The Express.
London, England, 1856-07-18 00:00:00

UNITED STATES.

(71016 OVX OPSCIAI.CORXISVOIIDIXT.)
NEW YORK, JCL? I.
The approaching Presidential election will be
immeasurably the most important that has been held
since the time of Washington. I have hesitated
about saying anything definite on the subject up to
the present moment, for hitherto it has been impos.
sible to penetrate the mist, or to give even a rational
conjecture. But now all the candidates of all the
parties are in the field, and we oan look clearly at
facts and glance into the future. Ooe and all (except
Mr. Buchanan) represent great bodes of the Ameri-
can people, bent on the accomplishment of a single
purpose—the overthrow of the present vile and con.
temptible administration.
Mr. Buchanan was beyond all question the strongest
Border Ruffian candidate the Cincinnati coneentiest
could bring into the field. With an infamous plat.
form of political principles, be was the only deemed
statesman they could find. With a slavery
gandist creed, he &one ot the candidates had rise* to
eminence in a free State. With a full inauguration
of piratical filibusterism as the rule of our repablio
for the treatment of our weaker neighbours, he alone
had the prestige of moderation aid propriety. And
when fifty thousand noisy, boisterous, unprincipled
demagogues met in the great city ot the West, and
scenes of violence, drunkenness, and blaaguardisra
disgraced every hotel and street, where the Border
ruffian from Missouri- grasped the hand of the de.
seendant of a Boston puritan, sod Mr. Buchanan's
creatures from Penn's city of brotherly love sat cheek by
jowl with the murderous Brooks,all in full communion
—after the perpetration of such a political creid and
such disgusting orgies, these spoilemen and ruffians
were compelled to drop Frank P,erce, and Douglas,
and all the lowest grade of wire-pullers, and hit upon
a decent man.

They chose Mr. Buchanan because they had no
ether man of any eminence in their party whom
they could get to endorse their principles, and girt
to the conflict the prestige of a respectable name.

But while the country breathed treer after the
news came of Mr. Buchanan's nomination, still the
sober second thought of the great mass of thinking
men at once reached a common conclusion. The
convention first of all had in the beginning made its
platform, and whoever the man might be they should
place upon it, that man had hut oce thing to do—he
must adopt it, wholly, heartily, and with no reserve
whatever. At once the inquiry arose, " Will Mr;
Buchanan do this?" "Is he such a man ?" There
was but a brief interval of doubt. For on the first
occasion he had publicly to respond to the call he
unhesitatingly announced himself, heart and eon;
with the convention, and that its platform should be
the guide of his administration. On the following
Sunday, just as the bells of the town were sounding
the hour for religious services, and people were on
their way to their respective places of worship, the
I Keystone Club of Pniladelphia (200) arrived in a
special train at Lancaster, the residence of Mr.
Buchanan. Common decency prevented the club
from any further public proceedings on that day.
The sett morning, however, the members of the de.
legation met Mr. Buchanan, and atter their oongra.
tulations had been expressed, he made the following
brief reply, which fully explsine itself:
Gentlemen of the Kinston' Club, I give you • mat
hearty and warm welcome to my abode. I congratulate
you, not upon my n. ruination, but upon the gloriosa privt.
legs of being cinema of oar great r. public. Your sups.
riority over the people of othrr countries has been fully de-
monstrated by the conduct of • vast concourse assembled
during the oast week at Cincinnati. Up-in any similar
occasion in Europe the voluntary repression of the people
would have been drowned in martial music, and their ao.
time controlled by an at my with banners. How unlike the
apeeume at Cincinnati, where delettates from the people of
the ditteratt states met in convention under the protection
of the mastitutioa and laws, and harmoniously deliberated
upon subjects of vita importance to the country. Gentle-
men, two weeks since I should have made you a longer
speech, but now I have been 'thorn upon a platform of
which I most heartily approve. and that can speak for me.
Being the representative of the great democratic party, sad
not simply James Buchanan, I must square my conduct se-
cording to the platform that party. and insert no new
Plunk, nor take as from it. That platform is sufecientl,
broad and Rational foe the wt•ole denrcratic party. Thus
glorious party now, more than ever, has demoustrated that
it is the true conservative party of the constitution and of
the anion.

There is nothing equivocal here. He had but one
course to take. He must equate his conduct by that
platform—he must add to it no new plank—he must
take no plank from it.
What else could have been expected? Every man
in that convention knew exactly where Mr. Buchanan
stood, and the convention had his most binding
pledges to govern his administration by the rules laid
down there. These principles embrace the extension
of African slavery just as far over the bosom and
body of the Republic as force, fraud, and violence
can carry it. It embraces the robbery of the
territory of all our feeble neighbours and the in-
auguration of a reign of brigandage, and it an-
nonncee hostility and aggression to all Europe.
Now, while everybody who knew Mr. Buchanan
was aware of the pliability of his ambition, those
who had watched his political course with care saw
at ones that this outrageous Cincinnati creed was in
perfect harmony with hie whole life. It fitted him
exactly. It was so neat a fit that it seemed to have
been made for him, and he for it. Mr. Buchanan
withheld a vote nor an act for the extension of
slavery. He has always been its champion. Its most
radical and fanatical eulogists have been his political
and personal favourites. He has always been known
as a northern man with southern principles—an ex-
treme slavery propagandist. He has always die.
played in public lite the strongest partialities for
men of low character, and such be has chosen as his
instruments. His secretaries, COMM., confidants, and
'gents have almost invariably been men who could
find no welcome in better circles, so long as
they bad no odour of office shout them. So far as
European matters go, it is well known that Mr.
Buchanan got np the Ostend Conference, and
pressed upon Mr. Pierce's administration the forcible
seizure of Cubs, involving a war with Spain, and
perhaps with other European powers. These are
all facts which have long been beyond the reach of
doubt of denial. But the accuracy of these state-
manta does not after all affect the present issue. The
question now is, what kind of an administration we
should have under Mr. Buchanan? Plainly it
would be bat a continuation of the policy of
Mr. Pierce. Things have come to such a pees
among us that conventions have ceased to
look for more than two qualifications in their
candidates—availability, in order to ensure et:ocean,
and subserviency and pliability when elected. The
policy of our Presidents is no longer dictated by
statesmanship, but by the interests of party. Their lets
are not the offspring of the presidential brains, but of
the intrigues of aspiring rivals. The public business
is not done by the cabinet which site around the
Board of Green Cloth—it is all cut and dried by the
kitchen cabinet, a clique of unprincipled wirepuller.
and political gamblers, who swarm around every new
President. This system has prevailed ever since the
retirement of General Jachsoe, the lot great man
we have seen in the presidential chair. Mr. Bucha-
nan promises us no new reyittle. He does not even
hint one. He does not desire illy. None of hie
friends want a new order of things, and yet a great
and radical change must come, and come soon, or we
shall see our republic blotted oat.
This conviction has spread all through the free
States, and resulted in most important political action.
The Know-Nothings of the North. called the North
Americans, met in convention in New York, on the
12th of June, to repudiate the nomination of Mr.
Fillmore, and put another and better candidate into
the field. Five days later the republican party,

t,:her to known as Fres-Soilers, met in Philadelphia
for the same purpose, and both conventions 1111112i-
roonsly appointed large committees of conference.
Imo, committees were composed of men of the
btgliest public and private character, known and re-
spected from one end of the country to the other.
Thu met, end with atrolute unanimity settled upon
Fi o moot, the eminent scientific exlrer es
imthencommon standard-bearer. liuth conventions
put forth a common platform of freedom, and when
the telegraph flashed the new., the reverberation of
cannon was heard from the borders of Mains to the
valley of the kli.eiesippi and the distant shores
Great Lakes in less than one hour. The people of the
country had already fixed upon Colonel Fricsont. He
was universally. known for his great achievements,
respected for. hts firmness and integrity, tad above
all be was irrevocably committed to the came of
freedom.
No name hes gone forth with so wild an nth's-
imam since the days of Jackson : nor since then has
any man appeared in public lite of higher elements of,
character than characterise this still youthful but
experienced man.
la my next letter labs!! discuss the probabilities of
Fr,mont's success.

LAW INT ELLIUENCS.
THIS DAY.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.

WIL

II 11

ibs beekeept was described u ebeleing-bow keeper,

of Devonshire-street, bat his failure woes lot of
/Waite building rpetalarious on his owl 'elate.
The accounts bad cot bete filed, but it was
stated that the liabilities were very large. Tie
snout owing to unsecured creitere bet cot been won-
gained ; to those holding security, 38 uOOl. is due ; and the
Fore►tl held as security is valued at 106,0001. Oa* estate,
sortiogird for 9,0001., hes realised 13.0001.
As adj3urnioent for a south was mined.
HO ii r s. SIMOND.

. _
The bailout:it was • stardust, of Cullum-4feet, Fem-
alarak•atreet. He was (smarty is partnership with •
penes s•med Caplan', who bas committed Maids tines the
twskneptes.
This was the esaminatice meeting. The accounts not
bents Med, es adjArnineat was ordered. The liabilities
en •boat 60,0001.; meta, 2,0001.