Madison Whig advocate., 1840-05-09

repablic.'7 Surely, when con.;de~a5io-s s,.,t
10 these are involved, the question is one of vi
tai and fundamental importance. In thI- res
pect-as a measure alike hostile to the public
liberty, and warning upon the prosperity of N :
Country, directly and indirectly in all It's most
essential Inferests--the sub-Treasurv uroiec,
has syer been viewed by those Conservative
Republicans, VINO have given evidence of the
sincerlty OF their faith b. feaTlessly and un-
hinchnsly meeting the denuncarions which
ITS profession has drawn down upon them. En-
tertaIning such opinions, can they, as honest
men, and as freemeH, so tar surrender their
minds and their wills to the avish discipline
OF party as TO support the re-eIection of Pre-
sident, whose policy they believe TO be fraught
with consequences calamitous TO their coun-
tryf humbly think not.
Another disengenious device for entrapping
conservative votes, is founded on the assump.
ton that they differ with the President on hut
single question. Even were this so, ii would
be cause enough for the withdrawal of their
support, where the question is of so grave
and fundamental character as the Conserva-
tIves honestly believe the sub-Treasury scheme
10 be. But the assumption is wholly untrue.
The Conservative Republicans have differed
and still differ with the Pr sdent on other
points of the highest importance. They have
seen, through the whole course of his admins
tration and in the conduct of his friends a sys-
tematic design 10 build up the practical supre-
macy of the Executive power, at the expense
OF the Legislative department.. and OF the peO-
pie themselves They have seen this design
pursued, not only by the perseyering efforts
which have been made to secure to the Presi-
dent and his agents the custody and control of
the public moneys, through the medium of the
sub-Treasury scheme, but also by the new and
alarming doctrine, which was preached in his
anual message at the commencement of the
late session of Congress, IN December, 1888,
that, in the management OF the public revenue
he should be left Eat hberty' to employ Banks
or not, without legal regulation and at his mere
discretion, as repositories and fiscal agents of
the government-thus subjecting all the moni-
ed Institutions of the country to his influence
and control. In the steady pursuit of the
same great aim, they have seen a system of
party discipline introduced and organized un-
der the auspices OF the present Chief Magis-
trate, the fundamental canon OF which is that
every member Gf the party which brought him
into power, must Surrender his individual opID-
ions and convictions on public measures, how
ever profoundly entertained, TO the drctum of
the President, and support whatever he shall
recommend, under pain of accommodation
and political death for disobedlence. b. these
means, combined with the powerful persua-
sives of his official patronage, the President is
virtually invested with supreme power. The
Gebasing principle has been openly avowed, as
well as practically enforced, that the first duty
of the public fuDctuary is TO the President who
appoints, and not to the country which employs
him, and that 50 long as he renders good poiiti-
lie trust, not even the grossest pecuiatlon, shall
be suffered to deprive him of hisotfice. While
unlaIthful agents and public defaulters have
thus earned impunity and reward, others who
have been distinguished by the honest, able,
and exemplary discharge of their official duties,
have been arbitrarily removed from office, for
no other reason than THAI they could not con-
form the private and involuntary operations of
their minds the standard of Executive faith-
or that they believed 1t unbe coming the propTie-
fiac of hair STtu "a < q
part IN those electioneering exertions, which
have come to be considered the surest passport
to favor and security. A nd 10 cap the climax
of these bold pretensions of Executive power,
~e have seen a report solemnly put fort and
triumphantIy carried through, by the Presidents
friends in the Senate, proclaiming IN the face
of day and in contempt of the most reveTed
oracles of Anglo-A American liberty, the daring
heTesy that it is both the right and the duty OF
Executive office-hoIders to interneddie with
the freedom of elections, thus sacrificing the
vital principle of popular sovereignty itself at
the shrine of this new idol of Presidential SUI
premacy.
w lie in these measures and proceedings,
we have seen the President and his friends puT-
suing with unvarying aim, as the primary OBJ
iect. il would seem, of their effOits, the dan
gerous aggrandizement of his power,-in his
plans of national policy we have been CON
stantly met with suggestions and recommending
tions aiming AT the subVeTson oil established
Institutions, and utterly destructive OF the re-
pose and settled order of business, In the af-
iairs.of the country, and appealing to the Jeal-
Gus and worst passions OF society IN their sup
port The special oblecs to which his schemes
of innovation have seen mainly directed, is
unfortunately the most delicate OF all the IN
terests OF society, and that which requires TO
be touched with the wlsest and mcst cdutl us
hand-the system OF its currency, forming the
common measure By which the labor and pro-
perty OF every individual In tue community is
estimated or exchanged. Instead OF pursuing
a saIatary and practical reform of existing abu-
ses, Whatever they may be, Gan object IN which
all good men and patrIots would heartily unite
with hIm,) he has brought forward crude and
anti-sociai theories, and has proTagated them
with all the influence OF his high offIce, which
go the entire destruction OF mat s. stem OF
credit, which is coevai with the settlement OF
our country, is so peculiarly adapted to ITS cir
cumsiances, and TO which, whatever lrregulari-
ties may have sometimes attended II, las, IN
deed, what good in the ordinances OF naIn e,
the institutions of man, IS mol liable 10 occa-
sional aouses,) every candid and well iniorni-
ed mind must admit that the unparalleled de-
velopements of American prosperity and civl-
hzatIon has been mainly owing. lne ffesi-
dents theories and Recommendations. II they
mean any thing, go to the entire destruction OF
this long established system now lndissoiuoly
connected with all the interests OF society, and
to the establishments, in its stead, OF an exclu-
sive hard money currency, or something prac-
tlcalIy tanfamount to it, operating sudden
and total revolution In the value oil labor, pro-
perty and contracts, and involving the farmer,
the mechanic. the tradesman. the merchant,
and IN short every class OF men, with the ex-
ception of creditors and pstbiic g5teers enjoying
fIed salaries from the gooerHaleaf) In one COM
mon ruin. As an essential part OF this pollcy,
the President has proclaimed a crusade against
Institutions deriving their existence from, and
responsible TO the States alone. and his new
born zeal has SO far forgot his former opinions