Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-06-12

upon this declaration. The promised hour of tran
guilty will never arrive. If cvcnts tended TO produce
it, they would be counteracted by the government
itself. II was the strong remark of n former Prcsl-
dent of the United States, that, "Sooner will the lover
be contented with the first smiles of his mistress, than
a government cease TO endenvour to preserve and ex-
tend is powers With whatever reluctance your
Exccllency may m the career with whotc-
yer disposition to abandon il, when the objects for
which il was commenced have been obtained when
once fairly entered, you will be borne along by the
irresistible force of pride, habit of command, and,
indeed, of self preservation, and it will be impossible
to reccde.
But, it is said, that it is for the benefit of the people
that the proposed change is to be made and that by
your talents and influence, alone, aided by unlimited
power, the ambitious chiefs in the different depart
mcnts are to be restrained, and the integrity of the re-
public preserved. | have said, and most sincerely
, believe, that, from the state into which the country
has been BROUGHT, that YOU alone can preserve IT from
the horrors Of anarchy. But l cannot conceive that
any extraordinary powers are necessary. The a'ltho-
rty to see that the laws are executed to call out the
strength of the country to enforce their execution, Is
f all that is required, and is what is possessed by the
/ Chief Magistrate Of the United States, and Of overy
Other republic and is what was confdcd 10 the cX-
ccutivc, by the constitution of Cucuta. Would your
talents or your energies be impaired in the council,
f or your influence lcsscncd, when acting as the head
f Of a republic?
l propose to examine, very briefly, the results which
g are likely to flow from the proposed change of gov
eminent lst, in relation to the country and, I'd, to
, yourself, personally. Is the tranquility of the coun-
5 try TO be secured by it d? Isii possible for your Excel
l. | hlNN W INV 'iu' Ni'h wv l'uFN i'' '''' wv
of, and the people discover that a despotic govern
ment has been fixed upon them, that they will quietly
submit 10 it! Will they forget the password which,
' like the cross of fire, was the signal for rallyinG to OPP
r pose their former tyrants 2 Will the virgins, at your
bidding, cease to chant the songs of liberty, which so
r lately animated the youth TO victory Was the pa
triotic blood of Colombia all expended in the fields of
n Vargas, Bayacn, and Carcbobo? The schools may
IL cease TO enforce upon their pupils the love of country,
drawn from the examples of Cato and the Brut! Har-
G modulus and Aristogiton but the glorious example of
patriotic devotion, exhibited in your own Hacienda,
will supply their place. Depend on it, sir, that the
V moment wfich shall announce the continuance of ar
e bltrary power in your hands, will be the commence
&c mento of connexions which will require all your talent
and energies TO suppress. You may succeed. The
n disciplined army. ut your disposal, may be too pow
erfnl for an unarrcd, undisciplincl, and scattered po-
d pulaion but one Unsuccessful effort will not content
them, and your feelings will he etcrnally rackcd by
beng Obliged to make war upon those who have been
accustomed to call you Their father, and to invoke
l. blessings on your head, and for no cause but thor adj
hcrencc to principles which You yourself had taught
lie them TO regard moro than their lives.
n Ifby thc%trong government which the advocates of
d the proposed change so strenuouly recommend, one
n without responsibility Is intended, which may put men
W to death, and immune them in dungeons, without trial,
and one where the army iseyery thing, and the people
it nothing, l must say, that, if the tranquility of CO.
,r lombla Is to be preserved in this way, the widest
N anarchy would be preferable. Om of that anarchy Il
better government might arise but the chains of mi
ne litary despousm once fastened upon n nation. ages
might pass away before they could be shaken OIL.
TO Butt contend that the strongest of all governments
IS is that which is most free. We consider that of the
United States as the strongest, precisely because it is
~ the most free. It possesses the faculties equally to
IS protect itself from foreign force or internal cohvUlsion.
n In both, it has been sufficiently tried. In no country
do upon earth, would an armed opposition to the laws
he be sooner or more ete"tuallv put down. Not So
on much by the tcrrors of the gu%illotne and the gibbet, as
re-. from the aroused determination Of the nation, exhibit
nv inc their strength, and convincing the factious that
Of their cause was hopeless. No, sir, depend upon it,
a. that the possession of arbitrary Ipwer, by the gov
,rs crrment of Colombia, VII not be ~ means Of sL-ur
q; ing its tranquility nor will the daagcr of disturban.
nv ccs solely arise from the opposition of the people
he The power, and the military force which it will be
ch necessary to put i'll the hands of the governors of the
n distant provinces, added to The nature Of the country
,ne will continually present TO those officers the tcmpta.
on ton. and the means of revolt.
he VIII the proposed change restore prosperity to thu
IA country With the best intentions to do so, will YOU
m be able to recall commerce to its shores and give new
var life to the dropping state of agriculture ? The cause o
,as the constant decline, in these great interests, anno
no be mistaken. Il arises from the fewness of ,hos
ion who lahour, and the)1umbcr of those who ar" to b
the supported by that labolr. To support a swarm q
rTr-l iinaXmO -s- aTTTr1 --molks and an army greatly dis
or propOrtloncd TO the resources OF M. cvG'''l'' WIN
nt body OF officers in a tenfnld degree %dispropol Nonou 10
the army, every branch of industry Is oppres'cl ".h
SO burdens which deprive the ingenious man OF tnt PROF
IT, ofhis ingenuity, and the labourcr of ms rewail', !.
a satisfy the constant and pressing demands winch a'
If made upon it, the treasury SEXES upon every llun-
,at within its grasp-dcstroying the very germ OF lut'r
ST. prosperity. Is there any prospect that these evils wi
he cease with the progressed change! can the 'In4Y y
rh dispensed with ? viii the influence of the MONS he ~
ev longer necessary? Believe me, SIR, that the supper
,rt which the government derives from both these source
nd will be more than ever requisite.
of But the most important inquiry IS, the effect who
he this strong government is to have upon, the poqQl
Of themselves. viii it tend to improve and elevate the
Gut character, and fiji them for the freedom which 1t
re- pretended is ultimately to be bestowed upon thcm
ave The question has been answered from the aye Of lt(
to mcr. Man does not learn under oppression those M
md BILE qualities and feelings which fit him for the enjoy
or mcnt Of liberty. Nor is ~dcspotism the proper scho
n which to acquire the knowledge of the principles
republican government. A government whose rev
lis nues are derived from diverting the very sources
lcv wealth from its subjects, will not find the means
to improving the morals and cnlightcning the minds
as the youth, by supporting systems Of liberal education
,lit and, fit could, it would not.
lev In relation to the effect which this investment
BY power Is 10 have upon your happiness and your fan
ln will the poinp and glitter of a court, and the tlnttel
Mt of ycnal courticrs, reward you for the troubles and an
o. leties attendant upon the exercise of soycreigllt
Int every whore, and those which will flow from yOr
atJ peculiar situation ? Or power, supported by the ba
mn onct, for that willing homage which you were wo
jnt to receive from your fellow-cltizens The groans Of
ard dissatisfied and oppressed people will penetrate I
.o,- inmost recesscs of your palace, and you will be tortu
ed by the reflection, that You no longer possess IN
e. place in their affections, which was one yonr pride al
.I- your boast, and which would have been your soIa
under every reverse of fortune. Unsupported by t
al people, your authority can he maintained only by
ll tcrrors Of the sword and the scatlold. And have the
b. ever been successful under similar circumstance
ar Blood may smother, for a period, but can never ext
'l, guish the fire of liberty, which you have contrhut
+. so much to kindlc, in the bosom of every Colombia
cX | will not urge, as an argument, the personal da
be gers 10 which you will be exposed. But ] Will a
T you could enjoy life, which would be preserved
had the constant execution Of so many human beings
your comtrymcn, your former friends, and altnc
e no your worshippers. The pnnGs of such a situation "
ave he made more acute, by rejecting ON the hallow
turc motive of many of those who would aim their daggt
az your bosom, That like the last of the Roman
I IN they would strike, not from hatred to the man, b
and love 10 the country.
From a nowlcdge of your own disposition, a
yery present feelings, your Excellency will not be will
to believe, that you could ever be brought to conn
scr. an act of tyranny, or even to execute justice with u
: for necessary rigour. But trust me, sir, that there
ther nothing more corruptng, nothing more destruct
h. of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, Tn
the exercise of unlimitod power. The man who, in
blgll ming of such n career, might shuddcr at the idea
im taking away the life Ola felow-being, might soon ha
his conscience so scared by the repetition OF crime, Il
"a ~ - - the uqonies Of his murdered victims might bccor
Mm| music % his soul, nndthe ~drippings of his scafi
r al afford "blood enough to swim ill.," History is full
,',h,n such cX,mplcs
Eme From his Disgusting picture, permit me % call
f H., attention. your EXccllcnoy to one ola different cl
,b",mn rnctcr. ! exhibits you as thu constitutional Chief \
WV" gistratc of free people, giving 10 their represented,
Iha IN IlAAA "a ~ NAIHs sAnt Iaa-