Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-11-08
ADDRESS OF THE NATIONAL RE.
PUBLICAN CONVENTION OF
RHODE.ISLAND.

NhODE.lsbhNDs
The time is at hand, fellow citizens,
when you will be called upon to exercise
that power which at once constitutes the
privilege, and the duty of frecmsn, the
power of expressing your own free will
in the choice Of those To whose Keeping
the dearest political interests Of your
whole country are To be committed =
The occasion, always interesting and i'm
portant, becomes doubIy SO AT ne present
crisis. No man to whom the ordinary
channels of public intelligence are open,
however little he may have mingled in
political life, can doubt that upon the is.
sue Of the coming election of President,
results are depending which, either for
good or for evil, must deeply affect the
perpetuity of our institutions, and the
prosperity Of the Union. To this Con
vention it has appc cared that no former
occasion Of the kind has ever appealed
so strongly as the present to the hopes
and fears of every true friend to the best
interests of the country. They express
it as their opinion, most solemnly and de-
liberatcly formed, that the reelection of
the present incumbent is incompatible
with those interests-that it would be
fraught with danger TO the Constitution,
the prosperity and happiness of the Un-
ion. Their own convictions upon this
subject are corroborated by the deep
and pcrvading sentiment of alarm, which
agitatcs the whole counry-which is
evinced by the proceedings Of public
me ctings of unprecedented numbers and
responsibility, and by appeals to the pub
lie, in which men of the soundest patriot
ism, and the most exalted talents have
! been laboring to present to their fellow
Il citizens r:crr.s:: ".-"s .. - ;ine pcrnicious
doctrines and measures which have sig
4 nalized the present administration
With these views many ofyou cannot be
entirely unacQuaintcd, g. hence it is rem
dered less necessary for this Conven-
ton TO enter into a detail of all The con-
sderations by which their own minds
have been influenced. They are spar.
e~, too, the necessity of calling u. or
; you to retract any former opinion, or Ia
ior,uke any former predlection. -Four
iIyeors ago you saw the administration OF
the general government conducted in
conformity to the genuine principles OF
the Constitution. In the chief magis.
trate you saw an exhibition of persona
qualities which commanded your aG,ni
ration, and in his administration you wit
messed system Of measures which yot
heartily approved. The rights Of indi
e vduals and Of States, the supremacy o
, the laws of the Union, the sanctity o
: treaties, the just power of all the consti
tutional departments of the government
were known and respected. The actor
ofthe President upon the laws, whethc
in their interception, their maturity, o
their execution, harmonzed with tht
expressed will Of the people. Not only
were the great interests Of dor;Sstic in
!, dustry, and internal improvements fos
tered and encouraged; but those Wits
prosperity is involved in these Interests
felt warranted in that security, whcl
when extended to all our rights is the
, sole end of government, and which
when put in jeopardy by the instability o
the laws, stamps the character of the
government, whatever may be its form
with the impress oftyranny. To no peo.
pie in the Union was it more important
that the long settled policy Of the nation
should be continued, than to those of X
/, Island. You felt it so, and in the full
: enjoyment of all the blessings of consti.
tutional liberty, and Of the unbribed and
unawed exercise of the rights Of free.
men, you sought no change. When
General Jackson was presented TO you
, rs a candidate you did not perceive in
him-indeed it was hardly claimed ioI
him that he possessed, the high qualifi'
cations, the enlightened and comprehen
sive views, which you had regarded as
essential TO the character of n fit magis.
trate of these United States. Besides
: he had exhibited in his military career
!. proofs Of disregard for public and pri-
vatc right, which, in military chieilain
/, about to be elevated to the highest civil
station by the mere force Of popular en-
thusiasm, foreboded danger and ruin to
our most cherished republican institu-
tloDs. IL was with these views that q
great ma jority of you, even when aware
that your exertions could not affect the
result, recorded your votes against him
rs manly expression Of your sentiments,
and testimony to the world that to such
a man you would not commit the sacred
deposit Of the Constitution and laws OF
your country. Whether the judgment
which you then formed was erroneous,
let the history Of his administr alton be
called to witness.
H You have seen the President acting
under the influence Of violent and reck-
less will, which has set at nought the
;, powers Of all the other departments Of the
n lnoyernment He has nominated IN the