The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-05-12

the Pres;den, are thus mos, admirably and ac-
curately drawn:
uThe whole Of this greed power VIII cssfrs IN the
pr..a.n, The King Of England Is the tountain
of honor the President Of the United states u the
soree Of patronage He presies over the entire sys
tenn of federal appointments, Jobs anu contract ne
has ,ower over tho support OF the individuals who
a.,;n;stcr the system. He makes and unmakes them
Is rbooscs from the circle OF his friends and sup
,.,crs and may dismiss them, and upon all the prn-
ples OF human actions will dismiss them as often as
,hry asappoint his expectations. His spirit will ant
mate their actions in all the elections to State and Fe
deraI officers There may Ike exceptions; but the
truth of general rule 10 proved by the exception
The intended check and control Of the Senate, with
out new constitutional statutory provis0ns will
cease TO operate Patronage will penetrate this body,
sublue its capacity Of resistance chain to the Of
power and enable the President to rule easily and
much more securely, with than without the nominal
check Of the Senate. Ii the President was himself
the officer of the people, elected by them, and rcspn
sible TO them there would be less danger from tins
concentration of all power in his hands but i s the
business of statesmen to act upon things as they are
not they would wish them to be We must then
look forward to the time when the public revenue
will be doubled when the civil and military officers
Of the Federal Government will be quadrupled; when
its influence individuals will be multiplied TO an
indefinite extent when the nomination OF the Presl-
dent carry any man through the Senate, and his
recommendation can carry any measure through the
two houses OF Congress; when the principle OF pub
lie action will be open and ayowed-the President
wants my vote, and want his patronage Will vote
he wishes and he will give me the Office wish for
What will this be but the government Of one man
| and what is the government Of one man hut mon
archy Names nothing The nature OF a thing
is in lis substance, and the accommodates
itself To the substance"
In another part of this report it is said:
"The power of patronage unless checked by the
vigorous nterposition OF Congress- must 90 increus
ing, until Federal influence in many parts Of this
confederation, will predominant in elections com
pIetcy British influence predominates in rotten
boroughs and towns in the great naval stations OF
Portsmouth and Plymouth. In part Of the practi
cal ope atoms of the Federal Government has the pre-
dctions Of its ables advocates been completely
falsifed, than in this subject of patronage"
Again: this report, for the purpose Of show
ing what had been and what would be the in
crease OF executive power and patronage, says:
The patronage of the Federal Government, at the
beginning, was founded upon revenue Of two mil
lions of dollars. II is now operating upon twenty
two Millions, and within the lifetime Of many now
living, must operate upon FIFTY. The WHOLE REEVE
NUE. MUST, IN FEW YEARS, he wholly APPLICABLE TO
SUBJECTS OF PATRONAGE At present, about one-half,
say Ten millions of it, appropriated to the principal
and interest of the public debt; which, from the ma
ture of the object involves but little patronage In
the course of fer years, this debt, without great
mismanagcment, must be paid off short period Of
peace and faithful application of the sinking fund,
must speedily accomplish that most desirable object.
Unless the be then reduced ,rork as diff
c,tH in REPUBLICS in MoNARcHEs the patronage of
the Federal Governpents great as already is, must,
IN the lapse OF few years receive rasf accession OF
strength. The itself will be DOUBLED, and
instead of one-haf being applicable the objects of
patronage, the 1rhoie will take that direction. Thus
the reduction of the public debt and the increase Of
public revenue, will multiply in fourfoid degree, the
number of persons in the service Of the FEDERAL Go
yprnmcnt the of puhlic in their
hands, and the number Of objects to which is appi
cable but as each person employed ,ciH hare circle
Of greater less diameter of which he is the centre
and the soul "a circle composed of friends and rela-
tons, and individuals employed by himself public
or on private accOunt-TUE ACTUAL INCREASE OF FE-
| DERAf. POWER AND PATRONAGE BY THE DUPLICATION OF
THE REVENUE, WILL BE NOT IN THE ARITHMETlcAL RA-
TO- BUT IN GEoMETRICAL PRoGREssIoN-AN INCREAsE
ALMOST BEYOND THE POWER TO CALCU-
LATE OR TO COMPREHEND"
If these gentlemen were sincere in these ex-
positions and sentiments, and that they WERE
do not doubt, what fearful array Of present
| and appalling picture of future danger from the
swelling tide Of executive power and patronage
do they present. These gentlemen then thought
there was no other way of avoiding the ruin of
our institutions and the destruction of our liber-
ties, than diminishing this immense mass of ex-
| ccutve patronage. Hear them:
In coming to the conclusion that Executive pa
plan proposed the committee their opinion on the
ground that the exercise of great patronage in the
hands of ONE MAN has constant tendency to sully
the PURITY OF institutions, and TO enddngcr the
LIBERTIES of the country"
Now, fellow citizens, all the causes of danger
and alarm which existed in 1926 are no,o in full
operation, and the predicted increase Of officers
and public revenue more than realized. And
vet this republican President is proposing a
scheme which not only adds new batch of pub
lie officers and new item of expenditure to the
present list, but which will place in his actual
control the whole revenue of the nation What
more can power desire, TO do its works of ambi-
ton or oppression?
But, felow-citizens, will offer you further
evidence of the enormity of this scheme, from its
present advocates When Mr.. Leigh, in pub
lie speech at Petersburg, in Virginia, in 1884,
suggested, with the utmost accuracy the outlines
of this scheme the Globe" then as now.
the Erecufire press at Washington, broke out
upon II in strains of the most rabid fury, and de-
nounced 1t, not only as dangerous in the extreme,
but unconstitutional. Just hear it:
This is the notable plan by which Senator Leigh
would diminish the power of the Executive over the
repositories of public money! Instead Of suffering
the President to appoint Treasurer as he docs
now he would have him appoint many as should
be convenient Or ifthe appointment We're taken out
OF the hands of the President with the concurrence of
the Senator'S II must DC vested IN the head of the Trea
sury Department. to be made without their concur
renee And when appointed, these officers must ne
cessarily be- all other executive officers now are
subject TO removal at the will of the President Mr.
Leigh attacks the Constitution itself when he conro
verts these positions shall hereafter show And
these Treasurers all appointed by the President and
removable at his will, with all the public money in
their actual possessionin their pockets desks trunks
and rauhs-are in the opinion Of Mr. Leigh, the con
sttutiona repositories of the public moneys, in pre-
ference to the State banks, which guard the public
treasure as they do their own rhich the President
has no control and to one Treasurer who instead of
having the money in his actual possession cannot pos
l.llo "a l.