Litchfield enquirer., 1837-08-24
MAJOR DOWNING TO HIS FELLOW CITIZENS.

August l5th, 1887, iR sigh Of the
 Hcreck of the TSco Politics.
 To the People of the United States of North America
 an geneT0t, and to the great Democratic Family in
 FELLOW CITIzENs,-You have all by this time heard tell of my return to my native land, after an absence now of over two years this grass, and how nigh came resting my bones along with the Two Pollies" on this beach, and all mainly owin to notion that Captain Jumper took that he was more know in than other folks about his latitude and lon- gitude and soundins, and to wind up all, was willing, right or wrong, (" to take the respon- sibility." Well, the long and short of the matter is, the "Two Pollies" went ashore, and there she lies now, right off and on the house l am now in, and as am in pretty good keep in here, mean to stick by and wait for the high tides of September next, and see if there IS any hopes of getting this vessel off. don't mean to quit so long as two sticks of tim per ot this vessel hangs together. know she IS worth savin, and if we can't save all we can save part, jest enoughto presarve the model, for there ain't sich another craft afoat or on shore in all this created airth.
 In the natral course of things, suppose that seeing it is now more than two years since wrote my last letter from France to my old friend MT. Dwight, that ought to tell VANAS AuNS OCCuS uuu WndL uuVS UCCll about; but this would be long story-too long to be good for nothing, and have no time now to finish it if once begun it-I'll leave that till get through more important matters. did not intend writing any thing till the " Two Pollies" was off and safe afloat again; but seeing that all the great folks are at work writing private letters for publica- tions, thought it was high time to begin, and in doing so, as the Globe says of my old friend the Ginerals letter, dash it off in the broad bold hand of the venerable chief with out the slightest care of punctuating or cor recting, &c."
 When left home the last time, on my way to France, to aid in keeping things rite there, sat down at the starn of the Two Pollies, and kept my eye on my native hills till the top of the highest one was lost in fog-cloud that hung over it. then began to feel con- siderable wamblecrop'd, and could not help thinking of the time when was boy, and when the great platter of Ingin dunplings stood smoking on the table, and the family taking chairs all around it; and jest then my good old mother calling out, "You, Jonny, my son, them plagy cattle are in the corn field agin,-run, my boy, and turn 'em out" -and away I'd scud, and whilst running would keep thinking ofthem dumplins, what changes might take place among 'em afore l got back agin, and, in fact, whether there would be any lettat all by the time got back. And jest so it was this time there were my native hills, all smoking in the distance, jest like row of hot dumplins, and going off to keep an eye on them Frenchmen; what changes, thinks I, will take place among them hills afore git back to them!
 don't want to underrate dumplins, for lived on 'em nigh half my life, but must say, if any man wants to know how much dearer to him is his native hills than any thing else in all creation, let him stand on the starn of a vessel going away from 'em at the rate of ten miles an hour, and see 'em go down out of sight in fog-bank, and if he don't then feel considerable streaked, depend ont he haint got country worth returning to. In such time man knows how to feel for his country-his hull country, and nothing but his country. Talk to him then about party polticks, and see how small, and mean, and contemptible all the little nasty dirty differ ences of party squabbles appear. Whig, Tory, Bank, nti-Bank, Hard Currency, Pa- per Currency, Loco Foco, Aristocracy, De- mocracy, Jackson, Benton, Van Buren, Kin dle, Nigger, Anti-nigger, Monopoly, Anti monopoly, Tammany and Anti -Tammany, and Uncle Joshua-all become mixed up like ball of ravlins of old stockings, and aint worth no more, and this brings us all to the only pint worth thinking about; and as I have no time to dress up long story, ap- peal TO EVERY NATIvE-BoRN AMERICAN CITIZEN (the only class care to talk to jest now) to think with me-and ifI am not right, let them tell me where and how am wrong. have now seen all countries except China and tho Sandwich Islands and a small part of Russia and can say that have seen no country and no people that can hold candle to US and all that is wanting on our part is to feel and to act as we ought to feel and to act-and that is for every man who has got the rGLe grit in him to unshackle himself from all nasty par ty prejudices; and look to the good of his coun- try as he would to his own good and that of his family and children.
 In some countries where 1 have been, the will or wish of one man is the law of the land when he whistles, he says let no dog bark. Is it to be so with us! Are we an indepen- dent and free people, and yet to be whistled into the traces and fancies of any man or set of men for one ,con't-I'll see any man or set of men, or any other man--in Kamscat- ka first. We'll, what is the puzzle now before us? We are all at odds and ends. PARTY that selfish deceitful monster, has been at work and twisted us into a snarl, and 1t is our business to untwist it-wind off the best part for our own use, and throw the rest to the devil where it came from-along with those who wickedly strive to draw lines between the people and set one class up agin another, jest to serve their own party purposes.
 It would be useless task for me to attempt to go into all the causes, why and wherefore, to show how we got into the scrape we are now init is enuffto know we are in c scrape, and l don't know a shorter way to explain it than to say, that if farmer wants to see his