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f%F tfonfitihUionaiifit.
1 BY GUIEP & TOO.BPSOW. AICCSTI, GA. THi’SB9A¥ ISOBNING,
- VO *^n3l.-SfEWBEBSE*,NO.W.
THE CONSTITUTIONALIST.
• FFICt IN M.iCINTOSH-SJJtVtT, TiitXD WIOK f .DM
THE N. W. CORNfe.R OF BROAD-STREET.
'Sales of LAV!) by A.l.n rtistra'ors, Executors, or Guard
ians are required, by law, if ' bold on the first Tties
d«y in the month, between th>. ten in the fore
nA<m and three in the afternoon, at the Court-House in
which the property is situate. Notice of these sales
•*'' mint l»e jriven in a public Gazette sixt y Days previous
! >'*’ to the day of sale.
•'Sales of NEGROES must be ut public auction, on the
(;r-t Tuesday of the month, between the usual hours of
sale, at the place of public sales in the county where
I In- letters test imentary, or administration, or euardian
“•'ip, in ly have been grunted, first givin;; sixty days’
!•<(►" thereof, in one of the public Gazelles of this
Slate, and at the door of the Court-House where such
sales are to be held.
Noti< - e for the sale «»*’ Personal Property must he given in
like rn inner, forty days previous to day of sale.
Notice lathe Debtors anil Creditors of an Estate, must be
published for forty days.
Notice that application will be made to t!ie Court of Ordi
nary forleave to sell LAND, must be published for fol k
months.
Notice for leave to sell NEGROES, must be published
FOl't months before any order absolute can be given by
f be f’dllrf.
U i ilnrsiiar dlorning, Wept. 3l>, IS4O.
JZT Wo begin in this day’s paper, the publication of the
address to the people of Virginia, unanimously adopted
by the Democratic Republican Convention of that state,
which assembled at Charlottesville, on the 11th instant.—
. It is a masterly production, au.i well worth the serious
attention of the people of the whole south.
IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIL.
The Charleston Courier of yesterday says—“ The north
• rn mail yesterday failed from beyond Weldon, N. C.,hut
through the polite attention of a friend who came through
w by the Chesapeake and Portsmouth route, we have been
favored with the New York Commercial Advertiser, of Fri
,A day, and Baltimore papers of Saturday.
r> MAINE.
W« are informed that the Boston Courier, a whig paper,
■ of Thursday’s date, was seen hy the gentleman alluded to,
-■ containing a statement that the administration candidase
for Governor in Maine had a plurality of ISO odd votes, but
** :f scalteriug votes were, it is believed, sufficient in nnni
■ <*)»,(.,- to preclude any election—a majority of the whole vote
if is necessary to elect a candidate.’’
O’ We call the attention of the render to the fol
lowing article from the Charleston Mercury of yes
terday.
We are glad to see that even the whig papers of
Georgia are startled at the sentiments and princi
ples that form the basis of the constitution of the
Richmond Abolition Society, of which Gen. Karri- i
son boasts to have been a member “at the early age |
of eighteen.” It presents points indeed at which a
Southern matt even in the mad lest partisan fnrv,
cannot hut shrink back. Resides abounding in the ■
coarsest and most insulting cant of Abolition, it ex
pressly provides that “no person shall he a member I
who holds a slave or is concerned in the unrighteous |
traffic of buying or selling that unhappy race of lin- I
man beings.” It is not the crime of Gen. Harrison, ;
that hr was a member of this society in his youth,
but that in manhood and in old age—in the year lb2l, j
mid again in lt*4o, he has pit dished it, claimed it as
a merit and recommendf'l himself to the abolitionists
«u the groan 1 that he had been faithful all his life ;
to the obligations he then came under. How this I
can lie got over, it would puzzle even a whig parti
zan to discover. We shall sec ho.v they attempted
it.
The constitution of the Richmond Abolition So
ciety was published in the National Inquirer, a
.Pennsylvania paper, about four years ago, and
passed without much comment, because at the t me
no hod v at the South erne I what were the opinions
.imd what had been the connections of \Vm If.
Harrison. The presidential elecijon had passed*
and he was supposed to be politically nothing. But j
the document was then pindished because it was i
found among the p iper of a gentleman then re
cently deceased. Mr. Thomas Shipley, and was
regarded as a curiosity. The recent contest about
the character of this Society, which Gen. H him
self, hy Ins tnanilold equivocations has in a great
measure given rise to, induced a correspondent of
the Pennsylvania Freeman, to copy it and send it
to that paper about a moot i and a half ago. Ii em
braces among its officers names familiar still to
Richmond, among them that of Robert Pleasints,
the father, we belie'e, of ihe present senior editor
of the Richmond Whig. It has passed the ordeal
unquestioned, till for tlie first time the Augusta
Adminicle and Sentinel pronounces it a forgery —
not because any body in Virginia has given color
to such an opinion, hut from interna! evidence
General Harrison was the son of a slave holder,
ami therefore according to this learned expounder
of law. could not at the age of eighteen have been
a member of a society that excluded slaveholders !
All the other proofs of the Chronicle are mere no
thing, and for this. wr are fully impressed with the
conviction that Gen. never did own a
slave in his life. The authenticity of the docu
ment however in no sort depends upon that, as it
is manifest that he cou d rot have owned one, du
ring the life of his father, till three years after he
joined the Abolition Society. If ihere had been
any doubt of the authenticity of this paper, howev
er. it would not have beet; left for an editor in
Georgia to discover it. The Richmond Whig has
done its best to soften the whole matter to llie peo
ple of Virginia, but not a word of forgery.
MASSACHUSETTS.
It is indeed gratifying to ns. and, we have no doubt,
to the friends of the present administration, to find
that the democracy of Massachusetts are fully alive
to the approaching political contest, and that the
most cheering prospects are before them, of being
able to effect a most glorious triumph. We copy
the following statement of a large meeting at Bos
ton, from the Boy State Democrat of the 21st in
stant.
NORTH END FOREVER.
ANOTHER TREMENDOUS MEETING.
The democrats of North End and the city, nn
stvered the call for a meeting in the Hancock w ard
room, last evening, by assembling in thousands. —
The meeting was called to order by W. E. Sanborn,
and organized by the choice of Lewis Josselvn, i
President; James Baker, of Ward 1, John H. Moul- I
ton, of Ward 2, and Ezekiel Bates, of Ward 3; Vice ,
Presidents; and George Carpenter, of Ward 1, Na- j
than Cushing,of V\ ard 2, and J. H. Morse of Ward :
3, Secretaries. It was soon found that the spacious 1
Ward Room “would’nt begin” to hold them, and'
the meeting adjourned to South Market Street, in
front of the stair case w hich had been erected and
attached to Quincy Hall, for the accommodation of
the late Fair. 'Fite number assembled in South
Market Street, could not have beeu less than FOUR
OR FIVE THOUSAND.
The following resolutions were offered by Mr.
Sanborn:
Resolved , That our faith in the justness and stea
dy progress of democratic principles, is as firm
now aserer, our confidence in the integrity, puritv
"ml ability of MARCUS MORTON and MARTIN
VAiN BUREN, is unshaken, and we will do all in
our power to secure, the re-election cf the first to
the highest office in the State, and the latter to the
highest office in the Union.
j Resolved, That we have every reason to believe
that » combination ha» been entered into between
THt _ aNKEhs of Great Britain and the bank
poi/er ok this country, to defeat the will of the
. people by defeating the re-election of Martin Van
Buren, an that we trust to the intelligence ami vir
. tu<» of the people to resent this high-handed
l AND UNHOLY ALLIANCE.
* Resulted , That the English newspapers just re
* ceived by the Britannia at this port, furnish addi
tional proof to establish this point, in the fact that
* they express their belief in the election of Harrison,
, and seem to desire it.
Resulted, That the “North-Enders” are not made
’ of that kind of material, to be intimidated bv federal
“whig” proscription, or bought by BRITISH
i j GOLD.
Resolved, ]'lint the mode ofeiertioneering adopted
by the federal party, is a disgrace to the people, a
dishonor to the nation,and ought to be indignantly
frowned down by every friend of good order and
sound morals.
Resolved, That if we hnv " lost Maine, WE WILL
GAIN MASSACH( SETTS.
After which the meeting was addressed bv B. F.
Emery, Esq. ot this city, and formerly of Maine; Mr.
Orcutt, an old revolutionary patriot, who spoke of
the identity ot the present whig party with the old
I'ory party in the titties that tried men’s souls;
Timothy I hompson, <>i Charlestown, chairman of
a delegation ot Bunker Hill “bovs,” who came over
to attend the. meeting, Amassa Walker, Col. Thom
as, of Charlestown, and Mr, Turner, a Mechanic of
Boston, who show ed up the hypocrisy of the feeler
alists in their professions of love for the mechanics
j and laborers, in its true colors, and by the president
! of the meeting.
It was a most enthusiastic meeting. The right
spirit was manifested, and it we can form an
opinion from the spirit which we see about us every
where in Boston, the democrats will tell a storv in
November, at the jiolls, which will carry dismay
into the ranks of federal wl.iggery in this citv.
| The meeting was adjourned to meet in Ward 3, on
f riduv evening next. Democrats “keep the bull
rolling.”
[for the constitutionalist.]
Messrs. Editors, —Though no politician, I have
always been in favor of party, because I think it con
stitutes the very vitals of free government.— When
parties oppose each other on principle, and set forth
their claims to public confidence on the merit of
their principles, a full and free discussion of them,
honorably conducted, informs the minds and im
proves the morals of the community. But, Messrs.
Editors, what a spectacle do we have presented to
| us in the present presidential contest—whilst one
of the parties are proclaiming their principles,
views and measures not only by acting on them
but by responding promptly and fully to all ques
tions propounded—the other ore shrouding them
selves under the veil of concealment, “resolved to
make no disclosures for the public eye pending the
canvass,” or “respond to interrogatories coming from
either friend or foe.”
;
Under these circum.stanr.es, Messrs. Editors, as
the elections are approaching, let us in order to un
cover this concealed candidate, enquire into the
principles of some of his most conspicuous support
ers, for I believe no one will doubt the truth of the i
adage, that “birds of a feather will flock together.” j
Who then is John Q. Adams? is he not a chip of the
old block, of black cockade federalism? Who does
he support ? Gen. Harrison! Who is Daniel Web- '
ster ? (the godlike) is he not a blue light, Hartford
Convention federalist? iris believed be has never
denied it. Who does he support ? Gen. Harrison!
Who is Gov. Seward of New York? (who has re
cently approved a law, in violation of the provisions
of the constitution of the United States, which ren
der all attempts to recover a runaway negro in that
state fruitless and dangerous,) what are his princi
ples? a blue light federalist died in the wool! Who
does he support ? Gen. Harrison! Who is Lieut,
Gov. B radish of New York >. a zealous abolitionist!
who dons he support ? Gen. Harrison! Who are
the two Tap pa ns, Arthur and Lewis? notorious
abolitionists! Who do they support? Gen. Harri
son ? Who is Win. Slade of Vermont ? a rabid abo- 1
litionUtsi Who does he support? Gen. Harrison!
Let then, all southern men who are willing tube
found in the same ranks, marching side by side and !
shoulder to shoulder up to the poles, to support the
| same principles and carry out the same views and
measures of black cockade, blue light and Hartford
Convention Federalism, and rabid fanatical aboli
tionist vote for Geu. Harrison.—But let the friends ■
of the constitution in its original purity—the friends
of equal rights, equal privileges and equal burthens
—the friends of State Rights and democratic re
publican principles, cast their votes for Mr. Van
Buren. G.
[ From the JVetc York Standard.']
The “National Anti-Slavery Standard,” a
newspaper published in this city, says:
“Oiirrsudeis will find on the first page of this week’s
Standard, an article from ‘Muniford’s New York Standard,’
formerly a paper of great influence in this city, but which
was suspended for a time. It is now revived. The arti
cle is worth perusal. This journal argues at some length
to show that the whig party of this state are thoroughly
wedded to abolitionism, and that the south overlooks her
own good entirely, if she listens to any overtures from that
party as regards its ‘reverence for southern rights.’ It ar
gues, also, to show that no negro can ever be taken back if
he once gets into this state, and presents the horrible po
ition that a slave tyrant is in when he wants to kidnap a
man whom he claims as his chattel. He states that, under
the ‘Trial by Jury Law,’ that nodeposition can be allowed
on his part, while there can on the part of the slave. That
all his evidence must come from ‘bona fide, flesh and blood,
imported at a great expense, to swear to the identity of a
chattel. Well, Jefferson said the‘tide must turn,'and this
is the first step. We hope the legislature will give us
another lift next winter—in the abolition of the nine
months’ law. Spirit of Freedom on!”
True it is, that we did argue at some length to
show that the Whig party of this State are thorough
ly wedded to Abolitionism,” a truth which must be
self-evident to every person who has watched the
course of public events here for the last two years, i
and which is not .attempted to be denied or disguis
ed by this organ of the Abolitionists. Let our South
ern friends note the air of triumph with which this law
is proclaimed, and the gratulation which is express
ed, that the State of New York is now a safe asylum
for fugitive slaves. Let them see with what rejoic- !
ing a law is received which throws every impediment
in their way in the recover of their property, ami ‘
which embodies in its provisions the most odious
discrimination in the kjieojea of evidence which will
be received in favor of the servant, from that which
will be received from the master; and, finally, let'
them remember thatthislaw was passed a Whig
Legislature, and is hailed bv the Abolitionists as the
“first step" ia the turning of the tide in their favor
at the North. The Anti-S laverv Editor hopes that
the Legislature will gp e them “another lilt next
winter,” which jt will ut Questionably do if it is com
posed of a majority of iVhies— -f° r fr° m l^e Demo
cratic party he and'hi» fa know that they have
nothing to expect bur <f e , ' er mined hostility. “The
; nine months’ law” alluded to is one which permits
r any person, not an inhabitant of this State, who shall
be travelling to or from, or passing through the Start,
• ! to bring his slave with him, and .akc such slave a
i way again at any time wirhiu nine months. It the
. slave resides here more than nine months he is de
-1 j dared free. The Whig Abolitionists hopes thatlbe
I next \V big Legislature will repeal this law, so that
if any Southern gentleman who is induced by plea
. sure or convenience to visit New York shall happen
to bring with him his servant, wlro bv the Constitu
tion of the country is lawfully his property, such
servant shall, at once, the moment hi* fool touches
the soil of this State, become free. That the Whigs
have expressed their readiness to repeal this law,
and it forms part of the consideration upon which,
ou the eve ot the election, the mock nominations of
the Abolition party will he withdrawn, we have no
doubt.
[From Ihe Glohe ]
MR. COST JOHNSON.
We have heard of various and marvellous sto
ries told hy Mr. Cost Johnson, hi the course of the
present canvass — some worse than any thing hi
Ogle’s speech—which we would have exposed,
■ if ihe utterance of them by Mr. Cost Johnson had
been properly authenticaied. This, which the let
ter of the Treasurer shows to he untrue, is slated
upon such good authority to hav proceeded from
him. that none can doubt. The letter of Mr. Sel-
DEN shows that there was not even the remotest
pretence to found it on.
Treasury of the United States.
September 20, 18 U>.
i Sir ;In your letter, which on yesterday I re
ceived through .Mr. Young, it is stated that in a pub
lic address lady made to the people of Westmin
ster, in Carroll county, Maryland, the Hon Wm.
Cost Johnson said that he, or some agent of his,
perhaps the person with whom he boarded last
session of Congress, had presented a draft for S3OO
or upwards (the balance of his pav) at the Treasu
ry Deparlmeni for payment, and demanded gold or
silver for it ; hut that such was th » insolvent con
dition of the Treasury that he could not get his
money ; but that after considerable efforts on the
part of the officers of the Department, he was
only able to get one-half of the amount in specie; i
and that Mr. Johnson presented an eagle to the j
crowd, and slated that a was the last eagle in the i
Treasury,
You desire me to let the public know the facts, j
You are a representative of the people, sir, ••ml
eniiiled to an answer. But nothing that I may j
Slate will oe designed to promote political ends, or |
to give to Mr. Johnson an offensive contradiction, j
Such knowledge as I possess relative to the fiscal
transactions of the Government would he commu
nicated to any gentleman who thought proper to
request it.
I have to state, then, that it appears hy the re
cords of the Treasury, that on the 17(h of July
last, the Speaker of the House of Representatives
issued to the on Win. Cost Johnson a certificate
for $330, in payment of his compensation as a j
member of that House
It is proper to remind you that the Independent |
Treasury law did not take effect until the 4ih of ,
July ; and that in the short space of ten days from |
that time the weedful fixtures and safeguards were
provided here for the keeping and protection of the
public money. tSo that on the Mih of July public
funds were placed in the Treasury here, and on
j the 15lh of that month I began here to pay away
those funds to members of Congress, and other
i creditors of the Government.
Previous to tha’ time, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives paid the members of that body.
And to enable him to do so promptly, he usually
received from the Treasury money in advance
This money he placed to his credit in bank, and
gave his checks to the members as their coinpen- j
sation became due. At the end of the session, the i
Speaker settled his accounts, in which he was
debited with the money advanced to him, and ere- j
dited with the payments be made to the members.
Then, if any money remained, after having satis
fied the members, he returned it to the Treasury.
But after the Independent I reasiiry law took j
effect, the Speaker of the House declined to pay
the members And the consequence was. that un
til another agent could he appointed to pay them,
the members had to receive satisfaction in tlie same ;
manner in which other creditors of the Government
are satisfied.
j The Treasurer can only my money out of the
i Treasury on the warrant of the Secretary of the \
Treasury, countersigned by the Comptroller. He
is not authorized to pay the members money which j
the Speaker may have certified to he due, until an I
; account of the compensation shall have been regu
j lurly stated and approved hy the accounting offi
cers of the Treasury, and until a warrant shall have
been issued hy the Secretary and countersigned
by the Comptroller. This was the clear, impera
tive law, belore the Independent Treasury princi
ple was adopted, and is the law now.
Bur to avoid detection and trouble, and to afford
to the members facilities in the reception of their
pay, the Secretary of the Treasury did, under the
authority of law, appointed and empower me, as
the fiscal agent of the Government. to satisfy the
demands of any members who had not received ,
their pay through the agency of the Speaker.
I was appointed agent on the 14th of July; on |
the 15th of that month, I began, in my charaeter I
as agent, to pay the members, and promptly paid
every one of them in specie, except such of them
as prefers d payment in Treasury notes.
For eight days after the adjournment of Con
gress, I continued to act as fiscal agent, and to pay
such of the members as might have neglected to !
call for their money.
After il at period, viz; on the 291 h of July, I set
tled and closed my fiscal agency account, and re
turned to the Treasury the money that remained
on hand.
Every member who neglected to avail himself
of this fiscal agency before it was closed, was im- ;
mediately placed on the footing of every other ere- |
ditorofthe Government, and was compelled, un
der the law, to pass his compensation account
through the Treasury forms.
Had the Hon. Wm (hist Johnson, or any one I
in his behalf, presented to the Treasury his certifi- I
cate of compensation, he might, at any time before 1
my fiscal agency was closed, have, received gold
or silver for it.
The honorable member received his certificate
ten or twelve days before my agency account was
t closed; and he was in Washington and near the
Treasury during the time Yet, instead of pre
senting his rernficate for payment, he transferred
it to Mr Williams, who held tl up until my agen
cy account was closed, and placed himself under
the necessity of having Mr. Johnson’s compensa
tion account stated, a warrant issued, and a draft
presented at the Treasury, bfore he could receive
, the money.
The records of the Treasnry are accurately kept;
| and they prove that Mr. Williams never obtained
j a warrant for his assigned certificate until the ItHh
! of August. And the 11th of August he obtained
j for this warrant, and presented to the Treasury, a
’ draft for $330. And this is the draft which you
say has been relied on to prove that the last piece
! of gold has vanished from the Treasury, and that
j the Government is insolvent
j This draft, when presented, was promptly paid
j in specie, and at the very time it was paid there
; I was in the Treasury here to the credit of the Unit-
5 ed States, seventeen thousand and seventv-one
I dollars in gold.
, I began to receive money into the Treasury here
- on the 14th of July, and to pay it away on the 15th
; of the same moniti, and from that day to the pre
■ sent hour, 1 have always had in the Treasury a
; quantity of silver and gold, and 1 aver, that, during
I | (hat whole period of time, there never has been a
• ; proper claim against tlie Government presented for
i i payment here that has not been promptly satisfied
• in specie, unless the claimant has preferred, ns he
i j has sometimes done, to receive satisfaction in Uni
t ted States Treasury notes.
i j Very respectfully,
r{ Your obedient servant,
. WM. SELDEN.
The lion. John T. H. Worthington.
[F rom the Globe.]
ANOTHER MISREPRESENTATION AS TO THE
j INDEPENDENT TREASURY CORRECTED.
We learn that the Hon. W. C. Johnson has been
slating from the stump that he had a draft on tha
I Treasurer, as a member of Congress, which could
j • ir paid only partly in specie, and that a piece of
gold, which he then held in his hand, was the last
dollar in the Sub-Treasury.
W hether this reckless statement was ever made
or not, the hundreds whom he addressed must well
know. But, if made, we pronounce the whole to he
utterly groundless.
On inquiry, we find that when the honorable Mr.
Johnson, or some other person for him, presented
his certificate, and not a draft, for payment, the
whole of it, and not a part only, was paid in specie
and that over twenty thousand dollars in specie, in
stead of not a dollar, still remained in the verv room
where it was paid, and over a million of dollars in
the Treasury. VVe learn further, that instead ofthe
Suh- f reasury being then or since bankrupt, or
any debt due being then or since not paid when de
manded, or any Treasury note.due then, since or be
fore, not being redeemed when presented, and this
in specie, it desired; that the very reverse Ims been
the case concerning the whole of them. And we
are happy to he informed that at no time since the
Independent Treasury went into operation, has the
■ amount of money in tha Treasury been less than a
| million ot dollars, instead of the government being
j discredited or bankrupt under its operation.
much for the honorable \V. C. Johnson, and
: his having stripped the Independent Treasury of all
j its specie.
I How often has the country been mined since Mr.
j Jefferson’s election by such croaking politicians ns
I V l6 honorable member? And how much more ruin-
I ing is the Suh-Treasurv destined to endure under
their heavy drafts on public credulity?
CHARLOTTESVILLE CONVENTION.
ADDRESS TO THE I’EOPLE OF
(Unanimously adopted by the Convention, Sept. 11,1840 ) j
Fellow-citizens: e address you on no com- I
! nioß occasion. A contest is drawing to a close
| which yields in importance to none that has agita- I
I ted our country since the origin of our Government, i
| 1 his is the hist time you will hear our united voice I
i before its eventual termination. Remit us, then, to
| appeal to your reason and patriotism once more, in ;
the words of soberness and truth. VVe shall not at
tempt to inflame your passions or exasperate your j
prejudices. Did we not rely upon the justice of our
cause, we have yet too much respect for our insti
tutions and for yourselves to wish for success bv
means so perilous and of such doubtful morality.
VVe have witnessed, with no apprehension for our
selves, hut much to the tranquillity and happiness
of these free and flourishing States, the inflamma
tory appeals and menacing declarations of onr ad-*
versaries. The hints of physical resistance, the
threats of revolution, the vindictive cries which have
: been echoed by sinister acclamation, have filled onr
j breasts with a sorrow too deep, have shadowed onr
; minds with a forecast too melancholy, not to deter
j ns from language and expedients hostile to the har
! tnony of society, destructive of the charm of life, '
and ominous for those free institutions which can I
! only co-exist with moderation, a manly self-re- I
: strain!, habitual reverence for the sunctitv of law, I
: a just regard for the independence of opinion.
Would that those high in station and character,
who have exhibited an example so much to he dep
• recated, might he convinced that no good, which
even in their opinion is to he effected hy a change of
men and measures, can in the smallest degree, com
pensate for the deep and enduring evi’s inflicted by a
j recourse »fsnch dangerous and discreditable means.
In the midst of our heated controversies and fleet
ing divisions, we should recollect, that we are chil- j
die i of one common country, ho nid together hv no
ordinary ties; and that we are depositaries of a sacred
trust, which it is, above ail, our duty to God and man I
to transmit unimpaired to posterity. “Let us then, !
fellow-citizens,” in the benignant' language of the j
statesman and the patriot, “unite with one heart and !
mind; let ns restore to social intercourse that harmo
ny and affection, without which liberty and life itself
ft - but dreary things. And let us reflect, that hav
ing banished from our land that religious intole
rance, under which mankind so long hied and suf
fered, we have yet gained little, if we comitenanse a
political intolerance, as despotic us wicked, and ca
pable of as hitter and bloody persecutions.”
We have said, that since the origin of onr Gov
ernment. the country has never been agitated by a
! more eventful contest. It is not a mere combat of
1 party ; one of those f rdinary conflicts between the
I competitors and incumbents of office, which, in a
! popular government, must be of frequent recur
rence. It is a controversy which involves vital
doctrines, great questions, consequences momen
tous and lasting. That error is fatal, which suppo
ses that the conflict between the good and evil
principles of society, is settled hy the establish- |
merit of a free Constitution or the adoption of a
j raiional frame of Government. The warning voice
of history teaches us, that the forms of freedom
may long survive its substance—and the maxim is
not more trite thaft true, that “Eternal vigilance is
| the price of liberty ”
Onr own brief annals furnish us with str king
illustrations of thes“ solemn truths. Through much
forbearance, saricfice, and mutual compromise, our !
| forefathers, who had learned the value of freedom
i at the cost of their blood, and whose patriotism
j h«d Deen purified and strengthened by the fire of
persecution, succeeded in framing a Constitution,
which blends in haitnonious union the essential
elements of liberty and order. It is known, that in
the convention which accomplished this great and
good work, there we e some hostile to popular in
; stiuuions, and more who simerely doubted their
efficacy or durability. Fortunately for ns, and for
those who are to come after ns, they who had
faith in the right and advantage of self-government
prevailed, and the result has pro veil that, their
hopes were not vain, nor their confidence misap
plied—as more than half a century has now
elapsed since the finishing stone was placed upon
that noble and protecting edifice. Under the fos
tering guide, and inciting impulse of free principles,
we have rapidly grown up to be a great people,
and have made ourselves felt as a power of the
first class among the nations of the earth. Histo
ry furnishes not the most remote parallel of a pro
gress so marvellous and a prosperity so pervading.
It is, as it were, hut yesterday, and when these
United States verified the prophecy, “A nation
shall be born in a dav ” Anti what do we al
ready behold ? Magnificent cities stud the im
mense line of our coast, and even crown the banks
of onr remotest rivers. Immense regions, which
were waste and wilderness when we started in
, P ~.( n " f nat '°ns, have been transferred into
flourishing Sta.es. The majestic stream, which
penetrate our wide spread territory, like the veins
. hnlar. f^T 3 that Convey the l>fe-blood through the
- „ , i ? r "»n under the burdens of Indus
, y and agriculture, while our ships expand their
satis to every breeze which stirs The b£s?ofSS
ocean. And what is better still, civilization has
I made nn equal progress. The school-master is
abroad in the land, and religion lifts her soothing or
warning voice on every side. All these blessings
fellow dozens, which make us indeed a peculiar
people, we owe to the establishment of a well or
dered f oinrnonwealth; we owe them to those, who
n spite of the fears of the timid, and the objections
the vivlr 81 ’ ,nf ' ,se r jargely into our instttutions
the vtvtfyiug spim of freedom. We need notask
, the same happy and ennobling result would have
, been witnessed, had their adversaries triumphed.
But those who were defeated or disappointed in
o ( onventton winch formed our wise and free
I j on!st u, V on , d |[| riot renounce their principles or
their designs. 1 hey sought to effect covertly and
■ [ !"‘ lirp( ' .'Vi 'hat which, when openly proposed, had
been rejected. They endeavored to stain the Con-
I stnution from its literal expression and obvious
meaning, to accomplish their original purposes.—
hey strove to assimilate substantially and in prac
tice, to the foreign model, which they admire, in
spite, nay, some of them on account of its abuses
and corruptions. Already under the administra
i °f Washington the eloquence and sophistry of
Hamilton, in defiance of the remonstrances of the
leaders of the Republican party, commuted vio
let ice upon the ( onstiiiitioti, by the establishment
. a •* n nk of the United States, the creature and
in-trument of a virions funding system, and the
prolific source of the kindred evils which have fol
lowed in the train. This was done, too, w hen the
, recollection was fresh.that the power to create cor
porations, had,in the convention, been proposed to
l»e given to the Federal Government, hot rejected,
for the very reason, among others, that H might
i * ead lo •he esiablishmeni of n bank. \Vhat*a les
; son of vigil nice does it not tead to ns. when we re
| that 1 his act of usurpation was committed or
san timed by men, the integrity of many of whom
1 it w< r * tetneriiv to question.
When once this inroad was m de upon the Con
stitution, the accumulation of consequential evils
was rapid Among these, in the succeeding admi
nistration, an expensive and oppressive standing
army, an alien amt sedition law, which invested the
President with powers unconstitutional and tyran
nical, stand nnerivi thly conspicuous. Bui a young
people, w ho were so near the source of their liber
ties, and whose minds were yet imbued with the he
roism of their revolutionary struggle, were not ea
sily corrupted or subdued. They opposed a manly
resistance of these usurpations, which, if it did not
at once check, soon hurled the offenders from the
iugh places of power. The helm was then grasped
by the vigorous hand of a Repuolican statesman,
and the vessel guided in the course laid down by
the Constitution. To this fortunate change and
: patriotic reform Virginia chiefly contributed; and
, the famous Report and Resolutions of her Legisla
ture, which the occasion called forth, are still np
i pealed ‘oas the best commentary upon the Consli
t ut ion and the ablest defence of our reserved rights.
But the Federal party, though vanquished, was
i n °t cxbnct. Its voire was beard in angry, though
j vain murmurs against ihe principles and policy of
I M r - Jefferson, then, as now, stigmatized ns hostile
jto order, property, morals, and religion: That
I gteat statesman had predicted, after his election to
I the Presidency. that “The Federalists would never
i attempt again to get into pow er under their own
,' proper name ” After retiring from the Presiden
tial chair, he boldly portrayed their prominent fea
tures in the following terms; “The Federal party
looks to a single and splendid Government of an
aristocracy, founded on banking institutions and
moneyed corporations, tinder the guise and cloak
»>f their favored branches of manufactures, com
merce, and navigation, riding and rolling over tlto
: plundered ploughman and beggared yeomanry.’*
, It was not, however, until the country was involv
ed in a war wilh Lug la ml, that it ventured to lift
j np its head and prepare for a new struggle. Tak
ing advantage of the danger and dismay of such a
crisis, it organized a desperate opposition against
the constituted auihurinef of the country. Yes,
fellow-citizens, when every generous heart glow
ed with patriotic devotion,and every true arm was
bared for the conflict, there were those within our
own bosom who taunted our weakness, gloried in
our defeats mocked at our calamilie , withheld all
I sympathy and support from our gallant and suffer
\ng delenrierK, and even meditated disunion, while
a powerful enemy “was ravaging our borders, and
' jpyttig our Capitol to the flames!” Among those
; who p.otted the deadly designs of the Hartford
; ( omentinn. there is not one living who is not now
opposed to the present Administration. Among
i hose who opposed the w’ar, who denied men and
means to carry it on, w ho w ere most active in coun
teracting the administration of James Madison, is
iouud the great b ailer of tlie whig ; arty—he who
is now proposing an unnatural alliance between the
, ”‘ ril . lls,s of Massachusetts and the Republicans
■ ,r£r l nia ’ an( l who, if there beany truth in the
signs of the times, is contemplated to be the leader
of a new dynasty These men, however, failed in
1 10, as they f>r..hahly will fail in 1840. The tri
ump iant conclusion of the war was a fatal blow to
the party by which it had been opposed, and op
posta), too by such culpable means, and for such
crimmal purposes. It retired from the contest m
shame and confusion.
But the conflict with the colossal power of Great
Britain had entailed great evils upon the country.
J he confusion of its finances, and the difficulties of
the times, in an evil hour, induced the party in
power again to charter a National Bank. Even
; Mr. Madison, the purest of men, and the most en
lightened of statesmen, was led to sanction un in
stitution, of which he had been the consistent, and
perhaps ablest opponent. This was a fatal error.
( It was an adoption of the master heresy of Feder
alism, whose partisans, hailing the new dawn,
emerged from their political caves and hiding
; places, and, throwing aside their distinctive names”
| coalesced with the ruling party. The evil conse
: quences of this false step were once more exhibited.
; The old landmarks of Republicanism began to dis
! appear; the loosa doctrines of construction and im
plication were revived, and received but two gene
ral an assent. Appropriations were lavished upon
objects not authorized by the Constitution; an un
just tariff for protection was established, and from
time to time augmented, until it reached so oppres
sive a bight as almost to drive the .South to the
brink of a civil war. During the Presidency of
the second Adams, these evils reached an intolera
ble head, when fortunately a retributive reaction
commenced, and signalized itself by his ejection
from the exalted station to which he had never
been elevated by a majority of the ueople As
the usurpations of the elder Adams hkd been ar
rested by the civil revolution of 1800, and bv the
election of 1 hoinas Jefferson, so the mal admin,>-
ration of the vounger Adams was terminated by
the election of the iron-nerved Andrew Jackson
J hen commenced a long and at times, a doubtful war
against t.tese various usurpations, the svsfem of un
constitutional improvements, the miscalled Ameri
can system, and finally, that patron or creature of
every abuse, the Bank of the United States, which
strove, but in vain, for a recharter, by every specie*
or corruption and intimidation.
[to BE CO-VTIStTZD.J