Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1838-05-24

Illls passage of Mr.. Bnchanan's specch move,
MN 10 nave been an observer OF men aud things. anc
i ,hIllar with the leading principles of human action
nc dreaded the consequences of the selfish spitlt o.
{ 'he oliiee-holder, and induced the country 10 bcliev,
mat nen. Jackson and las friends would provide Il
suitable restraint upon ii. But fear, sir, the PEG.
PIE VIII be lett TO conclude that this gentleman is
one OF those - political parsons described by Mr.
Randolph, whose "praciices' do NOT correspond
with his - pecepls." 1t is certain that. under the IA
Vorie Administration OF the gentleman aud his friends,
tie oiiiee- holders have received new life, instead Of a
check. But | must yet point ont another dlscrepan-
cy between MIR. Buclanan's profession aud practice.
III uhe same debate, lac reviewed, with ccnslfe,
several otthc foreign missions, that To RnsSia iuciad-
ed and particularly condemned any practice al
lowing a minister 10 "retufn after one years ab
scnce.' His language is: :" such 4 Practice
should prevail, our ministers in violation of the sprit
OF the existing law, will receive, by adding the out
III to the salary, $4,000. instead Of $4,000, for one
years service.'-"l am SAID lie, against the
Practice This, Mr.. Speaker, was his preccpt. But,
s'f' IN IA brief space OF time, after eondemnlng aud
saying = am against the Practice we see him take
the bounty, and become OEe of The enlisted ~solllers'
whom he had described, aud 90 on a foreign mission
to kussla, where, after STAYING "a twclvemonth md
addy,' he pockets the "Sls 600, instead of 5000
for a wears service aud comes home
/ his seems To be an appropriate time 10 compare
the pfeeep's aud practice OF Nh. Randolph, toe, who
sad he was for looking at the practices, and no!
the pfecepts, OF the parson, political or rellglouS.'
In that same debate, Mr.. Randolph said le could
not permit any motion connected with the division Of
the spoil, 10 mingle Will" his eXcrtious. He would
not, he SAID, give up bis constituents and the plea
sure OF his home. - fora clerkship in the War Office,
on a foreign mission or even Tor a Department OF
State He said, there had been an improvement
IN the plan OF sending ministers abroad, and brlng-
ING them back, when they have finished Their busi-
ness for,' said he, - they are now sent abroad Oh
sleeveless errands tlat they may come back ~geiHtdeia,
10 pocket their cmolnments.' Mr.. Speaker, the
Gicrks aud Romans both held it to be a highly use
tol, bun exceedingly difficult, matter to know ones
sell. Modern history. and our own times, add new
torcc 10 the truth Of that position. do not AT all
question The perfect sincerity of Mr.. Randolph,
when lie uttered these sentiments but great as he
may have been, aud skIlful as he profeSscd to be, ard,
no doubt, was, III the motives Of human action, al
ter events proved how little he knew OF himself. 81,
We soon found Mr.. Randolph giving up his constItu-
cnis, AID leaving all the boosted cndcarments of his
district, for a foreign mission to Russia, where, So
lar as any public advantage resulted from il, he en-
pfatlcally went on a"slceveless Grand and - came
back f~esthttctd, to pocket his emolumenls - In
deed, tins mission to Russia seems 10 have been spe-
cIally dedicated by " the %paiy'to short terms Of SIX
md Twelve months, for the advantage of some Of the
= enlisted soldiers described by Mr.. buchanan. In
this way, the cost ii that mission has been iuofdI-
Ha'ciy increased and II is high tiae lInltl} dfaia
Oh The public Treasury tor private benefit should BE-
checked.
Mr.. Bond said it was not 70 be disgn:seltEat MANY
Of he politicians who engaged in lHn debate aud
stllte OF the times to wi 'cl he had alluded, hid been
SURPRISED, II not Disappointed, by events which soon
followed. A singular exchange OF position has Ia
ken ilace between two of these gentlemen. When
the fctfenchment resolution was discussed, airend oil
the then administration, Nh. Pearce, OF Rhode Island,
TOOK ground, not in terms but somewhat similar 10
that now avowed and practised by the dominant
party, that the spoils belong to the vlctors.' Mr..
W lcklIlfe, a Jackson reiormcr, denied and condemn
ed such a right. He was appointed a member of
the rctfenchmcnt and reform committee, and, after
General Jackson came INTO power, Nh. NiChIi1e
zealously endeavored TO carry out the promised re
form but not fludlng the cooperation he had expect
ed, he abjured the party. About tins time, it lap
pened that the relorlncrs avowed the doctrine :" that
the spoils belong to the victors,' and Mr.. pcarce
enlisted under their banner.
Sir, has not the country been disappointed ! Have
not the People been deceived and alIured by spe-
cious and vain promises ! Has not the Federal Ex-
ecutive patronage inordinately increased, and is 1t
not still unrcstrained! Is not the power over II abus-
ed aud perverted! DO not the expenses of our
General Government far transcend in amount all our
past history : Why are these things so aud why
has not This g plague been stayed Mr.. Speaker,
according to your p~liglted faith ? will tell you
why, sIf, but | prefer doing SO, in the language and
illustration OF one OF your own friends. MIR. Buchan-
an, OF the Senate, to whom | have before referred.
In his speech here, to which have already alluded,
aud when he was assailling the Chem AdmiEistra-
tson, he illus exclaimed: :" The very possession OF
power has a strong, il natural tendency 10 colupt
the heart. The lust OF dominion grows with It's
possession; and the man who, in humble lie, was
pure, and innocent, and just, has often been trans
formed, by the long possession of power, into a
monster. In the sacred Book, which contains lessons
of wisdom for the politician as well as for the Chris
ian, we find a happy illustration Of the corruptlng
influence OF power upon the human heart. hen
liazael came to consult Elisha whether his master,
the King OF Syria, would recover from a dangerous
illness, the prophet, looking through the vista of f-
turlty, saw the crimes of which the messenger, who
stood beiole HIM, would be guilty. and he wept.
ilazael asked, why weepctb my lord ? The prophet
then recounted TO him the murder5 and the c u
elites of which he should be guilty towardsthe chill
dien of Israel. llazael, in the spirit OF vrtuous IN
dlgnaton, replied Is thy servant Il dog, that, lie
should do this thing = And Elisha answ cred
The Loid hath shown me that thou shalt be King
over SYRIA This man afterwards became klngb by
the murder OF his master, and was guilty 81
enormities, the bare recital of which makes US
shudder."
How true, and alas how applicable is tins sacred
illustration to those who invoked its use in eleydtIng
themselves to pOwerl
Suppose. MIR. Speaker, that some inspired Elisha
had beea present when you and Mr.. buchanan, with
others, engaged IN the debate which has been refer
red to-, and, moved by the sympathetic tear OF the
prophet, you had asked, - Why weepcth my lord -
told what the People OF this country have since re-
allzed
Imagine, sill the inspired one looking through the
vista of a few brief years, and saying You will be
placed IN power, but will greatly increase the
amount OF all public expenditures. GU will use the
Offices and patronage of the country FOR private
and not for public good. Gou will create offices