Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-01-17
MAJOR DOWNING.

n, a., E9;,oys ofhhe ,Netc York EapreSS-the
same paper my old iilei'o MT" D"'gh' print
ed spell ago.
WASHINGTON, 18th Dec, 1888.
csntleme.n,-My last letter tel'd you that
rr.rIs Sam wanted me to come here and give
YIN li(t, and so come. | found the old gen.
,,oo,an pretty cool and ready for buslness--tho'
when we came TO talk over matters and seeing
how pagiy these rats have been working, he
ats as spiteful asa bat. "We must get rid on
sm some way or other, Major" says he, "Party
NJ no Party" and as the people are all now
here in Congress--or at any rate one for every
orty thousand on 'em--Uncle Sam took the no
lion ofwriting Congress Letter with his own
hand, and send youa true copy ont. I'M
Gle Sam thinks it is equal to new Declaration
orIndependence, and don't know but it ISL
tho | wanted him TO make ii leetle shorter
but he wouldn't He thinks it best for me toI
tout the "Two Pollies" with steam kettles asI
we'll as sails; andcruise along the coast as long
as possible, whilst he takes care of matters and
things here,--"for," says he, "Ma Ior there areI
not only LAND Rats bu. Water Rats'".
Howsoeyer, / think things will work out a
bout right. Uncle Sam'S Congress will git hold
Of the right eend Of matters shortly and on
twist the tangle, the next will So no more at
present. Your friend,
J. DOWNING, Major.
Downingvile Militia, Cd Brigade.
To CoNGREss--The time is come, when if
you don't do something TO mend matters, you
best stay at home after this session, and turn
to and hoe corn and dig Potatoes, or any other
useful employment, and let other folks take
your places, and earn dollars day in putting
public matters TO rights. The time is come,
100, to speak plainly, so that there may be no
mistake.
There are two or three matters that will
come before you, that require sharp looking
to--ihe first and the most important, Tor the pre-
sent. is the best mode Of collecting the public
money and taking safe care ont after 1t Is COL
lected Now on these matters, we have alrea-
dy had some half dozen messages and vetoes,
rs many dozen treasury reports and circulars,
and we are now as far from security and truth
as we were when the experiment began, and
all goes 10 show that there are only two ways
in all matters, the right way and the wrong
way, and when you start wrong, things only
get worse and worse so long as you persist in
doing wrong, or try to make wrong right by an
other wrong The right way seems TO me so
simple, that any man who can't see it must be
too great BOBBY to represent forty thousand
freemen; bu, lift should turn out that what
describe as the right way should prove to be
wrong, then am willing TO be set down as the
greatest BOBBY among all my people. don't
mean TO DO led or misled by messages or re-
ports--such documents, as far as figures and
facts 60, tell their own story, and suppose are
all correct, but so lar as their opinions and
reasonings 90, every man is at liberty to adopt
them or drop them-if, therefore, my opinions
or reasonings don't exactly agree with the o.
pinions and reasonings Of these messages and
reports, or if by chance, | should scrape OIL
some Of their sharp corners or stralten some OF
their crooks, hope no one will see cause 10
complain about titus greater number oil non
est folks gain more by the correcting OF an er'
ror than other folks lose by being upright.
A little over five years ago things were wor'
king right in the money way, as well, II moi
better, bya system fixed on twenty years be-
fore, than the good men who agreed on that
system expected,-all work'd well, and all
branches Of industry prosperd equally, and
none went ahead Of the other,-no extiaordl
nary speculations-no Jumping into fortunes
But this system did not suit some folks,-"d
change must be made, "-sthe liberty of the ooun
try DdS in danger,"-and so u change was
made,--and pritty change was made Of it,
and it has been changing ever since from bac
to worse,-and now we are told that the cause
of all this evil is "orer-trading at home ana
abroad" and that is true enough,--but wha
brought the country TO over-tradinga--l'll tel
you; when the Government put aside and des
troyed the only system that for twenty years
before had kept in check The spirit OF over-tra
ding, which naturally belongs TO all Tree coun
tries of industry and enterprises what did the
Government do? Did it furnish safer sys
tenn Did it say tive have a large revenue
yearly increasing in the Treasury, the pubic
debt is now paid off,--let us divide it of among
the States 10 be applied to uselu purposes, anc
set to work at once and take oil duties TIL We
bring the revenue down to the amount needet
ior the honest expenses Of the Government
No,this was not done, though it was attempted
alter 1t was too late, and then made thing
worse,-but the first thing that was done wa
70 order all the Banks where the public money
was deposited, to lend it out freely, and "no
era"lp trade as the old system did,"-and then
OF course, began speculation and over-tradlng
and over imports.
Mlerchandize came in by millions and adde
millions of revenue, which by order, was len
SSu'' and OF course, brought in more merchan