Huntingdon journal. (Huntingdon, Pa.) 1843-1859, January 29, 1845, Image 1

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affeintil Datopaorr—DelootrV to Cencrat Kittcliincnrc, %Viorytiang, Rittratnrr, Itioralitv o arts, Mcirnm,agricitturc,,Sittutetttrut, S:c., &T.
%.17 , 31)11. ED.
PIIRLISIIED
THEODORE H.. CREM ER.
The "Jou At." will be published every Wed•
essday morning, at $2 00 a year, if paid in advance,
and if not paid within six months, $2 50.
No subscription received for a shorter period than
six months, nor any paper discontinued till all ar
names arc paid,
Advertisements not exceeding one square, will be
inserted throe times for $1 00, and for every subse
quent insertion 25 cents. If no definite orders are
given Co to the time an advertisement is to be continu
ed, it •will be kept in till ordered out, and charged ac
cordingly.
P 0 71 P. 7
-"To charm the languid hours of solitude,
He oft invites her to the Muses lore:"
For the Iluntinkdon Journal.
4 'She was a being of deep thought, of lofty pur
poses, who felt and acted for Eternity."
0 yes Ido remember well
The hour when first we met!
Nor 'till I bid this Earth adieu
That hour will I forget.
Others were there, to other eyes
Perhaps, as fair as she
But how unlike all others there,
This fair one seemed to me.
She wore no gems, no diamonds bright,
Which are a useless part;
Yet. there wns m her det'p dark eye
That won my boyish howl.
That pensive shade. (I see it yet)
Which o'er her features stole,
Beamed hut to speak in numbers deep,
The language of her soul.
And faith and hope. seemed whispering there
Of brighter worlds than this,
Yet mourning that the heart should stray
From the pure fount of bliss.
Since that, we've pass'd through various scenes
In this world's busy mart,
Since that alas! this truth I found
That she and I must part.
There pass proud forms before me now,
The lovely and the gny,
but who can fill the place of one I
Thet one now far away
The token that Fite gave to me—
(A tack of auburn hair)
Which once adorned that matchless brow;
I deemed on earth most fair.
When fate decreed that we must part.
Why wake that mournful strain?
She pressed my hand, and only said,
" Farewell, we meet again."
I know that we shall meet again'
This Maiden fair and I,
Where God, shall wipe the burning tear
From every weeping eye.
I look beyond this world of woo,
To that more bright and fair,
And if we meet no more on earth
I hope to meet her there.
Far from this world of in and woe,
Of sorrow, grief, and pain,
Together we !hall walk in white
And never part again !
When she whose fate seem'd link'd with mine
O'er life's rough ocean driv'n,
Shall meet me in that world above
And welcome me in HEAVEN.
PotyrEn TOWNSHIP, January 8, 1845.
From the Metropolitan.
The light of the Loving Eye,
By the light of a loving eye,
Oh ! 'tis sweet through this world to go:
It dispels the dark shadows that lie
In our path, with its magical glow:
'Tis the first light in life that we see,
'Tie the last to desert when we die;
Oh! there's nothing 'neath heaven to me,
Like the light of a loving eye.
Tothe light of a loving eye,
Ah ! what are the riches of earth?
What the garland that fame can supply,
Or,the roses and revels of mirth?
Not a flower that in beauty I see,
Not a gem in the diadem'd sky,
.0h ! there's nothing in nature to me,
Like the light of a loving eye.
By the light of a loving eye
I have gone through this world of woe,
And oh may the spirit on high
Still grant me its magical glow !
Till the wings of toy soul are set free,
Till my heart has forgotten to sigh,
May that light, that sweet light shine for me,
The light of a loving eye.
What is Charity.
'Tis not to pause when at my door
A shivering brother stands,
To ask the cause that made him poor,
Or why he help demands.
'Tis not to spurn that brother's prayer
For fault. he once bath known;
'Tis not to leave him in despair,
And say that I have none.
The voice of CIIABITY is kind—
She thinketh nothing wrong,
To every fault she seemeth blind,
Nor vaunteth with her tongue.
In Penitence she placeth Faith—
Hope smileth at her door ;
Believeth lirst—then softly saith,—
" Go, brother, sin no more."
QDD.—D. E. B. T. are the initiate of • Dun
Every Body Twice;' C. R. E. D. I. T. are the
initials of • Call Regularly Every Day—lll Trutt.'
MCD 9
1::OC:=L:,.311"L0 °Ct.
43. Premature L'adorsement.
A story is told of a Hibernian who offered his
vote in a neighboring town under circumstances
which induced the Locofosos to believe him a
Whig. He hod the ticket firmly encased in hie
brawny fist, when the inspector asked him his name.
Ihitney Flaglierty, yer honors, the world over,
save in Kentucky, where they call me Barnabas
O'Flagerty for shortness.'
I challenge his vote,' said a Loci:face, as soon
as he heard the word Kentucky.'
You are challenged, Mr. Flagherty. Arc you
prepared to take the oath.'
I'm challenged, am II Then I'm the man for
his tnutton. Any weapon from a double-fist full
of bones to a Donnybrook shillelah. As for the
oath, I am ready to swear by St. Patrick or ould
Hickory that a better Democrat'
. Withdraw the challenge, Jim. He's for Polk.'
As for the matter of that, thin, I voted for ould
Hickory and'—
.I withdraw the challenge.'
And for Martin Van Buren.'
Take his vote; t.tke his vote.
But may the Old Boy take me if fiver caught
by a Locoroco blarney'again,' added Barney, as he
saw his vote deposited, and marched off shouting
for 'outd Kaintuck, who never turned the back of
his hand to a friend nor the back of his coat to an
inimy !'
The Whigs shouted and the Lecofecos hung
their lips as Barney Flaglierty placed his thumb on
his nose. and gave his premature endorsers the
top o' the tnorning, for their swat° gintility.—
Rochester Democrat.
CHOOSING A Wm.—Young men, a word in
your ear, when you choose a wife. Don't be fas
cinated with a dashing creature, 'fond of society,
vain, artistical, and showy in dress. You do not
want a doll or a coquette for a partner. Choose
rather ono of those retiring, modest, sensible girls,
who have learnt to deny themselves, and possess
some decided character. But above all seek for a
good disposition. A popular writer well observes,
No trait of character is more valuable in a female
than the possession of a sweet temper. Home can
never be made happy without it. It is like the
flowers that spring up in the pathway, reviving and
cheering us. Let a man go home at night wearied
and worn by the toils of the day, how soothing is a
word dictated by a good disposition! It is sun
shine falling on Iris heart. He is happy, and the
cares of life are forgotten, A sweet temper has a
soothing influence over the minds of the whole
family. Where it is found in the wife and moth
er. you observe kindness and love predominating
over the bad feelings of the natural heart. Smiles,
kind words, and looks, characterise the children,
and peace and love have their dwelling there.—
Study then, to acquire and retain a sweet temper.
It is more valuable than gold ; it captivates more
than beauty ; and to the close of life retains all its
freshness and power.
A FAIR BET Emir, Wmr.—Said Bill to Rich.
ard, the other day— , . Did you ever hear how rough•
hided I am V
'I never did,'—replied Dick-=tougher than corn•
mon folkses 'l'
4 I reckon 'tin a few--why, I'll bet you drinks,
Dick, that you may take a cowhide and lay it. up
on my bare skin as hard and as long as you like,
am! I won't even f‘inch.'
Done—l'll take that bet. If! don't make you
squirm like a half-skinned eel, the first cut, I'm
sadly mistaken.'
. . .
You take the I:et then.'
4 I tie.'
Well, wait till I go up stairs and bring down my
bear-skin and'-- _ .
4 0, ho! your bear-skin .2 No, no--I meant'—
, I don't care what you meant—it's a fair het
fairly won. My bear skin is my bear skin, and it
aint nothing else.'
'l'll give in,' said Richard, looking foolish anti
Clabber gasted— , let's adjourn to the Pewter Mug,
and say no more about it.'
A Pots MA'JOIIiTT.-A day nr two before the
election in this county, says the 'Mississippi Guard,'
two negroes were discussing politics, and front
words they came to blows. The owner of one of
the negroes hearing of the rumpus, thrashed both
of them, gising the Clay negro ten lashes and the
Polk negro fifteen. The latter, after walking about
a hundred yards, shrugged his shoulders, and
shouted, at the top of his lungs, Hurrah for Polk
—five ahead yet !'
cry A subscription has been started in Cincin
nati, for the purpose of purchasing the marble bust
of Gen. Harrison, executed in Italy by Clevenger,
for the purpose of relieving the pressing wants of
Mrs. Clevenger, the widow of the artist, and her
children.
A VAORANT'S DEFENCE:A fellow taken up at
a vagrant,declared that he was not "a man with
out any visible means of subsistence, as he had just
opened a store." It was found on inquiry, that he
had just opened it with a crow bar in the night,
and unfortunately the store belonged to another
man.
The New York Evening Mirror says, a newsboy
was overheard the other evening telling his com
panion, that he had given up selling papers, and
had gone into the magnetizing business, said he,
" I get five dollars a week and play possum."
Z.The Marine Insurance Companies of New
York, have paid out for loesee, since the lot of
October last, upwards of two millions of dol
lars.
SPEECH OF MR, CLINGMAN,
OF ?MIMI CAROLINA,
On the Late Prerldentiel Election.
In the House of Representatives, Jan. 6.
Mr. Chairman :—I shall leave it to those who
desire it to discuss the constitutionality or expedi
ency of the proposed annexation of Texas. It is
not expected by any body that any practical rrsult,
in the way of legislation, is to grow out of these
proceedings. Doubtless you may be able, as was
suggested the other day by the gentleman from
South Carolina, to pass en abstract resolution, after
the fashion ofilrour Baltimore Convention, decla
ring that Texas ought to be annexed as soon as
practicable. Your agitation of the matter is inten
ded solely to produce capital to operate on our elec
tions at the South during the ensuing year, and I
shall therefore meet the question on its real and not
its ostensible merits.
The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, (Mr. C. J. Ingersoll)who opened the de
bate, stated that there had been a very dedided
manifestation of popular opinion in favor of the an
nexation, and was pleased to refer to the late Presi
dential election as furnishing evidence of it. The
gentleman from Illinois, (Mr. Douglass) who has
immediately preceded me in the debate, declared
with great vehemence that the popular verdict had
been recorded in favor of the measure, and that if
those who are now on this floor failed to carry out
the wishes of the people, they would be swept away
by a torrent of public indignation, end men be sent
in their places who were more faithful. If all this
were true, sir, it would furnish a strong argument
in favor of the measure, because in a representative
Republic like ours, popular opinion is of the great
est consequence. I shall endeavor to show, howev
er, that these gentlemen are totally mistaken in
these views; but to do so will oblige me to examine
a good deal in detail the causes which contributed
to produce the result exhibited in that election.
I must in the first place, however, ask the in
dulgence of the House for a few minutes, while I
advert to a matter not directly connected with this
subject.
At the last scesion, when a proposition to repeal
the 25th rule was under consideration. it will he
remembered that the debate was prolonged for nearly
twelve months, and as each speech was concludd,
more than twenty chivalric gentlemen sprang to
their feet and struggled for art opportunity to mcni
fest their ardor in behalf of Southern rights.—
And it was only, sir, by resorting to the previous
question that we were able to terminate the debate
before the close of the session.
On the fast day of the present session, the gen
tleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Adams) gave
notice that he would on to-morrow introduce a pro
position to abolish the rule. Therepon the gen
tleman from Virginia (Mr. Dromgoole) likewise
gave notice that ho would object to the recep
tion of the resolution, because it would be out
of order. On the succeeding day, the gentleman
from Massachusetts, in accordance with his prom
ise, ofrered his resolution to recind the rule, but the
gentleman from Virginia, though in his place, great
ly to the surprise of every body, made no objection
to its introduction. If that gentleman, or any other
member had objected to its reception, it could only
have been gotten in by a suspension of the rules,
and it was well known that a vote of two-thirds
could not have been obtained for that purpose.—
The proposition came in without a word of objec
tion from any quarter. Thereupon the gentleman
front Mississippi, acting under the old dispensation
of democracy, not having, I presume from his loca
tion in the far Southwest, seen the new revelation
of light in the Northeast, moved to lay the resolu
tion on the tcble. A vote was taken by yeas and
nays, and his motion was lost by a decided majority,
making it evident that the rule would be repealed.
The Speaker stated the question to be on the adop
tion of the resolution to rescind the rule. The pre
vious question had not been ordered, and the matter
was therefore open for debate. I looked around to
see what hold champion of the South would first
sound the tocsin of alarm. There was a full array
of the chivalry around. There in his seat on my
right was the gentlemanfroin South Carolina, (Mr.
Rhett) who at the last session declared, with so
much eloquence and zeal, that a repeal of the rule
would be a virtual dissolution of the Union.
There sat my colleague, (Mr. Saunders) who
went off on this matter with a force that sent him
during the past summer over the entire State of
North Carolina, declaiming against the reception of
abolition petitions. There. too, were the gentle
men from Georgia and other States, who vied with
each other in their denunciation of all those who did
not sustain the rule. There all of these gentlemen
sat, quiet and mute, as though nothing unusual
was taking place, and saw with much seeming un
concern their favorite rule killed oil by a largo ma.
jority. There was no burst of indignation; no
exclamation to the South, 'Samson, the Philistines
ho upon thee !' Not even the note of a goose, to
give warning of the irruption of the Gauls.—
Were they asleep, like the Roman sentinels of the
old time No, no, sir, they were awake, but they
were false watchmen of the South—traitor senti
nels! I have a right so to call them; for, in de
nouncing me at the last session, some of them decla
red that any man who did not sustain the rule by
all proper means, was a renegade and traitor to the
Southern States. According to the form of the
logicians, the proposition would be as follows :
Any Southern man who does not use his efforts to
preserve the rule is a renegade traitor. They were
Southern inn, and might have preserved the rule
by objection et the proper time, but would not do it.
Therefore, they are renegade traitors. Quad eral
demonatrandum, as the sophomores say.
How are we, Mr. Speaker, to account for the ex
traordinary change in the conduct of gentlemen
since the Presidential election? and I may also
ask, why is it that Leavitt, the abolition editor,
who was refused at the last session a seat among
the reporters of the House, is now the occupant of
one of the best positions in the Hall?* I told you
all at the last session that this 25th rule was a hum
bug, getting to be so well understood that it would
deceive nobody much longer, and must soon be
abandoned by its authors. Will gentlemen come
out frankly and admit that all their parade at the
last session was a mere humbug—one of the most
barefaced political frauds ever attempted to be play
ed off tor party purposes? If they will not admit
this—if they still insist that the rule is of any value,
why slid they give it up without a struggle? Was
it done as compensation to their abolition shies in
the North, by whose aid they carried the great States
of New York and Pennsylvania, and thereby elected
Mr. Polk? It: set wish gentlemen to evade this
matter by their silence. If the rule was worthless,
why the sound and fury' of last session ? If val
uable, for what considerations did they surrender it,
except that just stated ? They must take one born
of the dilemma. They cannot escape from it.
ft.h ! I beg pardon, Mr. Speaker, there is still a
a third mode by whirls a part of these gentlemen
may get out of this difficulty. Some of them may
perhaps excuse themselves by saying, if they had
grumbled about this matter they might have been
expelled from the Democratic party, and thus lost
all share of the spoils to be distributed from and
after the fourth of March next. Taking this view
of the case, sir, I frankly admit that' these gentle.
men deserve the sympathy of this house and of tho
country. Their fate, in being compelled to nuke
such a submission, is peculiarly hard, when it is
remembered from what quart,: the principle of this
rule was originally derived. Mr. Senator Benton
did great injustice to :ohn C. Calhoun, when he
said, if common rumor be true, that the some John
C. Calhoun, so far from being a statc,man, had
, never invented even a humans' The fact cannot
be disputed that John C. Calhoun was the first to
take the very highest ground for the South ;' the
prime originator of the policy of objecting to the
rc,:ition of petitions, of which the 25th rule is par
cal. Hard then is the necessity Which compels the
peculiar followers of that gentleman to make a burnt
offering of the first and only offbpring of their idcl.
Considering, however, the object for which the
sacrifice was made, it is to be hoped that they will
derive as much consolation as did Capt. Dalgetty,
who when mourning the loss of his old war horse
one battle fickhremembered that he could convert the
hide of the dead animal into a pair of breeches. John
C. Calhoun'. only humbug converted Into breech's)
for his followers! t
Judging from the vetion of the House on this
subject, what is to become of the repeal of the tariff?
I can tell you, sir. If James K. Polk will give to a
few individuals that I could name such offices as
they desire, he will thereby effect such a modifica
tion of the tariff as to render it acceptable in the
main to the chivalric majority of the State of South
Carolina. Should these persons, however, fail to
get such portion of the spoils as they consider
their due, viz the lion's Aare, then the tariff will
be found so oppressive that human nature cannot
beer it, and must be nullified. Be not deceived,
sir, by all the declamation which we hear Gum time to
time; fcr all this is merely thrown out to frighten
Mr. Polk and his northern friends into a good com-
promise wills respect to the distribution of the offi
ces. Can this be accomplished without beggering
the other sections of the party? There are not
places enough in the gift of the Executive to satisfy
the countless thousands of greedy office seekers.—
This consideration forces upon my mind the great
danger which awaits your party, and, as a frank,
benevolent Whig, I warn you of it.
Sir, it is a common remark that the members of
this so-called Democratic party, however they may
It is due to the Speaker to state that he decla
red subsequently that he had not assigned to Mr.
Leavitt, the Abolition Reporter, any seat in the
Hail, but inasmuch as there were a great number of
applicants for reporter's seats, he had not yet com
pleted the arrangements and allotted the seats
among them; and. until his assignment had been
compleated, Ins orders had teen not to prevent any
reporter from entering the Hall, and occupying tem
porarily one of the seats. The rule of the House,
No. 19, is in the following words: No person
shall be allowed the privilege of the Hall under the
character of stenographer, without a written per
mission from the Speaker, specifying the part of the
Hall assigned to him, and no reporter or stenogra
pher shall be admitted under the rules of the House,
unless such reporter or stenographer shall state in
writing for what paper or papers ho is employed to
report.' As this rule can only be changed by the
House itself, and as the reporter in question occupi
ed the sent for sonic weeks, I presume in common
with other members who remarked on the transac
tion, that he remained by express permission of the
Speaker, and not that there had been a suspension
of a standing rule of the House by the Speaker for
so long a period.
t A story is told by Paulding, I think, of an indi
vidual who applied to Mr. Van Buren for the °Rico
of Secretary of State, but was told that it had al
ready been promised to another. He then continu
ed asking for various offices, in a descending scale,
until ho came to the lowest, and was told that the
office in each instance hod already been promised to
some one else. Then, air,' said he to the Presi
dent, ' as i am in a very needy condition, could you
: not give mo a pair of old ttreeehes.'
take opposite sides on measures of policy, never
split their votes, but always make a common strug
gle on the election clay. This is owing to the fact
which I had occasion to state at the last session,
that this party is held together solely by the co
hesive power of plunder ;' and, therefore, whenever
they ere melting a struggle to get into power, it is
a part of their general system of tactics that each
segment of the party should adopt that aide of any
question that is strongest at home, end thereby in
crease their chance of carrying the election. Though
not yet generally known throughout the country,
yet the matter is so well understood hero that it
seldom excites a remark, though every week fur
nishes conclusive evidence on the point. For ex
ample: A gentleman from Pennsylvania some
time eines charged the Whigs with being less
friendly to a protective tariff than the Democrats.—
Immediately after him rose a gentleman from Ala
bama, who declared furiou.,'y against the oppression
of the tariff of 1842, tatting no notice of the gentle
man who was up just before him, but assailing fu
riously some unlucky Whig who may have token
the part in the debate. Says the gentleman from
Pennsylvania : 'Mr. Clay and the Whigs are fur
reducing the present duties on iron and coal, and
prostrating the great interests of Pennsylvania.'—
The gentleman room Alabama shouts aloud The
duties on iron end coal, imposed by the present
Whig Ma; are co oppressive that they cannot be
borne, but shall be resisted.' So far, however, ere
these gentlemen from .'•.riding fault with each other,
that each of them, by his manner at least, seems to say
to the other: 'God speed you brother; you are working
bravely for Democracy.' As the speech of each of
them is intended for home consumption. it contains
no allusion to the remarks of the other; and; by
consequence, the constituent at the North sees from
the speech of his representative that the %%'hig party
arc opposed to the protection of home industry, and
to the exiling tariff; whilerthe planter of the South
is driven to madness by learning in a similar man
ner, how much he is oppressed by the present
Whig tariff. However, therefore, the members of
this party may differ about =endures, they do not
split in their enter or. the election day, and of course
they act together as long as they are out of power•
But, sir, very different IS their condition when in pow
er. I have already indicated that they are held
together solely by the desire of office, and as there
are not in the Government places enough for all,
there will even be a real querrel, and the disappoin
ted will vote against you. The cnly connecting tie
being dissolved, the party will go to pieces. 'This,
sir, is the rock nn which you are destined to split.—
Though a political adversary, I warn you of the
danger; but I 11 - tinkly admit, sir, that I do not be
lieve that you will be able to profit by my advice.
When the Sub-Treasury bill was under consitle
'anion sometime since, it will he remembered that in
the very chart debate which was allowed on it, a
very wide range was taken by some of the speak
ers,. As I was not on that occasion permitted to
occupy the floor, I rosy, I trust without impropriety,
advert to some things that were said then. Ido
not prop., however, to discuss the merits of that
measure. It was brought in by the committee at
the last session, end laid upon our tables, and, though
I in common with other Whigs called upon the
majority to take it up at once, and charged them
with holding it back till after the Presidential elec
tion in order to deceive the country as to their real
intentions, yet it all trailing nothing, end it was
permitted to sleep quietly on our tables till the close
of (list session. And when, during the past sum
mer, we charged the party with designing to pass
this measure again as soon as they had the power
to effect it, yet it was, as if by common consent,
stoutly denied by their partisans all over the coun
try. They talirmed that this measure, having been
condemnedie American people in 1840, had
been abandoned, end, as a proof of it, referred to
the fact that, with an immense majority in lids
Moue, the party refused to pa. it. Now, however,
the election being over, just as I had occasion to
predict perhaps fifty times in the political debates of
the past year, this very bill is Miceli up before any
other matter of importance, and in a few hours for
ced through the House and passed under the gag of
the previous question. It is proclaimed that the
people have decided in its favor at the late election ;
and we are told, with that insolence which the large
majority here has inspired, that we Whigs ought
to sit mute and make no objection to its passage.—
So far is it from being true that the people, by their
late vote, have decided in its fawn, I venture to af
firm, that if the party had dared to pass it last
epring, and thus directly made an issue on it, the re
sult of the election would have been different. The
country understands this matter too well. It is
known to be a measure which will place in the
hands of the President the money power of the
country, and which would, under the operation of a
few years, convert the Government into a practical
despotism.
I propose now Mr. Speaker, to follow the exam
ple of some of' the debate's who have discussed
the issues involved in the late election, and the ef
fect of the popular verdict. At the termination of
the late session of Congress, when I left this city,
though I was sanguine as to the general result,
I knew that we were to be hardly pressed at the
South. James K. Polk, the nominee of our op.
ponents, was understood to be, and had always been,
opposed to any other than a mere revenue tariff
and was avowedly in favor of the immediate annex
' •
salon of Texas. Though I knew that the position
of the Whig.porry was right 'en both these quer-
\.. , ›../rlaczpacc. dtava.
lions, yet, inasmuch as it had formerly been the
custom of Southern politicians in the main to de
nounce all tariffs, and the policy even of incidental
protection land rarely been advocated, I feared that
the time intervening before the election was toe
short to enable usfally to enlighten the pullie mind
with respect to the character of the act of 1842
and our position in relation to its policy.
There was also, in many quarters of the Southern
part of the Union, a strong feeling in favor of the
annexation of Texas, and I also apprehended that
there would hardly be tiuto enough for the people
to become fully acquainted with the terms of the
propose] .n mat on, an I to ulder I and clearly the
position of the Presidential candidates with respect
to the question. Though we Whigs of the South
knew that it bad fallen to our lot to defend the
point of greatest pressure, yet we went into the
contest with a determination and a spirit worthy of
the noble cause in which we were engaged, which,
but for causes that we had no reason to anticipate.
would have afforded a success fully equal to all our
hopes.
At the North this state of things was reversed.--
Our candidate occupied the aide of these questions
that was most popular with both parties in that re
gion, and we had a right to anticipate a gain in that
quarter, equal at least to any loss that might he
sustained with us. Nor did I feel any serious doubts
as to the result until we saw the devclopemonts of
the month of September. Then it was that the ex
traordinary spectacle was presented to the world of
a convention of the so called Democratic party in
the State of New York, which openly, and with a
degree of impudence till then unseen, in solemn
form repudiated the leading principles avowed its
their National Convention, and at the same time
declared their determination to support its Presiden
tial nominee. It likewise nominated for the office
of Governor of that State Silas Wright, whose
views were, on both of these great questions, di
rectly opposite to those of James K. Polk. Mr.
Polk declared himself utterly opposed to the tariff
of 1842, and in favor of the immediate annexation
of Texas, while Silas Wright had voted for the
tariff of 1842, end had likewise voted against the
annexation of Texas; and these two individuals
were voted for on the same ticket, in order that no
man might he so silly in future as to doubt but
that the said Democratic party was held together
solely by the love of office, or, in language now
become classical, q the cohesive power of public
plunder,"
A similar state of things was exhibited in Penn
sylvania ; and I have heard Democratic members of
this House speak laughingly of seeing in that State
numberless banners with the inscription borne on
them of <, Polk, Dallas, and the Democratic Tariff
of 1842." Yes, air, and when the Whigs attemp.
ted to set this matter right, they were told by the
honest but ignorant yeomanry of that State that
they could not beleive that Mr. Polk was opposed to
the tariff, because they had been assured by their
leaders, the men in whom they had been accustom
ed to confide, that he was much morn favorable to
a protective tariff than was Mr. Clay. The politi
cal leaders of the party in these two States, as well
as elsewhere at the North, humiliated themselves so
far as to come into the support of a man who had
been forced upon them by a small and till then
contemned tninority of their own party, and whose
opinions were directly the reverse of those which
they themselves had publicly professed. But they
did not stop here. Lest their prostitution should
go unrewarded, and to secure as many accomplices
in political crime as possible, they seem to have de..
liberately entered into a scheme of misrepresents.
lion and fraud. To bring to the support of a man
whose principles, if he hail any, were hostile to the
views of the great mass of their followers, they de
liberately resolved to misstate the principles of that
man, as if they could thus turn wrong into right,
end make that true which was false. By false de
clarations, steadily persevered in, they deluded the
ignorant, who trusted to their truth. To further
their conspiracy, their candidate, worthy of his par.
ty, wrote its phrases indefinite, unmeaning, vague,
ambiguous, doulde-faced as the responses of the old
Delphic oracle. When inquiries from any quarter
whatever were put to him which would have dd.
ted a definite answer, he remained mute and per.
milted the truth to be trampled under foot. Mr.
Speaker, there are recorded many instances of indi
vidual misrepresentation, dishonor, and breaches of
faith by those who previously enjoyed the public
confidence; but, sir, the history of the world affords
no other instance of a total destitution of a moral
sense exhibited by so large a number of individu
als, no example of fraud and falsehood on a scale
so extensive. To furnish materials to the active
agents, there was established in this city a mint
managed by, it is not necessary forint° here to say
whom, for it is too well known by all around. That
establishment worked with amazing rapidity, and
threw off enry variety of falsehoods. To the
North, for example, it sent infamous libels on the
Whig candidates, such as were supposed best cal
culated to array against then, all the profligate fac
tions there, especially the unprincipled abolitionists;
while to the South were directed handbills, warn
ing the people of that section that imminent danger
was impending, and that, if the Whigs came into
power, slavery would be abolished and all the inter
ests of the South utterly prostrated.
These publications were thrown out purposely
on the eve of the election, in order that they might
'net be contradicted. They were signed by no
name, or the name of an unknown and irresponSible