The spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1840-1844, 1841-10-29
THE ANTI-CONSTiTUTION PARTY

A wonderful cry of that mulli-faccd party now
nicknamed Wing, has been kept up for the last
twelve years, of abuses of the Constitution. Gen,
Jackson has time and again been branded as tai
tor TO its lenets and as recreant TO the, oath which
he had taken TO preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States" Mr. Van Bu-
rem likewise received his share of abuse for hav-
ing, il is said, violated it, provisions On the other
hand the leaders ollhe present Administration par
y were auded to the skies for their devotion to the
Constitution, and every where the cry of" Pre-
Serre il uaimp0ireI," was heard from The ranks
of our opponents. The present Secretary of State
was its Godllke champion, who alone understood
1t, and whose Interpretation thereof was the only
true one. Fast by him stood the twice-tricd and
wce-defeated candidate fol the Presidential Chair,
"lhe forest born Dcmoslhenes," Henry Clay pro-
claiming in strains Of lervld eloquence that through
the abuse of Andrew Jackson, the constitution was
violated and the country in danger; that the bar
rlers which surrounded it were broken down, and
The powers Of that sacred instrument usurped!-
Thousands of small beer politicians Qor hard cider
had not yet come INTO yogue,) echoed his words,
and the cries of the poor bleeding Constitution
were heard upon every breeze But 10! how
changed the scene,
"Mcthmks, my zcnl 10 Valentine is cold,
The same party, whose zeal for the preservation
of that ,ime-halowed Constitution was at so high
an ebb, have changed their tune. The cry now
is, it must be changed-that odious veto power
must be taken away from the Executive! A parti-
zan ma jorly Of the two Houses are sufficient TO
make laws. They lorgo, their former devotion;
they no longer wish to keep unimparied its proys-
ions. We have neither time nor space to 90 into
NJ n I la yntn thar N
may do so. All we can do now j. to use the Ian
guagc of Mr. Madison, when this question was
presented in the Convention which framed the Con-
stitutOn,
"ENperience had proved tendency in our Gov
eminent to throw al power into the Legislative
vortex The Executives of the States are in gen
era little more than cyphers; the Legislatures ON
npotent. " not some efiectual check he devised
for restraining the instability and encrouchmenls of
the latter, a revolution ofsome kind or other would
be inevitable"
To come at once to facts. John Tyler saw fl
to resist the will of parliaan majority in Congress
on the subject of National Bank. Twice did he
return with his objections the Bills establishing
such an institution. Had he not done so, after his
former known opinions on the question, he would
have been " deserving of the condemnation Of all
honest men," His irrnncss in vetoing the Bank
bills deserves the thanks Of the people. But that
parlizan majority thwarted in their base attempts,
have now come out, and put their fiat Of condemn
nation upon him; they lnd him not the plastic tool
they thought for. Not only his frmness, but the
constitution of lheiI country stands in the wny and
they would destroy them together. The address
of the Wing members Of Congress is a precou,
document, and we thank them for it. For once
they have lifted the veil that cloakrd their iniamou.
designs for once they have shown their hands
The mask which has hitherto hidden the ambition:
views is now thrown off, and every Democrat
knows what he IL conlcnding against. JfhPners,
desperate aah rnpriacipiei set Of men fd Tho
Constitution Of Meir country a barricr against
their eacrorchmepis. they mUsi aliei or abolish il
| This is now the doctrine of'he piebad party. MI
Claws letter to the Baltimore Committee has the
same startling development. The Wing press, will
here and there solitary exception echoes the cry
while every Antmason among Us Joins in fcryan
umen!-LancaSier hioliseacer,