Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-06-12


us. the majority, good deliverance from him.
Having thus. sir, disburthened myself oil
some of the feelings that have been excited by
the gallant and fearless bearing OF the gente'
man from North Carolina, allow me to go on &
question some of his POSITIONS :.
One of them is the durability OF the Constr
,,,;on With him and with father Paul (ofthe
Constitution of Venice) say "esto pe,petua;
hnt do not believe it will be perpetual. am
sne.tirp now Of what Burke would call high
matter. am not speaking to the groundlings,
10 the tyros and junior apprentices, but to the
prev headed men Of this nation, one OF whom,
bless God for il, / see is now stepping torw ard
as he stepped forward in 1899, to save the Re-
nublic. Ispeak of William b. Giles. speak
10 grey heads, heads grown grey, not in the
"rcceipt of custom" at the Treasury, oil the
Peoples money; no; to heads grown grey IN In
EQUITY and intrigue; not to heads grown grey In
pacing Pennsylvania Avenue; not grown grey
in wearing OUT their shoes at levees, not to heads
grown grew. 90 use the words of the immortal
Miss Edgeworth, the glory and the champion
of her lovely sex and wretched country in
plouphing the Four Acres. Am | understood!
There is a little Court, Sir, of tae "CAsTLE" Of
Dublin, called the Four Acres; and there, back
ants and satellites of power walk, each waiting
his turn TO receive the light OF the great-man' S
coun,enance; hoping the sunshine; dreading the
cloudy brow Spencer has well described the
sweets of this life. and technically il is called
ploughing the Four Acres. Now, when a GER
tain character, in one of her Incompatible nov
els, Sir Ulic--I have forgot his name, but he was
McSycophant, courtier, paceinan, pensloner *
parastc-upbraided that kind, good-hearted,
wrong-headed old man, King Corny, with his
wretched system of ploughng, the King Of the
Black islands, "every inch King ")replied. that
there was ore system of ploughing orse even
than his, & that was ploughng the Four Acres.
This was settler to the McSycophant.
Sir, | shall not detain the Senate long. We
are now making an experiment which has "nel-
err yet succeeded in any region or quarter Of
the earth, at any time from the deIuge 70 this
day. With regard to the antediuvian times,
history is not very full but there is no proof
that il has ever succeeded even before The food;
one thing, however, we do know, that il has
never succeeded since the food; and as there is
no proof OF its having succeeded before the
food; as de non apparentibuS et non eristenti5us
eadem est ratio it is good logic to infer, that ii
never has succeeded, and never can succeed any
where. In fact the onus probGnGi lies on :hem
that take up the other side Of the question; For
although post hoe ergo propter hoe b.. not good
logic--yet when we find the same consequences
generally following the same events, ii requires
nothing short of the scepticism Of Mr.. Hume,
to deny that there is no connection between the
one and the other; whatever, metaphysicaly
speaking, there may be of accessory connection
between cause and effect. | say, then, that we
are here making an experiment which has new
er succeeded in any time or country; and which,
as God shall Judge me at the great and fna!
day, 90 in my heart believe viii here fail; be-
cause see and feel tina. ii is now failing. 1t
an infirmity OF my nature-it is constitutional
it was born with met has caused the mi
sery (if you willy Of my .ife--it is an infrmity Of
my nature 10 have an obstinate constitution
preference of the true over the agreeable; and
am satisfied, that if had an only son, or what
is dearer, an Only daug hter-which God forbid!
say God forbid! for she might bring her IA
theirs grey hairs with sorrow 10 the grave; she
might break my heart but worse than that
what. Can any thing be worse than that?-Yes,
Sir, might break hers. should be more sharp
sighted to her foibe, than any ore else.
Sir, as much as they talk OF flial ingratitude,
how, sharper Than seTpen,'s tooth, ii is to have
thankless chiId-how much more does it run
counter 10 all the great instincts OF our nature,
planted for good and wise purposes in our boz
SONS; not in our heads, but in our hearts; by the
author OF all good-thar the mother should be
unkind 10 the babe that mlks her; the father
cruel 10 his own child. They are we'll called
unnatural parents: for it is well known law of
nature, that the stream Of succession and Of in
heriance, whether of property or affection, is in
the descending line, say, in my conscience
and in my heart believe, that this experiment
will fail; if it should not fail, blessed be the Au-
thor Of all good for snatching this People as
brand from The burning which has consumed as
stubble al the nations-al the fruitless trees
of The earth; which before us have been cut
down and cast into the fire. Why cumbereth it
the ground; why cumbereth ii? Cut tdown-
cut ii down. believe that it will fail; out, sir,
if it does not fail, lis success will be owing to
the resistance of the usurpation of one man by
power which was not unsuccessful in resist
ing another man ofthe same name, and Of the
same race. And why is it that think it Will
fail? Sir, with Father Paul, l may wish it 10 be
perpetual, esto perpetual, but l cannot believe
that it will be so. do not believe that free
republican Government is compatible with the
apery Of European fashions and manners--is
compatible with the apery Of the European lux
ury and habits; but if it were, | do know
that it is entirely incompatible with what have
IN Yt1v ham hac aud opo