Litchfield enquirer., 1835-02-12
In Senate. Mondau. Feb. z.


 MT. Calhoun then rose. and requested the 1 Secretary to read paragraph from a news paper which he sent tO the table. The Sec- retary then read from the Globe of Saturday ] the following paragraph:
 "Whe.her Sawrence has caught. in his visits to the ! Capitol, the nlanR which has prevailed during lhe tasi sessions in the Senale-whe,her he has become infatuated with the chmeras which had troubled the brAins OG the disappointed and ambitious orators who have depicted the President Cesar who ought have Brutus--asa Cromwell--a Nero--N Tiberius, 1 we know not. 1f Do secret conspiracy has prompted the perpetraiion Ofihe horrid deed think it improbable that telusinn of lellecl has grown out O( his visits the Capitol, and that hearing des- pO,ism and every horrible mrchief threatened the Republic and revolution in all ts train of calamties imputed aS the HeceseaPy consequence of the Presi den.s measures, may he thal the infatuated man an ced he had reasOD become ha cnWniry's avenger. If he had heard aDd beeped Mr. Calhouns speech the day betore yesterday, he would have iound in ii ple justification of his attempt me, who repre- sente tie cnnse of the most dtealu caami,es to the naoa; aee who made perfect ro,tenness and | ruptioD to pestndc Ahe vaa of the GovernMen,-n. 1 were possible"
 1 Mr. Calhoun rose tD make few remaks,
 not much in reference tD himself, for that was If little importance, as on the political bearing of the paragraph from the official Go sernment paper, which had just been read to the Senate. There were some things. which, | taken in themselves, were of SO little impor- taoce not tO be entitled to notice, but which, standing in connection with other matters. were Frequently of great importance, and demand. 1 ed attention. Whatever might be the charac- ter of the paper (the Globe) from which the paragraph just read had been taken; hOwev- CT low. however degraded it's character might be. it was yet known {" be the organ of the Executive will and that it was sustained, pamperrd by, and dependent upon. that branch of the Government and in comment ing on a. a4parsgrapb like the present, in which ] the ExecHiige was personally concerned, il l was not an unfair presumption io conclude that it had had his sanction; had been author ized by hitn. To pass over the personal in- sinuatiOns. which, as he had observed, were ! unworthy of notice, he (Nr. e. would say few words on the new political principle set 1 forth in the paragraph. It was Impossible to | read the article. and not see that it went on l the ground, that whatsoever condemns what l he believes conscientiousiy to be the abuses
 and corruptions of this Government, was to
 be held up in the light of an idstigator of as.
 sa ssination: and that no uncertainty on this
 point might he left on the mind of the reader. the article Teterred to a particular transaction
 in which he (Mr. CalhOun) was personally concerned. He would not condescend io de-
 frnd himself in relation tn the matters con-
 tained in the paragraph that had been read they needed DO defence. What were the
 facts The Senate were in debate on the Post Office reports. The Post Office, it was acknowledged, on all hands, stood convicted ol rn"rmo0s abuses. not tO say cOrrnptiOuy. l He hadriten. in his place, to comment gener. ally oh the abuses thus exhibited he had ! made no personal allnsions whatsoever. He | spoke nf the corruptions of the times, and of them mainly; though this he did say. that the evil was not much to be attributed to 1 any defect in the working of the machinery l as ID the administration itself. Yet these gen. eral deDuDciations, in these broad terms, are l asserted by the Government Official here, as 1 warranting an individual to make this attempt l at assassination. Could he have wantoniy said that which would have authorized assas- { snation, he would he little better ihan ar, as- sassin. What! to hold up abuses to instigate | assassination To what was the authority | of this body reduced or attempted to be re- duced! According to the new doctrines, the l Senate was to look silently on, when these 1 .corruptions and abuses were passing heneath 1 their eyes. h-caUs-. forsooih, they might nl- timately he called on to express their opin- ions in their judicial character.
 This body, then, dare nnt express opin- l ions. and, if they do express them, they may ! be called on io expunge their recorded sen,i- l nenis from the Journal Ofihe Senate. Then, | what next! No individual Senator is to he permitted to express any opini"n as to par ticular individual, lest he be held up to the | world as the instigator of assassination !- General denunciatiVns of misconduct, cOrrup. tions or abuses. were to be held up as indicat- ing assassination! Could they mistake the tendency "f this! Did they not see clearly as the light of Heaven, the march of irrespon- sIhle power? Did it not confirm what he (Mr. C.) observed but the other day. that a stage had been reached in our political affairs that must result in reformation or revolution 1 He saw around him, in the ranks of the Ad- ministratiOn, many old friends and acquaint- ances, whose patriotism and whose attach n1e0t t0 the institutions Oftheir country, could not he nistak ken- He asked them to look, ito see what wS Nfe come t0, tO see what vas the melancholy result of this state of things. The degradatiOn of parties, and the cOnse.. q''ent growth of an irresponsihlc power. He understood the criAisto which the country had arrived. ffe knew the danger to be incurred ny exposing abuses existing in the Executive branch Ol the Government. He asked m fa- vnrs--he was no candidate. He desired no ofhce. He would say, as an honest, c0nsci- entiOus man, who loved the institutions Ofhis country. that he would. do his duty in spite of menace. come from what quarter it would, or in spite offate.
 1ne Case of Richard La,Crnce.--It is now apparent that the partisans of Mir. Van Buren intend L" make the most nf this unfortunate