Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1834-02-13
[From the Boston Patriot Of Feb. 3.
The CRISIS.

those, VINO IaO0r I'D MAINTAIN OppOsitloH
to the government for oppOsition's sake,
Of who raise the signal Of alarm for mere
imaginary danger. But there are sea-
sons, when silence becomes treachery,
and prudence ceases to be virtue; when
to indulge in dreams of fancied security,
is to slumber on the very edge Of ruin.--
Such season, unless we greatly mis-
take the indications of the time, is the
present. Great and unprec cedented dan
gers are impending over us. The as
pect Of the sky is dark and lowering,
The attempt, sedulously and unshrnk-
ingly pursued for years, and unfortunate.
ly with too much success, to conc entrate
all the powers Of the Government in the
hands Of the Executive, is forcing the
country onward to the brink Of crisis,
the depth of which no nan can faihom,
and from which every true patriot starts
back with terror.
AT the time when the President Of the
4 United States was elevated to his pre-
sent office, we saw nothing in that event
calculated to crafty our hopes for the
continued welfare of the country. On.
the contrary, a review Of the prominent
incidents of his career was well fitted
to awaken, and did awaken, many gIoo-
my auguries. We had seen him rend-
ing the Constitution and trampling on the
law, when they came in conflict with his
purpose. We had seen him thrusting
the ministers Of that law aside with con-
tempt, and giving them in charge to his
devoted soldiery, when they venturcd to
interpose its hitherto impenetrable shield
between himself and the objects of his
vindetive persecution. We had seen
him laughing to scorn the mandates of
that authority, which he was bound by
honor and duty to obey: and there was
little reason TO believe, that the unscru-
pulous tenant of military force would be
restrained and cautious in the exercise
of merely civil power. We expected 10
inversion Of the maxims which had al I
ways guided him; no change of prnci-
pie or purpose; no respect for those usa- 4
ges and institutions, which he had never
yet respected. Nor did the event belle
our fears. On the contrary, every step
in his subsequent career has served but
to confirm them. Power, absolute, un-
SouttohCu pOWCI, hOS OCCh tuC
the direct and imme date object, OF all
his acts and all his efforts; and the sit
uation Of the country has greatly aided
those exertions. While men have been
exulting in the sunshine OF internal pros
perity, they have been blind to the heavy
cloud which was rolling upward from the
horizon: while they have been lost in
golden dreams, power has been silently i
stealing from their hands into the hands
Of one. i
1t is known 10 every reader ofour civ
il history, that the enlargement of the
Executive power was one great danger
aPprehended by the trainers of our Con-
stitution. TO goard against this evil,
they exhausted all the precautions Of
their prudence, experience and wisdom.
They surrounded it with many barriers,
which they hoped no man would break.
They subjected it TO the lateral pressure
of other forces, which tended to confine
il within the limits ofits appointed sphere.
If one OF those venerable civil fathers,
who have now fallen asleep, were per-
mitted to revisit the scene of his labors
and his triumph, he would see those bar
riers breaking down, those forces giving
way TO the irresistible weight of popu-
larity and power; and, what is worse
than all the rest, he would sec thousands s
exulting with an insane satisfaction in I
the very change, which tends to make {
their country any thing but republic, I
and themselves any thing but freemen, {
governed by Constitution and laws Of I
their own choice, and by rulers whom c
they have themselves appointed.
The very first step Of the Executive I
IN the outset Of his career, was to crash I
he freedom Of sentiment and action, by
aiming all The terrors Of ridiciire author h
'fy against those, who were not complete $
y subject to his WILL Whoever would a
approach the throne with the downcast b
eye and bended knee Of an oriental Fl
slave, was welcomed with the approving fl
smiles of roy yality: but for him, who ven n
ured to carry into his presence the port y
md bearing Of free man, there was Il
nothing in reserve but the terrors of his Il
rown. Office, once a high and honor Il
lble trust, became, in the despicable d
anguage of the day, spoil of victory; n
reward, for the satiated lion TO throw Il
o the subservient and waiting jackall.- W
he man, who had fought the battles of fl
he Revolution, was cast out to give tr
oom to him, whose only laurels had
'een gathered in the wrctched strife Of OF
'arty: the high commission of an un- liz
tanned and venerable name was tramp- oc
cd into dust before the piliful credentials III
II yesterdays Jacksonism. Immediate in
afterwards, il was found that the con- ht
tltutiOnnl nnMer of ihe Senate .,l :. IN