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POLITICAL.
ttsu.. ...
Fi inn the GMe el the ‘il'th tilt.
SPEECH OF MR. Cl TI’BERT—Or Gr.om.tA.
/n nStale, February ffi), 1839—0 n Mr. Crittenden's bill to prevent
tin; interb reine of certain Federal officers in elections.
Mr. Cuthbert rose and addressed the Senate as follows :
Mr. President: When I obtained the limit on Saturday last, mv
health was much belter than it has been sinte, and, though 1 had
made some little prepaia'ion, so tar as regards embodying my posi
tions, I have, e\. r since that day, been suffering under severe indis
position—too severe to permit me to give that attention to the sub
ject which its importance deserves. This I regard not so much on
my own account as on the account nt the Senate ; and 1 have there
fore determined not to keep hack the debate, but to proceed in the
condition 1 am in.
I think the honorable Senator from Kentucky, (Mr. Crittenden,)
will himself admit that the evil should be great and evident, and that
its influences should bo powerful and dangerous, to justify so extra
ordinary a corrective as that proposed by him. For the purpose of
diminishing the patronage of the Executive, the bill introduced bv
him proposes to disfranchise a large portion of t’.ic citizens of the
United States, to divest them of the tights and privileges secured to
them by the Constitution, ami inherited from their ancestors, ami to
Subject them to line ami imprisonment, and perpetual disqualification
from holding oilice under the Government.
The question is, d >es such an e\ ii exist. Do we fee 1 that in Ameri
ca such extr.tordin it v mischiefs iiovv tiom ti e influence of patronage,
that the liberty < I speech, which is m t only sweet libeity itsilt', but
the guardian of every principle on .vhich liberty is founded, should
be sacrilegioitslv invaded i lie question is fairly stated. The re
medy should onlv In iis< 1 where Some ''.rent evil exists ami the in
quiry should therefore Ie in ide. Docs the ev d exist I lor the rea
son that the discussion > this subject has been very ample, and that
the bill has been stri vex iminod in all its details, I shall content
myself with onlv st.rti ■ general principles, and confining myself to
the examples cited bv the Senator tiom Kentucky, and inquire wheth
er there is anv parallel in this country, so fir as the results flowing
from die ex.rcis of p uranate ate concerned, with the country Irom
whence wo derived oar origin. The example of England lias been
exultinglv uqu th ,1 to bv the Senator: England, England, is all
that we hear tiom • gentleman. English philosophical writers have
been quoted ; E ig i-.i orators h ive been appealed to, atid English
statutes hive been paraded before the Senate, in support ot this
high-hamlcl >lll cttraoi-dinary assault on the liberty of the citizen.
Is it so, that which is good ia England must necessarily'tie. so in Amer
ica 1 1* the structure of society the same in both countries; and
do the institutions of England rest on the same foundations as ours?
No: astrong contrast may be found, not a similitude: not an agree
ment, but a wide and essential difference of law a and customs of the
two countries fro n each other. I have no doubt but the Senator,
like myself, is conscious that the glorious institutions of this coun
try, though some evils may exist in them, stand as a mark of admi
ration for the rest of the world. If so, then has he incautiously per
haps, been betrave I bv party feeling into the introduction of a mea
sure which brings his own country into comparison with a country
and state of society which cannot be compared with her without dis
paragement.
Mr. President, perhaps wo could judge this case more clearly, if,
in a simple m inner, we inquired under what institutions of Govern
ment, and under what state of society, patronage becomes a power
ful principle, capable of producing such sweat effects as to require an
A xtraordinary remedy : also, under what state of society, it is a prin
-iple that works mischief, and is therefore., to be counteracted by
means dangerous to the best principles of Government. Let us then
firing this English example, that has been so admired, into compari
son with ours in regard to this matter.
What arc the institutions of that Government, and what is the
structure of society in that country, where patronage is a formidable
principle to be met by powerful means, lest it should overturn public
liberty ? It is that Government, and that state of society, in which
the Government is in the possession of a particular class of scciety,
and that class -not llm most numerous, who arc in their feelings and
opinions to be influenced by such patronage. This is the first con
dition of society in which patronage is so powerful that it should be
watched with jealousy. The next condition of that society is this:
*diat the Executive or patronizing power should have the means of
(rawing to itself the products of the labor of the producing classes,
knd the third condition of this society is, that there should be those
islablishnicnts in the country which would enable the Executive so to
xtend that patrtnage as to keep down the governed class. If any
ne of these conditions fail, patronage is necessarily feeble. If they
oncur, it is hardly to be resisted ; an 1 in England these conditions
II concurring patronage has there overcome till resistance.
The Government of England is in the hands of a class—perhaps
I should say the aristocracy and the fund holders—and the Govern
ment being in the possession of this class, not the most numerous,
patronage may influence the suffrages ot that class to accomplish its
ncatnres and sustain its power. The peculiarity of England is this:
Nat while it has a powerful aristocracy, this class lias great necessi
ies to meet, for which it must depend on the Government. When I
ly this much, every Senator’s thoughts anticipates what is to follow.
,’lie princijde of primogeniture is established in England, and runs
.-'nough all her laws, customs, and habits, because that principle is
tecessary to maintain in rank, influence, and splendor, the aristocra
:yy-wtrrrtr hns posses-wn of the Government. That very principle
which throws this class in servile dependence upon the Government,
•akes it its most zealous and efficient supporter. The eldest son in
heriting al! the property of the patent, there is thrown upon society
.i vast number of younger children, who must either be provided for
' y the Government, or left in a state of destitution, which would
.ring that aristocracy into contempt- The principle of primogeni
' ire, therefore, which is the strength of the aristocracy, is also their
..'cakness, because the younger children inheriting no patrimony must
I.id some other means of procuring subsistence*, or they are thrown
i servile dependence upon the Government. J h.?* means is found
i the numerous and lucrative offices in the gift of the Crown. 1 hese
. .e the commissions in the army and navy—the church livings of va
rious degrees of emolument—numerous places in the law—offices
, (Directed with their vast colonial possessions, together with hund
r .-ds of sinecure olaces, altogether unknown to our simple and eco
jruical institutions. The next question is, lias she the revenue
rawn from the productive labor, and the proceeds of the property
the great body of the nation—has she means by which the Excc
itlre, in procuring power, can, in this manner, contribute to the sup
,l >rt of, and entiich sustain, this numerous class with their families?
, ; !ie has always had three hundred millions of dollars drawn from the
productive classes for her anni.'il revenue. For the taxing power be-
' in the hands of a powerful aristocracy, in consequence of the
nitation of the ritilit of suffrage, bv jvhich the laboring classes from
i>horn the taxi s arg drawn, are denied a v'.otee in assessing them this
■vwrtstocracy, who are, in fact, the tax consume."', have an interest in
vying a sufficient amount to support the numerotu offices which are
') be filled by tho • ■ connected with them. At the very moment
t . it the minisn v ar*- boasting of their economy—at the mo.ncnt that
; comtilai'it is made that the economy of the Government is so
r.ict, that it is jiatmg to the k, this unproductive class is entirely
» ivtained from the proceeds of the lao„." " *hc productive. Ihe
•• tend co'i litiori is th rrefj e answered. The tn.,? * be
Government should be in the possession of a few who are to uC " u "
i .iced by its p itr i .age. The second was, that the Government
loul I have the im un of approaching them with patronage. And
,',O third condition was that the Government should have those es-
• bli-dun -ms which might become the instruments by which to reach
. pa r ;z,"d aristociary or governing class.
W hat; ■ :-ii >s the agency? The offices by which the Government
.brt ugLt into contact with the class which is to fill them. There is
at army, with its numerous commissions; a powerful navy, of which
-:nety ship, are in commission al this moment, when two or three
ixip.s of war are sufficient to protect our lucrative commerce in all
• ifls of the world. There are also her vast colonial possessions
■ •iiiclt will afford the means of a powerful patronage. Then there
• tho bar, with its numerous places, and the church, with places more
>■ iimrous still. Turn your eyes where you will, and you behold the
I itid covered with the jiricsthood of the national chyrcli, from the
i iltred bishop to the parish priest, supported from the national reven-
ii -, directly or indirectly uttdt r the patronage of the Government,
u id composed almost exclusively of the younger sons of the privile
g'd class. The Church of England is nine of the most (totem instru
ments of p itronagr: to lire Emdi>!‘. mmiarch.
Give me a governing class, small in their numbers, and that class
ielding the power ol the government not only without regard to the
i iterests of the great body of the people, but with an express incli
nation to keep them in a state of depression, find pi event them from
acquiring lite power ot overturning monopoly, and I can easily show
i nit they [>o.,se--. a patronage utterly destructive of liberty. Give
them tiro means of operating on the productive classes by their nu
merous interested agents, and what follows ? They will proclaim
•'i ll the stiiciest economy i» exercised in tho administration of the
Government. Whet, their interest requires it, the people will bcas
liled with appeals to their passions and their prejudices. War,
I. rrrid war, will be proclaimed as necessary for the iiouor and inter
< .ts of tlm nation. That horrid god, with bloody jaws and furious
■ yes, will be invoked to the aid of tlur governing class in niaintaining.
heir supremacy over the governed. Whoever heard of a (dan for
, lucaling llm people proposed by their aristocratic opptessors? Who
■ ver heard this class urge that war was to be avoided—that it made
•. ido'Vs and ot plians—-that it was the cause of physical pains to those
.did entered into llm combat, and of demoralization to them all?
t'fie contrary feeling proci-eds from false honor, and it was that feel
, i* whit'll tho governing d iss sought to infuse into the governed,
"•dial! tin) nation submit to insult? Shull the pride of Britain submit
!> an indignity ? and shall we not always be prepared with large
( etuis, not only to repel tiggt< s-.ion and chasti-o insult, but for final
• i imph, by h iving the means of giving the first ami effectual blow?
/ sm'lr arg't’iienis as this, a statu of things was produced which en
jnd thwj Government to conlrdmlo to the supported the yoitngei
. ;.n of the arisioi'racv, awl by which means they were not onlv sup
il'„J iy ■; ib i rec of pomp and luxury rmited to their high preten
>ns. Thus Irivhe' [mt the Government in the hands of afe w, you
ye ;:'i th it is d' Arid to perpetuate their power, and enable them
support it from the products of the labor of the productive class-
Prrsid' :to these three great conditions in the Government
Ew ■ ,1, ‘ ire two an-tiliurv cond'ti'.'tis, powc;fully conitibu-
I ting to their strength. The first auxiliary, is that the Executive or
patronizing power should be hereditary. ' This being the case, par
ties aic not formed whose interest it is to counteract Executive usur
i p.nious. I his power being unchanging, that principle by which those
seeking office counteract tho influence of those in office is entirely
lost. No one who desires office dares to insult that Executive, by
questioning the justice or propriety of his appointments, as such an
act would condemn him to despair of over holding office himself; it
‘ would only disappoint his own wishes. The next auxiliary principle
! is this: where it is difficult to procure tho means of subsistence,
there patronage requires new vigor. Where is it difficult to jirocure
subsistence, where all the employments of active life are filled up,
there the pursuit of office is one of great anxiety .and perseverence.
How is it in England? There the liberal professions is filled toover
llowing. The bar, the church, the medical (irofession, are all over
stocked ; and in mercantile pursuits, the business of trade, and even
of labor, where the whole day of toil barely procures bread enough
j to sustain lite, there are hosts of eager, anxious competitors jostling
; each other. In the mamifacturing districts, where the laborers ask
only for employment and bread, they have been answered with steel.
I Armed troops rush on them, and cut them down with savage butche
ry, while no resource is left them but passive submission. Thus all
, the professions ai d employments of life, the church, the bar the medi
j cal [irofession, the army and navy, with all the employments afford
j ed by commerce and the arts, tire filled up with eager and anxious
I competitors. Here then is a condition of society in which the desire
I for, and necessity of employment is so strong as to make patronage a
powerful principle.
Now, sir, how will these ptinciples apply to our country. Cat: j
from two and a halt' to three millions of voters be influenced by the
limited expenditures of this Government? A whole nation to pat
ronize itself? An ideit too ludicrous, to need a refutation. In our
country suffrage is essentially universal-—the exceptions being so tri
fling as to allow me to consider it so. Patronage is then to be ap
plied not to the governing or governed class, but to scattered indi
viduals of an entire people. How infatuated then would that Ad
ministration he, which would think of applying its patronage to an
unworthy purpose? Most of us do not see the Federal Government
by the means of its officers. Many of us at our homes may cast our
eves around, and taking the whole horizon in view, hardly see a spot
in w hiclt even n trttW, r ruay be found. And here, with
this limited patronage, is an administration which is to usmpnnlib
cities of the people, by meins of such patronage! Reason cannot
comprehend it—the absurdity is too great to allow of its being refu
ted.
Gentlemen say that theie arc certain points in tho Uuion'w' liere
patronage is concentrated. In Baltimore, Philadelphia, New-York,
and Boston. What then? Has the Administration carried the elec
tions in these cities by means of its officers? Far different is the
state of facts. The administration has held all this concentrated
patronage in vain. Can it be believed that in a city like New
York, where three hundred thousand people are roused to the highest
state of excitement in what they believed to be a struggle for their
j liberties, that they could be controlled by a few office holders ? The
idea is too absurd. When such a population is roused bv fnose influ
ences which agitate freemen, you could no more resist them with vour
handful of office holders than a feather Could resist a storm, ” To
test this matter by fact, let us inquire, what has been the history of
patronage under the American Government. And here I set out
with stating this principle: where j s a ca j n , £U|t( ' tl . anq - u ii' s ( ate
ot society, wl'.qi'g ;u Cre arc lly violent struggles of parties, patronage
' may exercise some influence; but where, there is a severe party
j struggle, and one which is continued with regard to principle, the
power of patronage ceases. As in the calm and unrnllled waters the
feeblest swimmer makes his way, while in the raging torrent the bold
est is lost; so is it with patronage in the two extremes I have refer
red to. In the one, it may to some extent be exercised, but in the
other it is overwhelmed by the more powerful and irresistible force of
popular excitement. In the latter case, patronage, so far from being
of service to the party in power, operates indirectly against it ; for
the assistance that they may derive from the few holding office and
struggling to retain it, is more than counterbalanced by the exertions
of the many who seek to oust them from their places in order to ob
tain office for themselves. Under the administration of Washington,
patronage was exercised without danger; and when I mention that
’ sacred name, every man must understand that he needed no patron
age ; and therefore, I pass over his administration. The first Adams
i created the means of increasing his patronage, and rendering it effi
cient by the establishment of our army and navy. His administra
, lion ended with his first term, and such was the odium in which he
was held, that he was driven from the Executive chair with an oblo
-1 quy which has clouded Ids early and well earned fame. Mr. Jefier
j son succeeded him in power, and what was the first act of his admin
i istration ? He abolished patronage, he destroyed the moans by which
! his own power might have been strengthened ; and recognising the
people ns the rightful source of power, he carried out triumphantly
and successfully the principles upon which the Government itself was
iotinded. And what was the consequence? He was re-elected by
( the almost unanimous voice of the American people. His name is
I embalmed in the memories of a vast majority of his countrymen.
' Ilis opinions are to this day cited as authority bv every friend to civil
i and religious liberty, and the doctrines that ho inculcated will main
tain their ascendancy so long as our Constitution shall endure. Mr.
Madison succeeded as the friend of Mr. Jefferson, and the inheritor
of his principles. He was, like him, a foe to an increase of Exec
utive power, and, like him, opposed to extravagant expenditure, and
dangerous of tl> e Constitution. In lus administration,
the war with Great Britain commenced, and the question was, shall
we sternly and manfully maintain against a foreign foe the rights be
queathed to us by our ancestors; or shall we, weakened by faction suf
fer defeat and disgrace ? Os course patronage under this administra
tion was necessarily increased.
Mr. Monroe came into power after Mr. Madison. Now mark this
'as a peculiar period of our history. The consciousness that in a good
■ cause we had foiled the proudest nation in the world, gave strength
I to the administration, and tended almost to the entire abolition of
* party distinctions. Those who did not rejoice in the triumphs of the
j war were but few. There were some Federal leaders, it is true, who
j did not rejoice in our triumphs; but such were the feelings of a vast
I majority of the people, that they were glad to renounce their party,
j and witness, without a struggle, its total extinction. Such was the
I state of things during Mr. Monroe’s administration; and patronage,
i though it operated oil Some, produced no injurious effects.
Well, sir, another Administration came into power, and of that
I Administration the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay) was the main
. spring. 1 think Ido not err in stating that the general impression was,
that patronage would enable that Administration to continue in pow
er; and then, for the fust lime was the attempt made to patronize
particular sections of the Union, by the imposition of a protective
tariff, and splendid systems of Kiternal Improvement. Then, for the
: first time, did the nation attempt to patronize itself; and what was
the result? I’mention these things in no invidious feeling for the Se-
■ nator from Kentucky, but merely as the illustration of a principle.
■ I’his Administration, in spite of its new sources of patronage was
‘ ejected from power, and General Jackson came in with an overwhel-
J tiling majority. \\ hat then? Did he use the influence of patronage
i for the purpose of supporting himself in office? It would be absurd
I to sujipo.se that his Administration was sustained by such an influ-
• etice. It is well known that, during the continuance of liis Adnrinis
: tratioii; the fiercest struggles were carried on by the two contending
j political parties of the country; that the passions of men were high
, excited, and that the contest for certain great principles, which fi-
■ trillv trn n "' l ’ C< '’ Was ,lle ma ’ n s "PP ort Uen. Jackson and the par-
: tv who went wn.'. JS °’ il , nat ', ho off’C? holders,
: but the support of the ! ,odv ,°‘ ,h .°. <? C 0’ 1 °'?gmat l ng man
I attachment to certain great prin..’ i n ' e8 ’ wl, ! cl ’ ,hc ? b , e " ived J ,c « ou, d
carry out. The policy of his Adnfmist,..:.'-’ 1 P r ? vcd •’“"'absurd and
ridiculous was the charge. Was ho so infatuateu J’ < ? s "“ P al, “ n "
age, while he lessened its influence by exhibiting unworii.J'
als as the subject of it as 1 have heard charged against him on
floor? No. Gen. Jackson’s Administration was supported on prin
ciples far higher than any influences that patronage could produce,
and the suffrages of a fee people have shown their confidence in its
wisdom an I success. The corrupting power was in ether hands, and
he foiled it by the power of the free principles lie encouraged.
Mr. President, the name of Generat Jackson never escaped my
lips within this Hall, whilst he continued in the t hies Magistracy.—
Neither I nor any friend of mine received benefit or favor at his
hands; and 1 may declare that during that period, I was a stranger
to the Presidential edifice. He is no longer in office, and I will ex
pl iip, wliat.there was in his character to carry to such a height liis
influence with the citizens of the Republic. They believed him, sir,
j to be a man of large ssynqiatliics, capable of embracing the entire
American people; that liis heart flowed iu love and kindness to each
individual of the nation, of whatever station and degree, to him who
lived by honest labor as to the opulent and influential. They believ
ed that it belonged peculiarly to his nature Io revolt with generous
indignation against wrong and injustice,• and to come to the aid of
the weak and oppressed against the arrogant and powerful wrongdo
er. Tltey were possesserl with an innate confidence, that in admin
istering the Government he was wholly bent on the general good ;
that his measures to this end were selected with great sagacity; and
that ho was endowed with a lofty inflexibility of temper, which ena
bled him to prosecute those measures with constancy, undiverted by
seductive bi.isscs, undeterred by open intimidation and • violence.
They felt lh.it in gathering to him, they were only rallying to the sup
port of theirown cause, their own rights and interests. They attached
themselves to him, individually, as we attach ourselves to a tried friend
giving him entire credit for honesty, a quality which they arc not in
' the habit of considering as very common amongst politicians. To
! crown all their patriot pride was kindled when they beheld in him
j the high-sjiiritcd guardian of the national honor, whether in battle or
; negotiation, when they turned to that glorious day on which, under
. his auspices the American |>eoj»le were first hailed as a great nation
; by the proudest of European monarchies.
i De 'l'o(qiieville is quot' d—all that is'fbrcign is quoted—ln opposi
j lion to the principles of this distinguished patriot. De Tocqueville
1 declares that whilst Gen. Jackson was himself powerful as a Chief
I Magistrate, his strength must be the weakness of liis successors. The
; effect is justly observed, and the observation may be extended to cve
|rv Chief M i. 1 : trate who has exercise d great power, or, in more pro
; per jilincie, has enjoyed high linthority in the Republic ; but lias the
I true cause of this chert been assiened? The true cause will be brought
I into view, if we exam me into the som c.es of the jiower, or, as 1 have
I prefened to say, the authority, of those Chief Magistrates whose
*■> vtiy it; the Coniedcrticy has been felt Io be largest. These .ottrexs
are the attachment and confidence of the people attracted to the Pre
sident by an earnest persuasion of his disinterestedness and respect
for popular rights. And this disinterestedness and respect for popu
lar rights is manifested in his yielding, through positive enactments of
law, recommended by himselt, portions of the Executive power, and
in liis limiting the exercise of that [lower, by practices which he in
troduced into tin. administration of the Government, and which became
a part of ilie common law ol the Constitution, hi fine liis strength
rests not on Executive prerogative, or the positive enactments of
law, but on a prevailing influence with the people. The people be
lieve that in supporting him with constancy and animation, they are
only sustaining that policy on which they have themselves decided
and those measures which they approve. He is not controlling by
power, a passive or resisting mass, but is the adviser, leadet, and
champion of a willing people.
I have glanced at tho circumstances in the condition of our own
and tho Government of Great Britain, which show that the effect o
official patronage in the two countries, so far from being thesame, must,
in a great degree, be different. In England the dispensing power of
Government favor is in hereditary hands. The fountain of honor and
wealth, so far as it is drawn through the machinery of Government
out of the productive industry of the country, is an hereditary sove
reign. I o him, therefore, all whom the honors, power, and emol
ument of office can influence, turn their eyes. Around the throne,
then, which is independent of all elections, rally the aristocracy and
their dependants—the whole plebian train of the army, nayy, of
fundholders, of corporations, and monopolies of all kinds—all? in a ;
word, who live on taxes levied by the Government, or through the
privilege of taxing the people themselves. 'l’his immense body, al
though a minority of the nation, by that concentration of interest
which draws them to the support, and pt ts them under the swav, of
an hereditary executive, controls, by having its whole force diicc’ted
to a single will, the popular power which acts without concert. The
hereditary executive is a citadel which establishes patronage in a
stronghold, beyond the reach of the people. All its influence, as Well
as interest, tends to hold the people in subjection. How diffc cll[ ] v
does the principle work with us ! The sovereign [lower ;,‘in the
people themselves. They dispense the patron;, g oof this G(>Vern
ment-tho Presidency itself ls a part of *>,’ |S
posed of every lour years bv tbn : „ « . i n i r
flees, from those of the S-' ‘ f v ° tes; a “? a!1 , llle secondary of
i t -vrctarics downwaids, down to the lowest
here." 1 ConV'* '' ,e u*’the people. It does not stop
lv n' t" ’• ■ -•■ eSS alll ' *' ic State Legislature are annually and biennial
• " ’'-guished and restored by the same power. In short, the whole
system ot Government, State and National, with all the functionaries
that put the machinery in motion, are in some degree brought within
the original power which created the whole, by the wise provisions
of the cstablishmi nt itself. Our Government may be said to resem
ble the operations ot nature in the change of the seasons. In a year
every thing seems to perish, and all is reanimated and renewed in
the course of a year. So far as the fruits of the Government are
Sought in its patronage, the will of the people is looked to as the fruc
tifying power, as naturally as is the light of the sun by the husband
man, as the source of abundance in bis fields. The public suffrages
have no sooner conferred the employments of the Government with
their much sought honor and emoluments on the body of functiona
ries selected, than instantly the spirit of supplanting them animates
doubly as many more. In this way, as patronage here proceeds from
the people, its influence is found to operate as powerfully on persons
out of office to get in, as on those holding office to keep in ; and it
operates on those greatei numbers, foi there are always more expec
tants than incumbents. H'ence the Executive patronage in this coun
try is neutralized, lie has a power above him. Ilis place is sought,
with all it dispenses, by other aspirants and their partisans, and the
great patron —the people—is found alone to hold that sovereign in
heritance and disposal of the advantages of Government, which, in
other countries, bring the official corps, to the footsto.ol of the throne.
The issue which the verdict of the people decides in every election,
is, which of the Candidates for tho public favor is most entitled to
their confidence arid rewards; who most capable, honest, and faith
ful to the Constitution. Those who are out of office, and seek to
obtain it, assail (lose who art* in.
But I object to this bill on another ground. It is a monstrous pre
cedent fora Repiblic to strip whole classes of their natural lights
upon pretexts of expediency. If office holders are excluded from
the right of reasoning as to how votes should be given, because they
are interested, wil not the argument apply to take from them the
right of giving their own votes? If one class of people are not per
mitted to vo’e because they are supposed to be under an improper
influence, may not the exclusion, upon the score of expediency, be
extended to other classes ?
And now let mt address myself to the Senator who has introduced
the bill before the Senate. lie professes, and no doubt sincerely,
to apprehend tlat undue influences left to their growth may hereafter
become strong enough to oppress public liberty. Would he not,
then, be renderid unhappy, supposing that by his will, he could make
this bill a law, if, by doing so, he should incur the hazard of being
reproached by posterity with having himself prepared the way for
invasions upon the public liberty—with having himself opened the
avenue througl which had entered legislation pernicious to the free
dom of the cilijeris? There are certain great principles essential to
public libeity, and equally connected with public order, which should
be regarded as sacred, not merely not to be rudely assailed, but to be
left unapproadied. If always held inviolate ; if never impaired un
der pretences of expediency ; if cherished and fostered in education,
in public discussion, in every mode, they fix themselves in the mind
and heart of the citiz.en, and glow into liis nature. The national
mind is thus preptfred to feel, with quick and keen sensibility, every
injury done to tliqge principles ; and should they be profanely touch
ed, replies through the entire people with an indignant and angrv
violation. By a consentaneous impulse, the citizens rise in generous
rage to arrest the tyranny, and rebuke the assailant.
So much for public liberty ; now for public order. Under the
security of these well established principles, which are never to be
violated, tho citizens rest secure and tranquil, not liable to be work
ed into a factious fury by the experience or dread of wrong and op
pression which are to be prevented or retaliated by equal wrong and
oppression. But let it be conceded that the great pi inciples on which
the rights es the citizens rest may be impaired by being limited; that I
under the prudence of expediency, exceptions may be made to their '
operations, and hoiv fatal a change is wrought? The principle once |
violated, how shall its integrity be restored—the sacred limit over
leaped, where will you re-establish it? Having yielded the only
true and definite line, how can you replace it? Having admitted
that expediency may prevail in one case, you must admit that it may
prevail in another, if it be only sufficiently high and powerful. Hav
ing abandoned the hold upon principle, you arc reduced to the weigh
ing of motives of expediency. The feelings of the people become
callous from repeated violations of principle; the only sure rule and
guide having been abandoned, their ideas become confounded. Pre
cedents of arbitrary legislation and administration are pleaded, while
one act is made to justify another. I’r'edcdent 1 precedent! prece
dent! let the American people shun with its baneful influences. If
this reasoning be good in general, with what fotcc does it apply to
that liberty of speech wliiqji is not only so precious in itself, but, as
1 have said, the guardian of every other good principle?
I would say more but I am exhausted.
From the Georgia. Argus.
THE PRESIDENCY.
Our remarks sonic weeks since upon the disposition manifested (as
we supposed,) by some of the state-rights presses to carry the vote
of Georgia to Mr. Clay has brought out upon us the Georgia Journal.
All, however, in the spirit of courtsey and kindness, which charac
terises the editor, and in a similar spirit we shall endeavor to answer
him. •
We scarcely need to say, we are no great admirers of Mr. Van
Buren; we have not been from the day the electoral vote of Geor
gia was given him for Vice-President by the Slate-rights party, to
the present time; we have many and great ©ejections to him, and if
Ou ”' object was Merely to break down one party and put up another ;
ifit were V,, ‘a•“ la ’ ic ’’P ar *’’S as mercenaries and fight on that side
where wc cotit'i tbe bcst P a J'* •’“ "'“•• • or " s t 0 e| dist
under Clay’s banner, as id “i ' iclory wc might conic in fora share
of the spoils, but such we haiT r the object ol the
State-rights party. Wc have always i’eDCV *>d that, that party was
formed upon principle, that its object was to S u PP; rt ana a d' anc “
these principles. For ourselves, though wc have u.’ common with
other men, our personal preferences and partialities, likes ana v./slmes.
and are to some extent influenced by them, yet wc feel that we havC
hut little care whether this or that party succeeds in getting into power, I
if the advocate are to receive no benefit from the result
of the contest. By this principle we intend to be governed in the
course we shall pursue in relation to the presidential election, and i
if wc cannot support a man who goes with us the whole extent of our j
principles, we shall support him who comes nearest to it, and if
tliep are all alike innimical, wc shall support him whom wc think
cajiable of doing them the least injury.
Perhaps it may be well before we proceed, to settle, as well as we
may, what are the State-rights doctrines which may be brought into
this contest or can he effected by it.
We have considered him a tolerable good State-rights man who
believes in a strict construction of the constitution, who holds that the j
government has no right to establish a national bank, to create a pro
tective tariff—or to construct internal improvcnients---or to exercise :
any other power not expressly granted, or palpable necessary to .
carry out those hat are granted ; to be a very good one he must fur- !
therbelievc that a State has a right to judge of the constitutionality I
of a law of Congress, and having determined it to be unconstitutional,
she ought to resist it at all hazards. Does the Journal agree with j
us? If so, and it can show us any sort of prospect of electing such I
a man, wc will be found in the coming contest, battling side by side j
with him against Clay and Van Buren or any body else. But we |
put it to the candor of the Journal to say whether there is any such
hope. Is it not settled that either Clay or Van Buren must be our
next President? If so, and the State-rights party shall be “found
battling for some highly gifted son of the South,” for wli.it purpose
shall we battle, and to what end ? Confessedly not for the purpose
ol defeating them both—such a fight would not he as fair as Jack
Easy’s trinangular duel—-it would he just like the Lincoln county
light in Longstreets Georgia Scenes, where the fellow made a great
fuss, and was crowing over his antagonist, boasting of having beat
en him blue, and pulled out his eves—and behold lie had been all the
lime heating the air ami gouging the ground.
If wc had no intefest in the result, we see no reason why this
wouldn’t be as clteiiji a plan to do our battling iijnui a..'nit we
I think a better plan would be not to fatigue ourselves by battling at
I all. 11 none were to be effected by the administration of this or that
, man, but those who take part in the. contest between them, why then
I it would be well fur us to keep aloof altogether, but inasmuch as a
I resident will be elected whether we take any part in it or not, and
we shall be precisely as much affected by the administration as
though we had taken the most active part in the contest, we hold it
not only our interest but our duty, Io take such a stand in the contest
as would aid in producing a result most advantageous to our princi
[iles.
I he question now comcs up which ought the State-rights party to
select, ii it could make the choice ? If we consult our principles,
and support him whose principles are nearest our own, we shall take
Mr. .Van Buren. The most important question involved in the con
test is as to the establishment of a national bank. It is in. itself the
most important because if it be admitted that the government has
the power to create such an institution, we see no kind of reason why
it should be denied the right to exercise any other power not in ex
press terms forbidden by the constitution. It is the most important
in its result, because it not only settles by precedent the rights of the
government to do any and every thing not forbidden by the consti
tution, but it arms the government with the power and influence io
carry it out.—So long as the government alone and unaided contends
for the enlargement of its powers—so long as it can connect with it
among the people an extensive interest and influence to bring to bear
upon these questions, there is a hope that its encroachments may be
stayed. But whenever a national bank shall bo established under the
control of the government, (which will be the case if it be established,)
which can extend its arms to every quarter of the Union, and will !
enlist in it the interest and the influence of the talented and the
wealthy, it will be idle to talk any longer of the doctrine of strict
construction; all tho latitudinarian doctrines which the State rights
party have always opposed will follow as a matter of course.
Now ',„)W floes tho matter stand between these two candidates?
• l iiich of them professes most of our principles? Whose election is
most likely to sustain and advance, and whose most likely to ovci
throw and destroy them?
Mr. Van Buren is opposed to a national bank, he is opposed to
internal improvement doctrines, and is certainly much less of a tariff
man than Mr. Clay. Mr. Clay is the open and avowed advocate of
all of them, thsir friends are his friends, and on their strength arc
based his hopes of election. Not only is Mr. Van B. opposed to
these doctrines,but his friends are opposed to them, and on his oppo
sition to them rest his only prospects of success. It is true that some
of Mr. Van Buren’s officers have been unfaithful, that the public
treasury has suffered from it, it is true as. we believe that he has been
grossly remiss in his duty. He ought to have seen that the public
agents were held to a strict accountability. But these are grievances
which can be reformed and will be, but if you ever establish a
national bank the work of reform in Government is forever at
an end.
The contest between Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren is one involv
ing principle, or is simply a contest for power. If it be one of
principle, which most favor our doctrines, can any State-rights man
say that he entertains any one principle in common with Henry
Clay? If it be admitted to be a contest for the establishment of
principle, it is impossible for any rational States-right man to sup
port Clay. But suppose as between those two it is a mere contest
for the loaves and fishes, still it seems to us that the proper course
for the State-rights party to pursue is to support Van Buren. Clay
is the great common enemy whose object is the dectruction of all.
lie is the gaeat Philip of Macedon, whose object, whether he come
in the garb of friend or foe, is to destroy. Policy requires us to sup
port Mr. Van Buren. He is now weak, his time can last at best but
four years, and at the expiration of that time, we may have it in our
power to put in office, some one with whom we shall be both pleased.
But if we elect Mr. Clay, we build up at once the power against
w hich we have all been contending, and our hopes of success are
gone the State-right doctrines are crushed to rise no more.
But why battle for this “highly gifted son of the South,” be whom
he may?—Does the Journal entertain the most distant hope that he
may succeed over both the at present prominent candidates ? If not,
why battle for him ? But if it be true that he will have no chance
ofsuccess, the mere fact, that he shall be supported by the South,
must aid one or other of those prominent candidates. If the Journal
or the State-rights party to choose at all between the
two evils, let them do nothing directly or indirectly to aid the one
or the other. Would the Journal be willing to run a third candidate,
if he believed it would aid in the election of Van Buren? .Does not
the Jout nal believe that such a course would aid Mr. Clay ? We feel
satisfied that the contest will be between these two men.—We be
lieve that an attempt by the State-rights party to run a third man
would have the effect, whether intended or not, to make a diversion
in Mr. Clay’s favor, and possibly insure his election. We will do
nothing to advance Mt. Clay’s success, and every thing that we can
to prevent it. 1 herefore, unless there shall be some candidate who
has, in our opinion, some prospect of beating both Clay and Van
Buren, we shall support Van Buren. If others fell that they can
reconcile the support of Mt. Clay directly or indirectly with the in
terest or even the existence of State-right doctrines, why very well,
we can only say, we are sorry for it.
Form "Sketches of Senators."
JAMES BUCHANAN.
Mr. Buchanan is of bumble descent. His parents were Irish.
He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. His onward pro
gress to the high post which he now occupies, has been the result of
his own honorable ambition and praise-worthy and untiring labors.
\\ hilst quite a young man, he removed to Lancaster county, in his
native State, where he pursued with great atsiduity the study of the
law, under James Hopkins, Esq., long respected as one of the most
eminent and gifted advocates of his day.
Shortly after bis admission to the bar, he xvas elected by the
county where he graduated, as a representative in the State Legis
leture, and immediately rendered himself distinguished by the splen
dor and extent of his abilities.
The rapid increase of bis professional engagements soon induced
him to quit, for a period, public life ; and perhaps no man, during
I so long a course of duty at the bar ever secured more personal friends
or made fewer enemies.
At the outset of his career he joined the, Federal party, and was
I elected by that interest, for several successive terms, to the Congress
of the United States. An incident, which strongly evinces his
patriotic and earnest devotion to his country, deserves here to be
particularly noted. Upon the news reaching Lancaster of the inten
ded and threatened attack, by the British, upon Baltimore, (rendered
memorable hy the gallantry with which they were repulsed,) he
I addressed his fellow-citizens assembled at the court house, upon the
I occasion, with great eloquence and effect, and became largely instru
mental in organizing on the spot a volunteer company, which was
immediately armed and .equipped, and marched to the scene of
action—enrolling himself in its numbers as a private—bearing his
musket and his knapsack.
At the time of the memorable election of John Q. Adams to the
Presidency of tho United States by the House of Representatives
ho was a member of that body. This measure received his hearty
disapproval and warm denunciation. Immediately he earnestly
espoused the cause of Andrew Jackson. Thereafter, the Demo
cratic party, in his old District, adopted him as their candidate, and
again he was returned to the National Legislature. Thenceforth his
adherence to this party lias been uniform and unwavering. Its con
fidence has never forsaken him.
Upon the return of that singular, but brilliant and distinguished
character, John Randolph, from the Court of St. Petersburg, Mr.
Buchanan was appointed by General Jackson to succeed him,
where he remained three years. After negotiating a very important
treaty, he returned to bis native land.
Whilst in the House of Representatives he was a prominent and
efficient member of the committee appointed to prefer charges of
impeachment, and to sustain them, before the Senate of the United
States, against Judge Peck of Missouri.—The charges failed, not
receiving the sanction (as required by the Constitution,) of the votes
’of two-thirds of the body, before which they were preferred. His
| speech, however, upon the occasion, was considered highly able and
: creditable.
Shortly after his return from Russia, he was elected by the Legis
lature of Pennsylvania to serve out the unexpired time of Judge
Wilkins in the United States’ Senate. To the same post he was
; elected to serve six years from the fourth day of March, 1837.
Such is a brief und imperfect narrative of Some of the principal
incidents in the life of the Hon. Senator from Pennsylvania,
in Senatorial career Mr. Buchanan seems not ambitious of
frequent obtrusib.? U P O)1 ,be not ’ ce tbc public. When, however,
he has been called upon debate, hisefforts have commanded
respect; not so much from his main"? 1 ’ as •? ronl *l’ u soundness of his
views and bis known ability. In person lie is above the com
mon size—of heavy frame—awkard in his motions, wiu.’ a VQice
peculiar and unpleasing. He is one of the few, who, in the unenvied
condition of bachelorship, has attained to distinction in the national
councils. Mr. Buchanan possesses great influence in his State. His
mind is of a plain cast, lie aims at nothing merely ornamental. He
is fluent ;in utterance easy, in language accurate. His habits are
of a strict labot ions attention to the duties of liis station. Accu
racy of thought, strength of reasoning, and steady devotion to his
principles and his party, are among his characteristics. As a lawyer,
a statesman, and business character, he is rated as highly eminent.
In private life (notwithstanding the late period to which lie has ar
rived in a condition of single blessedness,) he is described as warm
hearted, friendly and amiable in the extreme.
Rich in the confidence of his native State—prospering, influential,
and populous—with talents, experience and acquirements to justify,
turd lender availing, the favors which she may be willing to bestow,
the road to the highest honors and emoluments is broad and open to
his ambition.
Maryland.—The Legislature of Maryland adjourned on the Gth in
stant, after passing several iinjioi taut laws in regard to internal improve
ments. One of them authorizes the conversion of tho six per cent,
bonds issued by the State to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
and Chesapeake ami Ohio Canal Company, into five per cent, bonds.—
This bill unlocks tho State’s $3,000,000 subscription to tho Baltimore
anil Ohio Railroad Company, and renders it at once available for the
purposes of the Company in tho prosecution of ils great work to the
Western waters. Another law grants the guarrntce of the State to the
bonds of the Susquehanna mid Tide Water Canal Company, to the
amount ot $1,009,()()(). Another appropriates $750,000 for the comple
tion ot the Susquehanna Raihoa.l. And another makes a further aj>-
piojuiatiou ol $1,375,000 to tho Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.
Constitutionalist.
STATU RIGHTS and UNITED STATES RIGHTS.
THE TRUE ISSUE. >
Shall ours ica GOVERNMENT OF THE RANKS, or a GOV
ERNMEN'T of the PEOPLE I Shall we have a CONST!'
TUTIONAL TREASURY, or an UNCONSTITUTIONAL NA
TIONAL BANK! Shall we have a CONSTITUTIONAL CUR- :
.>^ C¥ '/‘“’’-n A.xi> silver, or one of IRREDEEMABLE PA- c
! BJI ! Shall ice live tind-r the despotism of a MONIED ARISTOC
RACY, orunderthe safeguards of a FREE CONSTITUTION ?
[Washington Chronicle.
TUKSDAY MOBNING. APRIL 23.
MR. CUTHBERT’S SPEECH.
Wc offer to our readers to-day, the admirable speech of Mr. Senator
Cuthbert, against tbc Whig-Sedition bill introduced by Mr. Whig-Crit
tenden of Kentucky, at the late session of Congress.
I he Democracy ol Georgiahave abundant reason to be proud ofsuch
a representative in the Senate of tho United States ; one whose devotion
to the principles of republican liberty, is only sm passed by his ability to<
maintain them.
At a crisis like the present, when a proud and haughty aristocracy are
arrogantly assuming tooverstrido the barriers of the Constitution— to
take tho Government into their own hands, and to exclude the great
mass of th» people from the ballot box, by fines, forfeitures and ignominy
wo cannot too highly appreciate the services of those who have throwik
themselves into tho breach, and battled like Wall, Roane, Cuthbert and*
Strange, and so successfully too, in routing tho gag-law party, and ex--,
posing their despotic designs to the country. It was men like these,
and their political associates in every quarter, who rescued the Union
from Federal despotism in ’99 and 1800.
VICTORY AND GLORY!!!
Tho great emporium is redeemed! Old Gotham is herself again !
The Democracy of New-York has triumphed, and the government of
that great city is once more in republican hands.
The “sober, second thought of the people,” as illustrated in the late
charter election of New-York, confirms this fundamental maxim, that
“ although the people may be occasionally misled, they will not rernaui
long in the wrong.”
Whigs and Conservatives, all combined, have been too weak to with
stand the Republican phalanx. The eyes of the people are opened to a.
proper sense of their danger, and they have come up, in this contest, as
they will every where, with a determined spirit to rescue the institu
tions of their country from Federal pollution.
Let the Democracy be aroused, and following the example of theie
brethren in New-York, go forth conquering and to conquer, until Fed
eralism shall shrink aghast from the broad sun light of republican day.
TO THE HON. HENRY CLAY.
Sir:—Although I am well aware of the reward which is geneially
paid for gratuitous services, and tjiat ninety-nine out of every hundred
who labor in that vocation, find it a thankless and unprofitable pursuit, I
cannot refrain from performing a task from which your more devoted
friends have hitherto shrunk, of apprising you of the ground upon whichr
you stand in Georgia, and of the utter hopelessness of your receiving, in
the approaching canvass, the support of that party which claims to act
with you, in matters of national concern.
You will find, sir, that all the Yankees do not live “ Down East,” and*
that wc have native horns amongst us, who can blarney brother Jona
than out of countenance. lam well assured that you have been look
ing towards Georgia with the most flattering expectations, and confi
dently anticipate a powerful struggle in your behalf. You expect that
Georgia will be represented by a Whig delegation in the National Con
vention to nominate candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency r
and that an electoral Whig ticket will be run in support of such nomina
tion; but I tell you now, and in good time, that neither will be done,
although I have no doubt a large portion of the Whig party of the State
earnestly desire your elevation. You may not be apprised of the fact,
that the first object of this party is, to obtain power in the State, and to
appropriate to itself those very “spoils,” about which we have all heard
so much lamentation, but those who manage the reins will run no haz
ard, nor adopt any measure which may, peradventure, effect this para
mount object, and if proof were wanting, the tenor of their press is con
clusive.
The leading papers of that party, while they denounce your competi
tor in unmeasured terms, and applaud your talents and services, are cal
ling upon their brethren to stand aloof from the contest. Indeed
of them have already sugges'ed the policy of starting a third candidate,,
and leaving Mr. Van Buren and yourself to get along as well as you can.
This, to me, looks ominous, but you may understand the game better
than 1 do, and if it be so, I shall have only lost my labor, in writing this
communication. It may be, that you would prefer the chance of suc
cess before the House of Representatives, to a straight-forward, single
handed race before the people, and that the indications of a third candi
date by the Georgia Whigs, may have been arranged with your entiris
approbation. Yet I feel warranted in the opinion, that if such a coarse
is resorted to, it will prove abortive, for the history of tho last canvass is
still fresh in the public recollection, and the manner in which a majority
of the people were cajoled into the support of a candidate gotten up ex-'
pressly to bo beaten, will.be a sufficient warning against a similar hum
bug, for years to come.
As it is my object to deal candidly with you, and to place you in full’
possession of the state of your prospects in this quarter, it is proper that
you should be informed that in no event, can you be benefitted by her
vote. If a Clay ticket is run, it will be defeated, and if a third candidate*
is started, he will not oven be considered in the race, by a large majority
of the people of Georgia. From the Union Democratic party, you will
receive no support, and there are thousands in the Whig ranks, who,,
disdaining the trammels of party, will preserve their own principles by
opposing yourelection. They are State Rights men—you are a Con
solidationist. They advocate a strict construction of the Constitution,.
while you claim under it the exercise of every power which Congress
may deem necessary and proper. They oppose a tariff for protection
as unjust, unconstitutional, and oppressive—you are the champion of a
protective tariff, and only voted for tho Compromise, as you have de
clared in the Senate of the United States, to save the necks of a certain
portion of Southern citizens from the halter. They are opposed to
National Bank, and deny to Congress the right to charter such an institn*-
tion—you are the leading advocate of a National Bjuik, and claim soc-
Congress the constitutional authority to establish such an institution.—-
They are opposed to works of internal improvement by the General
Government—you are among the foremost in asserttg and maintaining
tho right. You are in favor of receiving and discussing abolition peti
tions, and have so spoken and so voted in the Senate of the United
States—they are opposed to all discussion or agitation upon the subject.
You took sides with the Cherokee Indians, against tho rights and inter
ests of Georgia, at an early stage of the controversy, and continued iu
bitter hostility against her, until they were finally removed hy the inde
fatigable exertions of tho past and present Administrations. They are
Georgians, alive to the interests of their State, and will not soon forget
your effoits to fasten u savage race upon her territory through all time tft
come.
Under this view of tho subject, how can you rationally calculate upou>
the vote of Georgia ? What have you ever done in the whole course of
your brilliant career, to entitle yourself to her confidence and
When you were Secretary of State under Mr. Adams, you backed and
sustained him in all his efforts to annul the treaty of 1825 with.- the
Creeks, nufl io deprive her people of the possession and enjoyment of
the territory thereby acij«!. r ecl, in which ho was defeated at last, by the
unbending firmness of the then Executive of the State. And do you
not think that all this is remembered ? Do you imagine that a people,
outraged and insulted as wc were, by an Administration of which you
were tho master spirit, will so soon forget the wrong doer and the wrong!
No, you tiro better acquainted with the workings of the human heart.
It docs appear to me r a matter of astonishment, that a man of your
intellect and experience in public affairs, should bring your mind to the
conclusion that you could obtain the vote of the Democracy of the
South, when you are so well advised of their rigid adherence to the doc
trine of State Rights. You know their jealousy upon this subject, and*
that they consider their preservation ns the only safeguard of the liberty
bequeathed to them hy their fathers. You know also that in theib
struggles to maintain them, they have had to encounter the whole fore*
ofybur gigantic talents and powerful influence.
Ifyou do actually believe that the South will support you, it cannot
be based upon identity of principle between her people and yourself,,
bub upon tho delusive hope that personal dislike to Mr. Van Buren wilt
induce them to compromit their principles for the poor gratification
revenge; but you will find in the end, that whenever it becomes the in
terest of a people to adhere to, and act out their principles, they
be tinned cither to the right hand or the, left. The magnitude of the.
question will moreover bring men to sober reflection. It will subdue th*
passions of all who are seeking after truth, and teach them that wisdom '
is alone to be derived from tho counsels of reason.