Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1838-06-05

Il
quent and forcible remarks with viii Z
that gentleman submitted the subject It
the House and 70 the People" We ca
upon the latter to weigh wen the testimo
ny here adduced. That they have beel
cozened and hoodwinked by the spend
thrills at Washington City, none car
doubt, after perusing the speech Of Mr.
Bond.
Mr.. Bond says:
Sir, has not TIE country been disapporn
ted ? Have not the People been deceive,
and allured, by specious and vain promi
ses HAS not the Federal Executive pat
ronage, inordinately increased, and IS i
not still unrestrained3 Is not the power
over it abused and perverted Do moi
the expenses of our General Government
far transcend IN amount all our past his.
tory? Why are these things so and why
has not this "plague been stayed" Mr..
Speaker, according to your bhghted faith
! will tell you why, sir, but prefer doing
SO in the language and illustration of one
Of your own friends, Mr.. Buchanan, Of
the Senate, to whom / have before refer.
red. In his speech here, to which have
already alluded, and when. he assaulting
the (then) Administration, he thus exI
claimed -" The very possession Of pow
el has a strong, natural tendency to cor
rupt the heart. The list of dominion
grows with its possession and the man
who, in humble life, was pure, and inno-
cent, and just, has often been transformed,
by the long possession of power, into a
monster. In the sacred Book, which con-
tains lessons Of wisdom for the politician
as well as the christian, we find a happy
illustration Of the corrupting influence Of
power upon the human heart. When Ha-
eel came to consult Elisha whether his
the King Of Syria, would recov-
er from dangerous illness, the prophet,
looking through the vista Of flturity, saw
escrimes of which the messenger, who
stood before him, would be guilty, and he
wept. Hazel asked, why weepeth my
lord 2 The prophet then recounted to
him the murders and the crimes of which
he should be guilty towards the people of
Israel. Hazel, in the spirit Of Virtuous
indignation, replied is thy servant dog,
that he should do this thing?' And Eli
sha answered, The Lord hath shown me
that thou shalt be King of Syria This
man afterwards became King by the MUIR
der Of his master, and was guilty of en-.
ornities, the bare recital of which, would
make us shudder."
, How true, and, alas! how applicable is
his sacred Illustration to those who in.
Voked its use in elevating themselves to
Suppose, Mr.. Speaker, that some in.
sPired 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 had asked, "Why weepeth
my lord 7" how would you have been as
tonished in being then told what the Peo-
pie of this country have since realized!
imagine sir, 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. You win use the
Offices and patronage of the country for
private and not for public good. You win
create Offices for favorites. You viii en-.
large all Executive power. You viii deny
the right to call for reasons on a removal
from Office, and in a few years viii remove
more than 1900 hundred persons from
office for opinions sake! You viii de.
range and corrupt the Post Office Depart
ment, which you now admit to be sound,
and you will not reform any of your de.
signated abuses in the other Departments.
You win appoint more members Of Con.
gress to Office in four years than has been
done in all the past history Of the Govern
ment. Your bill for the abolition of the
power and patronage of 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 Of the President. and will not suffer
them to change position and take post on
the side of the People" You now CEN
sure a small appropriation to purchase
some additional furniture for the Presidents
house, but you viii furnish that house 10
luxurious style for Gen. jackson, who
win be succeeded BY Mr.. Van Buren, /;
and he not content with the secondhand
furnitureof his predecessor, will cast it
off and make his entry into that edifce,
with one appropriation Of 1900, for al
terations ofthe house and superintendent
of the grounds, and another appropriation
of $4,000 for new furniture, and this,
too, in the very year when your public
treasury viii be bankrupt. You viii in
crease the expenses Of foreign missions,
and suffer your Ministers to return home
on such brief service as win show their
appointments to have been made for indi-
vidual gam, rather than public good. You
will increase the contingent EXPENSES Of
this House from 9e0, 900. the present an.
nual amount, TO $4,000. You win add
to the like expenses Of the Senate, and to
al other expenditures in the same ratio;
and the sum total for the whole total civil
list, and ordinary appropriations Of the
Government, which IS now 10, 1853. as
dollars, win increased from time to time
under your boasted reform, until It shah
exceed thirty millions per year!
You now question The right Of a De-
partment to purchase 4 print Of likeness
81 the immortal Washington. but win De.
corale every room il al The Departments
with portraits Of Martin Van Buren,.
You will, by means of the Office hoi.
DER re ,'s1listed soldiers IS YOU have
i,is called them bring The patronage d