The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-10-30
From the Boston Daily Advertiser.
WHERE ARE THE WINGS mo. 8.


| have now to consider the breaking up of,hs Har-
rson Cabinet and the relations between the present
Cabinet and the Wing party.
The subject OF especial interest Tor u the resig
nation of the members Of tho first Cabinet was strictly
necessary, and If that necessity was imposed upon
them by Mr.. Tyler these circumstances might inter
pose very serious difficulties in the way OF reconca-
lion and harmonious action But do not SO view
the case am willing to concede that the retiring
Secretaries had right 10 retire II they saw MT but
cannot 90 farther In the language Of Mi. Webster,
in his letter of Sept 3h I'll have seen no sufficient
reasons for the dissolution of the late Cabinet, by the
volsniary act Of its members"
Let look at the circumstances which In the opin-
ion of these Secretaries compelled them to retire.
Briefly, they these. The President allowed them
form BILL in the expectation that he would sign H.
He conferred with them repeatedly twas adjusted TO
suit him and he nevertheless vetoed the bill, and
gave them apology for, no explanation OF, this
change Of opinion and conduct This Is their story,
and assume il to be true. OF the lesser matters oil
Mr. Ewing's letter. such as the communication by the
President of Cabinet secrets TO New fork paper,
Sc. pass them by, expressing only my regret that
Mr. Ewing should have thought the necessity for his
retiring extended TO the publication OF charges OF this
character. II would seem to be certain that nothn
less than dire necessity could have induced him TO
descend in search Of means TO make his cause
good one particularly he could lring such an ac-
cusaton on suspicion only
But 10 90 10 the substance of the case l cannot
but think that the retiring Secretaries and particularly
Mr. Ewing only left the Pr, dent de- but foot
sides with his enemies And tn . can hardly be jus.i
fed unless the Pr, sdents course was wholly unJus
fable. On this point there Is passage m MI Bells
statement which has not, think met with the notice
II deserves. He says; When all the material points
appeared to be disposed Of and the members OF the
Cabinet present had expressed their decided approba-
ton Of the plan the President had suggested ne sad
that, after all he mould not sanction Bank IN ne
form just agreed upon, he supposed that Il could DC
| made the groundwork basis Of Bank irih all ne
porrers Of he late Bank Of the United Stdtes. ne
nerer tcould gpe his sanction to The poUer g oeai dis
count" THIS was said, after all. Il was intended 70
be- and it was, fair notice to the parties towhom II
was spoken Now it is well known that the moment
that bill published the remark was universal that
| the prevention of local discounts by confring DIS
counts to bills Of exchange; was merely nominal
because the bank could get over this barrier simply
by doing just what many OF our own banks were
charged with dongthat is, requiring customer who
brought for discount TO bring in its stead bill
drawn al distance; and il the foreign ac-
cepor were a man of straw, the domestic names must
strengthen the bill Our banks did this o. were SAID
do IT, for the sake of the exchange and the Nation
al Bank might do it just easily whenever inclined
to disregard the limitation Of their charter in word,
It was universally agreed that the difference ON this
point between the old bank and the proposed nsttu-
iion was merely nominal. 1t is unfortunate that,
when Mr. Ewing wrote his published letter, he entire
ly forgot this remark Of the President IL exceed
ingy unfortunate that it should have escaped his re-
collection totally, that he not only omitted all men
ton of it, but actually urges the deepest stab OF all,
interrogatory equivalent to an assertion that II was
such bill as you had already declared could not re-
ceiye your sanction" Ii had been proper for the
President to have replied to MI Ewing, part OF MS
answer might have been that the commercial interest
Of the country had told him, with voice, tina. 1t
was in substance and in effect just such bill.
4 That the President had not seen this sooner may
be regretted but the haste the agitation OF the ne
the attack upon him by MIR. Bolts and others OF
the. w an attack which it is hoped may be as
entirely without imitation it without prece-
dent, all these things should be considered MOI
should be forgotten that before the second bill had
made much progress, in Congress, it was perfectly
well known that the President wished il TO lie over to
the next session that he earnestly desired brief de-
, lay. This delay the Wings Of Congress would not
grant. Now 1t may be asked whether this Cabinet
after they knew his anxious wishes for delay, sided
and acted with him this point or not. If they did
one would think they had to find at least as
| much fault with the Wing members of Congress as
with the President. II they did not it was probably
eple that the bill should pass at that time But the
President may De supposed oo...Ai-..ss
too and whatever may have been their right OF dissa
tisfaction with him. cannot hut think he had quite
, as much right to be dissatisfied with them. his wish
for delay was not an idle one, nor an unreasonable
one cool observers at distance, wished just the
same thing. remember, Mr.. Editor, in your paper
of Sept LIST, you said 1.-The country has been enough
excited on this subject for the present. and will tend
TO the genera harmony and TO the prevalence OF bet
ter feeling to suffer il to repose while II was Just
al tns time Mr. w eDSer was saying ABOUT tue same
thing to the Senators Of Massachusetts in his letter
since published. The conclusion ofthe whole matter
then is, in my opinion, that rational man whom
the heat and smoke of this conflict have not reached
suppose himself to in the circumstances
of the any necessity which lay upon the retiring
Secretaries to withdraw from their posts and bring at
once upon the Wing party the certainty of trouble
and conflict and the imminent danger of defeat. And
if there such necessity, there be none for
continuing the hosties for which this step was the
signal If not the Let it all belong to the past
the work of the present must be cencatlon II there
D is to be any hope for the future.
But it is impossible to dwell upon these events,
without adverng to Mr.. WebsteIs conduct and po-
g sition. He staid when his colleagues went he
staid, when his colleagues and their friends wished
, him to go with them. For this offence he has been
vsIted-not with open attack. There is something
about the man, and more think about his position
which has prevented much of this But whispered,
, and insinuated and veiled accusations, were for
time creeping all around. To reader of what
have already written, need say, that in my judg
ment, Mr.. Webster, in that act, did his duty. He
acted like a man; Wing; Statesman. He would
not have acted like man if he had in boyish petu-
ence cast of his great duties and gone into corner
, to sulk and pout, still worse, to scod. He would
not have acted life Wing, If because of personal
offence he had sacrificed the interests of the whole
, party and perled their supremacy. He would not
have acted like statesman, if he had forgotten at
once the many difficulties which it required all his
strength to cope with; the many dangers, perpIexi-
ties, and uncertainties nextricaby interviewer with
our chief foreign relations. MIR. Webster judged bet
ter than to do this he wise and too just to do
this; he was true to himself; and in SO being,
true to the Wing party and in being, true to
the country.
have lately seen in New York paper rumor
that Mr. Webster is about to resign fear ''the
wish is father to the thought oil rather, hope
so, and that the thought mas no other father. The
great interests of this great nation are, after all,
something more than bubble for the breath Of party
to blow to and fro, or, it may be- break. ! hope Mr..
Webster will remain until shall be found,
| of more commanding genius more familiar with our
inter anil iudr