Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1841-09-23

men, had been total stranger, unknown TO
me in the relations of private or political
friendship, should yet have felt myself ire
sistibly impeled by the common sympathies
of humanity to undertake his defence, to the
best of my poor ability, when have seen him
this day so powerfully assailed for an act as
verify believe of conscientious devotion to the
Constitution of his country and the sacred
obligation of his high trust.
The honorable Senator complains that, i'm
my reply to him, unustly represented him
as censuring and arraigning the conduct of the
Chief Magistrate. He asks if he used any
such language as perfdy did not say that
he used the word perfidy, but that his allcga-
| tons resolved themselves substantially into
the charge of perfdy against the President
And is this not ,rucs appeal to those who
heard him, and wouldappeal 60 the honora-
bic Senator himself, in his cooler moments, if
two thirds of his speech did not consist of inn
pulations, more or less direct on the Presi-
dent for violation of his faith, express or inn
piled, TO his party and his country Did he
not begin his speech with reading and dwell
ing upon passage in the Inaugural address
of the President which he contended amoun-
ted to an engagement to the nation to sign
such a bill as had been presented TO him? If
cot Wiidt 10 lllS NClO IIlcSSdgc, HOW DCtOIc us
but violation of that engagement or, in 9TH
or words, breach of faith, all act of perfidy
to the nation? Again, did not the honorable
Senator say, if the course which the President
has now taken could have been anticipated,
either by the Harrisburg Convention or by the
People at the polls, he would not have recei-
we'd an individual vote in the former or a sin
gle electoral vote from the latterS Does not
this imply disingcnuous suppression, some
thing like fraudulent concealment of his o.
pmions by the President, which, iftrue, would,
under the circumstances have been grossly in
consistent with the principles Of good faith
How little foundation there is for any such
| lmputatiOn, flatter myself must have fully
demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Senate
in the remarks had the honor to make in re-
ply TO the first speech of the Senator from
Kentucky.
The honorable Senator also insisted, with
great eanestness, that the veto of this bill. I'M
der the circumstances III which the President
stood, WAS so eXceptionablc aproceeding that,
rather than to have resorted to it, it would have
been better for him to have eraded the res
possibility of his high station, by permitting
the ten days to elapse without any action on
the measure, or otherwise to have resigned
his office and left tho Government without an
| elective head Could any thing convey a
stronger or more pointed condemnation of the
| Presidents conduct than TO hold up either or
! both of these extreme and inaclmissible alter
! natives, as preferable to the course he actual
| ly adopted But the Senator alleges that he
did not SAY the President ought to have re-
| signed. Did he not, however,, argue most
zealously to show that consistency with the
! Presidents own conduct and principles on
former occasion, when he held seat in the
Senate of the United States, required that he
should have resigned on the present? What
was this but to urge the Presidents resgna-
ton by the strongest appeal, personal to him
self, and derived from his own example2 Is
1t not mere special pleading, then, for the
Senator now to allege that he did not say the
President should have resigned? When the
! whole tenor of the Senator's speech was char
acterized by such pointed and significant rep
rehensions of the Presidents conduct, could
the lavish and ostentatious professions of per-
sonal regard and respect, to which the Sena-
tor now appeals as evidence of the spirit of his
| speech, be Uicaced in any other light than as q
bitter mockery?
The honorable Senator still insists that the
question of bank was an issue solemnly de-
cided in the Presidential election thought
i had shown, by irrefragable proofs from the
| record, when | first addressed the Senate, that
this issue was not made in the Presidential e.
lection, and, from the well-known and recor-
ded opinions of the candidates selected both
for the Presidency and the Vice Presidency,
could not have been intended to have been
made. But the honorable Senator tells me
tins IS all a sheer deusion on my part, and a.
rises from what he is pleased to say is the
common error of us Virginians-to consider
the sentiment prevailing in Virginia as the
sentiment of the whole Union.
Mr.. CLAY. | spoke of some peculiar o.
pinions existing and in operation among the
people of Virginia.
/ The peculiar opinions of the people of Vir-
glnia, Continued Mr. RIvEs0 | had hoped
would never be considered reproach by any
native son of Virginia; and the taunt coming
from the honorable Senator from Kentucky
himself q native son of our ancient Common
wealth, is the ~unkindest cut of all" Now
sir, with all possible respect for the honorable
Senator, will tell him, if he will allow me
what is an error that he himself seems very
prone to fall into. 1t is, to think that his own
personal opinions must, of necessity, be the
opinions of the country; and because the
question of"Bauk or no Bank" was the prom
lnent, and, as he says, vital issue in his own
mind, he concludes thatit ought to have been
and was, Inc prominent and vital issue in the
minds of the People also.
| beg leave to say that my horizon in the
Presidential canvass was not quite SO limited