The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-10-27
TO THE REPUBLIcANs OF THE UNITED
- STATES.

ing this eventfu period we nave been engaged In
severe conflict interesting and important 10 the
Reuubic as any that has ranspiad since its organi
,ation The cause, and our course, have attached
10 MS many interests which will permit US re-
tire as we contemplated
perod has arrived, therefore, when il has be-
come necessary, in justice TO ourself and the public,
10 indicate our course for the future.
II is well remembered that the MApIsoNIsN was
established in the conviction that the great character
and interests Of the country rs well as the success OF
the administration required another organ at the seat
of the National Government. Born in the Republic
can faith and nurtured in Republican doctrines, we
DESTROYS Of seeing the leading principles Of The
party which We were attached, preserved and car
red out, not only in theory, but in practice. We
pledged ourself to sustain the principles and doc
trnes of the Republican party, as delineated by Mr..
MsDsos and came here in good faith to support the
present administration upon The principles uAieh go
UerBsd kAe party tchicA elected Mr.. Faa Buren, and
upon the pledges By nhich that election secured
We have, throughout strictly adhered TO those prin-
cples. 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 continu-
ance of this paper would not have been necessary,
should we have behed the distracted counses 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
sa hs ~ asa 80 sss sss
Of circumstances which seldom transpirc,. clearly
indicated the way to the affections Of the people, and
gave him the power 10 have disarmed opposition by
the very measures which would have established his
popularity. But ill-omened and evil counsels pre-
vailed, and the hopes of that political millennium,
which many Republicans cherished as the fulhlment
oftheir creed were disappointed and postponed.
Whilst the MApIsoNIAN and its friends were en-
deavorng to restore The prosperity OF the country,
the Executive and his advisers were urging forward
measures directly calculated to destroy ito keep
the country convulsed and prostrate-measures,
subversive Of The principles of Republican govern
ment, and tending TO the establishment Of an unmit-
tigated 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 TO
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 HI.
1t is ncontrovertible truth that every prominent
act of this administration has been an open, une-
quivocal violation of every principle and profession
upon which Mr.. Van Buren, was elevated to the
Chief Magistracy by the people.
In his uphoding 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
vernmen and still persisng in it, Notwithstanding
it has been four 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 over all the State institutions and be able to
crush them ALL at pleasure; and taking all jursdic-
ton over them from the hands Of the State 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 ruinous practice
OF deprecated government paper money, for circu
laItn fhtIcn Iars
only from loose construction Of the Constitution
and rePudiated by the best Republican authorities;
In his attempt to establish Treasury Bank with
ii KS ee Se State Bank pepose
system established by President Jackson, and take
the public moneys into his actual custody and con-
troll;
In his attempt to divorce the government from the
interests and sympathies OF the people, ......-
In his attempt to create multitude of new Off
ceS, and to send swarms of officers to harraSs our
people and eat out their substance !" .#.. s.a..
In his attempt to "take away our charters, abolish
most valuable laws and alter, fundamentally, the
powers Of our governments;" -...-
In his display of sectional Partially;
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
tualy TO crush the State banks through the revenue
power of the government, and embarrass the re-
sumption of specie payments; .;....
In permitting the patronage OF his office 10 come
in conflict with the freedom Of elections;
In his open contempt of the will of the people as
expressed through the ballot box;
In his attempt TO cram obnoxious measures down
the throats Of dissenting brethren by means unbecom
ing magnanimous Chief Magistrate;
In his refusal to acquiesce in the decisions of the
majority; and ..~...
In the despotic attempt of his parsans in the u
S. Senate, on the I'd July, inst to seize the public
treasure, by abolishing 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 course 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 Of
fence, but certainly very obnoxious one, that con-
trary to all preconceived opinions of his character
Mr.. Van Buren, has rendered himself the most
inaccessible both to friends and adversaries, of all the
Chief Magistrates that ever filled his station.
And from athese considerations, TO what conclu-
sion can the nation come but that their Chief Magis
trate is either wanting in integrity, or wanting in
capacity?
We need not say thai 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 natuation 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 econo-
my. Its plain object the perpetuity of power, and
its plain effect, the destruction of the banking system
require, of course, too great sacrifice from The
American people to be, for a moment, tolerated
The greatdesideratum a sound, uniform, and con-
venient currency and system that will equalize,
nearly as practicable the domestic exchanges, is de-
mandcd by the practical wants of the people, and
sooner or later in one form or another, will be OBJ
tanned by them. To accomplish this end and to
preserve and regulate" the credit system of the
country which this administration has attempted to
impair, will be one of the great objects for which
We feel constrained to continue our labors.
No Administration Of this Government can pros