Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-03-28

ting the bowstring round the neck OF the mes.
senger who presented 1t.
Since the avowal Of that unprincipled and
barbarian motto, that "to the victors belong the
spoils," office, which was intended for the use
and benefit Of the people, has become but the
plumber OF party. Patronage is waved like
huge magnet over the land, and demagogues,
like iron filings, attracted by law oftheir ma
Iture, gather and cluster around its poles. Ne
yer yet lived the demagogue who would not
take office.
The whole .fERme Of our Government, the
whole institutions ofthe country, are thus pros
tituted 10 the uses Of party. express my can
did opinion when amer that ! do not believe a
single office ofimporhnce within the control Of
the Executive has, for the last FIVE years, been
filled with any other view, or upon any other
consideration, than that Of party effect; and if
good appointments have in any instances been
imadcyand benefit accrued 10 the country, it has
been an accidental, and not voluntary result.
Office is conferred as the reward Bipartisan
service; and what is the consequence Why,
the ofice-holders are not content with the pitt
full salaries which afford only small compensa-
ton for present labors, but do not, in their esti-
nation, constitute any adequate reward for
their previous political services.
! This reward, they persuade themselves, it is
perfectly right 10 retain from whatever passes
through their hands. Being taught that all
moneys in their possession belong not to the
people, but TO the party,it requires but small
exertion of casuistry TO bring them to the con-
cuson that they have right TO retain what
| they may conceive to be the value Of their po-
litical services; just as lawyer holds back his
commissions. The administration countenan-
ces all this; winks at it as long as possible; and
and when public exposure is inevitable, gener-
ally gives the bloated plundercr full warning
and time TO escape with his spoils.
Do you not see the eagerness with which
even Governors, Senators, and Representatives
in Congress, grasp at the m3st trivial appoint
mcnts-the most Insignificant smouments!-
Well do these sons Of the horse-leech know that
there is more blood in the body than what man.
ties in the cheek, and more profit in an office
than is exhibited by the salary.
Sir, have given you but three or four cases
oi defalcations; would time permit, | could
give you hundred. Like the fair Sultana of
the oriental legends, could 60 on for thou
sand and one nights; and even as in those Eas-
tern stories, so in the chronicles Of the office
holders, the tale would ever be of heaps of gold,
massive ingois, uncounted riches. Why, sir,
Aladdin's lamp was nothing 10 it. They seem
to possess the identical cap of Fortunatus;
some wish for $4,000, some for 100000
some for million; and behold, il lies i'll gilt.
tering heaps before them. Not even
1.-THE gorgeous East, with richest hand,
"Showcrs on her kings barbarc pearl and gold'
in such lavish abundance as does this admins.
tralon upon its followers Pizarro held not
forth more dazzling lures to his robber band,
when he led them to the conquest of the Chill
dren Of the Sun.
And now, Mr.. Chairman, have not redeem
ed my promise? Have / not shown that the
President is but hypocrte in his pretended
horror at defalcation; that the Secretary is
much worse--a conniver, a weak, imbecile par
ticeps criminiS? Let his defenders reconcile
his conduct in the case Of Harris with his Off
cial duty-with the dictates of common homes
ty, if they can; | dare them to the trial. Let
them reconcile his licentious correspondence
with Spencer, Hendricks, and more especially
Garesche, with the principles Of common de-
cency.
Mr.. Chairman, it is not my intention to ex
anime infinitely the case Of Swartwout. !
know not why the President should have Sc
lected it out oil so many as the subject of spe-
cal communication. There is, however, one
curious matter connected with this subject,
which shall notice The President, the Sec
rotary, and the party, all profess 10 unite in
the beliefthat the deialcations of Swartwout,
Price, and others afford the best possible argu-
ment in favor of the sub-treasury scheme
Most Of these delalcations, say they, occurred
under the depositc system; and therefore, 10
that system these losses are attributable
Now, sir, if you will look over this document
297, you will find that out of the 265 letters 10
receivers and collectors, nearly 200 contain
complaints that the public money had not been
deposited in bank, but retained in the hands Of
the officer. Ii you will look intotlie cases Of
Harris and Boyd, you will see that their detail
cations could not have taken place had the
Secretary not INDUCED them in continued and
habitual violation OF this duty OF periodical de
postes. But the proposition itself is grossly
absurd Ii amounts TO this--that the running
away Of sub-treasurers with large amounts Of
the public money is proof of the safety OF the
sub-treasury system: in other words, stealing
IS proof of honesty. 1t is the holding Of the
money in the hands Of the officer, which pro-
duces the temptation to peculate. BY having
it in his custody, by continual viewing and
counting, he comes, length, to look upon and
use it as his own.
The system is corrupt in its tendency; all
experience says So The first sub-treasurer
since the Christian era was Judas Iscariot; he
carried the bag; and it was doubtless as much
by his disposition to appropriate its contents