The Madisonian., 1840-02-25


are involved, the question is lone OF vital
and fundamental importance. In this as
| oect-as n measure alike hostile 10 the
public liberty and warning upon the pros
perity of the country, directly and indirect
| iy, in all its most essential interests,-the
sub-treasury project has ever been viewed by
those Conservative 2tpubiieans, who have
given evidence Of the sincerity of their faith
by iearlessly and mfnchinsiy meeting the
denunciaiIons which ITS profession has drawn
down upon them. Entertaining such opinions,
can they, as honest men, and as lreemen, so
lar surrender their minds and their wills 10 the
s'avlah discipline of party, as 10 support the
re election ol a President, whose policy they
believed to be fraught with consequences SO
calamltous to their country? humbly think
not.
Another disingenuous device for enlrapping
conservative votes, is founded on the assump-
tion that they differ with the President on but
a single question. Even were this so, il would
be cause enough for the withdrawal of their
support, where the question is one Of so grave
and fundamental character as the Conserya-
tives honestly believe the Sub-treasury scheme
to be- But the assumption is wholly untrue.
The Conservative Republicans have differed
points Of the highest Importance They have
seen, through the whole course Of his admi-
nstration and in the conduct Of his friends,
systematic design to build up the practica al su.
premacy ofthe Erecaiire po,cc,, al the expense
of the Legislative department, aud Of the peo-
pie themselves. They have seen this design
pursued, not only by the persevering efforts
which have been made to secure to the Presi-
| dc nj nd no IL, n
Of the public moneys, through the medium Of
the Sub.treasury scheme, but also by the new
and alarming doctrine, which was broached in
his annual message at the commencement Of
the late session of Congress in December,
1888, that, in, the management of the public
revenue, he should be LETT at liberty to en-
poy Banks or not, acithoM legal regulation.
and al has mere discretion, as depositaries and
fiscal agents OF the goyernment,-thu sub
jecting all the moneyed Institutions of the
country to his influence and control. la the
steady pursuit of the same great aim, they
have seen system Of party discipline intro
duced and organized under the auspices of the
present Chief Magistrate, the fundamental
canon OF which is that every member of the
party which brought him into power, must
surrender his individual opinions and conyic-
tons on public measures, however profoundly
entertained, to the dictum of the President,
and support whatever he shall recommend, un-
der pain OF accommodation and political
death for disobedicnce. By these means
combined with the powerful persuasives o.
his official patronage, the President is virtually
invested with supreme po'rer. The dcbasng
principle has been openly avowed, as well as
practically enforced, that the first duty Of the
public functionary is to the President who ap-
points, and not to the country which employs
him, aud that so long as he renders good po-
ical service to his chief, no in6dellly to his
public trust, not even the grossest peculation,
shall be suffered to deprive him of his Office.
While unlalthful agents and public deiaulters
have thus earned impunily and reward, others
Who have been distinguished by the honest,
able, and exemplary discharge Of their official
| duties, have been arbitrarily removed from Of
flee, for no other reason than that they could
not conform the private and involuntary opera
tons of their minds te the standard of Exc
cutive faith, or that they believed it unbecom-
ing the propreties Of their situation, as public
officers, to take a part in those electioneering
exertions, which have come to be considered
the surest passport to favor and security. And
to cap the climax of these bold pretensions of
Executive power, we have seen report So
Iemnly put forth and triumphantly carried
through by the Presidents friends in the Sc
nate, proclaiming in the face of day, and in
contempt OF the most revered oracles of An
lo-American liberty, the daring hercsy that it
is both the right and the duty Of Executive
oflice-holders to intcrneddle with the freedom
of elections, thus sacrificing the vital principle
of popular sovereignty itself OF the shrine of
this new idol Of Presidential supremacy.
While in these measures and proceedings,
we have seen the President and his friends
pursuing with unvarying aim, as the primary
object, it would seem, of their efforts, The
dangerous ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of his power,-in
his plans Of national policy we have been
constantly met with su. gestions and recon-
mendaions aiming at the subverson of es-
tablshed Institutions, and utterly destructive
oil the repose and settled order of business III
the affairs OF the country, and appealing to
the jealousies and worst passions Of society
IN their support. The special object to which
his schemes OF innovation have been mainly
directed, is unfortunately the most delicate of
all the interests of society, and that which
requires 10 be touched with the wisest and
most cautious hand-the system of its cur
rency forming the common measure by which
the labor and property of every individual
in the community is estimated or exchanged
Instead of pursuing salutlry and practical
reform of existing abuses, whatever they may
be, ian object in which all good men and pa
trio,s would heartily unite with him. he has
brought forward crude aad anii-social theories,
and has propagated them with all the in1u-
ence of his high Office, which 90 TO the entire
destruction of that system Of credit, which is