Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1839-05-03
che 39tF88+
DINNER TO MR.. RIVES.

Rives at Charlottesville by his neighOors
and friends. Mr. Rives addressed the CON-
pany in his usual fclicilous manner, and, in
the course of his remarks, he read the fol-
lowing striking extract from the letter Of
Hugh s. Legare to Pierce Butler, Gov. OF
South Carolina;
II give it to you as my deliberate con.
viction, that the balance Of the constitu
js subverted; that through the external
influences 80 constantly brought to bear
upon it, the federal Legislature is shorn Of
almost all dignity and authority; that the
freedom Of thought and action essential TO
the very idea OF a representative assembly,
charged with the conduct of limited gov
eminent, is assailed on oil sides, and has
been seriously impaired: and that our re-
public is beginning to take the shape Of On
elective monarchy, tempered in some degree
by two Houses of Parliament, whose oc
casional opposition to the will Of the Exc.
cu,ive. is treated as revolt against the PEG.
pie, in the person of their only true repre-.
sentative"
On the subject Of party discipline he
read the following from the same letter:
II speak of what is the inevitable con
sequence Of tho discipline of party as it is
so expressively called here, by which ali
freedom of private judgment is sacrificed
10 the imaginary will Of the majority. and
public opinion is shaped, with view to fu.
ture elections, as bya few leaders debating
no one knows how, TO multitudes Of dis.
senting, dissatisfied, and yet complying
followers--the whole body doing what
almost every member of it disapproves "
Mr.. r. compared the conduct Of Mr..
Richie and the JudDe Convention, Gin
making the support Of Mr.. Van Buren, the
sole burthen of their song in their appeals
TO the people) to that Of Demetrius, the
siversmi,h. and his craftsmen, mentioned
in the 10th chapter of the Acts. constantly
crying out great is Diana of the Ephe
sians," when their craft was in danger OF
being set at nought by the apostle Paul's
denouncing idola,ry. He said, let the
modern Demetriuses and their politica!
crafsmen, # they please to do so, repeat
their cry of "GREAT is DIANA of The
Ephesians." but why should the people
who have no craft to be benefited by doing
80, who have no interest but the general
good and prosperity Of the country, why
should they be called on to initiate the
senseless folly of the Ephesians, in echoing
this clamor. Let the President ALLURE the
errors Of his ways, conform his conduct to
the opinions of the people, and then and
not till then can he expect the support of
the people. [Great applause.
The great issue now Is, is the President
the servant Or the master of people? Is
the President the sovereign, or are the
people the sovereign Of the country. Is
the President to conform his conduct TO The
opinions oftbe people, or are the people TO
be made by party discipline to conform their
conduct TO the opinions Of the President /.
He said. the Judges Convention were much
puzzled to give new name to their party
they had at last christened it the demo,
craticat Republican Stale Rights Parry"
These Changes,and especially lenglhenings
ofparty names, were evidences of degen.
eracy and false combinations. Whenever
member was taken into the firm. the slyle
of the firm was heightened, while its real
strength and solid capital oftruth and prin
cipal were diminished. The original true
and orthodox name Of the party, in its pur.
est days, were simply Republican; when
the renegade Federa'ls,s were taken in, as
they had been recently, the party managers
tackled on Democratic, as it was notorious
that the most ultra and over. zealous Demo-
Gratis, in profession, at least, were always
the proselyted Federasts; and to take in
the Nullfers, they had superadded the name
ofState Rights. During all this time, their
old and true friends, the real Republicans,
were falling off. in consequence of their
heterogeneous combinations; or, in other
words, as the tail Of the party heightened
its body ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --or, to use
an illustration still more familiar to his
brother farmers, his party was all running
TO vine. (cheers the worst of all tendencies
az they well knew in root crop. Mr..
Rives said he would assist the gentlemen
in christening their party. by reminding
them of Mr.. Jefferson's classification OF
parties which was particularly applicable
to the great issue now before the country
Mr.. Jefferson, when parties first arose in
the country, habilualy classified them into
going for the " i'll of the people, the latter
for that Of the President. This was the
ground on which parties were unhappily
forming under the awful and alarming pro.
gress which the system Of party discp pine,
openly proclaimed and prac,ised, is now
making in the country. He then concu
ded by Offering the following toast:
Republicans and monocrats," the distinctive
designation Of American parties by Mr. Jefferson
The former recognizing the supremacy of The popu
lar, the latter that Of the Executive, will. The
lime has come when every freeman Of america must
declare. by his conduct, 10 which Of these parties
he belongs.
THE N. YORK DEFALCATIONS