The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-10-31
TO THE REPUnLIcANs OF THE UNITED
STATES. 2 @t


A year has elapsed since We frsl issued our Pros
pecns for the publication Of the MAmsoEiAN. Dur
tng this eyeniful period we have been engaged In
severe conflict as Interesting sna "a 20 ,ne
zalion The cause, and eur course, have attached
10 ms many interests which will permit US to re-
tire as we contemplated.
come Necessary in justice ourself and the public
m indicate our course for the future,
II i well remembered that the MApssoMAS was
established In the conviction thai the great character
90 aadmnsraios. seenrsd another organ at The seat
of the National 0ovsrpmenl nosn u ihe Republic
can faith and nuFtused - hsputlcan doctrines, we
were DESTROYS OF seeing me eadng principles q the
oU, x nU OILY Il theory Sal II prscsice W.
pledged ourself 10 sustain the PRINCIPLES and doc
trines of The Republican party, as delneaed By Mr.
MADssos and came here In good faith 70 support the
present administrator ss e .s ssss s sassA go
&poa ne pledges BY wAieA that siseties Sas sscsrsd
We have, ihroughouL strictly adhered to those prin
cipies. Had the Executive Of this nation done the
same had he received IN the spirit In which II was
offered, the advice Of his best friends the contnu-
ance of this paper would not have been necessary,
nor should have behed the distracted counsels by
which he Is governed. or have seen the disjointed
and defeated party BY which he Is surrounded
No Chief Magistrate since the days of Washing
ton ever came to that high station under more favor
able auspices than Mr.. Van Buren,. combination
of circumstances, which seldom transpire, clearly
indicated the way to the affections Of the people and
The very measures which wound nzess NJ
popularity But, ill-omened and evil counsels pre-
vailed, and the hopes Of that political millennium,
which many Republicans cherished as me lulninen'
oftheir creed were disappointed and postponed
whilst the MApIsoMAs and its friends were en-
deayoring TO restore the prosperity OF the country,
the Executive and his advisers were urging forward
measures directly calculated 70 destroy ito keep
o,.I rfr1t<- Vvnoa
subversive Of the principles Of Republican govern
rnent and tending to the establishment OF an unmit-
tga,ed despotism. Accompanied as they were by
war upon the CREDIT SYSTEM OF the country, and an
unusual spirit of intolerance, denunciation and
prescription Justice could not have required nor
honesty expected any support from consistent Republi
cans. In that spirit OF independence and love OF
freedom which characterized the founders Of our
institutions we resisted these nefarious attempts 10
depreciate and destroy them, with the best Of our
ability. The same spirit which prompted us to do
this finds no justification in supporting the men who
. made it necessary.
Il is an incontroverble truth, that every prominent
act Of this administration has been open, une-
quvocal violation Of every principle and profession
upon which Mr.. Van Buren, was elevated to the
Chief Magistracy by the people.
In his unfolding the specie circular, which made
determinations Unauthorized by law, and which
had been twice condemned by Congress;
In his recommending the Sub Treasury scheme,
contemplating union OF. the purse and the sword,
and the subversion of the entire practice OF the go
vernment, and still persisting in it, Notwithstanding
it has been tour times condemned by the Represen-
tatives of the people;
In his Recommendation of Bankrupt law to be
passed by Congress, applicable only to corporations,
so that this government should possess an absolute
control all the State institutions and be able to
crush them all, at pleasure; and taking all urisdic
ton over them from the hands Of the Stale tribunals
In his breaking faith with the States, by recon-
mending repeal of the distribution law
In his repeated recommendations of the issue of
Treasury notes, TO supply the place Of legal money,
recurring thus to the exploded and runous practice
OF deprecated government paper money, for circu
lating medium; thus exercising power derived
only from a loose construction of the Constitution,
and rerudiaed by the best Republican authorities;
In his attempt to establish Treasury Bank with
an irredeemable paper-money circulation;
In his effort TO overthrow the State Bank Deposite
system, established by President Jackson, and take
the public moneys into his actual custody and con-
trol
In his attempt to divorce the government from the
interests and sympathies OF the people,
In his attempt to create a multitude of new Off
ces and to send swarms Of officers 10 harraSs our
people and ca, out their SUBSTANCE"
In his attempt to take away our charters, abolish
our most valuable laws and alter, fundamentally, the
powers Of our governments;
In his display of sectional partiality
In his cold indifference to the interests and wants
of the people during period of extreme suffering;
In his attempt TO throw discredit upon, and even
ually, to crush the State banks through The revenue
sumption of specie payments;
In permitting the patronage of his office to come
in conflict with the freedom OF elections;
In his open contempt of the will Of the people as
expressed through the ballot box; .s..
In his attempt TO cram obnoxious measures down
the threats of dissenting brethren by means unbecom
ing magnanimous Chief Magistrate;
In his refusal to acquesce in the decisions Oh the
In the despotic attempt Of his parsans in the U.
s. Senate on the I'd July, inst to seize The public
treasure, by abolishng all law for its custody and
safe keeping
He has abandoned the principles by which he came
into power and consequently, the duty which they
prescribed and he has so obstinately persevered IN
his erroneous as to preclude all reasonable
hope Of his retracing it.
And finally. to this long catalogue of grievances,
we may add, what may be considered minor OIL
fence but certainly very obnoxious one that con-
trary to all preconceived opinions OF his character
Mr. Van Buren, has rendered himself the most
inaccessibe both 10 friends and adversaries OF all the
Chief Magistrates that ever filled his station.
And from all these considerations, to what concu-
sion can the nation come, but that their Chief Magis-
trate is either wanting in integrity, or wanting IN
capacity?
We need not say that we expected different thing
of public servant, bound by his sacred pledges, to
regard the national will as the supreme law OF the
Republic That blind intatuation which has Needed
not this rule of the American people, must and
ought to meet its reward and sink in indiscriminate
and everlasting overthrow. ~. ...
The financial policy OF this Administration cannot
be sustained upon any principle Of necessity, expe-
diency, utility, practical philosophy, or sound eeono,
my Its plain object the perpetuity Of power, and
its plain effect the destruction Of the banking system,
require, Of course, loo great sacrifice from the
American people to be, for moment, tolerated.
The greatdesideratum, sound, uniform, and con-
venent currency and system that will equalize, as
nearly as practicable the domestic exchanges is de-
handed by the practical wants of the people, and,
sooner or later in one form or another, vii! be OBJ
tanned by them. To accomplish this end, and 10
"prc>crve and regulate" the credit system of the
which liz administration has aemnied 10