Madison Whig advocate., 1840-05-09
CANTON, MISSISSIPPI, SATURDAY, NAY ., lsao.

d
sures of the President ard his party--his illici
and dangerous renewal of the connexion witt
the Bank of the United Stafes--his alarming
and anti-repub blican doctrine broached in hIi
message 10 Congress at the commencement o
ITS last session, with regard TO the discrehonGr,
employment OF Banks in general. as fisca
agents OF the goyernme 4, at his sole tctH an
pleasure. without any rule or Limitation of lac
and finally the daring attack made by hi
friends IN the portentCus doctrines of Mr.
Wallis report on the vital principle of respec
tive goveTnment-ihe freedom Of elections
On this last occasion. 1 characterized the gene
raj policy OF the administration by what seem
ed to me to be its lie ding features and decIar
ed my conviction that all the great ques
tions of respect for the rights of the States.-
limitation OF executive patronage-economy
IT the public expense--ihe Independence o.
the legislative department, acquiescence in the
decisions OF the majontF-and sacred regaTC
10 the right of election-(the memorable land
marks of republicanssm laid down by Mr.. JEFF
ferson, ,)-lt had widely departed from every
principle held and acknowledged BY true re-
Publicans. IL is, moreover, well known that
at the last session of Congress, | opposed, 4
the best of my ability, another favorite mea.
sure of the administratl on--commonly called
the graduation bIlf,-for virtually giving away
TO certain favored States, that i'common fund.-
OF the Public Lands, derived in a great part
from the munIhcence OF Virginia, and in the
benefit of which she expressly reserved hel
equal right To Partlcipate.-How idle then, the
suggesAn recently invented, that either my
self, orthe Conservatives in general, whose
opinions and destiny il is alike my pride to
share, have differed from the administration on
but single question.
Let US now enquire whether the President
has changed his policy or practice on any ot
these highly important questions. on which we
have differed with him. Some of his noisy
partlzans have claimed for him great credit for
the LoDish professions OF economy he makes IN
his late message TO Congress. But what has
been the practice, which much more in
terested in knowing than the empty precepts oi
his administration a According to his own
statement, the public expenditure during the
year 1897, the first of his presidency, amounted
10 ssthe sum of thirty-three millions of dollars'i
during the year 1888, he says this amount
swas somewhat Tedueed''-and for the year
1889, he thinks that the public expenditure
'1wlil not IN all probability have exceed ed
twenty-six millions of dollars''!. But this
sum of twenty-sIx millions of dollars happens
TO be just the double of the public expendi-
tuTe upon the administration OF Mr.. John q
Adams, which most of US thought was so
enormous and unjustifiable as to merit the dis
pleasure and rebuke of the people. What.
however, TO think of the Presidents
promise of ''coRtinued Teduction'' of the pub
lie expense, when we find on the very same
page of his message, the most earnest recon-
mendation by him to the favorable considera-
ton of Congress, of plan of the Secretary of
War for recruiting militia army Of teco hnpd-
red thousand men, one half TO be IN '.active
seryice,'' the other half TO form "reserve''-
the term of service eight yeaTs,-the troops to
be armed and equipped and paid by The United
States, ''according 20 rate of compensation to
be fixed By law,'' but in other respects TO be
under the ssTeguIatiOn'' of the War Depart
menti The annual cost of such force, ac-
cordng TO any conception | can form of the
Secretary's plan, under the outlines he has
given of il, could not fail to add many millions
to the public burthens. | now speak only OF
the question of expense; but in other aspects,
this most extraordinary project, cmphatlcally
endorsed as IL is by the Presden for. in his
Message to Congress, he says, 81 cannot recon-
mend u too strongly to your consideration p
deserves the most serious reflection of every
friend of the public liberty.
Is not this militia force, as the Secretary
chooses to call It, or the one half of 1t, at least,
which is 10 be sin active service, tree ID
for eight years." stationed wherever the Secre-
tary of War shall direct-ssarmed and paid'' by
the United Srates,-to all intents and purposes.
stoadiag army, and denominated a militia
force, only TO avoid the instructive iealousies
which the name of a standing army calls up in
the mind of every freeman. Can such foi ce
be called nliiitia in the sense of the Virginia
Bill of rights which declares that "a we'll regu-
lated militia, composed of the body Of the peo-
pie, trained to arms, Is the proper, natural, and
safe defence of free Stafe,'' or in the sense
authorizes Congress "to provide for calling
forth the militia 10 execute the laws of the
Union, suppress Instructions and repeI lnva-
sions.o Is there at this moment, InsurrectIOn,
invasion. or resistance TO the laws OF the Union.
which would Justify calling forth the Dliitia
into sIactual seryicer If there were, would
it Justify embOdying them as ''recruits,'' for
s.eight years" term of service mo such con-
stitu.ionsl agency exists is al eyed: and |
can view the Secretary's plan n no other light
than proposition tor raising large stand
ing armv, without encounterIng the well-foua-
ded Republican jealous which its name excites
or otherwise, as a most ingenious device Tor
extending the influence of the Federal Execu-
tive, by setting apart from the mass Of the peo-
pie two hundred thousand roEiag not fighting
mep.-receiyiRg pay from the United States as
nlilitia sin actual Service.' and looking up 10
the President as sstheir commander-in-chiefs, as
the Constitution, in that case, provides and di-
reefs.
know of but one precedent for so profound
coufrivancr; and fhat was in the da} of the
ssEngiish commonw ealfh,'' 50 called, when thai
willy statesman, Oliver Cromwell. divided the
kingdom into twelve military Jurisdictions
just as the Secretary now proposes to divide
the United States into "eIght military districts; :;
and under cover OF organizing the militia,
caused them TO be .seniis;ed,'t D recruited, m
der proper officers. and irregular pay 10 be dis
tributed among them;'' which. the historian
-
ruai ssreseuTce' for repressing his political ene-
mics, but which all reasonable men considered
as ssfhrowing aside the mask OF lIberty,r and
.-parcelling ont the people into so many sub
divisions OF slavery.s' / have no disposition to
question the originality ef the Secretary, by
|inssnuating that he may have derived the HIM
Of his plan from SO celebrated an authority
But to return TO the interesting question ot
the financial condition and prospects of the
countrv.-we have Just had most impressive
admonifion of the precarious and uncertain
character Of executive professions and assu-
rances on this subject You doubtless recol-
lect that, in his message At the commencement nj
Of the session Of Congress, the President ex-
hi bited highly fatyeriug picture OF the con-
difion of The Treasury, and of the very sue.
eessful manner in which its operations had beer
conducted. lie told the Representatives Of ths
people, s-fhere is every reason to believe. il
Congress shall keep the appropriations within
the estimates furnished BY the Executive, tha
the Outstanding Treasury nofee ~ili be redeem
ed, and the public expenses be defrayedn b,
the existing and current means of the Treasa,
rv.tsuiihonf imposing upon the people aEy ad
difsonnl burfhen either Of loans or increased