Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-01-30

Senator for twenty years, and this question p'on
men, theme the whole time, have iofoorhe 70 an
mon II have sat silent, and observont, whie an
ur c .bs chamber were eager to speak out. why
/ 70 done thiss Because | had no opiniohs yer.
,o;n,v not; for | have never been without aee'oeu
n;non Because | was AFRAID 10 avow III Aot at All,
IP, ~ reason to be afraid of my countrymen, and
In ,a.s or foreigners Why, then, not speak ou Be-
80 The pubc mind is not ripe for the reception OF
santments! because the public is not ready to
80 ,bem 1t would be nonsense TO speak my senii-
men,s on the English questions-l will not limit myself
~ rho boundary question-but speak in the plural IL
would be idle for me- in the present state OF the public
mind 70 sneak out We must await the progress oil
events In the mean time, shall take the liberty to
saw that Congress is inviting aggression by negecng
defence, and gripping the Union BY surfenderng It's
We have inst had one humiliation, said MIR. b., and
-. ao mt want another. We have seen what no Go.
yernment has experienced before. IL was oeneVed
that the degradation of Governments had reached heir
lowest point, when company o. h"giIsn merchant
were seen in Asia detronng princes tor the balance
&c IN account and Selling Kingdoms IN payment OF a
NOTE or hand The Imagination OF Sheridan and Burke
could conceive nothing beyond hat; the masnlhcent
or;an,ol drama of the trial of Warren Hastings could
nresant nothing beyond it. But we have seen some
pn;a'. hovood i i've have seen the election of an
ao;o,n President made a stockjobbing operation on
,ho ondon Exchange. We have seen English bank
orc and money dealers 'iarntng their attention to the
;,,rnol puLcs Of .imcriea, and "trying change Of
d he Imr
rse and themselves pocket per centums the Ameri-
c,n securities which they held! We have seen this:
and seems TO me that to have the s'ch0nge Of the 7nc
r;rou President converted into stockjobbing opera
lion on the London Exchange, is TO reach point OF
b,m,atioo which government has ever seen before.
NJ CRlTTENDEN. The Senator has based his
,boI reply TO my remarks the assumption that the
States do not possess the 10 demand vi the Gene
raj Government distribution OF the proceeds OF their
common estate in the public lands. ! went on the as
/ IT. tI,utr rht hat ,,vnI
and has not been dsproved. True, the money has 10
pass through the Treasury but still It is their money
This point the Senator has not touched every thing has
been argued but the principal point in the argument,
on which all the rest hangs and turns.
The honorable gentleman, IN his concluding remarks,
made q very extraordinary assertion indeed. Abiding
to the late Presidential election, and the influence Of
foreigners in this country, he ascrbed the change IN
the Executive Administration Of this Government To
the bankers and STOCKHOLDERS in England and in this
country. Can this be possible Sure am that, #
such an influence does exist it has not reached the part
of the country where reside: can 1t have operated
where the honorable Senator himself lives as the vote
of his State for Martin Van Buren, concusively proves
1T is not at that end OF the Union, them and am
sure it is not in the centre where then is this dan
gerous and irresistible influence which has revolution
lzed our whole party history: Where ask, has IT
been at work Here collected representatives OF
eyery portion of the entire Union TO each Senator
put the question, Was your State whose vote has
been controlled by the trckng stock obbing capitalists
of Europe. Which of the States is it that lies under
this foul stigma: Or is il branded the forehead of
the whole American people, Is this entire Republic
TO be considered Justly charged with this dishonor
is true that the two three millions Of voters who
constitute that majority whose votes have brought in
new Administration, have been influenced, swayed,
bought up with foreign money the meanest and ba-
sest of all influences. Where the evidence that fixes
blot like tins to the American name For myself and
nv constituents, for the noble and beloved State
present in part this floor, put the charge far from
me. If there has been such an influence at work,
it has not been among No one man of the twenty
six thousand majority of votes cast in Kentucky
for Gen. Harrison has acted as in nv soul believe
from any such base, unworthy, degrading influence.
10th am to believe that any free born American ct-
zen has acted unworthily of his and his birth
right And again ask, where is the proof OF il: Does
the Senator believe that proof to be found in
pondence between agent in the State of Missouri
and some 6nanciering gentleman III England
Mr.. BENTON. director Of the Bank Of England.
| MIR. CRITTENDEN Well; director of the Bank
of England, with respect the sale Of portion Of
Missouri stock Is that what the Senator relics on.
The agent here writes 10 his correspondent in England
as to the influence likely 10 be exeed BY public events
in this country the price Of American stocks. Is
there any thing wonderful-any thing "mon
strons, courageous IN this: Can any thing be
natural in course, than such correspondence
such subject; Suppose, instead of speaking Of the
price Of stocks, he had been writing about the probable
price of cotton, might he not have referred proba-
bic change in financial system likely TO affect
that article of trade: Does every body know that
the very slightest change in public affairs has an
effect the commercial world, and Immediately af-
fects the state Of prices IN the market And why
should not this be mentioned IN regard to stocks well
as any thing else for sale in Tie market That is all the
proof have heard i'll support OF this mighty charge
about British stockjobbng influence in American cleo
tons:
Mr.. BENTON. Not the tenth, not the hundredth
part Of the proof
/ n ~ ,.1i.t.
Senator what has produced this astounding political
change. The gentleman shall escape from the urgu-
ment-from fact notorious. II would indeed be
but melancholy consolation 10 the gentleman and his
friends 10 ascrbe their defeat TO the dshonor Of their
native country Were in their situation, sooner than
cast stigma like this the land ofmy nativity, and on
so large, vast majority of my countrymen, would
admit that my party had mismanaged public affairs or
that at least the people thought they bad; or
how or other, they had lost the public confidence.
Never never since the foundation Of the Government,
did many American freemen cast their votes with
one special and specific understanding 10 the
grounds of their united action. That IL my opinion
The result Of the late election is not the effect Of
British gold but the Of the American people as
to the cement Of their public affairs publicly and
papaby expressed. Let not gentlemen attempt to &c,
of tho position in which That election has placed
them BY sgmatizing the people Of the United States
with corruption. No. no this expression of opinion
from the old genuine Republican stock who Sc,
mp the government IL Us SPARK from tue od ReVou
tonary flint, and it has blown the gentlemen sky-high
Let them not, that they have reached the ground
and rubbing their bruised and broken limbs try
disguise from themselves the truth as TO what hur,
them. Strange indeed would il be, could the ma ic
wand of British gold be applied 10 produce sucl, n re-
suit All the natural causes, that subject, seem to
point tie other way. We might expect the Kings and
Presidents, who try TO be, and to live like Kings, feel
a natural sympathy with each other. They do not seek
to pm, down the throne 10 raise the cottage If the real
truth could be come at in the matter, verify believe
that there foreign sympathy with the reign
ing President than with his plain, humble, Republican
opponent. There is not State, no, county
through this wide Union, that was swayed in lis
late vote by any influence from the London Ex-
change. Gentlemen are sadly puzzled to account
for the result Some say, "oh, it was all the work
Of British god!'' Others say, at was nothing but
the senseless cry about log cabins and hard cider
An sorts Of devices used to disguise fact so
appalling. Some say It all the effect Of COON
skins And one very distinguished, intellectual argn-