Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1838-07-20

I giving up his COns ltuents, and leayipp n |
the boosted endearments of his district. Eo,
, a foreign mission to Russia, where so faI
as any pubic advantage resulted from It,
he emphatlcally went on n sleeveless er
rand ana came back rc-infecta, to pocket
his emo'uneEts !, Indeed, this mission 10
Russia seems to haze been specially dcdi.
catedby the party to short terms of six
and twelve months, for the advantage of
some OF the enlisted soldiers described by
: MIR Buchanan. ln this way, the cost of
that mission has been Unfortunately in
creased; and it is high time that this drain
on the public treasury for private benefit
; should be checked.
Mr. Bond SAID It was not TO be disguised
that many of the politicians who engaged
t IN the debate and strife of the times to
which he had alluded, had been surprised,
IT not disappointed, by events which soon
followed. a singular exchange of position
has taken place between two of these gen.
tlemen. When the retrenchment resolu.
ton was discussed. friend of the then
administration. Mr. Pearce, of Rhode Island
took ground, not in terms, but somewhat
similar to that now avowed and prac,ised
by the dominant party, that the spo,Is
belong to the vjctors.' Mr. Wick life, a
Jackson reiormcr denied and condemned
!, such right. He was appointed member
OF The retrenchment and reform committee,
and, after General Jackson came into
power, Mr. Wlckliffa zeaIously endeayorcd
to carry out the promised reform, but no,
hndIng the cooperation he had expected (:
he abJnred the party About this time.
1t happened that The reformers avowed the
doctrine that the spols belong to the vic.
tors, and Mr. Pearcc enlisted under their
banner.
Sir, has not the country been disappoint
ed! Have not the people been deceived
ana alIured by spcclouS and vain promises /?
Has not the federal Executive patronage
Unfortunately increased, and is it not still
unrestrainec' Is not the power over il,
abused and perverted Do not the cX-
penses of our general government far tran
scend IN amount all our past history !?
Why are these things so and WHY has not
this p lague been stayed Mr. Speaker.
according to your plgh'ed fatha / will
tell you why, sir. bat prefer doing SO in
the language and illustration of one of
your own friends, Mr. Buchanan, of the
Senate, to whom have before referred
In his speech here. to which | have
already alluded, and when he was assault
ing the Them administration. he thus
exclaimed line very possession of power.
has strong, natural tendency to corrupt
the heart. The lust Of dominion grows
with It's possession; and the man who, in
humble HE, was pure, and innocent, and
Just. has often been transformed, bv The
long possession of power, into n monster
In the sacred book, which contains lessons
OF wisdom for the politician as well as for
the christian, we find happy Illustration
OF The corruplng Influence of power upon
the human heart. When HazaeI came to
consult Elisha whether his master, the
King of Syria, would recover from dan
gerous illness, the prophet looking through
the vista OF futurIty, saw the crimes Of
which The messenger, who stood before
him, would be guilty, and he wept. Ha.
Zaei asked, why weepelh my lord ? The
prophet then recounted to him the murders
and the crnelies of which he should BE-
guilty towards the children of Israel.
liazae'' in The spirit of vrtuous indigna,
lion, replied, Is thy servant a dog, that
he should do this thing'' And Elisha
answered, The Lord hath shown me that
thou sha be King over Syria This man
afterwards became King by the murder of
his master, and was guilty of enormiles,
the bare recital Of which would make us
shuader.'
How true, and, alas! how applicable is
this sacred illustration to those who invoked
It's use in elevating themselves to power!
Suppose, Mr. Speaker, that some nspir.
ed Elisha had been present when YOU and
Mr. Buchanan. with others, engaged in The
debate which has been referred to, and.
moved by the sympathetic tear Of the
prophet, you asked, why weepeth my lord p
how would you have been astonlshed m
being then told what the people of this
country have since realized
Imagine, sir, the inspired one looking
through The vista Of few brief years and
saying, You will be placed in power, but
VIII greatly Increase the amount of all PUB
lie expenditures. You will use The Offices
and patronage of the country for private
and not for public good. You will create
offices for favor,es. You will enlarge ali
Executive power. You will deny the right
to call for reasons on a removal from office,
and in few years will remove more than
1900 persons from Office Cor opinions sake
You will derange and corrupt the Post
Office Department, which you now admit
to be sound, and you will not reform any of
Your designated abuses in the other Depart.
ments. You will appoint more members
OF Congress to office in four years than has
been done in all the past history of the
Government. Your bill for the abolition OF
the power and patronage over the Press
will sleep the sleep of death. You will re
tain the press, the post Office, the armed
force, and the appointing power in the
hands oflhe President, and will not suffer
them to change position and take post on
the side of Tho peonIe Won now cens,,o