Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-06-23

an Aholitionist, If not totally unfit 10 represent an ln
nerah!e, hIgh-inindcd People. What will the Wh,.s
10: VIII they support Harrison: The steamboat al:
far IS fully made out. He has two sets Of principles
one Tor the South and another for the North.
FOR 7WE ENQUIRER.
THE REVIEWER REVIEWED.
have fcit much qualification, in common with
thousands of my Republican friends throughout the
State, IN reading the frank and manly letter of MIR
foInsett, IN n recent number of the Enquirer
hat letter has had its effect. llhas Frustrated forever
IN The dust the Titan bug.bear OF the "Standing Ar
my 1t has hcwn down the giant proportions Of that
FEDERAL huInbug, which had ridden upon the fears OF
this country with the influence of a nightmare, until
! bad almost shaken the solid heart of the land. BY a
dIsingcnuousness as unblushing, by an efirontery as
incasureless, MS can ever disgrace, by any possibility,
the organs of any party-thc Federal press has attempt.
ed to practise upon the apprehcnsions of the ycomanry
OF Tins Union, until from 4 condition OF alarm, they
became COMPOUNDED. 1t has sluiced all the kennellcd
impurities of language to make us odlous.-lt has at
tempted TO SLAYER over with the rabidness of its poison,
all that was beautiful in our institutions, until Repub-
licanism had well nigh sckcncd a. its own complexion.
But there is an hour Of solemn reckoning at hand
| he scales are dropping from the general eye-the PEG.
pie are becoming awake to the events that are passing
around them. Believe me, sir, this same 'Standing
Army has exploded, aye, even To the cartridges
That bubble has been lanccd. The Keeling and drunk
en- energies OF the Federal press will be hencelorlh too
earnestly, yet all Intellectually, employed IN bolstering
up a cause they already discover TO he %tumbling in lrag-
nicnts about their ears. But, {" the purpose.
In a recent number of the Richmond Wing, dated, !
think, June 18th, and Immediately consequent upon the
publication in your paper of Mr.. Poinsctt's letter, read
under the Editorial head what purportcd to he a review
of that letter. 1t is certainly a most rare production
Upon looking over it, confess | felt Indignation at the
undisguised injustice of It's character. But a softer in
stinct prevailed; and laughed outright, not because |
discovered the desperate means resortcd TO TO sustain a
desperate cause, but that the means in rcquisition were
so extravagantly %bungling. Caleb Balderstone nnqnes-
/ tiopnhlr lari,.al p,urb oF Nc pcnir,t,np from, he dis.
trcsses Of his master; but, Caleb. thou vert by far the
least stumbling, the most plausible, and the most ac-
complishrd of thy genW5.
This precious criticism is ushercd in by the dignifcd
caption, s'Fcderal Skulking-Flash in the PAN We
trace the author through the length of a half column,
and find the surface tastcfully diversified by such gems
as "Sianding Army" "Arthur Guide" "Skulking,
"Lying," "2alph Nickelby" Barracks, and "Ma-
trimouial spcculations. Further on, and we have
what he, pcradvcn,urc, intends to be very cruel irony
levclled at the unfortunate Mr.. Poinsett. Ercmpii
crata-"What a hero he must be, and 'horrible 10
contemplate 10 be sure! &c. Our critic, however, has
been bu, playing with us all this time. Now he springs
the game, aud here is Il specimen. lie begins by quot
ing from General Harrson's report of isis, and Mr.
PoinSctt's present plan
General Harrison in his report of the 9th January,
lSlS, said "lhat the Constitution having made It the
duty of Congress TO provid" for arming the militia, TINS
power is not duly exercised by enactng that the NH.
la shall arm themselves. \ law 10 that effect, un.
sanctioned ny pcUd!ll'S, HpIItc VI uiS!tnhiuth, INV u
thus sanctioned, viii be unjust, for it Will act as a ca,
p:taiion tax &c. "Now mark the contrast says
ouT critic. "Mr. Poinsett,s plan requires the militia,
that every man over u and under A. years of age,
tasupply himself, athjS ara expense, with a muskci Of
a certain bore, &c. \ law 10 this effect, says General
H., would be unjust and oppressive, &c. Mr.. Poinsett
has provided for this contingency by providing the pc
nal,ics Of fnc and Imprisonment The contrast, for
sooth! Now, every word this scrrbhler has written here
BY way OF comment is demonstrahly at right angles with
49, t"t 49, Il - ., -.
finger on any passage IN the whole of Mr.. Poinsett $
plan whence the conclusion can be forced, that the
ssmil ia are to arm themselves at their own expense.
On the contrary, Mr.. Poinsett expressly recommends
"dcpo,s Of arms TO he furnished by the Government,
near which The militia arc 10 he trained. (Sec Art. 30
or Mr.. P.'s plan) BIT under what circumstances does
Mr.. /. annex The penalties Of SINE and imPrtS0nmcnt.'
Is il not where the militia shall fail to obey the orders
or The President Of the L. s, either in rcpcllng foreign
invasion or in enforcing subordinatron 10 the laws of
the L. s, as cited in the 18th and 10Th heads Of Mr..
PI.s militia system; (Sce 2Sth art. 9th, PIan) And
what system, pray, either in the regular army, the
militia, or the Navy, can this BOBBY critic conceive to
exist, when uncniorccd by penalties. Is he not aware,
that, under the present militia law, the penalties ol me
and Imprisonment attach to certain non. coniormiiIcS;
/ Does lie not know, that General Harrison himself, IN
his famous military report, subjects TO the tender mer.
cies Of court martial, any failure of the militia TO
obey the President of the L. s, ! shall quote the
passare from the Generals report, ''1hat the PrcsI.
dent should. in all cases, address his orders immediate
" to some officer Of the militia, and not 10 the EXccu.
tive Of any State. The Governor of Il State IS not
a militia officer, Jonnd 10 crccute N, ordcrs 81 tie Pre-
sidni, he cannot be irisd FIR ds0bsdiencs Of "rdcrS, and
ynni<dcd IN he sc"tCacr If a court m0rii0i But then
Mr.. Poinsct, has 'incorporatcd the most obnoxious ira'
lures of every preceding plan into his own. An, IN
deed! Why, there is not a Wing i'll this country, pos
sessinr even moderate importantly, intelligence, OF
honor, who, after reading Mr.. Polnsetts plan, can be,
licve one title of this. The most obnoxious! Is IT that
feature by which remuneration is guaranteed to the
private as we'll as the commander, and which IN Gen
H.'s report, was confined 10 the officer alone,
When the Federal Press Of this country debaScs IT.
self to misrepresentation 50 GORGEOUS, and dares to
prac,ise upon the intelligence of the people with sc
little shame, then is II time for the people TO arouse
themselves indeed! The cabalistlc shield of the Ma
rician in Ariusto was said to ~faScia0tc men out Of then
liberties; but the God who guards the liberty Of this
beautiful country, has decreed, thai the NccrnInancer:
Of Federalism should be too rcro!tjng TO be effective.
But The best Of the thing is 10 come yet. This drol
Of the r. Whig asserts, that "Mr. Poinsctt does no.
say, that Mr.. Van Buren, hcrr sanctioned the pidn OF
the biH or nccfr Sac Ghtr Of them Why, the We
ncrable MuncIIauscn himself would cape in open won
der at the cfron:ery of such an allegation. The mar
is horn mad. Mr.. Poinsett does say, and in answer
10 your direct interrogation upon this subject, that tho
President "had no de6ncym preparing Mc pun report
ed to CorcrcSS, and ne prcrionS k~"o"icdec ct rs de-
,ail<o" And again II state DISTINCTLY the President
aercr Sam The details of my plan UNTIL THEY WERE IN
PRINT And, who is there that will not believe the
yir,uors, the noble, and the high minded Poinsett, be
fore any Editorial Whipstcr of them all: But "prc'
vions to achcn or ~hat,' harps our worihy-''preyiou:
to ahcn.' The question is as absurd as II is ungraIn'
ma,:cal. Not the least amusing portion of our hero
review is his sheer at "thc four icadcn columns occu
pied by N1r. Poinsett's letter in the "Enqrircr."-
Lfodeu quoha | shall enter into no dIsquisitior
here upon the rcfncmcnts of philology. Whatever
be the nciehi the enemies of Mr.. Poinsett may at
tach TO his letter, the bladder character of his 0sSail
ants stvlc will be readily admitted. If the man
nor Of the one be gravItating and impressive, al
will willingly conccdc that the carnations of the
others pen are remarkably iiyM. Well, after wadins
through those "four lcaden columns, and feeling very
much distressed, and horriticd, and sorrow-stricken, al
all this Federal s~knlking' and, above all, the "fasl
in the pam, our annihIating Qnixotte cXclaim', tina
"contempt, mingled with pity, arrests The running pen
This is The only touch Of the mclo- draInatiG IN the
" hole production. "Pity and contempt Since the
publication of Mr.. Poinsett's letter, he has been ANA
zingly ~prodigal Of both. would caution HIM, ncrG'
Meicss. not to yield too much TO the lugubrious. .Niobe
,,s literally washed away in n flood of her own tears