Piney Woods planter., 1839-04-13

Etate Of Federal Government, or the Of
fcers Of corporations Of associated wealth,
which have been brought, by indiscreet
legislation, into too intimate connexion
with both, and whose influence insinuates
itselfinto all the business of active enter
prise and the ordinary transactions of So
ciety, or to other causes, IL is not the le-
gitimate province of the committee TO in
qulre. Those who are charged with at
tempts to corrupt the purity and destroy the
freedom OF elections, are very apt to make
charges Of the same kind against others.
in the vain hope of exculpatng them
selves, or at least of drawing off public
attention from their own acts, by incul-
pating others. Neither accusations from
such quarters nor the mere assertion of
disappointed Office hunters, or reckless
partisan editors, peaing forth the war
cries of party, can safely he made the
foundation of such legislation as DESTROYS
the use of unquestionable rights for the
purpose of preventing their abuse.
In the struggles of parties for power, it
is believed by the committee that it NAV
- doubted whether the patronage of
one IS to be deemed an advantage. inas-
much as while there can be but one m
cumbent of an office, the number of those
who are stimulated to partisan activity by
the hope Of gainingit as a reward for ex
traordinary exertions, is unlimited, to say
nothing Of those who may be paralysed by
disappointment, or dlsaffected by reiec-
tion.
II is also worthy of special remark that,
IN those States where the most camor
has been raised and the most alarm has
been expressed on this subject, the State
fpnctionaries are opposedto the Admins
tration, and as they have the power, it is
their duty opInish such offences. The
committee arc therefore constrained to
believe that thore ia no just foundation for
such an accusation, and TO look upon il as
one of the allegations which those who
are struggling to gain the power that they
affect to think so corrupt and corrupting,
consider themselves justified in making to
stimulate their partsans and dccrv their
opponents: But whether the mischief
actually exists or not, the committee pro.
coed to consider the policy and constitu-
'lonality of the remedy which is proposed
by the bill referred to them.
The committee believe that the spirit
ofour institutions is onward; and that il
is more consistent with that spirit to look
upon the ruins of the inquistion which
has fallen before the progress Of h,man1
iiberty,as monuments ofits triumphs, than ,
to find materials TO reconstruct new for
trcsses from which TO assail the inprc-
seriptablc rights of man. !,
The committed will only advert to enc :
other objection to the policy Of this bill.
Its obvious tendency lie 10 ALLEVIATE the :
people from the Federal Government. by =
iniusng jealousy of I:s powers and 9
Iis officers, by uninst determinations !,
between the two sets of lunctonarics /.
chosen by the people, to carry on the two I
coordinate departments Of the one single !,
and integral Government, formed by the :
compact OF the States; TO array the State
Governments and its iunctionaries against
tho Federal governmcnt and its function
aries, and thus gradually to undermine or
weaken 1t, BY treating ms aliens in the
State Governments those who accept Of
lice under the Federal Government. In
short, Its tendency would be, TO "aienate {
one portion Of the countrv from the rest s
anu TO enieebie the sacred ties which now
INK scrs ther the various parts,' and
therefore in the opinion Of the commit {
tee, it ought to be resisted in the begin (
ming. y
Under overy aspect that the commit s
tee have been able to view the provis-
ions Of this bill, it tappears to them that
they arc unjust, unequal, impracticabo, /
impolitic, tyranical, and unconstitutional
that it is founded on an assumption oil
power BY the Federal Government, not
granted by the constitution, and dcstruc-
tive OF the rights of the several indcpen-
dent States composing the Union, and of
the constitutional rights Of the citizens of
those States, and that its provisions arc Of
amost alarming and dangerous tendency
not called for by any existing mischief,
and would not afford the appropriate rem.
edy fsuch mischief existed. They, there
fore, respectfully report the SAID bill with
ont amendment; and recommend that the s
same should not be passed. '
NEW HAMPSHIRE ELECTION.
We haFe returns from more than three
fouths Of this patriotic State. The result t