The spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1840-1844, 1840-07-03

ton, which had wounded the morbid susceptible
ties of some black cockade hero, was attacked j
his printing Oilce-struck TO the ground--nhunrn
ly tramp!ed upon, and left weitering in his blood
I his was the last act, the GROWING glory of til
days of terror. I he proligate Federal press, dai
" reviing the memory Of Franklin (; the Gambia
songs; the mad antics Ofembrodered ederal mob.
insulting jefferson whenever he walked the s,reet
of ihiIudephiu nay, soothing at him in front d
that very Hall where sat the old Congtess, ar
whence was sent forth to the world his DecIar+
ton of Independence-the nobest appeal ever az
dressed to God and man in the name of an ~
pressed people Infatuated bands Of brawcrs, d.
turbing the privacy and rest Of the sage by mighty
Drawings under his windows, hooking the ep-
cious beasts of prey; these cIan.ors ofroyalsts ad
tories these loud vuuElings Of the discOmftd
of 1885, these defyings of theirs, hurled at thee
who had conquered them at Bunker Hill, Sarato,',
Trenton, and York all these, at last, reused he
sleeping energies of the people. The State Legs
htures gave the signal Virginia in '9S, as in rs
took the lead Kentucky, the child of her nurtr-
ing, responded to her call. twas bIoodlcss rN-
olulion but still revolution. 1t was Il re-cnrt-
mcnt of the bill or rights, second adoption of ne
Declaration of independence !; reprocaiming OF
the Constitution, new apothcosls of the heres
and sagcs of the war of freedom
In 1901 the Democratic party took in tleil
hands the reins of Government and they hive
firmly held them for lhiriy-ni years for tholgl
John Quincy Adams ought to be ranked as aitd
eral President, yet he was so shaclllcd by a hrgt
and vigorous minority, so ''pasied" by public o.
pinon, that he dare not carry any of his FeRera
measures into execution The first acts ofllc De.
mocralc Administration were to repeal the alien
and scdition laws, the dsbanding oilhc newly EN-.
bodied army, the abolishing ofthc stamp, window
and excise taxes, and the overthrow OF the judica,
ry system, recently organized by Federalism, to SC.
cure the execution of its unpopular legislation
Thus far We're the breaches made in the Conslitl-
ton repaired, and the pnnc pies of Democracy re,
asserted. The sovereignty of the people was ac-
knowIedgcd anew, and its mighty power displayed
with full efficacy in bringing down, with hideous
ruins, the presumptuous functionarics that had
nisused the brief authority delegated by the nation
of its servants But rctrbutive justice was moi
made to reach all that had prevarcated.
The many offenders obtained forgiveness by
leigncd repentance more than one of the trcss-
crspas wa sallowcd to remain unamerccd. This was
magnanimous on the part of men who had so long
suffered under the cOnumcIy of proud and tri-
umphant arlstOcracy. But there was iorgetlul-
ness Of right in the representatives of the people
a seeming neglect in the people themselves, in hei
not urging their servants to act, in the long oblivion
under which the wrongs, sustained by the martyr
of the condemned scdition laws, were allowed tc
sunbcr unheeded during nearly halfa century,
The proud and pure Irish patriot scorncd to com.
plain The moneys, which Federalism has iilch.
ed from his earnings, had Impoverished him, it is true
but the gratitude of Democrats, the love Of hi,
ncghbor, the respect of all who knew him, had en-
riched him with imperishablc rcnown
lie remained silent, indigaint, perhaps, that hi
should be expected to call the attention of Con.
grcss to wrongs, which whole nation had pro.
claimed and condemned by hurting their pcrpelrl.
tors from Office
The peoples representatives are often rcniss OF
forgciul but the people, however, are finally al
ways grated. In 1882, thirty-four years after
the imprisonment of Matthew Lyon, his son
Chrltcndcn Lyon, farmer in Kentucky, was sent
II representative from that State to Congress, as il
were TO ndnonish lhem,by the presence of the son
paid into the Federal Treasury for thy Infringement
If tho provisions or an uncors ri'ur unl ns sought
to be refunded to the heirs of the departed patriot
lie laid the case before Congress as it WAS his
duty as Democrat, and an act of lilial piety, too
on his part TO seek to eXpunge, By signal en-
preston of national sentiment, the stain which, in
the opinion of unrclccting men, indlscriminaely
attached TO penal infections, from whatever cause
sustained. The petition which he presented To
Congress, and which set forth plain unvarnishcd
of all the facts of that memorable case,
without any aggravailng comment, was 50 uppal-
ling, that it Immediately referred 10 the Iudici-
AIRY Committee, in order that they should report
upon it. We insert the very text of that portion
of the report which embodes the opinion of the
"Ihc committee are o opinion that the law a.
bove rcctcd was unconstitutional, null and void
passed under a mistaken exercise of undclegated
power, and that the mistake ought to be corrected
by returning the fine obtained with interest there
on, TO the legal representative of Matthew Lyon.
1.-The committee do not deem il necessary TO dis
cuss at length the character Oitha, law or to assign
all the reasons, however dcmonslra'iyc, that have
induced the conviction of its uncOnstitutiOnali'v
No connection with the liberty of the press ever
cXcltcda more universal and intense ncrest-cyer
received so acute, able, long continued, and clab-
crate invcsigaion-was ever more generally I'M
dcrs,ood, or so conclusively settled by the concur
ring opinions of all parties after the heated polli-
cal contest ofthc day had passed away. All that
now remains 10 be done by the Representatives of
the people who condemned this act By their agents
as unauthorized, and transccnding their grant of
power, to place beyond question, doubt, or cayiI
that the mandate of the Constitution, prohibiting
Congress from abrdging the liberty ofthe press
and TO discharge an honest, just, moral, and hon
orabe obligation, is TO refund from the Treasury
the fine thus illegally and wronglully obtained from
one of their citizens, for which purpose the COM
niec herewith report BILL"
That the same Assembly who acted so promptly
on this memorial, by referring it, almost without
TO the Judiciary committee, after that
concise, yet so full, embodying the whole history
'f the case, and showing, in few luminous lines,
both the unconstltulionaiy Of the law under which
lyon had been tried, and the duty imposed on Con-
,ress ''to discharge an honest, just, moral, and
obligation, by reiunding from the Treas
iry the fine illegally and wrongfuy obtained from
me of their citizens" should have relapsed into
heir former listessncss, and again allowed the sub
ec to be laid aside, almost forgotten bv them, for
time AT least, never for a moment lost siyh ofby
he people, might well afford matter for asionisli-
nent. But this in not TO be ranked among the in
oluble problems felt to exercise the ingenuity off
he future historian Of our Democracy, nor will il
equire the pen of another Bulwer 10 Justify the
people from this new impu,aiion Of Re-
publican IuurDtjtudp puhlir fo aim, hal l.o, ,,,