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Fro* ‘ HOW STAN ‘ ‘ ‘ . *VI atchmnn, i- ‘. ‘ ~7fi the question ;• my ■ ; “ ‘ ‘ v * r ! n - s *’ i intend oft! . vnosJeepse , ; • if fj vigilance oi the j • 1 * . t ,*an of the public .tv \>y is ‘ l w ' ,!Cn ,e an ’ ;. ,t ‘ the storm is over and Such is the answer we : *‘., r r , ‘ (ri< m our wsteli-tower of observa- 1 friends who would ask how fares tose of the Democracy, through the sea i of night and storm through which it has ~j (,) pias. The storm is ever and the day j is breaicin’ r —a day of triumph and rejoicing; and though it is yet to be marked by an ar- j tiuous contest, yet we have at least the light j prayed for by the Grecian hero : and with so righteous a cause, under a banner that t\e are so well assured so be invincible, we can have no misgivings as to the issue with widen -.l* is to b; closed and crowned. There is everv thing, in the present aspect of the great contest that is in progress throughout the country, to cheer and encour noe the friends of the Democratic cause,- every thin's to cause their bosoms to sw;:ll hio-h with patriotic hope and an honorable pn,le. AH the signs of the times which are exhibiting themselves over the surface in every direction, confirm the view we have before taken of this important Political crisis, in the pages of the Democratic Review, that it is one of those periodical ‘castings of the ekin’ which are equally unavoidable, to a strong democratic majority long in the ascend ant, and indispensable to preserve it in per petual health, youth, and vigor. Tins pro cess, though always painful and critical, is now in progress with the most favorable cir cumstances and auspices that we could de sire ; and our confidence in its result, which has never wavered an instant, is receiving every day anew and clearer confirmation. — Such will continue to be the history of the democratic party in this country, from lime to time, .so long as our government, both Federal and State, is administered on the principles which have heretofore directed it, of legislating upon the privale and partial interests of individuals and classes; espe cially if its connexion with the great moneyed interests of the country —now so happily loosened, to a considerable extent —should be resumed. In that case the experience of the future will most assuredly confirm, again and again, that of the past, viz. that the power of the majority will constantly tend more or less to abuse, to favor the interests of a cer tain influential class of political leaders, who, deriving their prominence originally from the generous zeal of their republican opinions and sentiments, in early life, become insensi bly warped from the great and broad ab stract principles of that faith, by the too long possession both of political power and per sonal influence —so as in truth to be no lon ger fit and worthy leaders to a party whose animating spirit must always be a generous enthusiasm in behalf of those great principles. Democracy is bold ami energetic, unresting in its perpetual striving after a better good, a higher perfection of social institutions. — None can be unconscious that our whole scheme of political institutions, under both the Federal and State Constitutions, is very far from being purely democratic. Though democracy is their prevalent principle, and their original root and basis, vet in all it is more or less combined with so many checks upon its freedom of deve'opement, and so large an infusion of elements of an opposite character, that they are far indeed from per fection ; and far indeed from producing all those glorious and beneficial results, of gene ra! social well-being, towards which the. ima gination of the political enthusiast so ear nestly aspires, and of which he is so pro foundly convinced that, in their simple natu ral purity, ihe great principles of his failh do contain the germs. Democracy, then, among us, must always he a restless, progressive, reforming, principle. The utmost extent to which it can ever be deemed possible by any one to carry forward the great mission of democratic amelioration in the condition of society, in any present generation, must still fall very far short of that ideal standard which must exist in the mind, and in tiie prophetic hope, of every democratic thinker, truly im bued with the spirit of his noble and sub limely simple faith. But it must he perpetu ally tending forward towards such ameliora tion —perpetually engaged in some new re form, some new simplification, or the extir pation of some element in our institutions of which time has practically developed the evil character and influence. Such being the in herent character of democracy, it is impossi ble for such a class of men as referred to above, Ihe old influential leaders and ma nagers of the party organization, who gra dually form themselves like a crust over its surface, always to retain that relation to the broad mass of their party, which they origi nally owed to the enthusiasm and devotion now chilled by the torpor and natunl timidity of age, and too often corrupted bv the acqui sition of wealth—favored and facilitated by the direction which their own political influ ence may have given to the course oi public events. We entertain the most profound respect for the venerable dignity and wisdom of gray hairs ; and are conscious of the im portance of the influence of the countless sound, sterling, old Republicans who at the present moment confer honor on our party, by the conspicuous positions they still delight to retain in (he great contest incessantly waging, for the principles of which they de rived their first lessons from the fountain head of the Jeffersonian era. But we are here considering the subject on a broader scale oi generalization; and desire to bring this truth to the apprehension of our readers, that— instead of there being any just cause for alarm for the integrity of the Democratic party, and for the safety ol the great cause involved in the destinies of that party in this country, in the soectae'e which has been seen, of its temporary disorganization, and the desertion of a portion of its prominent in fluential and wealthy leaders —such is, on the contrary, precisely one of the most unequivo cal symptoms, that its main body is, in a sound and healthy state ; and that it is pass ing, in a natural and favorable manner, through one of those periodical crises neces sary to preserve it in such a slate. It is en gaged in its natural and proper mission, that of reform ; and therefore must necessarily ex pect to encounter the hostility, not only the main body of its oi l opponents, but of those among its own former leaders interest ed in tiie perpetuation of the evils against \vhi> h its efforts are now directing themselves. Democracy is the vital principle of our sys tem ; and it is now engaged in an earnest Btruggie with a deeply seated disease, which had insensibly been suffered to overspread the body politic, till the painful development of its morbid action has aroused all the ; healthful energy of the principle of life to ar-1 rest its further progress, and at least to ex pel it from ils too close proximity to Ihe vi tals of tire constitution. Such a struggle tor the ascendency must necessarily he long, and. to many, seemingly doubtful —inflaming the i whole system with fever, and cgnvuUng it with suffering—but wc. :.ave never permitted ourselves, for” a moment, to doubt the ulti luaic triumph of nature over the disease; and we repeat, that all the symptoms now disclosing themselves are clearly confirming that confidence. In the late convulsion, it is not to be de nied, nor have 2 ever denied, that the De ,• nu tv wm shaken to its ccntr* . iT”. r “'f>Fj': B !hi eleclion fallen upon that ,“rW, it’ woull proiwh'y !W “g” .... N 1 parlv cmiKl *‘ ver toagaieui eIeWOT, lice aual. a tcrapett aa j then swept, raging and howling, over the j land. This admission in no respect impugns , ! the cardinal democratic doctrine ol confi- j dence iu the popular judgment, for which it’ 18 never intended to ciaim either an absolute . infallibility, or an exemption from temporary influences of excitement and panic. Asa body it may be said to have been disorgan ized — demoralized to speak in military phrase. Rarely have the leaders of a great party, in the constant struggles of parties in free states, been thrown suddenly into a more critical and arduous position. But they proved not unequal to the occasion, not un true to their cause. The Message of the Extra Session saved the cause and saved the country. They planted themselves on a rock of impregnable principle, and unfurling a flag that ‘ streamed like a meteor to the troubled air,’ sounded a most gallant rallying note, over the whole length and breadth of the land, to invite their party to gather around that rock of refuge, and recombine [their broken organization under the shadow of that flag. A year has not yet elapsed, land the course ol events is already rapidly justifying the bold wisdom of the high posi ! tion then assumed. The process of reor ganization has been steadily going forward, , in spite of the herculean exertion of open foes jfrom without, and false friends within, to im | pede and distract it; and though not yet !entirely consummated, has reached ? stage ; that is quite satisfactory to us, as placing its t ultimate complete success beyond fear of | danger. The Democracy has recovered [from its paralysis of panic, and is beginning ; to put forth again the energies of its renewed j youth. In no former contest has it ever | evinced a finer and nobler spirit. This is signally shewn in the primary assemblies of i the people, which have of late appeared every i where animatod by the most generous zeal and the highest confidence—tiial zeal and j confidence which, springing alone from a I Jeep sense of the righteousness of the Demo cratic side of the great issue now joined, are ; both the strongest incentives to exertion, and ! the surest harbingers of success. I The same fine spirit breathes, in a still i more striking manner, from the Democratic 1 press. This truth, which is indeed at the I present period very remarakahle, can only, [perhaps, he fully appreciated by those who ! possess the opportunity of observation afford ed by a widely extended exchange over the whole Union, with papers of all political (complexions. Though in number not equal ling probably the fourth part of their oppo ; cents —and almost universally inferior in most of those elements of success which depend on the liberality with which they are supported by the public—yet the Democratic papers, throughout the country, exhibit, at the pre sent period, a contrast to the Whig press equally favorable and remarkable. They a’re full of energy, boldness, confidence, ear nestness, argument and eloquence. The leading questions at issue present such ample materials for the most convincing address to the judgments of their readers, and the most stirring appeals to their patriotic and demo cratic sentiments, that it would be strange indeed if such were not the case. In tact, we possess an advantage in the simple, solid strength of our cause, for which all the num bers of the Whig press—all the liberality with which they are sustained by the mer cantile and moneyed interests, to which they are especially devoted —all their highly flush ed hopes of victory, and of reward for the hardships of their long sojourn in the desert of minority—all the fluent pens of their ready writers—all the specious sophisms they have derived from the mystification in which the 1 advocates of that stupendous modern impos (lure and humbug, credit money, have been ! a hie to involve the subjects of currency and commerce —ail the advantages of attack which they have had, in assailing so exten sive and complicated a system of executive administration, after so long a period oi” power and redundant public revenue —and all the vocabulary of popular catch words which has so long constituted the main bulk of their editorial stock in trade —can afford hut a poor equivalent. The contrast be j tween the two parties in this respect is very j apparent. The friends of the administration ! have a distinct and specific policy to pursue and defend. It is boldly put forward, and held on high, ns being itself its best recom mendation, if only suffered to be fairly car ried out it) practice. It is simple and trans parent. All can readily understand it, and it is impossible long to attempt to misrepre jsent and mystify it. Its friends write their principles on their foreheads; embody them in the most clear and full expositions of them ; ar.d even have recourse to unusual forms so put forth the most authentic declarations of them. They are all, moreover, of an une quivocal democratic character. They go to disconnect the federal government from an alliance with great moneyed interests which may readily be a fruitful source of corrupt political influence —to place commerce and currency on a secure basis of reliance on the natural laws of trade, and of independence of the perpetual agitation of our political con tests —10 guard against a danger which, (having occurred, may occur again, of 1 lie j government being thrown, by a power extra- I neons from itself upon a state of temporary j bankruptcy in tfis midst of the profusion of a j large surplus revenue —to introduce a safe j and stable uniformity in the fiscal operations lof the government, which can never ha af j lected by the fluctuations to which all paper j money systems must always be, confessedly, ! liable—to obviate the possibility of the future ( accumulation of a redundant revenue, with ’ all the evils and abuses inseparable from such i a fiscal plethora as that with which we were j lately afflicted—to surrender a branch of ex ecutive influence so potent and dangerous shat, but a few years back, no eloquence j could exhaust the language of denunciation j with which it was assailed by those who are now most strenuous in opposition to its pro ! post'd reform —to curtail and simplify the j federal action, in a very material and salutary degree, in its influence upon the institutions | and legislation of the states —to place itself in ! an attitude of strict neutrality between the I two parties whose opposition ot views on the ! general subject of hanks and paper money is | now only beginning to agitate the country ; iso as neiiher to extend an artificial support to those institutions by the loan of its credit ! and revenue, ror on the other hand to attack ‘or injure them in tie least degree —nl the j same time that it places itself aloof, in safe ; exemption from the dangers which it has al t ready experienced in its connection with j them, and to which, from their nature, they | must always continue more or less liable. . These are the leading features of the system jof policy on which the administration lias ; planted itself, to stand or fall with the popular ; ratification or condemnation of these princi ples. as involved in its great measure of the Independent Treasury. As accessory and subordinate to this, its cardinal idea, the Democratic party puts forth bold and distinct avowals of opinion on all miser important subjects naturally con nected with the general politics of the Union ; marking out in strong lines the limits witnm : which it restricts its own action by its own j p'edge and declarations of JocW ne. It is for [ freedom of trade, and opposed to all mono i poly legislation, and unequal distribution of j public burthens, whether in the form of tariffs jor otherwise. It is fur the strict construction ( oi the Constitution, and f>r the restriction of ’ die action of the federal centre within the | narrowest limits consistent with its plainly declared functions and objects. It is opposed Ito the interference ot flip general govern | menl, directly or indirectly, whether with the [ local interests of the states, by means of in • Urn3! improvements, or with the private rau-, meipal and social institutions, of whatever! nature they may be— connecting itself neither I with the one side nor the other of the differ ent questions arising, as purely domestic questions, out of them. i On the other hand, with what is it op posed ? The cardinal idea of the opposition 1 is, undeniably, a National Bank, though even this it uoes not venture to avow unequivo cally and manfully. It is still kept partially in the back ground. A shadowy vagueness j of noncommiltalism overspreads all its expo sitions of its doctrines and future policy; or rather it puts forth no such expositions.— They cannot be distinctly extorted, in une quivocal terms. It issues no other manifes j toes, than calls for conventions to select ‘ the ; most available candidates’ for the Presidential ■ contest. Though it is undeniable that the great question at issue is this, JVational Bank or Independent Treasury , a considerable por j lion of its supporters, in certain sections of the Union, profess to disavow the advocacy of a bank, while most strenuous in their el* forts to overthrow the administration which they cannot deny to be the only bulwark be i tween ihe country anil such an institution ; and to firing into power the men and the ; party whose first act cannot be any other [than the immediate establishment of such a j one, on a yet grander scale of power and [capita! than either of the two former. All [shades of political complexion are united in [their ranks. The profeasing State Rights [representative of Southern and Western Re- I publicanism is foremost in the orgies of a Fa | neuil Hall. A great deal is said about ‘ Whig ‘^principles but what they are, save a genc i ral purpose to ‘ heal the wounds of thebleed | ing Constitution,’ or some such beautiful figu j native design or other—to ‘ drive out the Piii- J listir.es,’and enter themselves upon the en i joyment of the milk and honey of the Pro mised Land—it is impossible to ascertain, and difficult to guess. During the late ad ministration there was a sufficient degree of plausibility in the cry of ‘ executive usurpa tion,’ appealing to our natural jealousy of its tendency to excess, to afford a tolerable com mon rallying ground to the scattered and heterogeneous elements of which the opposi tion was composed. But this pretension can no longer be maintained with any show of decency; and is now scarcely in fact at tempted, except occasionally by a few faint and feeble voifes, from the mere force of habit, though no longer cheered on by the reverberation of a thousand echoes. *h e stream of the executive action, swollen for a time, by the agitation of ihe political elements, up to the full level of its hunks, has now so manifestly subsided back to its narrowest limits, as to make any affectation of alarm at its rushing torrent too ridiculous to lie any longer even pretended. The general ten dency of the principles and poiicy of the ad ministration itself, is, undoubtedly, at all points, to reduce the central ac ion of our federal system —and with it necessarily the executive activity in similar proportion. In all the subordinate practices of administra tion, the fiery ordeal of opposition that has been maintained so long against it has brought it to a point of purity, and strict propriety of even the humblest details, en tirely unexampled in so extensive and com plicated a system. The unfortunate Indian wars which have consumed so much blood and treasure, are in vain sought to be turn ed to account as an ‘ available’ ground of party attack, the whole subject being purely of a military and not a political character ; and the only possible error that can be charged upon the administration being one that leans to virtue’s side, in such a case, namely, that of placing too lavishly the am plest means of action at the disposal of the responsible commanders in the field. No thing in fact remains to the Whigs but the two stereotyped phrases, ‘ the credit system ,’ and 1 the infamous Sub Treasury ,’ with some delusive charges of extravagances, during the course of the late administration —which, with all their specious arrays of figures, and contrasts of round numbers, in truth vanish utterly into thin air on a critical scrutiny. These in fact now constitute their whole pro vision of material —so low has the course of events reduced the stock once so overflow ing! Instead of the emharras de richcsses once so troublesome to the Whig editor, he is now compelled, by way of slight variety to his beggarly array of empty paragraphs, or the sounding verbiage of his air-inflated co lumns, to strain every nerve to lash up a pa triotic indignation against the administration, because, forsooth, a writer in a prominent Democratic journal, in his desire to reform some abuses which, according to universal consent, have grown up in the navy, nap pens to be less courtly and delicate in style than a similar article which appeared sirnul (taneously in the very journal especially de -1 voted to the interests and honor of that gal i lant profession! The panic of the year of suspension, so invaluable so long as it lasted, lias unfortu- I nately exhausted itself, and is one of those ephemera which revive not with to morrow’s sun, after running their brief cycle of exis ! fence of to-day. The waves of political ex jcitement which accompanied it, which atone j time threatened to overwhelm the Adminis j tration beyond recovery, are fast sinking j back to their accustomed* peaceful bed. Un- I fortunately, too. in their refluence they have j done very serious damage to the Whig cause i itself, leaving it high and dry upon the naked shore, not only shorn of ail its bravery, hut in truth in very sorry and unseaworthy plight. What has become of the charge that it was the Administration that caused the suspen sion,—after the testimony of the New York banks, and the universal acquiescence in the truth of the enormous self expansion of the paper currency and of speculation, with the , morbid overaction of the whole commercial system, at first so resolutely denied by the i Whig presses, under the cue ol the prompt- I ing ofMr. Biddle ? And since it has become i manifest that the reaction was unavoidable, wfiat has become of the abuse ot the Specie Circular; which it is now evident to all af forded a check, so lar as ris limited operation went, upon that expansion and overaction, and was indispensable to preserve the puonc domain from the rapid evaporation wmen it ivas undergoing on so vast a seme—^ mat public domain about which eminent V. lug statesmen are now so anxious, that they arc unwilling to allow the slight and morally equi table privilege of a pre-emption, to the poor man who is willing to reclaim his quarter section from the wilderness, on condition of being suffered to dig from it an honest liveli hood by the sweat of his own brow ? \N hat lias become of that high position of the Bank of the United States, that it suspended, late and reluctant, only lor its country’s good, holding itself ready at any moment to coope rate in restoring the currency, and to take the lead in resumption? What has become of the argument so strongly urged and sup ported by the authority of former experience, j that a National Bank could afford tbs only j means of compel!lug a resumption—-when 1 the resumption has been carried into effect in j a single year, by the banks of a single city, against all the gigantic power wielded against ■ them by that institution, and the enormous influence which it controlled ; so as even to . force the ‘ Great Regulated’ itself back to the path of honesty and duty, against the ; most determined resistance, which, in the fa mous ‘colton-bag’ letter, did not even re-; strain itself within the limits of decency?— What has become of the argument that such j an institution was necessary to manage the exchanges of the country, —when cur for eign exchanges so speedily righted themselves as” soon as relieved from the incubus of ar tificial ‘management;’ and the internal ex bao'Tes are so steadily and ceriamiv under-, going the same process, and so clearly tie- j monsvrating that the irregularities apparent j on the surface, are owing solely to the differ- j ent degrees of credit ar.d solvency of the dis- j ferent paper currencies of respective portions, of the Union ? What has become of the ar- j gument that banks, and especially a National’ Bank, were indispensable as fiscal agents ot the government, —when, through all the se verely trying circumstances ol the year of suspension, it was able to dispense with both ; ami that, too, without the provision of anew legally organized scheme ol management, such as it lias twice applied to ( Congress to grant? What has become of the charge that the attitude assumed by the: Administration, on the suspension, was ruin ous and destructive to all the interests ot ihe j country, ia its stern determination not to ac- [ quietce in an indefinite continuance of it, by: bending the knee to the Baal of paper money, 1 and consenting to receive a depreciated irie-: deeinable currency—what has become to the ‘ten cent revolution’ of the merchants and ; gentlemen of Boston against Mr. Kendall—j when it is now too manifest to admit of seri-; ous denial, that a different course, on the part j of the Administration, would have prolonged j j the suspension lor several years ; and that to j | ihe moral force of the public sentiment which | ! it alone kept alive and stimulated, to the ral- [ living influence of the specie flag which it [alone kept flying, has been mainly, if not : solely, due the happy direction which events have now taken? What has become of the [charge of hostility to legitimate credit, or to [sound and honest banking, after the signal manner in which the Administration and its ; friends have lent their countenance and sup-: I port to the process of resumption ? And now ! [ that time has sifted the subject a little, what ‘has become of. all the ridiculous charges that j the Independent Treasury Scheme would ab sorb ail the specie of the country, destroy Ihe banks, cripple commerce and industry, extend i alarmingly the influence of the Executive, land endanger the public funds? Wiiat has become of all these, and a host !of similar ‘arguments’ and charges, which, \ while they lasted, afforded such rich topics of [declamation to Whig fluent speakers and I ready writers? Have they curled upwards [ into impalpable and invisible ether, like the | morning mists of our mountains, before ’the slow but irresistible power of the God of [ Light? Have they been laid, like unquiet ghosts, at the bottom of the Red Sea, by the stern exorcism of the voice of reason and 1 truth, never mure to revisit the pale glimpses iof the ITDoa? Have they been floated away and dispersed, by ebb of the tide of panic excitement,outrjfffgritonard. on the bound | less ocean of the absurd, never more 113I 13 be: re assembled, ifi all the imposing array in which they were once so gallantly decked out? Or have betaken themselves, as congenial to their moonshiny natures, to that Limbo said to be the receptacle of all tilings lost on earth? Where are they ? It is very certain that they are no longer to be seen or heard of on ‘ this dark terrestrial ball;’ and that the homes that cnce knew them, in the columns and paragraphs of the Whig press, now know them no more. It is said that, whatever processes of transformation all crea tures and substances undergo from time to time —from a, ‘godlike’ statesman down to a silkworm’s egg —nothing actually perishes. But confessing ourselves utterly unable to an swer so puzzling a query, as the present whereabout of all those shadowy ghosts of ar guments, that used to come trooping up from the vast deep of the imagination at the ma gic call of Whig eloquence, we can only re fer the reader, desirous of laying his finger on them, for information to our friends of the Whig press. Where are they, then?— ‘ Where are they all, so sweet, so many ?’ OJon'le shepherd, tell me where! The contrast, then, exhibited by the press on the one side and on the other, in the vigor and effect with which they carry on the great party contest of argument, notwithstanding all the adventitious advantages possessed by the Whig press, cannot excites uprise. Thus must it always be in the struggle between truth and error. The one possesses within itself inexhaustible resources of an immortal energy, which are only to he fully drawn out by the opposition of falsehood ; and under whatever disadvantages of circumstance it sets out, it never goes backward, but still moves onward, ever gathering strength as it goes. The other must depend for any hope of success, in a contest with the adversary ‘ armed .so strong in honesty,’ upon the effect of its first dashing onset. If that can be but parried, or staunchly withstood fora time, it speedily exhausts itself, and leaves to the oth er the possession of the field, with that noblest and surest of triumphs, The victory of endurance borne. Thus is if., in a most signal manner, in the present case. Up to the present period the Opposition has had the Democratic party at great disadvantage. But the ground has been gradually and insensibly slipping away from under their feet. The tests of time and truth have been successively exploding their arguments, and refuting their charges, one after the other, until really little or nothing re mains to them. The cause of the adminis tration rests on a basis of right and truth, on the great questions at issue, broad and firm as the everlasting hills. The glittering spray of oratory, the vexed foam of declamation, the dashing waves of personal abuse, can avail nothing against this rock. And here our cardinal democratic principle, of confidence in the eventual sober judgment of the people, stands us in good stead. Vv e know that when we have the whole field of the argu ment open before us, no panics, no excite ments, no delusions, can long mislead the popular judgment; and no intelligent and re flecting democrat can entertain a doubt that, before the close, of this great struggle, the people, in their broad mass, will obey the deep and strong instinct of their natural de mocratic lendencv, and rally to the support of the Administration, in its present position and policy, in numbers not less overwhelming than those which bore the late Administra tion in triumph through its death-struggle with the same power now foremost in the field in opposition to the pr sent. Another of the signs of the times which we regard with great satisfaction is this—tlie [manifest progress that democratic principles [are making among the young men of the i Whig party itself. The youth of tills coun try must, of necessity, incline with a strong natural’ bias towards the generous and glori ous truths of the democratic faith, —notwith- standing the numerous powerful influences always in operation upon them, especiaiiy in our cities, our literary institutions, and the learned professions, to warp them to the op posite direction. In fact it is from this class that the democratic party is constantly re cruiting tiie losses it has from time to time to sustain, of ;ho:e of ils numbers who, as they proceed in life waxing fat and proud, are gra dually weaned from tiie attachments of their more ardent and liberal youth. Thus for the corrupt and diseased portions of the one par ty, which always gather over the surface til! they fall off anil attach themselves naturally to the other, the former is receiving a con stant compensation, in the sounder portions of the latter, which, from their mutual bias of congeniality, pass over to fill up the deser tions thus periodically dropping off. The main bulk of the Wing party itself—that is to say, of its voters, not of its politicians or lea ders—is at heart democratic, though kept, from a variety of causes and in a variety of modes, in a constant state of delusion and mystification. The peculiar combination of circumstances which has lately borne so se verely upon the democratic party, throwing its cause and candidates ‘:;to an apparent temporary minority in so many quarters where it has been long accustomed to prevail, has been seen so fur to intoxicate the Oppo sition with trumpn, as to cause them to re verse the true relations and names of parties, —to believe themselves to have gained over the ‘ democracy of numbers’ they were so long wont to despise and abu.se, —and even to crown the climax of the long array of names they have from lime to time assumed with the singularly facetious title of ‘ Demo cratic Whigs!’ This is the unkindest cut of ail. Thus to ‘ filch from us our good name’ is indeed too bad, —though we are vastly mistaken if it will prove in the end to have greatly ‘ enriched’ the unblushing wearers, it is utterly vain for that party to attempt to maintain such an assumption. Their more intelligent and liberal men, in private, freely ridicule it as a bold electioneering trick.— Ant i-democracy is the principal of their par ty organization now, as it has always been, from it3 first infusion under the auspices of the high Federalism of the oltien time. By affecting the name of democracy they only impair their own unity and cohesion, such as it is. and weaken their own principle of life. The effect is only to introduce a fatal dissen sion, the proud and stout hearted old heads of the party having been already seen to be prompt in repudiating the offensive term, and all the abominable associations of Jeflersoni anism which it implies; while at the same time it only attracts attention the more con | spicuousiy to that which it is their first inter | est to keep in the shade, the real anti-demo ; cratic character of their entire political faith. ; The movement was pregnant with much sig | niticance, which was made in tiie late Whig Young Men’s Convention at Utica, to arrest the abuse of the memory and principles of Jefferson, which the excitements of the pre sent contest had naturally drawn forth from : the Federal press; and even to attempt to : blazon that noble name on the banner of a cause, and a party, in nil respects the most repugnant to the principles of which that name is tf.e condensed expression. It was a strong symptom of a healthy spirit at work in the more generous youth of 1 hat party, —a | spirit which cannot but result in bringing ■ over a large proportion of them to the true ! Democratic cause. The indignant manner | in which these indiscreet effervescences of ’ latent democracy were frowned upon, by so many of the old recognized authorities and i magnates of the Whig” party, will go far, in j spite of the prompt efforts made to gloss over i the difficulty, to open the eyes of tiie former ■ to the true character of the party by whose i ptausible professions they have heretofore suf -5 sered themselves to be deluded and placed in | false position. | Some of our readers may possibly remem ber a remark made by us on the sweeping Wiiio- victory of last fall, in the State of New York, that it would have a happy effect in democratizing (if' the word may be permitted) a large portion of that parly itself ; and that on the defeat which certainly awaited them, as in 1824, after a short fruition of the?weets of the ascendency, they would go out of pow er better republicans than lliev came in.— This spirit manifesting itself in various modes and especially embodying itself in that ex pression of sentiment by the Utica Convention referred to, affords already a singular illustra tion of the truth of the remark. Weliad intended to devote a considerable portion of the present article to some reflec tions on the direction taken by the course of events at the late session of Congress; and the exact position in which they left the great Independence question—for such should be the proper designation of the Sub-Treasurv policy. Its allotted space is, however, so far exhausted as to permit only a few biief re marks on that subject. The Administration was, it is true, defeated on that its leading measure. It failed to carry it through the House of Representatives. The mode and ‘causes of that failure we cannot pau.se to dwell upon. Yet was it no victory to the other side, —or at best one of those Pyrrhic triumphs that are worse than defeat. On \+x whole, tiie Administration may be said, not withstanding, to have borne off the honors of the campaign ; and never was a party more dismally disconcerted than were the Opposi tion at the very close of the session, in the midst of their imagined triumph, and the clear majority which had voted down the In dependent Treasury bilh The essential prin ciple of that policy was net voted down, and could not be voted down. It teas, on the con trary, asserted by both Houses. The Demo cratic press, generally, does not appear to have folly appreciated the importance of that incidental vote in the House of Representa tives, during that memorable struggle which was so admirably conducted by the friends of the Administration, on the night of the third of July, by which the great principle, that the public funds shall not be employed for bank ing purposes, was expressly asserted, by the vote of 101 to 101, decided by the casting vote of the Speaker,—a vote which, it is un deniable, would have been increased to a considerable majority in favor of the principle by the attendance of all the absentees. We refer to the vote on the amendment of fair. Campbell, ol’S. C., to the amendment offered by Mr. Cortis, of N. Y., to Mr. Wright’s se cond bill as sent down from the Senate. It is true that that invaluable declaration was not eventually incorporated with the bill as it passed. Having been attached by force of that unexpected Democratic vote to a W big proposition, it made the latter so obnoxious to its own friends that they themselves abandon ed it rather than swallow the bitter condition; and tiie whole thus fell through. But there stands, on the record, the principle asserted which can never he retraced—the position as sumed which can never be receded from—the seed planted which cannot but germinate, and produce eventually the full and perfect fruit of the consummation of the Divorce po licy. That vote will and must he fatal to the Opposition. It brought them distinctly up to the question which had never before been fully met; and as a party they voted that the banks shall have, the use of the public reven ue for banking purposes. That vote explod ed all the mystifications with which the Ad ministration had been opposed, and revealed the one original cardinal motive of hostility to the Divorce —the use -of the public money as a basis for discounts. That vote —unsuc- cessful too, in sact —must and will prove a mill-stone round the neck of that most factious and iniquitous Opposition, and will open the eyes of thousands, before blinded to the true character of the issue involved between the two parties. The National Bank pariy was powerless in the House, ns in the Senate. They, with the still more insignificant State Bank party, could only, by their union on that common ground, clog the action of the third party mare powerful than either singly, —and thus relieve the latter from ihe responsibility of majority. Yet they could not prevent the adoption of a bill framed by Mr. YV right as his second best, and which—though still but a temporary measure of transition, and leav ing too large a discretionary responsibility upon the Executive for the management of the public finances, till future legislation— went very iar to loosen, if it did not Q ;, ' ?e dis solve, the connection between the Govern ment and the banking system. And what can the Opposition do at the next session—what position assume_ It is impossible to prevent the gradual ripening of these great public questio They cannot again rest on the policy o prevention. 1 lie panic is over, and Othello’s occupation gone. They must come down, fully and fairly, into the plain, and meet the simple issue, pro or con —the Independent Treasury, or a Na tional Bank. What decent show or oppo sition to the former in discussion, lace to face before the bar of the country, can then oe made —or what new argument, as yet un dreamed of, in behalf of the latter, to supply the place of the exploded and exhausted old ones now no longer fit for service—time only can disclose; as we confess it to be beyond the scope of our imagination to conjecture. What may be the general issue of the elec tions of this fall, it is impossible for os, at the date of the present article, to anticipate. We are by no means sanguine of all the successes confidently expected by many of our friends. But though they should still go decidedly against the Democratic party, our confidence in our cause and our position would not he shaken in the least degree. We can ‘ bide our time;’ and even though the Administra tion should, possibly, he embarrassed during the latter half of the present term by an ad verse majority in the H >use of Representa tives, it can never arrest or materially impede the operation Os those deeply seated and wide ly diffused causes, which cannot fail to secure to, it an overwhelming support before the next Presidential struggle, when the last and decisive battle is to be fought upon its prin ciples and policy. SENTINEL & HERALD. COLUMBUS, OCTOBER 11, 1838. When we entered upon the discharge of the responsible duties of editors, we declared our intention of speaking plainly and fearlessly upon ail subjects. This is a pledge which 1 we shall endeavor to redeem; because we 1 consider it due to the cause of truth, and ne-j cessary for the preservation and perpetuity of tiie principles which we profess. We hold not ourselves as censors of the community in i which we live, or of’ the party to which we belong; but we are citizens of this country,’ and however feeble our admonitions, or how- j ever weak our warning voice may be, if we stand silently by, and see the cause of our country suffer, by the aid either of friend or ! foe, we shall be recreant, to that country, and to the great cause of Democracy, of which | we profess ourselves ardent though humble i disciples, did we not speak out. To our own party then, we would address a few words, i We ask these in ail sincerity, why have you enrolled yourselves in the ranks of a j party? Why do you fight under the Union flag? Is it merely to obtain a cognomen — merely to associate with a particular class of the community upon terms of political inii macy ? Or have you, upon calm and mature reflection, upon an investigation of the char acter and genius of your government, arrived at the conclusion that the principles advo cated by that party, are such as tend to the perpetuity of our liberal and our glorious Republican institutions ? If the latter are the causes which have prompted you to assume the station which you have, in the eyes of the world, the motives were noble, and such as became every true American. But allow us to ask of what value are principles, unless sternly, boldly, and inflexibly sustained? Is it enough to say that you are Union men, or Anti-Bank men, or Sub-Treasury men, and then fold your arms and sit quietly down, and expect the great cause of truth to prosper, single-handed, against a powerful and vigi ant opposition ! If by such feelings as these our fathers had been actuated, we had yet been slaves. If a foreign or domestic foe should invade your country, would you not brand him as a dastard who would thus act? It is a sacred duty, that every citizen owes to his country, to be active, vigilant, and unti ring, in upholding its interest and its glory. If your principles are worth any tiling, they are worth every thing: if, as you be lieve, the perpetuity of the government in its purity, and the blessings which we now enjoy, are to be maintained by the firm establish ment of those principles, and that they arc endangered by those of the opposition, how dare any man, who loves his country, be silent and inactive! It is as much your duty to war against political errors, as it is to meet your enemies upon the shores of the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, or the prairies of the West. But, we hear it often proclaimed, ‘though we differ with our opponents, and believe their doctrines tend to the destruction of our government, yet we think they mean well, and seek, as we do, our country’s good.’ Grant that this may be so, yet it does not change the character of the consequences which must follow the establishment of erro neous and dangerous principles. The quack, who murders his patient, may mean well, and to the patient the consequences are the same as though he purposed his destruction. There is no middle ground, no place of compromise. We must sustain our principles, or give them up altogether; and the man who, through indifference, fails to go to the poils, and cast his vote, has been guilty of the highest dere lcction of duty. Can it he denied, but that thousands of our party, in the contest just passed, have failed to do this? Pause, we beseech you, and reflect upon the conse quences of your act! But perhaps vve shall he told that we have already too much political strife. We fear that a boisterous and foolish prating is too often mistaken for political zeal. This silly habit vve would by no means be understood as encouraging. We think that true devo tion to country, and to principle, like the fer vent piety of the followers of tiie cross, is not evidenced by those who make the largest professions and the loudest noise; it soars higher; it is calm and thoughtful—energetic and powerful in action ; unyielding and un compromising. But. there are otiiers in our ranks, or who profess to be with us, who are not only found not doing them duty, by inaction, but who, upon some shallow subterfuge, are often found battling in the ranks of our opponents! who, for some object of gain, or on account of some favor bestowed, or fir the gralifica lion of some private feeling, are willing to give up their principles, lose sight of the love of country, and servilely bow to their feelings or their passions! Strange patriotism!— Extraordinary devotion to country! Is the soul of patriotism cast in no higher mould! Does the love of country burn no brighter upon the altar of American hearts! Rome, which at last sunk under her corruptions! could find in her bosom a citizen, willing to condemn bis own son to death, because he had been unfaithful to the commonwealth. And shall we, for the edress of mere private <t[ ievanccs, or for the gratification of moment ary feelings, give up the cause of democracy ! Let such reflect npdn their conduct, and say how they can reconcile themselves to an of fended country. But there is yet another class in our ranks. perhaps still more dangerous than those we have mentioned ; and who often produce by their conduct the most serious consequences. We mean those who are ever dissatisfied and restive, unless they themselves shall always be the favored and chosen of the party.— Those who seek office, not with an eye single to the Io% 7 e of country ; not from a thorough devotion to principle; but from motives of personal ambition. There is a spirit of am bition not at all, we think, allied to this, that carries with it a nobleness and majesty wor thy of all commendation. It soars far above all selfish considerations; it is incapable of being influenced by vanity or wishes allied to personal gratification. Its only aim is the good of country; a high and a holy devotion to principle marks its course; noble and generous, it yields to whatever may be thought necessary to the promotion of the true inte rest of the one or the other. Such men have usually to be invited into the public service. They never thrust themselves forward. We are the decided, avowed, and uncompromi sing enemies of the caucus system ; and yet we are the friends of a vigilant party organi zation. This can be accomplished by party conventions, in which all can he represented, and is as different from the spirit of caucus as the simple purity of our Republican institu tions is from the proud tilled aristocracy of Europe. When the will of the party shall thus be made known, we hold that man recreant to principle, who, disregarding such will, shall still thrust himself forward; and we hold him equally inexcusable, who uses any undue or improper means to obtain r nomination at the hands of the party. There is one other subject connected with party organization, upon which we beg leave to make a few remarks; and in doing so, we trust we shall not be misunderstood. We intend not to cast even an insinuation upon a solitary individual in the State; but simply to call the attention of that great mass of our fellow-citizens, with whom we struggle in common for the maintenance of great and glorious principles, to the high importance of calling into the public service, if possible, the best talents of the country. The questions put by t!,e great apostle of liberty, to the friends of those seeking office, were these:— ‘ls he honest? is he capable? is he a friend to the Constitution?’ Ii these high moral and intellectual qualifications concur, then most happy and fortunate is ihe party and country that can avail itself of such services. It is the duty of those fighting lor principle, to have an eye single so these considerations. Let no supposed momentary popularity; no adventitious circumstances, cause us to bring forward for important offices, those not in every respect morally and intellectually quali fied for the station. By a strict regard to this course of procedure, an electioneering campaign will be placed upon a more lofty elevation; our principles will be better sus tained and understood ; office itself will be come more honorable, as evidencing those’ high qualifications. The youth of our coun try, looking forward to the political arena, will seek to cultivate their minds, so as to be able to sway the judgments and not the pas sions of men, and the general tone and moral* of society will he greatly improved. THE GRAVE OF JEFFERSON. At ilie recent Harvest Home celebration in Delaware county, Mr. George Leiper slated that he lately visited the grave of Jefferson, and found it in a forlorn condi tion. It is on the estate at Monticello, which, we believe, is owned by Lieutenant Levy, now in Europe. Mr. Leiper says—‘The neglected and dilapidated home of the patriot and philosopher showed the ravages of time, and the whistling wind of a cold December morning piercing every crevice of this cele brated mansion, gave a solemnity to the oc casion, and a scope to reflection, not easily to be forgotten. The only person I met there was a polite old Irish lady, who, for a small fee, gratified the curiosity of the stranger and traveller by throwing open the empty and cheerless rooms for their inspection. How changed every thing was from what it had b en. Patriotism, philosophy, family fashions, friendship, all had fled and vanished with the master spirit who directed them. Alone I visited his grave. The gate of the garden was open, and on the right side, a short dis tance from the entrance, a few bricks laid on the flat side distinguished the grave of Jeffer son from the others within the enclosure.’ Pity that the form which stood erect in the halls of wisdom, during the storms of the re volution, should sleep unnoticed in an obscure grave ! Not that we believe in marble mo numents —which have been subject to the graces of the sculptor —possessing any inhe rent virtues, which may be imparted to Ihe dead ; hut we deem it mete and proper, as well as beautiful and sublime, that a great and free people should evince their gratitude by some outward token, for ihe signal ser vices of those who aided essentially in achie ving their independence. If, when the war rior has sheathed his last sword, and sunk to rest in his bed of glory, the polished marble is erected to tell where he sleeps, why should not the civilian he likewise remembered?’ The statesman, whose eloquence has thun dered in the Senate-house, in defence of liberty, has equally as strong a claim upon the gratitude of posterity, as the soldier who has bled and died in the same cause on the field of battle. And the patriot, who has wielded a powerful and efficient pen in the great cause of human freedom, should live in the hearts of his countrymen, equally beloved with that man, who, bold and undaunted, has stood in the foremost of the fight, and wiped from his good blade the blood of many a foe. While ever the •’ stars and stripes’continue to wave upon the battlements of American liberty, the name of Thomas Jefferson should live and flourish as a ‘ green spot on memo ry’s waste.’ From a perusal of the sacred and unparalleled charter of our rights, who can arise, without feeling a glow oflove, and a sentiment of veneration, for its illustrious and devoted author? How precious and holy should that spot be where rests his hallowed dust? With what sacred and devoted at tachment, should the citizens of this free republic gather around bis grave and bedew it with their tears! And shall it be said of that people, who were most essentially aided in tlestablishment of their independence by his superior wisdom, that they have not suffi cient pride ns a nation, to cover his grave with a monument, and hallow his lonely abode l>v a befitting memento of their affec tion ! The struggles of a revolution, and tne I triumphs of freedom, alike forbid.