Newspaper Page Text
numbers, $0,000,000, $6,500,000, and $5,-j
>OO,OOO. i. tils ,i one of the largest heads of
increased expenditure in recent yearn, and
’ - iii .oust ‘tidispeusable lor the Js>ia:cs
e ‘ .land vVst. It is appurtenant to
ii, :. i ..ise ol‘die Indian iands; and although
ine irales wiU far more than reim- j
bur.-c l.
16. And, finally, Mr. B noted the sum
of $232,300 lor miscellaneous objects, not re- j
duCe ihle to a precise head, vvhicn sweil-d the
list of expenditures, without belonging to the
expenses <i the Government.
19 The Exploring Expedition was the
hist of lire items. It was of recent origin, a
mo'iiiiing to $97,663, in 1639, and to about
$530,009 tor the three preceding years.
i nese are the eighteen heads ol extraordi
nary expenditure, said Mr. B. and the amount
< xpe ided lot each; and now let gentlemen of ■
ine opposition say lor which of these they
did not vole, to winch they uow object, and
lor winch they will not vote again at this ses
sion?
With tins view o! the tabular statements
Mr. ii. closed the examination of the items
ol expenditure, and staled the results to be a j
reduction of the 37 million aggregate in 1839,
like that til the 32 tut.lion aggregate in 1821, |
to about one third of its amount. The very
first item, that ol the payment of public debt
in the redemption of treasury notes, reduced
it 11 luiiiioiM of dollars; it sunk it fiom 37
Bi llions to 26. The other eighteen items a
mounted to $12,656 977, and reduced the 28
m llious to thirteen and one hall. Here then
is a result which i> attained by the same pro- j
cess which applies to the year 1824, and lo
every other year, and winch is right in itself: !
and which must put to flight and lo shame
all ihe attempts to excite the country with 1
this bugbear story of extravagance. In the |
first place the aggregate expenditures have
not increased three fold m fifteen years; they
have not risen Irom 13 to 39 millions, as in- I
continently asserted by the Opposition; but
from 32 millions to 37 or 39. And how have
ihey risen? By paying last year 11 millions
for treasury notes, removal of Indians, and
increase of the army and navy, and other
items as enumerated. The result is a resid
uum of thirteen and a half millions for the
real expenses of the Governnrni; a sum of
one and a ha!f millions short of what gentle
men proclaim would be an economical ex
penditure. They all say that 15 millions
would be an economical expenditure: very
well! here is thirteen and a hall! which is a
million and a hall short of that mark.
The authentic tables show that the aggre
gate expenditures for 1824, came within five
millions of those of 1839; consequently that,
with nit a deduction for extraordinary expen
ditures, the charge of extravagance, waste,
ruin, profl.gacy, &c. might have been raised
against the administration of that day, and
so n-* uniformed persons excited against it by
.i groun Hess clamor; yet no one thought of
i ->::!g such a clamor in 1824. No one then
{nought of charging, as extravagance, pay
ments on acc u it ol the public debts, and lor
indemnities to merchants, and other extraor
dinary expenses. Then all parties made the
•'"oper deductions for payments either tempo
rary or extraordinary in their nature. No
ones night to mystify or to impose upon the
gmi ant. No one thought of palm ng asto
y of thirty-two millions upon the country as
he expenses of the country. All that has
oeen reserved for the present tune; it has
o;en reserved for our day; and may iiave
ii attended lor a while with the ephemeral
■ i dees a which crowns lor a moment the petty
of delusion practised upon the ignorant.
> the day for this delusion has gone by.—
.c classified tables, now presented, will reach
v citizen, and will clear up every doubt.
’ y will enable every citizen to see every
n and expenditure—to judge it himself—and
emund of the opposition gentleman, if they
mi ‘oie lot it themselves, and if they now
i to it? Taking the extraordinary items
:i'*y rise, and beginning with the first, the
>f eleven millions paid for redemption of
ry notes; and it can be demanded if
payment was not right? and so on
_T > the whole list, amounting to twelve
halt millions. The ordinary and per
il expenses, amounting to twelve and a
o.ihons, no one objects to: all admit that
sum is a million and a half within the
. of ineiitorious economy. It is on the
ra ird.n .lies — it is on the difference be
• c'S! th.neen and a half and thirty-seven
i i.miss—that the attack is made; and now
ve p.oduce these exlraordinaries. We give
i list of them, item by item, with the amount
...lid on account of each; and call upon the
gentlemen of the opposition to name the one
to which they object? to name the one for
wii.cit they did not vote. This is what we
do: and ! will tell you, Mr. President, what
t.i.ry will do: they will not name one item to
e i:iey now object, or against which they
ii (’ :.*y voted for all—they approve all
. wintry Will approve all, except part
■i iin! harbors, and of these the op.
c .tie leading advocates. And
gentlemen of the opposition are
me cxlraordiuaiy light of going
ike a general denunciation of the
...non lor extra vagant expendiluie;
,i we show tnem tiie bill of particu
. . and isk of them to point out the extra
v ig:u.. .tem*, or the ones for which they did
n> v i;e they trill remain silent! They will
. . nc no uetu because they cannot.
Mr. 13. sa.d that this administration and that
of General Jackson were ready for a com
on vith any that preceded them. Ag
..es against aggregates, or items against
tney were ready for the comparison,
i, any one .shall say that the expenses of the
G • “iinvent were thirty seven millions in
ioJJ, or thirty-nine •uilions in 183S, we an
swer til it tuis is only five or seven millions
nice titan the aggregate of 1824; that the
aggregate was then thirty-two millions, and
Lie uiCivase is only in proportion to the in
crease of tiie country. If descending from
aggregates and go.ug into items, it is said
that sixteen millions must be deducted from •
the aggregate of 1324 lor payments to the
public debt, and eight millions more for in
demnities and other extraordinaries, we an
swer tb it eleven millions must he deducted
from the aggregate of 1339 for redemption of
treasury notes, and twelve and a half millions
more lor Indian wars, treaties, and removals,
and a dozen other extraordinaries. This
brings the thirty seven down to thirteen and
a half; and at that point complaint ceases.
Mr. B. said that the tables which were
presented treated every administration alike.
Beginning in the last year of Mr. Monroe,
they came down through the term ol Mr.
Adams, and the two terms of General Jack
son, an I the three years which had elapsed
under Mr. Van B tren. All were treated
* alike. Toe same rule was applied to the
expenditures under each one. Tiie aggre
gate was given in every case first; and then
the extraordinary, separated from theordina
ry expenditures, and the same items charged
and credited in every case. In looking at the
aggregates it will be seen that every admin
istration needed this classification; that the
aggregate under Mr. Adam's administration
was not thirteen millions, as repeated so many
millions of times, but about the double of that!
anJ that this thirteen millions for that gentle
man’s administration was only attained by
deducting extra ordinaries! by going through
the very process which reduces the expendi
ture under Mr Van Buren to thirteen and a
half millions. The smallest aggregate in the
whole table is that of 1835, under General
Jackson’s administration, when the public debt
had ceased, and the Indian wars had not be
gun, The aggregate for thaiyear seventeen
millions and a half. Even including the
>xiraor ‘ioaries of that year, and the aggre
gate was but seventeen millions and a half!
And so it will be again. As soon as we are
done piying the treasury notes, which are is
sued in lieu of our misplaced revenue, and so
soon as our Indian troubles are over, and the
payments completed for removal of Indians,
and purchase of their lands, the aggregate
expenditures will come down to about wnat
they were in 1837; and the ordinary expen
ses will be within fifteen millions.
Mr. B. demanded who ever deemed it an
expense of the Government when Mr Jeffer
son purchased Louisiana at fifteen millions of
dollars? And who could thick of charging
as an expense the large sums which had
been lately paid in extinguishing Indian ti
tles, and in removing Indians? One would
I think of charging, among the expenses of a
! family, the outlay which should be made by
a prudent and thrifty farmer in purchasing
I additional land, and in enclosing it with fen
ces, or covering it with improvements. The
j extinction of tlie Indian titles—the acquisi
tion of their lands for settlement and cultiva
tion; and the removal of the Indians them
selves from all the States, was one of the
great measures which illustrated Gen. Jack
son’s administration, and was beneficial both
to the Indians and to the States. So great
an object could not b.* effected without a
large expenditure of money; and who is there
now to stand up and condemn the admtnis
(ration for tins expe*>dituri? Who wants
these Indians bach? Who wants Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi, and all the other
Stales, again encumbered with the Indians
which have left them?
That the expenses of the goverement had
increased in the last twelve or fifteen years,
Mr. B. said was just as certainly true as it
was naturally to have been expected.—The
country itself had increased in that time: sev
eral new States had been admitted into the
Union, and several new Territories had been
created. An additional impetus had been
given to the public defences, in the increase
of the army and navy—wars with several
Indian tribes had intervened—vast purchases
ol Indian lands had been effected—whole
tribes, nay, whole nations of Indians had been
removed, and removed to a vast distance,
and at a vast expense. This latter expen
diture was chiefly for the benefit of the South
and West: but where is the man in ary
quarter of the Union that can stand up and
condemn it?
Sir, I admit an increased expenditure; and
far from concealing, I exhibit and proclaim
it. I display the items; I point them out to
the country. I say they will be found, prin
cipally, in the navy—in the army—in the In
dian department—in the pensions—in the
light house establishment—in the Indian
wars—in the defence of the frontiers, North
and West—in fortifications—in preparing
arms and munitions of war—in the legislative
department—in permanent and durable fire
proof public buildings—and in assuming the
foreign debt, and making other expenditures
lor the district ofColumbia. In these branch
es of the service will the increases be princi
pally liiunu, and I supported them all except
the increase for pensions, harbors, some of
the light houses, and the book printing part
of the legislative expenses. I supported all
except these: but the gentlemen of the oppo
sition supported all that I did, and these be
sides; and now go forth to raise a cry of ex
travagance!
Mr. B. said the opposition not only voted
for these increased expenditures, but in some
instances greatly augmented them. This was
the case in the Indian expenditures, and es
pecially among the Cherokees. The oppo
sition set themselves up for the guardians of
these Indians: they seemed to make political
alliance with them. The Indians became
parti s to our politics; the opposition became
allies to them: and the result was double
trouble, and double expense, and double de
lays, and double vexation of every kind with
those Indians; until it required a military
force lo compel them to comply with treaties
which gave them millions more than they
ought to have received.
The opposition not only voted for ail the
increases, and caused some of them to lie
augmented, but they attempted many enor
mous expenditures which the Democratic
members opposed and prevented. Let any
one look to the bills which were rejected, ei
ther in the Senate or in the House of Repre
sentatives; let any look to the number of these
bills, and the lens of millions, in the aggre
gate, in which they were freighted, and then
say what the expenses would have been if
the opposition, had been in power. One of
these bills alone, the French spoliation bill,
was for five millions of dollars; others were
for vast sums, especially the harbor bills.
They were rejected by the votes of Demo
cratic members; and if they had not been—
if they had passed— they would have swelled
the thirty seven to mar fifty millions; and
would have been charged upon as a reckless,
wasteful, horrible extravagance.
Mr. B. said that the financial statements
were a difficult subject to handle —hard for a
speaker to understand himself, and harder
still to make himself be understood by others.
It was a point at which the most unfounded
impressions might be made on the public
mind—on which the greatest errors might be
propogated. Yet it was a point on which
correct information should he disseminated—
on which every citizen should he informed —
which every one shoulJ make it his business
to understand. Economy should be the car
dinal virtue of a free Government, and the
whole body of the citizens should be the
guardians of that virtue. They should guard
the national finances; and for that purpose
should understand them. They should know
how much money was raised, for what pur
pose, ami hmv expended. They could not
he 100 jealous of the misapplication ol the
public moneys; they cou'd not scrutinize too
closely the public accounts. Those accounts
could not be presented to them, nor in a
form too simple and obviouj. It has been
mv endeavour, said Mr. B. both in calling
for the statements which had just come in
from tiie Treasury, and in what I have sta
ted upon them, to present the difficult sub
ject of our finances in a plain, obvious, and
intelligible form. My object has been to elu
cidate, and not th mistily; to enlighten and
not to contuse. I have endeavored to pre
sent a full, plain, authentic statement ol the
public expenditures; such as every citizen
can see and comprehend* Our adversaries
present an aggregate; rush at the passions,
aud endeavor to alarm, or to enrage the peo
ple. I present the particulars and ask for
their deliberate judgement. Sir, I have Com
fidence in the capacity of my countrymen.
I have confidence in their capacity for self
government; in their moral and intellectual
capacity lor governing themselves—for sus
taining and carrying on the frame of Gov
ernment which our ancestors provided for us.
I believe that my fellow citizens possess the
requisite qualities for self-government—judg
ment to understand- virtue lo choose—and
patriotism to sustain—the principles and the
measures which are best for themselves. 1
do not believe in the monarchial idea that the
people are ignorant, venal, factious; that they
have no enlightened views of men or meas
ures; that reason, truth, and sound argument,
are lost upon as pearls thrown to the swine;
that the only way to govern them is to bam
boozled and debauch them. I believe in none
of these monarchial opinions, and have never
practised ujK>n them. I have never address
ed myself to the supposed ignorance, venality,
faction, or caprice of my countrymen, but
always to their intelligence, virtue and patri
otism. The argumentum ad ignorantiam
has had no place in my speeches: the argu
mentum ad judictum has been my aim. I
cannot say that I have spoken with judgment,
but I can affirm that I have always paid mv
countrymen the compliment of speaking to
their accredited judgment—never to their (
supposed folly. I have spoken to the ration
al minds, to virtuous hearts, and to the lofty,
generous and patriotic feelings of my coun
trymen; apd 1 am too well content with the
effect which this plan of speaking has had, to !
change it now. Facts, and reasons, are mv
materials; simplicity my style. Away .with
exordium; away with preroration; away with
holiday phrases; away with theatrical display;
away with all figures, but figures of aritiinie
tic, and of these I give many, and never
more than in this short speech. This has
been nty plan of speaking, and this it is now.
I have procured plain statements to be made
out, and have delivered a plain speech upon
them. 1 have endeavored to make myself
intelligible on a subject in which intelligibility
is somewhat difficult—on which it is easy for
the speaker to get both himself and his hear
ers into a fog. I have aimed at perspicuity,
and flatter myself that I have been under
stood. I wish the country to understand the
expenditures of the Government; the particu
lars as well as the aggregate; and therefore
place the whole before the public, Our ad
versaries attack the aggregate. Let them
examine the particulars, and name the one
to which they object, and for they did not
vote ?
Mr. B. then appealed to Senators of the
Democratic party to name the number of ex
tra copies of the report of which they would
propose to print, professing himself ready to
agree to any number that was satisfactory to
his friends.
From the Old Dominion.
GOVERNOR TAZEWELL.
We have the pleasure of laying before our
readers today a letter from this distinguished
gentleman. At a meeting of the District
Convention, held in this town on the 20th of
last month, a Committee waited on Mr. Taze
well, with a request that he would preside
over its deliberations, which he declined in
consequenc of feeble health, and having also
retired from the busy scenes of political life?
but, at the same time, communicated candid
ly and frankly to the Committee his sentiments
in relation to the all-exciting topics of the
day. The opinions of Mr. Tazewell, as ex
pressed by the Committee, having called forth
invidious and illiberal remarks, induced one
of them, Dr. J. P. Young, to address him a
letter, and his reply to that gentleman we
now publish, and which we are sure will
command the attention of our readers:
LETTER OF THE HON. L. W. TAZEWELL.
Norfolk, August 2 2d, 1840.
Sir —Your letter of yesterday was handed
me when it was too late for me to reply to it
by the servant who bore it. After the very
explicit and often repeated declarations made
by me to the committee of which you were a
member, that I would not take any part in
the ferocious contest now raging throughout
the country, further than by giving my vote
on the day of election, I did not expect to be
called upon again to abandon this purpose,
especially by the members of that committee.
You misunderstand the reasons which indu
ced me to form this resolution, if you suppose
it can be changed either by repeating to me
the unmerited commendations of too partial
friends, or the infamous and malignant false
hoods of whom I despise too much to
call them foes.
I have no reason to believe that I could
influence a single vote, any where, if I would;
and I am very sure i would not if I could.—
My opinions upon any subject, when regard
ed of sufficient consequence to be sought for
by any of my acquaintance, ha\e never been
withheld from them: nor will they ever be
concealed from any one. These opinions, in
regard to the two candidates for the Presi
dential office, were given to the members of
your committee, when asked for by them, as
they had been before given to several other
persons, of both parties, and as they have
been repeated to such persons since. I ob
trude them upon none, but I am as indifferent
who may know them, as I am by whom they
may be approved. They are my opinions,
and would continue to be such although no
other being on earth would concur with me.
Upon these accounts, as I formerly said to
you, I shall act at the approaching election,
by giving my suffrage in tavor ol the present
President, and of consequence against his op
ponent. 1 have an acquaintance of some
standing with both the candidates, founded
upon a service with each of them for several
successive years in the Senate of ihe United
Stales. This acquaintance justifies me in
saying of each, that he is a well bred gentle
man, of mild and amiable manners and de
portment, and so far as I either know or be
lieve, of irreproachable private character.—
Gen. Harrison is my senior by several years,
I know, and therefore cannot be much short
of seventy: Mr. Van Buren is my junior by
more years, I believe, than Gen. Harrison is
my senior. In their political course, these
gentlemen have generally differed; and while
we were all associated as members of the Se
nate of the United States, it was my fortune
sometimes to differ with both. The occasions
of my difference with Mr. Van Buren, were
few and rare; but with Gen. Harrison 1 do
not remember a single subject, involving any
question of constitutional law, or of high po
litical expediency, as to which we ever on
curred. And on the few occasions in which
1 differed with Mr. Van Buren, he was asso
ciated with General Harrison. Hence, it
cannot be matter of surprise to any, that when
placed in a situation where I am, to choose
between two persons, with neither of whom
do I agree entirely, I should prefer him with
whom I had often united both in opinion and
action, to him with whom I have invariably
differed.
I state these things, that knowing the ef
fect vvh : ch is sometimes produced upon hu
man minds by frequent and long-continued
conflicts of opinion upon subjects of much in
terest, you may appreciate as you please the
sentiment I have often uttered and will, there
fore, again repeat, that, in my judgment,
General Harrison is both physically and intel
lectually incompetect io perform the many,
varied, arduous and important duties which
must devolve upon every President of ihe U.
States; —that it is not prudent to expose our
country to the certain perils which must
await it, should its destinies ever be commited
to a President by accident, in times of difficul
ty and high excitement; and that such a ca
tastrophe is always probable, when one is
elevated to the Presidential chair who has al
ready reached the full term ordinarily consi
dered as the limit of roan’s life.
To a kind letter from friends in a distant
State, inquiring what were my opinions of Mr.
Van Buren’s administration, I have recently
replied. A copy of this reply is now before
me; and as truly represents my sentiments
upon this subject, 1 will transcribe my answer
to the inquiry propounded. “I was opposed to
Air. Van Buren when he first became a can
didate for the V.ce Presidential chair, and my
oppasition to him was continued when he was
a candidate for the station he now holds. Up
on each of these occasions, there were other
candidates who, as I thought agreed with mv
opinions more exactly, and whom, therefore, I
preferred. Entertaining such sentiments, I
have watched his course, since he came into
power, with a vigilance that might not have
beenAised by me under other circumstances.
Yet, with all this vigilance, I have not been
able to detect one unconstitutional act that
has been done or proposed bv him, during his
administration. This is not a slight merit,
at least in my eyes; and when I connect with
it the whole scheme of his policy, in regard to
all our relations, whether foreign or domestic,
has evinced much sagacity,/prudence and
forbearance, and this too, under circumstanc
es of great difficulty, I cannot withhold mv
approbation from such a course.
“These are not the sentiments of one tvho o
has any claim, or eveu pretension, to be con- J
sidered as a friend of the present President. — :
They are the result of a careful examination j
into ali his public acts, since he has occupied i
his present station; —an examination made
with as much candor and impartiality as I j
couid command. This examination was com
menced, I own, with no expectation that it
would end in such a result. But it has so
terminated; and common justice, as well as
common honesty, compel me to award hint a
meed, in my judgment, he has so well deserv
ed. The support he has thus fairly earned,
I will willingly give him, so long as he shall
continue to merit it.—Nor will I ever concut
in the attempt to remove any tiied servant,
who, as I think, has deserved well of his coun
try.”
And now, sir, having satisfied all your in
quiries, to the end that I may not be compel
i led to undergo the same labor again, I com
mit this letter to you to be used as you think
proper.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your most ob’t.
servant,
LITTLETON W. TAZEWELL.
Dr. J. P. Young. Portsmouth , Va.
SENTINEL & HERALD.
COLUMBUS, SEPT. 12, 1840.
“ This Institution is one of the most deadly hostility
existing against the principles and form of our Consti
tution. Ihe nation is , at this time, so strong and united
j in its sentiments, that it cannot bt shaken at this mo
| mtnt. Did suppose a series of untoward events should
occur, sufficient to bring into doubt the competency of a
‘ Republican Government to meet a crisis of great dan
\ger, or to whin ge the confidence of the people in the
I public functionaries; an institution like this penetrating
by its branches every part of the union, acting by com
mand and in phalanx, may in a critical moment, upset
the government. I deem no government safe, which is
under the vassalage of any self-constituted authorities,
or any other authority than that of the nation, or its reg
ular functionaries. What an obstruction could not this
Bank of the United States , with all its branch bunks,
be in time of war ? It might dictate to us the peace we
should accept, or withdraw its aid. Ought we then to
give further growth to an institution so powerful, so
hostile ? —Thomas Jefferson.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN TICKET.
FOR PRESIDENT,
MARTIN VAN BUREN.
FOR VICE-PRESIDENT,
JOHN FORSYTH.
FOR ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND
VICE-PRESIDENT.
WILLIAM B. BULLOCH, of Chatham.
JOHN BATES, of Murray.
MILNER ECHOLS, of Walton.
SAMUEL BEALL, of Wilkinson.
“WILLIAM B. WOFFORD, of Habersham.
JOHN ROBINSON, of Jasper.
SAMUEL GROVES, of Madison.
THOMAS WOOTTEN, of Wilkes.
SEABORN JONES, of Muscogee.
EDWARD HARDEN, of Clark.
JAMES ANDERSON, of Burke.
FOR CONGRESS.
ROBE'RT W. POOLER,
D. C. CAMPBELL,
A. IVERSON,
JUNIUS HILLYER,
JOSIAH S. PATTERSON,
JOHN H. LUMPKIN,
E. J; BLACK,
WALTER T. COLQUITT,
M. A. COOPER.
The Democratic Republican par
ty of Muscogee hare organized the
column to bear up and maintain the
principles of Jefferson, a strict con
struction of the federal constitution,
no monopolies, equal lights and
equal burthens, and have placed at
the head of the column, to repre
sent the county in the Senate,
Col. ALEX. M'DOUGALD.
For Represen atives.
THOS. LIVINGS I ON, Esq.
THUS. YV. V/ATSON, Esq.
Col. JOHN L. LEWIS,
HENRY L. IJENNING, Esq.
The Democrtic party of Stewart
have placed at the head of their
ticket that well tried soldier, and
faithful Representative, for the Sen
ate,
Capt. GREEN B. BALL.
House of Representatives.
THOS. J. STELL,
TOMLINSON FORT,
GARLAND STATHAM, Esqs.
The letter of Mr. Tazewell of
Virginia, who has been long known
as a rigid constructionist, will be
found in today’s paper. It deserves,
not only from the high character
and experience of the writer, hut
the powerful reasons adduced, an
attentive perusal.
BURIAL OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Our notice of the conduct of the friends of
Gen. Harrison, at the city of Macon, prepa
ratory to the reception of their log cabin and
hard cider associates, by the interment of the
Consiitution , and rearing over it a pole 84
feet in heighth, vviili a cider-barrel on its top,
“emblematical of their principles,” has elicit
ed from a portion of tnem, the most unmea
sured abuse of our sheet, and our humble self
that their heated imagination could suggest,
or malice invent —not that what we have
said about this outrage upon the charter ol
our liberties is not strictly true, but because
we have said it—because ihe people, of all
parties, that retain any regard for their coun
try and its laws, have condemned it—and be
cause they justly apprehend it will drive ma
ny of the supporters of their “certificate” mi
litary hero from them. On this subject, the
people are aroused, and from the best infor
mation we can gather, they are leaving Tip,
Tyler and reform like rats from a sinking
ship. In some parts, we are advised, that
many who have espoused the Harrison cause
are still loth to believe it, and are disposed to
attribute it to party-misrepresentation—whilst
others, for ihe purpose of misleading the less
informed, tell them that ihe story is too ridi
culous to be believed. To put a quietus to
all douots that may exist as to the truth of
our statement, and if there is any thing
in the transaction that is a fit subject of
ridicule, we desire that it shall rest where it
properly belongs, we copy from the Ma
con Messenger of the 3d instant, the foi
lowing article, which saddles it on the Tip,
Tyler and Tariff party:
To the Editors of the Macon Messenger.
Gentlemen: —Tho ceremony of depositing a copy
of the Constitution of the U. S. at the root of the lib
erty pole elected in this city, on Saturday Bth ult.,
has been to perverted by a few designing demagogues
of the opposition, that I deem it necessary to submit
the following explanation to the public.
First. The measure was my own, suggested by
myself, not officially known to any of ihe Tippecanoe
Club, and carried through, even in opposition to the
wishes of some of the members present,(those mem
bers anticipating, I presume, at the time, the unprin
cipled pervers on that would be made of the ceremoni
al. by such men as Bartlett. Lewis and Siurgis.)
Second. In laying the Corner Stones of public
buildings devoted to ihe ‘ benefit of the people,’ it is the
immemorial usage to deposite within them, some
limes the Constitution ofihe U. S. or of the States—
if ihe building is erected by incorporated companies,
the charter of their corporation, interesting documents
and som times the Holy Wr it itself
The object of which is to transmit to pos*oriiy, and
to remote I'ges, those privileges aid blesungs lo pre
scive them fn.m the spoliations and rftvag es ol barba
rians; and 10 insure to distant generations copies ol
our Constitution, specimens of out government, and
the religion if our fathers, in the event that then
preservation should not t> perilled by the convulsions
political and physical revoluiions.
j It was the remerr.bi ance of such customs that indu
ced me to base our our liberty pole upon the Consti
• union of my country on the Bth till. Emblematical
of the foundation of my party, and the impeiishatJe
principles contained m that sacred instrument, se
cond to noue except the Holy Writ transmitted to us
by the Uevolutiomuy patriots of 1776.
William amos green.
Thus il seems that William Amos Green
had the honor of playing the sexton on this
occasion, and performed the “ ceremony ” of
depositing the Constitution in the grave. —
The origin of “the measure,” Mr. GrPen says
was his own, suggested by himself/ira*, before
it was officially made known to any of the
lippecanoe Club, and that he carried the
measure (ol the burial of the Constitution)
through, even in opposition to “ some of the
members present.” The Constitution bad a
few friends, it seems, and but a few, to inter
pose in its behalf. They remonstrated, says
Mr. Amos Green, but all to no purpose: their
appeal was in vain: their objections were
overruled: and the legacy of Washington,
Jefferson and our revolutionary ancestors,
our glorious Constitution, was consigned <o
our mother earth, and over it, and upon its
grave, elevated the cider barrel, the chosen
emblem of the principles of “ Harrison, Ty
ler and reform.” And for a “ change ” the
Whigs have changed our good old Consti
tution, for this emblem of the log-cabin and
hard cider party.
There is one view of this William Amos
Green’s article should not be forgotten: that
the act, (the burial of the Constitution) which
lias justly excited and avowed the honest in
dignation of the people, is here fastened, fix
ed and proved upon the friends of General
Harrison; that the same is also admitted by
the federal organs of this party, the Enquir
er and Messenger, and by them justified.
Now, let us see their explanation. We are
charged by these federal whigs with pervert
ing their intentions: that the act complained
of by us (that is the interment of the Consti
tution) was in pursuance of custom. It is
usual in laying the corner stones of buildings,
&c. to deposit, within the corner stone, (not
under ground,) but sealed up in the stone,
some important documents, such as the Con
stitution ol the United States, or of the
States, the charter (if a corporation) of the
same, and sometimes the holy Bible, for the
purpose of preservation, and that the same
may tiansniitted to posterity unimpaired.
We recognize the custom, and approve it;
but was the act of depositing the Constitu
tion, six feet under ground, at the foot of a
p .le, sustaining a cider-barrel, for either the
preservation of the instrument, or the trans
mission ol the same to posterity? If every
other copy were now destroyed, save the
buried one, would it not be lost? Does not
everyone know, that it is now undergoing (if
it has not already undergone) decomposition,
and no man but the Hon. ex Mayor of Ma
con, now of the Messenger and Green, to
gether with the Tippecanoe party at Macon,
would be so great an ass as to believe other
wise? Now, if we had said that their ob
ject was to preserve, and not destroy, we
would have been obnoxious to the charge
made by Mr. Green and the courteous and
dignified federal prints, the Enquirer and
Messenger, of perversion. We have said,
ami now repeat, that their intentions must
have been to destroy the Constitution, if it
is to be judged of by the act—placing the
instrument in the earth, and erecting over it
a pole capped with a cider-barrel, thereby
planting themselves above the Constitution.
Let it be borne in mind also, that this party
have, every where and in almost every in
stance, abandoned our country’s flag,'that
flag under which every battle has been fought
and every victory won; and in lieu of the
ever glorious stripes and stars, which com
mand and enforce respect on every sea and
in every clime, they have hoisted representa
tions of General Harrison,of log-cabins, and
cider-barrels; and instead of our country’s
device •*Epluribtis unum. they have inscrib
ed “W e stoop to conquer ,” tha't is ihe federal
whig party stoops from their elevated posi
tion in society to mix with the people, that
they may thereby obtain their votes and
govern them. Another device is, Tip, Tyler
and (he Tariff and another from Muscogee,
“We will do our own voting and our own
fighting.” We give these as specimens of
the hundreds of various devices got up to
succeed the good old dpvice of our fathers.
Will the people longer act with—will they
give their votes to—a party that have wan
tonly destroyed their Constitution and aban
doned our National Banner?
FEDERAL WHIGS AND ABOLITIONISTS.
Nothing perhaps is beUer calculated to
awaken the people of the Southern States to
the true character of the federal whig party
and the danger to our domestic instTtutions
threatened by it, than the action on the sub
ject of slavery of the State legislatures in
which (lie federal whigs have majorities, or
aught be more decisive on the same subject
than the legislation of the States in which the
democrats predominate.
To etleci this object, we avail ourselves of
the labors of the Democratic Republican
Members of Congress in their address to the
people of the slave holding States—a very
able production, which from its length we are
unable to place in our columns.
During the session of 1839-39, the follow
ing resolutions were reported by the minority
of a select committee of the legislature of
Maine.
“ Resolved , That our Senators and Representatives
in Congress be requested (o use their utmost efforts
to abolish slavery and the slave trade in the District
of Columbia, and the Territories of the United State .
“Resolved, That our Senators arid Representa
tives be requested to use their utmost efforts to pre
vent the admission of any new State into the Union,
whose Constitution tolerates domestic slavery.”
On the motion to print them, which was the
only action had, the vote was yeas 70, nays
77. Ol those in favor of printing, 59 were
whigs and 17-democrats, while of the nays 75
were democrats and only two were whigs.
On the sth July, 1839, the following resolu
tions were adopted by the legislature of New
Hampshire:
NEW HAPxMSHIRE RESOLUTIONS.
Resolved, That the relation of master and slave,
as established by la-,v within the jurisdiction o ’any of
the Stales, is an institution for which the State, with
in which it is established, is aione responsible, and
with which neither Congress, nor the Leg stature of
any °tl> er State, can rightfully interfere.
Resolved. That tiie adoption and prosecution of
measures by individuals residing within one State
with the avowed design of overthrowing the institu
tions of another State, by sending emissaries, scat
tering documents, pamphlets or papers, within that
State against ihe declared will of the same, is a disre
gard of that comity and mutual respect which should
ever be cultivated among the States.
Resolved, That Congrese ought not to interdict the
slave trade between the States, or to abolish slavery
within the Di-trict of Columbia or the Territories of
the United States
Resolved, That the resolution adopted by the House
of Representatives of the Congress of the United
States, by which al! memorials relating to the aboli
tion of slavery, upon the presentetion of the same,
were ordtred to lie on the table, without any further
action thereon, was not an infringement of the right of
pet tion.
Resolved, That the immediate abolition of slavery,
by whatever means effected, without expatriation of
the slaves, would be productive of calamities, moral
and political, such as should be deprecated by every
friend of humanity.
Except the fourth, all lhe resolutions were
adopted without a division. The fourth res
olution was carried by IS7 yeas to 59 nays.
Os those who voted in the affirmative 134 were
democrats, and 3 whigs, while of the nays 68
were whigs and only one democrat.
In the legislature of Vermont, ihe abolition
ists and whigs have lor several years past bad
a large majorify, and consequently controlled
its action. Hence the following resolutions,
which were adopted by ts, may be considered
a fair sample of their principles and feelings.
YERMOKT RESOLUTIONS.
]. Resolved by the Senate and Horse of Repnstnta
.ives, Thai our c.-ena’ors in Congress bo instructed,
and our kepreser’aUves requested, lo use their iuttu
t-nce in thai body to prevent ihe annexation of Text s
to the Union.
2. Resolved, That icpresenting as tie do the peo
ple of Vermont, we do hereby, in their name, solemn
ly protest against such annexation in any form.
5. Rtsolved That as the Representatives of the
people of \ ermont, we do solemnly protest against the
admission into this Union rs an)- State whose Con
stitution tolerates domes!ic slavery.
4. Resolved, That Congress have full power, by
the Constitution, to abolish slavery and the slave ti ado
in the District ot Columbia and in the Territories of
the United States.
5. Resolved. That Congress has the constitutional
power to prohibit|tAe slave trade b tween the several
States ot this Union, and to inane such laws as shall
efTectua ly prohibit such trade.
6. lie solved, That our Senators in Congress be in
structed, and our Representatives requested, to prt
sent the foregoing “report and resolutions to their re
spective Houses in Congress, and use their influence
toearrv ihe same speedily into effect.
7. Resolved, That the tiovernor of this State be re
quested to transmit a copy of the foregoing tepoit and
reso u'ions to the President of the United States, to
tne Executives of the several States, aid to each of
our Senators and Representatives in Congress.
It is in the State of New York, however,
that the fell spirit ol abolitionism stands boldly
out not only in relief hut denuded in thelegis
la lion of the lederal whigs. At the recent
session of the legislature, a petition signed bv
the Stale Printer, the Commissioner ol Loans,
the Editor of the Log-Cabin, one of the pro
ptietors of the State paper, four negroes, and
from eighty to one hundred other persons
nearly all whigs, praying that preliminary
measures might be taken Mo enable the people
of the State to abrogate the act of disfranchise
ment of the colored people in the end of the
first section of the second article of the con
stitution” (the property qualification voted lor
and supported by Mr. Van Bnren while a
member of the convention that remodeled the
constitution,) having been introduced—Mr.
Mann, a democratic member, offered in the
house of representatives, by way of an offset,
the following resolution:
“ Resolved that the legislature has seen with deep
regret, and decidedly disapproves and condemns the
efforts of many misguided inciviuuals in the Northern
Slates, to inteifep , without right and in violation of the
principles on w hich the Constitution of the United
States was established, with the domestic institutions
of our sister States at the South; thereby disturbing
the domestic peace of the States, weakening the bond
of our Ui.ion, and sowing the seeds of its disso ution.”
I’he previous question being demanded bv
a whig, the resolution was voted down by 57
whigs to four democrats. The whigs did not
stop here. They introduced a bill, capped
‘An Act to extend the t ight ol trial by Jury,’
virtually emancipating every slave that may
reach that State. In the representative
branch, Mr. Roosevelt, a democrat, moved
an amendment providing that ‘so far as re
spects the penalty ot imprisonment in the
State prison, it shall not he construed to any
claimant of a fugitive slave who shall have oh
tained the certificate of a judge or other officer,
authorizing the removal of such slave, pur
suant to the act of the Congress of the United
States in such case made and provided.”—
The amendment was adopted by a vote of 47
to 37, 41 democrats and (i whigs voting in the
affirmative, and 37 whigs but no democrats
the negative. The bill thus amended was
carried by a vote of 50 to 24, the whole of the
yeas being whigs and all the nays democrats.
In the Senate, (he provision exempting
Southern mc*n from the penitentiary was
stricken out, and the sixteenth and seven
teenth sections inserted, the latter of which, in
connection with the eighth, imposes a fine of
five hundred dollars together with con
finement in the penitentiary on any person
removing a fugitive slave from the State even
il in conformity with the act o! congress, un
less having previously obtained the award ol
a jury. Titus altered, the bill passed the
Senate by a vote 15 to 4. 13 of the yeas being
whigs and 2 democrats, and all the nays dento
crats. When relumed t<* the House, it was
carried by a vote of 4 2 to 31, all the yeas being
tvhigs, and ail the nays democrats. The hilt
receiving the sanction of the lederal wl ig Gov
ernor became and is nuv the law ofthe Slate
of New York. That the reader ma y satisfy
hitnsell with regard to the character of the
act, we insert it:
AN ACT to extend the right, of Trial by Jury
[Passed May 6,1840.]
The people of die State of New York, represented
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Sec. 1. Instead of the hearing provided b) the first ar
ticle of title one and chapter nine of the third part of
the Revised Statutes, to be bad before a court or offi
cer, upon the return of any writ of habeas corpus, is
sued to bring up the body of an alleged fugitive from
service or labor to which he is held uiidi r the laws of
any o her S ates who shall finve escaped into this Sta'e,
tiie claim to the service of such alleged fugitive, Ids
identity, and tiie fact of his having escaped fn in anoth
er State of ihe United States into tins State, shall be
determined by a jury.
Sec. 5. Any jury drawn and sworn as herein pro
vided, shall hear the allegations and proofs of. he par
ties, and snail determine the matters submitted to
them, and for tint purpose shall be kept together by
some proper officer, who shall be sworn as is usual in
like cases in courts of record. The verdict rendered
by such jury, ifil be in a court of record, shall be re
corded in its minutes, and if it be rendered on a hear
ing befire a single officer, shall be certified by him,
and filed in the office of tiie clerk of the county as a
public record.
Sec. 6. It such jury cannot agree after having been
kept together a reasonable tune, t ey shall be dis
charged, and another shall be summoned, itnpannell
ed and sworn a herein before provided, and new ju
ries shall continue to te summoned until one shall a
gree. And the finding of any jury as aforesaid, sha'l
be conclusive upon ali the ntafers submitted to them,
and shall nor be vacated or set aside, except bv the
Supreme Court, which is hereby authorized to set the
same aside for tiie sarai causes, in tiie same manner
and with like effect, as verdicts are set aside by the
court in criminal cases, and for no other cause.
Sec. 7. If the finding of the jury be in favor of the
claimant upon ali the matters submitted, the court or
officer before whom such hearing shall have been had,
shall grant to such claimant a certificate stating that it
having been found by a jury that such fugitive, (who
shail be particularly described in such certificate,) do'h
owe service or labor to the person claiming the same
under the laws of some other State in the Union,
(naming such person and the State under whose laws
such claim i • sustained,) and th it such fugitive escap
ed from such State into this State, and'thereby al
lowing such’person or his agent (ivlio shall also be
named in such certificate) to take such fugitive and
convey him to the State from which he fled; which
ceitificate shall authorize the person receiving the
same to remove the fugitive therein named, without
any unnecessary delay, through and out of this Stale,
on the direct route to'the State fom which he lied.
Sec. 8. If the finding of the jurv be against the
claimant, on any of the matters submitted to them, Ihe
person so claimed as a fugitive shall be forthwith set
at liberty, and shall never thereafter be molested up
on the same claim; and any person who shall there
after arrest, detain, or proceed in any manner to retake
such alleged fugitive upon the same claim, or shall by
virtue of the same claim remove such alleged fugitive
out of this State under any process or proceeding
whatever, shail be deemed guilty of kidnappinfl, ar.d
upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in
the State prison not exceeding tenyeais.
Sec. 9. 1 he district attorney of the county in which
any alleged fugitive from service or labor from anoth
er State shall be proceeded against by any person
claiming such fugitive, snail, upon notice of such pro
ceeding, render his advice and professional services
to such alleged fugitive, and shall attend in his behalf
on the trial of such claim, and shall receive sucli com
pensation thereof as shall be certified to be just and
reasonable by Ihe court or officer before w hom the
proceedings shall be conducted; to be paid as part of
the contingent expenses of the county. And in case
oi the omission of such district attorney so to attend or
to lender his professional services, the court or officer
before whom the proceedings shall be had. shall as
stgnsome counsellor of the supreme court, in good
standing, to conduct the defence of such alleged fugi
tive, and render to him tiie usual services of a counsel:
for which he shad receive a compensation to be cer
tified and paid as herein before provided in respect to
the district attorney.
Sec. 10. Every person so claimed as a fugitive
shall be entitled to subpoenas, for his witnesses, from
the court or officer before whom the habeas corpus
may be returnable, without any fee or charge there
tor, and every constab'e. sheriff or marshal, to whom
W uch subpoena shail be delivered to be served,
shall serve the same, and shall be allowed tiie same
tees as for serving a capias in a court of common pleas,
to be paul as part of ihe contingent expenses of ihe
county, in the event of a jury summoned under this
act determining in favor of ihe claimant; and every
witness served with such subpoena shail be bound to j
attend and testify, in ihe same manner as in criminal ,
cases, without being entitled to any fees whatever. |
, k 6O P erson shall be entitled lo a writ of!
abeas corpus to arrest a fugitive from labor or service,,
until he shall have delivered to ine eonrt, or officer to !
whom application fir *uch writ shall be made, a bond j
to the peop'e of this State in tiie penal seni of one
thousand dollars, with two sufficient sureties, inhabi
tants and freeholders of this State, lo be apptovio by 1
saith ei'Uftjo < ffi. <r, ccn.iin, i f,f - , A \] cos t, nml
expenses mat ina; accrue in tl.e prosecution of the
said writ, legally chargeable to such claimant, amt
also to pay weekly ill. sum of two collars to the per
son having Buch alleged fugitive n Lis cusiodv, for.
the support of such alleged fugitive, so long as he shai
rein din in cmlouy under sur.h writ of In. bens corpus
ot be detained by the proceedings thereon; and also
that if any jury iinpaniulled under this act shall
render a verdict against such claim, ihtn that
such claimant thnli pay i.l| the costs anil expens
es of the proceedings, including those to winch
such alleged lugnive shall have bun subject
ed; and in addition thereto, shall pay lo such {al
leged fugitive the sum of one hundred dullats, and all
damages winch he may sustain. The said bond
shall be filed in the office ‘of ihe cl rk of the county,
and may be prosecuted by any person claiming any
benefit from its provisions, in ihe name of ihe people
ot this State; but the people shall not be liable lor anv
costs in such suit.
Sec. 16. No judge or other officer of this State
shall grant or issue any certificate or other process,
for the removal from this State of anv fugitive or of
anv person claimed as a fugitive from service or labor
tliei wise than til pursuance cf the provisions ot this
ac; and every such judge or other i fficcr who shall
grant or issue any such certificate or other process
except in the manner prescribed in and by this act,
shall be deemed guilty of a inisdi meanor, and liable
to punishment therefor.
Sec. 17. Every person who shall, without the au
thority of law, forcibly remove or attempt to remove
from this State any fugitive from service or 1 Lor. or
any person who is claimed as such fugitive, shall f >r
feit the sum of five hundred dollars to the party ag
grieved, and shall be deemed guilty of the crime of
kidnapping, and unon conviction of such olTence shall
be poitished by imprisonment in the Slate prison for
a period not exceeding ten years.
Sec. 18. This act shall not be so construed ns to
apply to the relation of master and apprentice which
may exist in any other State.
Stale of .Veto York Secretary's Office.
This act having been approved and signed by ihe
Governor, on the Gth day ot May, 1840, Ido hereby
certify that ihe same became a law on that day.
JOHN C. SPENCER, Secretary of State
Secretary's Office. — I certify that the foregoing is a
| true copy of a law of the Slate of New York, deposit,
ed m tins offise, and of my endorsement thereon.
May 6, 1840.
JOHN C. SPENCER, Secretary ot S ate.
It is tints manifest that the whigs of the
north,as a patty, are identical with the abo
litionists, and that they lose no opportunity to
:e.\eit their power to the detriment ol the
South; thai, as in the instance ol Nt w York,
their enmity towards our domestic institutions
is so intense as to prompt them to a direct vio
lation of the Constitution of our common
country, reckless of the evils that must attend
persistence in their vindictive fatuity; and that
the only hope ofthe continuance of our Union,
the tranquility of our own territory, and secu
rity against the machinations ot the hlack
hearts that would msiigateto bloody hands, is
the ascendancy of the democrats in our na
tional councils, and the check in which the de
mocracy ot the North holds the furious spirit
ol incendiarism. Prostrate the democracy,
and all ihe country north the Potomac be
comes the land ol not a common enemy wag
ing honorable warfare, but of aloe determined
to bring into the contest, like the Old Man of
Mount Libanus, the assassin’s dagger. From
the General Government exclude democracy,
and the will ot the majority in Congress be
comes in all cases the law of the land; for
Harrison has again and again expressed his
intention of disusing the veto prerogative—
slavery at once vanishes from the district of
Columbia and the territories, and the very
navy built and maintained by Southern money
and the very army clothed, led and paid by
imposts raised from Southern industry are
transformed into instruments of destruction
against us—aye, and even the money be taken
from the pockets of Southern men to purchase
the freedom of their own slaves, if General
Harrison should think it inexpedient to pro
ceed at once to direct emancipation, and de
pend on Ins old system of ntockery-rthe ap
propriation of the surplus revenue to purchase
the freedom ofthe blacks.
With such evidence before them, can the-
Southern people, unless dunemit aid lent oi>
political suicide, sustain by their sufli ace can
didates in open connection with a party not
only hostile to their rights hut anxiously la
boring to incite a race mentally, mot aly anil
physically inferior to the whiles, to apply the
knife to the throats of our wives and children,
and with the blood of the helpless and imio
cent extinguish the light of our fires? Il du
ring war, aiding and abetting an open and
honorable enemy be treason and worthy an
infamous death, what deserve mtui who, un
der pretext of patriotism are endeavoring to
commit the supreme power of the nation to
a party concentrating all its energies to ac
complish the extirpation ofthe Southern peo
ple, man. woman and child, or force them lo
an impurity of blood compared with which
ileath would be not only mercy hut a bless
ing?
The Sub-Treasury and the price
of tabor. —There is nothing that is
more the subject of misrepresenta
tion by federal politicians and their
presses, than the Independent Trea
sury measure, and its influence up
on the value of the products of the
country and labor. If the Colum
bus Enquirer and other federal
presses were to he believed, tlie
value of labor, and the products of
jthe country, from the operations of
the Sub-Treasury, as ir is called,,
would be reduced to comparatively
nothing. It is our purpose to ex
pose the falsify of this. In Geor
gia and the South, generally, the
staple product and that which reg
alatcs the price of land, negroes,
horses, mules, &c. as well as hu
man labor, is cotton. Hence if a man
desires to purchase a tract of land,
be first estimates bow much cotton
it will produce per acre and what
the cotton will bring, and prices
the lands accordingly; so, in rela
tion to either purchasing a negro or
hiring one: if to purchase, how
much cotton he can make in a year,
together with the usual productions,
and what the cotton will bring, and
what interest that would be upon
the money laid out: if he hires, by
the same rule. If the foregoing
premises he correct, it is due to.
shew what it is that regulates the
value or price of cotton. If every
merchant in the city of Columbus
had his store houses filled wit lb
gold and silver and bank bills of a
United States Bank, he would not
give the farmer any more for his
cotton than he could sell it for af
ter paying the expenses of trans
portation to Liverpool, Havre, or
themaiket for which he purchas
ed it; and as most of the cotton is
purchased for foreign markets,
where the Sub-Treasury or a Na
tional Bank is unknown and cannot
possibly be felt, it is the value of
cotton in the foreign market that
•regulates its value in the homo
market and not the currency. And
the only way that the Sub-Treasu-.
rv can be known is, that it will so
‘regulate the Banks that they will
jalfhave to he specie paying Banks;
that the farmer instead of being
‘paid oil in Bank bills, tint are ir
redeemable, and arc selling before