Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-11-01

Kalb. Lafayette and others, committed against
| Great Britain, that Of aiding her enemy in war;
| that he arraigned them before a military court,
| upon charges unknown to martial law, and oy
| his influence procured their convictions, upon
ltestimony wholly illegal; that, after they were
sentenced by the court, the one to suffer deatn'
the other to be publicly, whipped, he reversed
| the sentepce OF the latter, and caused the zone u
be hanged, the other to be shot TO death, uS,,
claring them to be OUTLAWS and pirates; anu
that he putto death some OF his lndlah PR
soners Of war, without even the formally OF d
trial.
Such are the accusations, among others, maze
against Gen. Jackson, seven years ago, ny ms
new friends.-If true, he not only deserved all
the eni,hets which they then coplously bestow-
ed nnon him. but the punishment, which they
modita,ed. That he escaped the latter, IS, per-
hans 10 be attributed to the clemency OF some,
and ,be fears of other members 81 congress,
~. h.d becone alarmed for the safety Of their
ears.*
Whether the charges were true or ialse, how
ever, tits not my purpose now 70 inquire. II
is sufficient that they were believed, and sup
ported by a great portion OF those who now
compose the Opposition to the Administration
and by the ablest men and distinguished states
men then in Congrcss-among whom, were the
late MIR. Lowndes, Of South Carolina, and Mr..
Clay. The opinion of the latter, 1t seems, has
continued unchanged-and "this is the very
head and front of his offending" If be had chop
ped round, asdid the political weathercocks,
who are now the most intolerant OF Gen. Jack
sons adherents, he would, doubtless, have been
taken into favor, as they have been, and would
have continued, in their estimation, a wise, IN
corruptibie, independent and fearless statesman,
Of Grsd principles and consistent practice.
The History of Gen. Jackson's life, published
bv his consent, furnishes no evidence Of his
qualification for the office OF Chief Magistrate,
nor, indeed, for any civil ofice-the whole book,
With the exception Of a few lines, being occn-
pied in detailing and eulogising his military ex-
ploits; nor has tradition preserved any account
Of him as a private citizen, or civil officer, from
which any opinion favorable to his pre,ensions,
can be drawn. On the contrary, we have re
Gently had conclusive demonstration of his en-
tire ignorance, or total disregard, of the consti-
tuition and laws of the land; and the nature Of
our civil institutions, and a manifestation OF the
arbitrary and despotic disposition which he is
disposed to indulge, whenever he has the ply
steal power. In a letter to the late President,
ne 0eCiareS. Hat III IS q Al u
military district within which the Hartford
Convention sat, he would have brought The
members before a court martial and executed
them, under the second section OF the ar.icieS
of war!!! which provides, "1hat in time Of Uay,
all persons NOT citizens Of, or oscing allegiance 10,
the United States, acho shall be found lurking as
spies, in or about the fortifcatioas or the encamp-
ments of The armies of the Uniied States, or any Of
them, shall suffer death, according TO The lac and
usage of nations, by sentence Of q generate court mar
tial." Now, the members Of the "Harttord Con-
yention'' were all ~"citizens of, and owing ale
glance to, the United States"-they SAT IN con-
clave and were meditating treason against the
United States; an offence defined by he consti-
tuition, and punishable only upon indictment of
a grand Jury, and conviction by a petit jury, on
the testimony of two witnesses; alter a full and
fair trial, in a court of law. They were certain
ly not aliens, "lurking as sp,es, in or about tortl-
G~cations or ~encampments," and, with all due
Difference TO Gen. Jackson, and his %abettors, un-
der our system Of laws, the act which he said
he would have committed, would have been an
offence OF no less a grade than murder. 1t
seems he has yet to learn, that under our form
of government. even a traitor Is lot TO be pu-
nished at the discretion Of a military comman-
der.
One of the reasons stated by Mr.. Clay for not
voting in favor of Gen. Jackson, was that he
considered him a "military chieftain," which
seems to have given particular offence to his
partizans. Yet they cannot disguise, that his
claims TO the Presidency are maintained exclu-
sively upon his military services. They ask,
whether those services are to disqualiiy him.?
And | answer, certainly not-but his military
talents and services, alone, are not sufficient to
qualify him for the chief magistracy of this re-
public. He is no more a second Washington,
as his friends pretend, because like him he has
been a victorious general, than he is a second
Jefferson, because his name begins with j.
Luckily, however, Mr.. Clay will find a prece-
dent, in the objections volunteered by General
Jackson against a military chief'ain" of the
Revolution, the late Isaac Shelby, of Kentucky,
when the President was about to confer on him
the appointment of Secretary of war. By the
same authority (Gen. JacksonO the objection
made 10 Mr.. Adams, that he was once a Fede-
ralist, vanishes; we have it under his sign ma
nuel, as the volunteer adviser Of the late Presi-
dent, that party distinctions arc all a iarce*
The very men who now denounce Mr.. Clay,