Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1836-10-06

)f his actS-tDey lhus euuo" nlih VIII
power, dangerous, because unconirol-
able. Tie excitement of party, the
esprit du corps, goes far to foster this
spirit. The strange feature is thus
presented of a people, boastlng their
independence and individual import
ance, receiving, unconsciopsly and
.involuntarily to be sure, the dictum OF
one mana picture of serrthty, revolt
ing to those, who have any respect Tor
the dignity, the worth, or the intelli-
gence Of mankind.
Can there be a doubt ofthis? Take
a few facts:
When Andrew Jackson, not directly
and openly, bat, what is, in substance,
the same, indirectly and %covertl., re.
moved the public monies from the Bank
Of the United States, where they had
been deposited by the Secretary ofthe
Treasury, to whose discretion and wis
dom as to their plan of deposit, they
had been entrusted, how soon, after
the first moments of surprise and Won
der were passed, when the machine of
party, through all its ramifications,
was put in motion, were huzzas raised
to him, the "grcatest and best" Are
we to be told that upon examination
and reflection, his followers deemed it
no lawless act How many Of thsm
reflected at all How many were du-
ped by the false views and statements
Of Demagogues? Could any sober re-
Election, on the part of enlightened or
virtuous men, lead to the conclusion,
that it was a just exercise of power =
No, it was only another instance ofthc
same unmanly surrender of independ-
ence of mind and freedom of %enqniry
after truth.
How many OF those, who now devote
themselves, entirely, 10 the elevation
Of Martin Van Buren to the Presiden.
cy, would not, five years ago, have
sneered at the suggestion, that they
would aver have been brought to lend
him their aid? Yet, because he is one
Of the party, taken from tho ranks, be-
cause the leaders of the Faction, (un-
%qualifedly, a F'action,) have paraded
him before their eyes and proclaimed
all false, which, if true and known to
be so, might ~endangor his success, he
is the great immaculate, the patriot,
who loves his country even more than
himself.
The great danger TO our liberties
from this excessive devotion and wor-
ship Of one man, and of zeal in support.
ing party measures, was strikingly
shown in the vote of the III. of Repre-.
sentatives, on the Sd of March, 1885,
appropriating, in a ann hitherto un-
known in our Legislature, three mil.
lions ofdollars, to be used by the Pre-
sident when, how, and to what extent,
he might choose, in the military and
naval service. Its constitutionality
could be defended upon no tenable
grounds and, admitting, as it did, un-
doubtedly, ofserious consideration, that
which was so startling was the readi.
ness, the disposition, exhibited among
the party, to repose in the hands of the
President this vast sum, without speci-
fication as to object, or restriction as
to uses, without that particularly of
detail, that is usual in appropriations
of money-in utter violation Of what
should be Republican usage.
Without possessing the means, even,
ola fair and full examination of the
acts of the President, without pretend.
ing to reflect upon their propriety or
constitutionality, al that bears his
mark is as potent among his followers
as the fla! Oft Despot. And are such
men .treemen? Can they form any es-
innate ofthe qualities hat should adorn
OF the faculties that should ennoble,
a President of this Republic, who can
offer incense to the man, that has sulli-
ed the purity, and violated the sanctity
of that high place?
The same causes, that operate to
produce this servility, lead the support
ers of the present administration to
harbor the greatest aversion and ma
Lightly against their opponents and
these opponents (for it is too true, un-
happily, to be Denied canno be ex-
empted from the same charge, though
in a more moderate degree and with
less injustice and improperly, Of Bit
terness and hatred. A spirit of ami
mostly is thus nuitured between OPP
posite parties, which, etftctually pre-
venting any laudable ambition in the
one (the administration party, for the
most part to excel the other in promo
ting the good of the country, places
them in the light of combatants with
different interests-as though the good
OF the whOle, and the interests of the
whole, and not their own selfish ends,