The Northern star, and farmers' and mechanics' advocate. [volume] (Warren, R.I.) 1830-1834, 1830-05-29
article of The constitution, or Is i q sect
ION of the articles of war? L. il q, rule of

. =
ION pf the. articles of war? Ia il q rule Of
tpractice, which, baying been acted upon
| ~ any of your illustriou5 predeceessor
scrnos down witt the force'of authority up
m yeu? i3id Il govern the /. conduct Of
hal great r,an in wbose mould (according
20 your .daftercrs)you were formed! If SO,
yhy should you conceal il? The consti-
tuition nnd the laws, civil AMI military, will
ustify you, and all who obey them; and
he robes ofpower which ysY wear cannot
,e stained by an act which finds prece-
deat in the conduct Of any Of your prede-
ccssors. Isit any old principle Of new
application in the art of govcrnmt nt which,
aayipgr escSped the seurchiug mind Of
Washington, and the keen vision Of sue
ceeding presidents, has been grasped by
your gigantic mind' Or is = new, whole
some principle patented to yod, md for
which ycu alone are TO receive all the re-
wards (of glory at least) which succeed
ing ages never fail to bestow on the first
inventor Of public blessing'
The oiGce harpics vho haunted your
public walks ard your retired aloments,
from the very dawn ofyour administration,
and whose avidity for office and power
niade taem utterly reckless ofthe honora-
bic feeling and just rights of others, cried
aloud for rotatio,, in Office. Is that magi-
cal phrase, so l;,mliar to the demag ogues
fall nations, and oftimes, your great and
much vauntcd principle of reform? II it
lbe, by what kind of rotary motion Is it,
that men who have been but few years,
or few months in office, are swept from
the boards, while others your lriends) re-
main, who date their official calends, per-
Ihaps, from the lime Of Washington?-
What sor; Of adaptation of saillto n,achin-
cry isthat which brushes away those orly
who were opposed TO your election, and
leuya your Ii;ends in .ull possession'
. Your Official .organ wc..ld impose ipon
| the pubic the b.liefthat you had adopted
the Jeflb,sonian rule Of honeety and ospac
ity, aud that incumbcnts, as well as appli-
cants, were tested by That inialliable touch
sto1e. The alleged delinquencics cf one
or two public officers have for this been q
co]ors and the dye or their hsowed iniGui
slty has been spread with industrious cum
! Iirs oser the skirts Of eyefy innocent vic
9 tim. Even of those few who have beer
: thus charged, their misconduct (reported
: was iinsuspected, untilthe pryiDg eyes O
~ iheir successors came to inspect the oiiicia
records Of their proceedings, when hei,
dstgated ingenuity, as in duty bound, couls
ido no less than find them guilty, and there
lore could not have been the cause oftheil
: dismissal. Yours, therefore, is not the
Jefcrsonian rule. You ask, respecting
incumbents and applicants, other question:
: than, :" is he honest, is he capabie?" mo
the answer to your question decides the
: applicability Of your rule. BY thus as
n certaining what your secret rule is not
I we may easily come to the discovery O
what II Is. Supposing you serious when
: you are controlled by rule, and that you
do not move blindly like other storms, bu,
that you have eyes which see, and ears
3 which hear, and hence that have not de
scrlbed your rule; there remains, howev-
er, but one motive which could possibly
have governed you" puntshh,e'a Of your
political opponents, aud REGARDS for your
friends" This is -FOUR rule, and however
you may wish to Disguise il, or to deceive
the world into Tie belief that your secret
principle is something ofa nobler sort, the
true one is visible to every eye, and, like
a red meteor, beams through your mid
night administration, portending and work
ing mischief and ruin. 1t was prescribed
to you before you had the power to pursue
i it, by one TO whom you are allied by hap
ny congcnialiy; whom you have neither
the ability nor the wish to disobey, before
whose omnipotent breath your prcsidenS
tial strength lies nerveless asinlancy; who,
while nc suffers your heart to pursue it's
wonted palpitations, seems 10 have locked
up the closet which confines your intellect.
In this Imprisonment of your mental pow
ers, you see With his eyes, and hear with
his ears. II is a misfortune for this great
nation that you we're born for him and he
for yot. At one and the same time he is
your minien and your monarch, your priest
and your demon--your public counsellor
and Your bosom friend. / blush for my
country when sec such unnatural form
ations, such cancerous excresence fast
ened upon the body polite, and the foot
stool of the president converted into
throne for slave.
! The injustice of your new principle of
W reforn,p wooh have been foo olarino