The native American., 1838-05-05

little as do your possession Of the Swiss Corps
with which you have surrounded yourself
Bear with me, sir, while / ask you, whether
such men are to be preferred TO the sons oi nose
glorious sires, by whose exertions our nal,ona m
dependence was achieved; who bled thal you
might enjoy the Office with which you are now
honored; who contended hand to hahu on lhe
battle field with the ancestors oil the very Hen oi
whom YOU have conferred the birth-right OF their
cb;ldrena I ask YOU. sir, are our brothers to be
treated with this indignty-their rights tramped
insulted, that the needy adven-
mrer NAV be rewarded for offering incense at the
shrine of your vanity! Can you imagine that 1t
ever entered into the contemplation of those who
created your office, that It's patronage should be
lavished as has been-prostituted should rather
sav-to enrich those who, with no feeling in COM
mon with us, cannot even speak our language !;
those, who, for all we know to the contrary, have
sought our shores because their unworthiness
denied them resting place in their native land |;
those who, in the language Of the exled convict,
Have left their country for their countrys good.'
Men whose histories, except for few brief years,
are involved in obscurty and doubt! And do you
suppose, SIR that it was ever dreamed by the
trainers of our Government, that such persons
should be preferred in appointments TO office to
our own counrymen, whose history from child
hood to maturity is open and known to us all, and
against whose unsullied characters not even the
foul breath of envy and detraction has dared
to breathe suspicious for the truth of which
refer you to the mass of testimonials file in the
Department Do not beseech you, stigmatze,
by such an unwarrantable and degrading imputa-
ton, the memories of the good and great men, who
purchased our liberties for us with their blood, and
bequeathed to us government that is the admira-
ton of the world. Forbid it justice! Forbid it
patriotism The perils they encountered-the
privatons they endured, their sacrifice of fortune
and of life, all speak eloquenty of their exclusive
devotion to their country; and will forever stand
forth in their triumphant vindication against such
an nsinuation, come from what quarter it may,
and brand its author as an infamous calumniator
of the illustrious dead.
| The length of the letter admonishes me of the
propriety of bringing it to a close, although the
subject is far from being exhausted. | have al
ready exceeded the limits | prescribed to myself,
when first took up my pen; but may hereafter
resume the subject, in connexion with your fitness
for the official station you hold, not only in an
intellectual point of view, but from your other
avocations, which, no doubt, greatly interfere with
the faithful discharge of your duties to the coun-
try. In the meantime, | beg you 10 be assured.
that in addressing you as have, am not inhu-
enced by personal considerations, nor by any other
feelings than may be inferred from the motto, that
should be paramount in the affections Of every
Native American, "my country, my whole coun-
try, and nothing but my country
With due respect,
PUTNAM.