to tell, lie who urges this objection to the
| President’* plan, thus sustained, is peipetually pressing on Congress
■ and the nation a scheme which, besides himself, finds but one sup-
| porter in the Senate, nnd very few, indeed, in the other House of
! Congress, or elswliere—as though his plan had been less repudiated
I by the nation than the one submitted by the President, or the Presi
■i dent ot the United States was less authorized than be to l> recom
| ni'-nd to the consideration of Congress snch measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient" My colleague is opposed to the
Bank ot the United States, because, 1 presume, it is unconstitution
al. He is opposed to the Sub-Treasury, because it will increase
Bx.ccutiee patronage, because it will create tieo currencies—one for
[the people, and the o/Aer (the best)/or the office holders! and, I
i suppose, because ho advised and warned the Presiri ent not to reconr
j mend it ;' and as to a special depoiite scheme, be says that is all a
; humbug. Nothing, sir, nothing but Ziisown dear scheme of “State
■ Rights banks," or “ Bank State rights,” I forget which he called it,
! will do for him ; and I am free to say that, after the fullest attention
I have been able to bestow upon all that lie has said in favor of this
. his darling pet, lean distil from it nothing more than this—that ha
ving, on the emergency occasioned by the removal of the deposites
in 1834 from the Bank ofthe Un ted States, voted for the experiment
or the Stale banks as fiscal agents, he i- consistent in voting for them
again. Yes, sir, every change has been rung on the inconsistency
ot those who voted for them then, and now that they have “signally
and mournfully ” failed to answer the desired purpose, are opposed
to trusting them a second time; whilst I have heard from my col
league not a word of ieproof against those who then denounced bis
scheme as fraught with corruption and ruin to the country, and now
“damn it with faint praise,” oi stigmatize it as “ a good half waj
house.” Halfway where? half way to what ? Why, sir, half waif
! between that constitutional Treasury and that unconstitutional
■ Bank, between which, my colleague says, he would pause long be-
I fore he would make an election !
■! Mr. Presid ent, 1 beg leave further to define my position, bv say
ing that every day’s reflection and observation—nay, that “recent
■ events,” if my colleague ptefers the phrase—confirms me in my con
viction that the money of the people paid for the support of their
Government, and no other purpose, should be kept in a Treasury
independent of, and uncontrolled by any other Government, or the
creatures of any other Government on earth ; and wise, patriotic
statesmen can devise, before I will confine the public treasure—the
taxes paid and intended by the people for specific purpose—to the
uncontrolled custody (as uncontrolled it must be, for 1 agree wit h
my colleague that a general scheme of special deposites is all a litim-
! bug) of any bank ; and least of all, of banks who owe their ex
j istence and allegiance to ether Governments, and whom we cannot,
: therefore, supervise, regf'late, control, or punish. If you cannot
j exercise those powers in regard to 'hese banks, when curators of the
| public money, it seems most dear to my mind that it should not be
; entrusted to them ; mid if you you can, it is equa!.[ v clear (hot we may
i bid an eternal adieu to all State rights, except what colleague
; is pleased to denominate “ Bank State rights” Far be it frC*.m tne,
■ sir, now to go into any thing like an argument in favor of the Sub- |
| I leasurv. That task has long since been ably perfoimed by others.
; Its principles arc before the people, and, like the principles of con
. stitutional liberty and reform on other great occasions, mav be slow,
but will be sure. It has always been sufficient for me, that tin: system
I was supported by the p ain principles of common sense and common
j honesty, an I was notoriously the only mode contemplated by the
I framers of the Constitution, who denied to the Government the aid
j of a National B ink, ami therefore could not have contemplated or
i anticipated that of State banks, in c injunction with the National
! I’r'-asury.
Further, sir, to define my position in conic distinction to that
! ot my colleague, and that which he now occupies in contradistinction
to the one he occupied a few years ago, I beg leave to read to
; the Senate an extract or two from a speech delivered bv him in this
i chamber, in the year 18’34, on the occasion of the removal of the
deposit.!s. | know, sir, that eflurts hive been recently made to
explain away that speech to mean something very difli-rent from
. whht its words clearly import. If helms not, since'that speech was
delivered, changed his opinion, and shifted his ground, then indeed
is language a m ist imperfect exp inent of thought. 1 certainly have
mu changed my opinions on the subject of that speech—it was about
1 gold currency. 1 shill never forget’ the pleasure with which Ire id
I it,-Hid what golden opinions it obt lined for mv colleague with the entire
| Democracy of Virginia, or what \w.tvy dcnuncibtious it brought upon
him Irom those w ith whom lie is now co-operating to make this a
paper Government. But to the extracts. 11 • then said that
“Ol ail n forms, social, political, or economical, required by the great
j interests of the country, that which is most urgently demande l’and
j which promises, in its accomplishment, the largest ’results of utility,
security, and public benefit, is beyond comparison the iiestokation
‘ ofiiwffiorrrnmint towh.it it was inten led by the framers ofthe
I Consti inion to h<— a hard money Government. We are too mticli
in the habit, Mr. President, of regarding the evils ofa-p iper system
| as imressary and incurable, and of being content with the delusive
, l>alli ition of those evils, supposed to Im derived from the controlling
: stipiemmy of a National Bank.” * * * “Whatever influence
1 such an instilu'ioa may be supposed to exert in presei ring the souud
' ness <d’ tho currency, that object would be much more effectually
! piomoied by a return, as far as i-itACTii Am.B, to a metallic circnla
• tin t, first Slop towards that return is Io li t the B ink of the United
Slates go down. The ordinary channels of circulation being thus
! supplied with gold and silver, the Government would bo prepared,
n illiout hardship to the public creditor, to require payment of its
dues in specj<>, and thus realize a reform, than which none could be
more deeply interesting, in every aspect, to the safety and prosperi
ty of the comitiy.” * • * “I conjure gentlemen, then, with
ability so eminently fitted for this great work, to leave tho Bank of
the Uni ed States to its fate, and bring forward their powerful aid
in an effort to restore the Government to its true, constitutional char
acter <\n<\ destination —that of u simple, solid, hard MoNcY Gov
ernment.”
Ciin language possibly be more plain, intelligible, or impressive
lhanihis? Sir, when i read this part of that memorable speech of
my colleague, 1 thought of.John Randolph,whoso dulce: and peculiar
tones <>f voice, methinks, I can still hear ringing in my ears : “This
is a hard money Government—give me gold and silver— none ofi
your trash—none of your rags—none of your paper money.” These '
were the sentiments of that distinguished man, than whom, none
better knew, or more sacredly revered, the meaning and spit it es
the Constitution. These were the sentiments of the fathers and
contcmporaeneous expounders of the Constitution; and, sir, they
; were _ tl><! sentiments of my colleague, when he delivered his speech
1 ■ l, |. i’ ' cun tmdei stand plain English. Yet, sir, I know that
it Ms ieen lecuntly attempted so to explain the above extract, as
to gno to it a meaning totally different from that which I gave,
w Jen 1 read it first, and which I give now. The word practi
cable is seized upon to pervert its true meaning, and make tliis
n Government of State hank paper money. Mr. President,
con emporaneout construction of language is frequently, and
most justly, resorted to in cases of doubt or difficulty. It lias been
.1 most efficient aid in settling doubtful phrases in our glorious Con
i jV. 11,110,, ‘ *’ ar *’ not without that aid in the present difficulty.—
J. I ‘S*’* i, - vs ‘"'her the above speech of my colleague was delivered,
». ri c ' ,ste, b i* l <t speech on the removal of the deposites, said:
he second suggestion is that which was made by the honorable
Senator from Virginia, [Mr. Rives.] That honorable member
pledges himself to bring forward a proposition, having for its object
to to do away with the paper system altogether, and to return to an
entire, metallic currency. Ido not expect that the honorable mem
ber will find much support in such an undertaking. Mere gold and
silver currency, and the entire abolition of paper, is not suited to the
times. Ihe idea has something a little too Spartan in it. We might
as well think of going to iron at once. If such a result as the gen
tleman hopes for were even desirable, I regard its attainment as ut
terly impracticable and hopeless. I lay that scheme, out
of my contemplation.” Mr. Chy, in a speech on the sao’ e subject,
S c : wI,!U a,e lll,: remedies proposed by tho' e in possession
ol the Governmeiit? None—none. Idle and visionary and chimer
ic,i sc leniei are, indeed, sometimes thrown out, but even they tire
not st rmiisly proposed. A iuei“.b o r, not now in his seat, [Mr. Rives]
i.it suggested one of 'i. isy schemes, which is to banish all paper cir
<u a ton, and tb report exclusively io hard money. A more wild and
“cable project never entered into the head of man.” Here
'• contemporaneous construction for you. With the understanding
t rtf two such men, present on the occasion of delivering this speech,
with my own understanding ofit at the same time, and that of every
hum in being who I heard speak of it. I must be excused for not
yielding my opinion to any quibble about the meaning, er import, or
bearing of a single word. 1 should like to know, sir, whether my col
league is now in favor of the '■'•hard money government" the framers
of the Constitution intended to make ours? 1 should like to know
the advent of the time when he nowthinks it will be practicable to
“return to a metallic circulation?” As he advised, the Bank of the
United States, which he considered the great impediment to his po
litical and financial millennium, was permitted to go down. And I
should like, furthermore, to know; whether he expects his fitter of
State banks, trading on all the revenues of tha Government, are
likely to supply “the ordinary channels of circulation with gold and
silver,” and to aid in the “ effort to restore the Government to its
true constitutional character and destination—that of a simple, solid,
hard money Government?” But, Mr. President, I will not longer
dwell on this topic, but go on to define my position in regard to others.
I read attentively, at the earliest opportunity, the report »f the
Secretary of the Treasury < in answer to the call of my colleague on
that officer, in regard to the manner of his executing the law author
izing urn to sell the bonds of the Bank of the United States ; and
here, sir, me to remark, that 1 have not the least doubt but
that the course of my colleague, on that occasion, was stiictly parlia
mentary, because it was permitted ; but it was eeitainly novel and
unusual to say the least ofit. On that call, he made a long speech,
condemning in unhieasmed terms that officer on the very points on
which, by the permission ofthe Senate, he was about to seek inform
ation. Yes, sir, my colleague made three long speeches against the
Secretary ofthe Treasury : in the first he prejudged him without
hearing; in the second he condemned him without a trial, and in the
third he attempted to execute him without the “benefit of clergy, 1 ’
Mr. President, it is a mournful fact, that, owing to the imperfec
tion of language, there is nothing which the wisest man can' indite
that ingenuity cannot pervert to meansomelli'Tig ’Q’.aily different from
what the author intended to convey ; a, l( ) | U( | I, sir,'perhaps h ive
read the Secretary's report, with tin; same querulous temper and
morbid feeling which seems t« possess my colleague in regard to that
officer, and also possessed the same ingenuity in collating and con
struing language te mean exactly w hat I wish it to mean, I too might
have discovered black spots; and .picked many flaws in it. But I
do declare, that after an attentive peiusal, with a sincere desire to
se C them, that report did not strike me as being in any manner ob
noxious to the severe criticism and harsh rebukes which my colleague
had in anticipation bestowed upon it. After his second speech, his
review of the document, in which he confidently asserted that its
appearance had fulfilled all his predictions about it, 1 read it a second
time with increased attention, and a similar desire to detect its vices;
and I was alike unsuccessful in discovering the frauds and cheats and
juggling by which it had been characterized. Nothing upon earth is
fmther from my mind, than to believe that the Government has any,
the remotest idea, ol forming any, the slightest connection with the
banks, further than is justified by existing laws, is demanded by the
creditors themselves of the Government, or grows out of the necessi
ty arising from the neglect ; nay, sir, I may almost say, the refusal
of Congress to provide and designate sufficient depositories sot the
funds of the Government. If such an intention was manifested, it
would, sir, be for those with whom I act to complain, and complain
they would. It would seem to me that it would be a source of pleas
ure to my colleague, unless, indeed, he goes entirely for victory, and
will not use banks at all, except in the precise manner, and to the
precise extent, he may think right and proper.
Sir, one of these bonds was sold. There is the solemn, written
contract for cash. But iny colleague denies that any cash was paid,
because, I suppose, the Spanish milled dollars were not logged all the
way fiom Philadelphia to this city, and countid out to the Treasurer.
The money, sir, was wanted fi r immediate use ; and whv ? Because,
sir, Congress sat here from the first Monday in December, 1837, to
the 9th day of July, 1838, and did not, till the last moments of the
session, make provision to meet the debts of the nation ; most of them
too, growing out of appropriations made by that very Congress, when
they knew there was not money on hand to meet them. That is the
! reason the money was wanted for immediate use ; but it was not
: wanted here. It was wanted in Florida, on the Canadian frontier,
' and at distant points in the far West, and elsewhere, to pay your
army and navy, and oilier pubiic creditors ; and was, in my opinion,
wisely and prudently left in Philadelphia, whence it could be with
facility and certainty, and “without cost or charge” to the Govern
ment, remitted when or where it was wanted. Sir, is a sale less a
: cash sale, because my convenience or my interest induces me to
leave the proceeds in the hands ofthe purchaser, subject to my or
der? Mv colleague seems to think that the terms of the law, “cash
in hand,” or “ready monev,” would require that the Secretary of
the Treasury, or the Treasurer, should have actually received into
his hands, should have fingered the millions of dollars. Sir, this sale
was, to all intents and purposes a cash sale. It so purports to be in
the solemn written contract. It so proved tube, bothto the Govern
ment and the Bank ; and ought so to appear to my colleague above
all others, as it was for specie, or its equivalent—that is, the notes of
specie paying State banks, which Its thinks “as much a constitution
al currency as gold and silver,” (which I do not.)
I Mr. President, it is no part of my present plan to go into an analy
sis, or niin'me defence of the report ofthe Secretary. That work
has been sd Inniinotisly.and efficiently performed by my friend ftom
New York, [Mr. v’/Fmm,] that a further prosecution of it would he
super jrogation. This, nu! vflve,< » " sa .V< that after the most care
ful examination of his conduct, I flo think that, when the
situation ofthe country, tho peculiar em. , .’’*rrass.'.' l <“* I ts of the currency,
the emptiness ofthe Treasury in consequence of the failure oi Con
gress, timely, to provide ways and means to meet their hea»’/ drafts
upon it—his entire privation, ever since the spring of 183'7, of ifie
ordinary depositories of the public money, added to the many otiiO* 1
difficulties he has had to encounter, shill he duly and impartially es
timated—he ought,and will receive the thanks of his country, for his
steady, patient, and untiring labor, and for his firm, persevering and
successful efforts to keep the currency ofthe country, as far as ex
isting laws permit, within the range and meaning and limitation of
the Constitution. But, Mr. President, the whole tenor and temper
of the speechees of my colleague prove, beyond all doubt, on the
mind of any man who heard them, that it was not the humble Secre
tary at whom his barbed and poisoned shafts were aimed. On a for
mer, and a memorable occasion, when anothei*Secretary of the
Treasury was the. objectuf biller denunciation in this Chamber, and
was held to be responsible for acts required by the President to be
done by him, my colleague piovcd that the Secretary was but the
arm, the organ, ofthe President; and, but a few days ago, he said
that the piescnt incumbent was his mere “catspaw.” It is not with
a “catspaw” that he has been intending to deal with on the present
occasion. No, sir, he had higher game in view. It was at the Pre
sident he aimed bis javelin ; no man who heard hint can doubt it.—
Gid, sir, nothing that he said more astonished me, than to hear him !
—yes, sir, him above all other men —reiterating the stale slang about
Executive patronage, and the purse and sword, and chanting over
again the old “doleful jeremiad” about “a power behind the throne
gr'-a'er than the throne itself.”
Mr. President, I know nothing about this wonderful thing called
Executive patronage. I have never tasted of it, and cannot, there
fore, speak ol its blighting influence on the moral character and in
dependence of those who bask in its sunshine. There was a time,
a tew years ago, when it was said to be used to its utmost extent.—
Complaints of its use, and its abuse, were louder dot ing a portion of
General Jackson’s administration than ever before, or since. My
colleague was in Congress at the time: I do not recollect that he then
raised his voice against this corrupting influence ; but 1 do recollect
that he received a pretty good slice of the patronage of that day.—
During tho same Administration, when a hero, a military chieftain,
a conqueror, a warrior, indeed, who had done bloody service with
his sword, sat in your Presidential chair, there was a prodigious out
cry about this same danger from the “purse and the sword” in the
hands of the Executive. My colleague was a member of this body,
and boldly stepped forward to prove that such an idea was absurd
and ridiculous, inasmuch as the power to raise money, (the purse,)
at)d Ute power to rai<e armies, (the sword,) were both, by the Con
stitution, confined to Congress. Tho honorable Senator from Ken
tucky in my eye, [Mr. Clay,] will recollect how fiercely my colleague
contested this point with him, and how clearly he pi t down the infer
ence he had erroneously drawn from an expression of Patrick Henry,
about the Slates having parted with the “purse nnd the sword,” by
showing that Mr, Henry only ineani to say that the States had given i
to Congress the power to raiso money and to raise armies. And,
after all thi*, r« it not most strange, passing strange, that now, when n <
man of peace—a meek, mild, placid man—one whose whole life has
been devoted to civil pursuits, nnd «ho, I dnre snv, never had an
e|>aulette on his shoulder or ft sword upon his thigh, is the President
of the United States, my colleague should feel alarmed about the
purse .Ind the sword” being in the hands of the Executive I Sir, I
can scarcely realize this. There is something amusing in the thought
of danger Irom the sword in the hands of our little President. Whv,
sir, he could hardly lift n grenadier’s broadsword ; but, sir, it is the
danger from these “legions” of officers, these “praetorian bands,”
w horn our I resident is to head, sword in hand, and march to the Cap
itol, that has seized upon the imagination of my colleague. I hope
ti. H i gt t oxet bis uneasiness on that score, and I assure him that it
is too late tn the day to frighten the people by such talk. If they
could not be alarmed by the sword of Andrew Jackson, they will not
beafratd of his pacific successor. But this other terrible thing that
we used, m days of panic memory, to hear so much about, and which
my colleague has revived—this "nowcr belli- 1 >t
than the throne itself." P ' |Lf ’ ;c‘ J, ,he eatKr
himself behind the‘ithron/’’; ■ "l/’ '' l ?‘ C °’ CagUe >? Ul
i m . us c ,n *oi’ins us he did, and eave his
opinion heroin* * t ' «™d he thus, in bis
throne itself" 'f ,ou>tr behind the throne, greater than the
mnnturio.J'’i ’ “ nil 8 ~t n ol now hear from him till these deep la
whir r i ;> t * ,csc fiiijer denunciations, these fearful forebodings, with
, .i he is attempting to excite the public mind. Sir, when, some
d^.V s a k’°> Ibead my colleague allude to certain Senators on this side
°f the chamber in a sarcastic, if not a sneering manner, as l\wpillars
of this Administration, it filled me with strange feelings. 1 could
but inquire where I was, and to whom I was listening. Before, and
al the time, sir, when I was sent to the Senate by Virginia, I know
we]) that that State, claimed the proud honor of having on this floor a
pillar of this Administration. Yes, sir, a lofty, bright, and adaman
tine pillar; a pillar which had heietofoie stood firm and unshaken
against the many rude shocks; violent assaults, and wily acts of Wiiig
ery. That pillar was my colleague. I was sent here to twine
around and support it—l was sent here to cheer him on in that ca
reer, already rendeted him as dear to the Democratic, par
ty of America, as it had rendered him hateful to the self-styled Whigs.
My support, I well knew, could be but feeble indeed, except in the
honest zeal with which it would be rendered: feeble as it might be,
little did I think, and deeply have I been disappointed and mortified,
to find that it has been totally rejected. Sir, feeble as I am, I will
stand alone in this chamber, as the pillar of the Democracy of Vir
ginia, and should the edifice be battered down over my head, and
crush me to the earth, I had rather be the smallest fragment of such
a pillar, which can be raked tip from the rubbish, than to be the lofti
est and proudest triumphal column, which those who contribute to
beat it down, can ever erect upon its ruins.
Sir, my colleague, strange to tell ! deplores most bitterlv any thing
like party! He says “party, party; I go for my countiy 1” Sir, this
was an exclamation worthy of a Brutus or Cato; but wo do not, now
a-days, often see such men as they. Sir, I take no exception to the
remark, although the assertion by any one gentleman, that he goes
for his. country, may carry with it the inference that those whe differ
with him do not. No, sir, I take no exception, because the only way
in. which ween go efficiently for our country, is through the medium
•I party ; and, sir, because there is such a universal admission* by
the contending parties in this country, that each has at heart thy "uod
ofthe country, that whenever I hear a man who deems it neces'sary
to say that he cares not for party, that he goes forh; B country, it does
not, tn the slightest degree, strengthen my es,'.i mat i„n of hk patriot
ism No. str. tar from it. Far be it f,.m lnr t 0 deny> gir> t^t
colleague has gone for hts country. I have labored too often, and too
zealously, to shield him t he immolating wrath ofthe Whigs,.and
to contribute to his elevation, to have doubted that fact. Sir, he has
een ug ty. aI1( ] justly honored by bis country. But he should never
b'gc', ,nat it was party which conferred upon hint all those honors.
Sir, I know of no man who has been more emphatically the child, the
nursling of parly, than my talented colleague. It was partv that
first sent him, a young man, into the Legislature of Virginia, where it
hid sent me a lew years before. It was party that sent him to the
Congress of the United States in the other end of this Capitol—the
Democratic party. It was party that sent him thence as minister to
| France the Democratic party. It was party which, on his return
; t<» America,sent him to the Senate ofthe United States—that same
Democratic party. It news party that drove him out of this cham
h*!r—rn,: Whig party! It was party,sir, the same, old Democrat
ic party, that sent him back into it, and it will be party —a new par
ty —the Neutral party, that will send him—l know not where- niy
sagacious and oft prophetic friend front Connecticut, [Mr. Niles,]
thinks to the Treasury Department; or,as it is, in parlance, often
called here, the Exchequer—(a custom, I think, “more honored in
the breach than in the observance”) —perhaps, for aught I know, to
the White House itself; or mayhap to the dignified chair you now
fill, in which some.— not J; no, not I, sir—but in which some say he
might be now calmly, quietly, and contentedly sitting, if he had not
been jostled out of it. But, sir, to this Neutral party. I must, in
furtherance of my object, to define my position, say something ofit.
I wish it to be most distinctly understood, that there is no neutrality
in regard to party politics in my composition; and, such is my tem
perament, that I cannot well conceive how any man, (as I before
said,) who has borne an active share in the storm of partv politics
which has long raged in our country, can possibly enjoy that state .of
blessed quiescence and composure. When my colleague first began
to file off from those ranks in which he had long stood a prominent
and active member, he called himself a Conservative. Yes, sir; w we
heard then of nothing but the Conservative party—Conservative— a
sweet, a honeyed word. But in a little time, those of us who did not
agree with this Conservative party, were called “Subservatives,” a
very harsh and bitter word. These Consul vatives, however, soon
began to lose much of their sweetness, and became very spicy, an
again changed their name, and called themselves the “Spartan band.”
Yes, sir, we saw the Spartan band, with Leonidas at their head,
forcing their way through the strong hosts of Democracy, over to the
Whig camp; aed now that they “read their title clear” to rank in
that camp, they again change their names, and call themselves neu
l trals— yes, neutrals—and we now hear, as if from Jupiter Tonans
himself, of nothing but the armed neutrality. Now, Mr. President,
I have said that I never was, and am not, a neutral rn party politics.
Should I ever become one, (which is very improbable,). I do sincere
ly hope that I may be enabled, with Christian meekness, to fold my
arms, end say, “God bless the Commonwealth;”’ or, if that
divine feeling is denied me, that I may, with the justice of
Aristides, or the impartiality of Cato, look upon the battle
field, and suffer no consideration whatever to induce tne, in my ne
cessary intercourse between the great belligerents, to deal in articles
“ contraband of war;” And above all things, if the great law of
nature and justice, self-defence, shall drive me to arm as a neutral,
that I may endeavour to deal my hlows with strict impartiality ; and,
if any thing look rather with a kindly eye to those who had ever been
my friends and allies, and with one of suspicion and fear to that par
ty who, through all times, had hated and reviled "me. Ido not mean,
sir, to question or impeach the impartiality with which my colleague
will discharge the delicate duties of a neutral armed at all points. 1
trust that it will be his intention to be strictly impartial in the blows
which he says he will have to deal out on the right and on the left. 1
do not know how deeply wounded, or how keenly pained have been
the great belligerent Whig party, by the blows he has already inflict
ed on them ; but candor compels me to say, that their adversaries,
the Administration party, have feltlhat his sword “ was sharper than
a serpent’s tooth.”
But, sir, it may not be amiss to look a little further into this theory
of a third party, no matter by what name they may call themselves.
None that has ever arisen in this country, or in England, has lived
long as a distinct, independent party. It is not consistent with the
nature of man, or with the institutions of either of these countries,
that such parties can long maintain a distinctive, separate,existence;
| n.’id if a minority, or third party, could long ex’s! in this country, and
w jeld the power set up for this aforesaid “ armed neutrality," to reg
ulate ai.’d control the conduct of the other two great parties, that is,
to rule the w.’h great majority of the people, T, for one, should
think it a most u’,?nl , ’rnble case indeed ; and have no hesitation in
saving that the pretensm? tlnls set "P Lr this party is more danger
ous to the liberty of the poopm; a,l£ l more directly hostile to the prin
ciples of our blessed Constitution, jhan stpy 1 have ever yet urged
against them.
Doyon, sir, recollect the memorable third party, yclept, the minor
ity party, that sprung up about the year 1806? lam sure yd!.’ do,
much better than I. John Randolph of Roanoke was at the head
of that party. Yes sir, John Randolph—the great, the talented, the
proud, the daring John Randolph was, its head and founder. Com
pared to any minority party before or since, it was greatly superior,
both in talent and numbers. And what became of it? It melted
away ; aad in a few years not a trace or vestige of it was left.
“ Like the flnow falls in the river,
A moment white, then gone forever.”
It was fierce and formidable for a while; but it soon lost all strength
and dissolved, and its members took their stations in one or the oth
er ol the two great contending parties of the day ; which, most as
suredly with sente slight shades of diflerence growing out of the al
tered condition ol the country, and a change of names, - vere the
same identical two parties that fought the battle of ’9B, and are now’
again struggling for ascendancy. It may he worthy of remark, as
to that minority parly, to state that John Randolph, with all his tal
ents and zeal, and fieiy temper, and love of conquest, never set tip
the pretension to "an armed neutrality." He laid no claim to the
delusive inference, speciously drawn bv sophistical analogy, and with
diplomatic subtlety, Irom the position of Queen Catherine of Russia
—to control the destinies of the nation, and subject the will of the
majority to the power of a small minority of the people. No sir:
John Randolph ol Roanoke, with all his peculiarities, wtts in many
respects, one of the purest Republicans America has ever had. He
adhered with pertinacious nicety to the principles of the Constitution
as its framers intended them, and not as its latitndinous constructs
would have them to be ; and, above all things he valued the great
principle at the root of all our institutions, that the majority should
govern the minority; and however haughty and aristocratic he might
seem in his personal carriage, he more than once, in a manner and
under circumstances which evinced his devotion to that great prin
ciple, bowed to the “majesty of the people,” when ostracized by a
majority of their suffrages. No sir, the great object of the third par
ty headed by John Randolph, in the year 1806, was to change tho
minority into a majority; and in that wav, and that only to rule the
country. Failing in that plan, the parly was dissolved, without are
sort to arguments drawn from the position of Queen Catharine of
Russia, to break in upon the great principle which lies at the foun
dation es pur institutions'. No sir. John Rqnddlph scorned, knowing
that he was in a minority, to exert power in any other way. He
scorned to hold the balance, and, as did the monkey in the fable, who
weighed for the two cats, pinch off first from the one scale, and then
from the other, till he had robbed them of all their cheese. Sir, the
longest lived minority party I have ever heard of, is the one which
has existed for some years past in France, under the name cf the
third party. What has been its history? In reading a short time
ago an extract from a French newspaper, 1 was struck with its speak
ing of the “Sola party.” I at first rtiipposed that a fourth political
party had risen tip in France to confound their confusion ; but, on
reading a little further, I discovered that the writer was speaking of
the same old French third party that has made so much noise in tho
world ; and which, had acquired the cognumen of the “sola party/’
because—what tjo you suppose, Mr. President, was the cause? Why,
sir, because they are now so reduced in numbers that they can allsit
together upon a sofa! Stith, str, will be the fate of this Conserva
tive, party, this Spartan, band, this ffAncd neutrality. They may,
sir, hav« to sit for a season on what, I Relieve, in some j>f our c httrcli
es is denominated the anxious bench ; and may, perhaps, be requir
ed to subscribe their faith, and give in their experience, before they
can gain full admission into the temple of the great church militant of
Whiggery, and take their.soats on the soja, alongside with tiie fathers
and elders of that renowned sect.
Mr. President, I am truly soriy that I have been compelled to break
silence at all, on this occasion, and pained to be compelled to break
it in strains which may not be agreeable to my colleague; but, sir, it
is the misfortune of this life that most of our sacred duties are of a
painfid character. The oue which I have been constrained to dis
charge this evening, is of that description. Being so, I have postpo
ned its discharge to the last moment, and to a period when none could
say that I was interfering in the relations now existing between him
and our mutual constituents. No sir, I have been perfectly content
that, without any, the least, interference on my part, he should man
age those relations in his own way. 1 have meant no personal of
fence to him. I his is not the place in which I would seek to indicat*
Such a feeling, if I entertained it. My difference with him is entire
ly of a political character; audit has been my pride, and frequently
my boast, that that difference had not disturbed our personal relations.
I only seek, sir, and this is the only time, according to my notions,
(which may have been fastidious,) in which I could find the opportu
nity to present myself fully and fairly to our mutual constituents, in
the antagonistical position which it has been, most unexpectedly and
gainfully, my misfortune to hold towards my colleag-je, from the firs»
moment 1 emeied this chamber to the present. I stand where I did
when 1 was sent hither by Virginia. He, however, has thought prop
er, at this critical moment, to throw himself, with all his great weight,
into one of the scales of that balance in which we are both to bo
weighed; imd it is not in my nature, sir, to permit that in which ho
has left me to stand alone, to “ kick the beam," without a solitary
feeblo struggle to maintain its equipoise.
No man, Mr. President, in this Senate cares less than I do about
retaining his seat in this Chamber. I would not, sir, to bold it for
life, make an overture for the Whig vote of the Legislature of Vir
ginia, or permit, knowingly, a single man ia that Commonwealth to
doubt my opinions in regard to this Administration, or any of the
leadiag measures or men of the day. To the Whigs, as a party, I
,aiu utterly and absolutely opposed; as individuals, no man is dispos
ed more fully and more liberally to appreciate them than I. Some
of the dearest .friends of my heart are of them. Both in the Gener
arXsseinbly'oF Virginia and throuiihotit that Commonwealth, there
are Whig--, as they call themselves, whose friendsliip 1 am proud to
enjoy. 1 have long enjoyed it. They know that I never did, aud
never will, deceive theni* -■ . ■
Now, sir, byway of summing up, and recapitulating the definition
I have desired to give of my position, in terms not to be doubled,
or misunderstood by any, 1 take leave to say, that as at present ad
vised, I prefer Mai tin Van Buren as the next President of the United
States, to any man who, to my knowledge, has been as yet named,
or thought of as bis successor. I give him this preference, because
I thus far; in the main, approve of his administration ofthe Govern
ment ; because he is in favor of a strict constructien of the Federal
Constitution, as laid down in Madison’s celebrated report; because
he is opposed to the Bank, a Bank, or any Bank established by Con
gtess, or any other department, or |>owerof the General Government;
because he is opposed to a sxstem ot internal improvement by the
General Government ; becaiise.Jie is opposed to a protecting tariff,
and is for quadrating, as near as ;a>ssible, the revenue of the country,
to a reduced expenditure of public mouei, so as never again, if avoi
dable, to have a large surplus fund in the Federal Treasury, with
which to di bauchthe State Governments, and demoralize the people.
And last, though Dot least, I am for him because he is a “ Northern
man with Southern feelings.” Thanks to him for the stand he time
ly and magnanimously made, and is ever ready in the hour of neei
or peril to make, fur the sacred compromises of the Constitution it*
regard to that great, vital, and delicate subject, which is at this mo
ment a burning torch in tire hands of the vile incendiaries of the
temple of our liberty and the Union. He did not, sir, wait till the
battle had been fought and won, before he defined his position
to the vile Abolitionists. He stood side by side with ns during the
heat and burthen of the day. No Southern man ought ever te forget
his stand on that question. Mr. President, my colleague Iras very
frequently advised and invoked the Admistration members of the
Senate, of whom he knows me to be one, to bethink themselves, and
pause in their mad career, of party, and change their course. Let
me now, sir, in turn most.earnestly and most anxiously implore him
to pause; yes,sir, to pause—for it is not too late—and reconsider lit»
position, and return to the fold of his old Democratic Republican
friends, companions, admirers, and supporters. Idp assure him that
there is not one of them who is not grieved to part with h’rm, and is
not still willing to give him the fraternal hug, and forgive and forget
all that has passed. We have’ required no sacrifice by him of his
opinion oi his conscience on any isolated measures. We are all
prone 1o differ fiom each other hi opinion, and it is the part <>f chari
ty and kindness Io think nothing us minor differences. There is
nothing, sir—l know it—there is nothing about which my colleague
was ever more mistaken, than in the intimation, if not the assertion
often made by him that there was a settled pm pose to drive him from
the ranks of the Administration pat ty I When the first symptomsof
his disaffection w u re manifested, no mother ever treated her infant
babe with more tenderness than bis old political associates in thi»
chamber were disposed to treat him, and they endeavored, to the ut
most of their power, and by all their conduct, Io afford him no pre
test of that kind, if lie should ultimately determine io abandon our
camp. And may I say to my colleague that, if any newspaper, edi
tor, or scribbler, or “ organ,” has injured or slandered him, he should
have it put down to the freedom if not to the licentiousness, of the
press; and that under any circumstances, it is far below the “eleva
ted, statesmanlike feelings” he professes, to make their abuse a jus
tification for lervinga party with whom he has so long co-operated,
and who would so wittingly have continued in ft lows! ip vi h him;
and of his co-operating with those between whom and him there has
been for an equally long period, a reciprocal hostility of the strongest
character. But, sir, if my colleague w’dl not or cannot rontinue in
communion with us, we may deplore, but we cannot help it. Ar.d,
sir, as, on a recent occasion, my colleague, imagining that he saw a
marriage about to be solemnized between she Government and the
Pennsylvania Bank of the United States, assumed, in the “ name of
his country, to forbid the bans,” so sir,should I perceive that a mar
riage is about to be solemnized between my colleague and the great
Whig party, as I think cert tinly will be, unless there is the most
cunning coquetry on the one side, or should be a cruel jilting ot*
the oilier, I will assume, in the name and behalf of the Democracy
of my country, to confirm and ratify the bans, and give him away in
marriage, (and certainly I never expected to stand sponsor to a runa
way match;) and, sir, 1 will, on the solemn occasion, say to bis new
spouse, that we have, parted reluctantly with one of our dearest and
most favorite children—that if lie is treMed with kiudoe&s and dist’me-c
tion, he will be a valuable acquisition to his new connection—for that
his dowry is rich indeed, consisting of all those precous family secrets,,
which we never impart to tiny of our children, except to those of them 1
who, we have good reason to think, will never quit the household, or
marry out of the family.
Mr. President, I have discharged a painful duty. If any one thing,,
more than all others, could alleviate the paiuful task, it is the kind
and profound attentiop with which tlie Senate, exhausted by a session
ot unusual length, have honored my remarks. My heart assures niQ
that I shall never forget the compliment.
From the Norwalk (Ohio) Remitter.
MR. CLAY.
Th? course which this overweening ambitious man pursues to rear
the waning foitunes of his political life, is not less extraordinary than
it is surprising. No less than one year since, if our memory serves
us correctly, he defended the Abolition petitioners by the power of
his eloquence an i the force of his reasoning, in his place in the Sen-,
ate. He attacked the fori less of the godlike Webster in the East* '
and took it by storm. The Abolitionists were in love with him—he
was joined to them as their idol. Now, how different his views. “A
change came over the spirit of his dream;” a new light has burst
upon bis stultified vision, not less himinot s than tbe dazzling orb of>
the noonday sun. The Abolitionists are wrong ; the people of the
<ortli have no business to interfere with the domestic institutions of
the South—it is unconstitutional; further, they have no right to in
terfere with slavery in tbe District of Columbia, more than in tho,
•States. Congress has no power to abolish slavery ip the District; it
is inexpedient—it is nncoiistituttonal; and the denial of its action ill
the one case, precludes its right in the other, as a matter, of course
To t'tese sentiments we heartily respond. AVe believe they are sen-,
tinients breathing union and harmoi y to the States, and peace and
concord to the people.
But who does not sei-tbe motive on the part of Mr. Clay in the
tcrance of such sentiments at this time? Who does not see the tact
of the demagogue, and the cunning of the schemei? In short, who.'
does not see the man as he is—a political gambler-—destitute of any
fixed principle—ready for any change—to mount any hobby, pronj-.,
ising the remotest success io his jaded and wounded ambition? Wore
the views lately advanced by him, less correct in his own mind lasfc
winter, than they now appeared to be? Were they not then as prop,
erly matured in his judgment as now? Did not the question of A bp-,
lition present quite as alarntingand dangerous an aspect to the coup*,
try and our institutions then as now? Surely! What new light then
camo so suddenly upon him? “O, Gen. Harrison is the Antimasoni<>
Abolition candidate firr the Presidency—he’s got the start of me—he’*
nominated by this loving fraternity iij company. Something must bo.
done to secure capital in another qnaiter. The South presents it*,
self, Mr, Van Buren has a foothold there-- but still, as I am*known,