Mobile daily commercial register and patriot., 1841-06-30
From the Pennsylvanian. LETTER FROM COL. BENTON. '
WASHINGTON Cry, June

WAsHIseToN CITY, June 8, 1s4l
 Dear Sir:-Your kind letter of the 4th inst. in ation to the democratc meeting at Spring Garden, on the evening of the Sd and the resolve there adopted to hold meeting of the democracy of the city and county of Philadelphia to form association to pro mote my nomination and election to the Presidency of
 the United States in the year 1844, has been received and while am duty sensible of the proceedings, and extremely grateful for the kind motives winch induced them, yet must hasten to do every thing in my pow to arrest at the commencement, proceeding which howsOeyer honorable to me, cannot in my opinion be beneficial to the eaiIse of democracy. Contentious for the first place have in all ages and in all countries, been the bane of elective governments have been Iuy determined ever since have been on the stage of public affairs to have nothing to do with such tentons. have always seen, and in the ranks Of the democratic party many eminent citizens who are worthy 10 fill the place of President; and it is my purpose now, t has been heretofore pro- mote the election, and to support the Administration (f elected) of of these citizens. Private let ters to this effect have written to many friends in different parts of the Union, in their qures; and what l now write to you is nothing but repetition of what have already said and written to many others.
 But while cannot consent to be brought toward for the Presidency, am ready and willing to do all that can for the cause of democracy. The times require the exertion of all the friends of the cause and mine shall neither be withheld nor relaxed. We have gone back not merely to the federal times of Gen. Hamilton, and the elder Mr. Adams, but far beyond them-to the Church and state times of Queen Anne, and the corporation and state times of the first and second George; word to the whig times of Sir Robert Walople; whose long, corrupt and pusianimous administration was continued practice of tory doctrines upon whig professions and the source and origin of every curse which affects the English people. We have gone back to the English times when the paper system, the funding system, the banking system, the fundamental system, Gas banks of circulation) stockjobbng national debt taxes paper money loans for the existing generation to spend and for postery to pay, and chartered com panies with exclusive privileges and monopohes and exemptions from law, the South Sea scheme and a thousand other cheating contrvances, all hatch- ed into existence under the hot incubation of whg legislation. We have gone back to the Wslpole times when corporations began to treat with the government equals, or to dictate to it masters; when submission insultan depreciation from abroad and tyranny to patriots at home the practice and the policy of the administrations when the money was spent for party objects, which should have been devot ed to the public defence; when, to preserve peace, the nation not put in arms but the minister pac- ed upon his knees; when good men were persecuted, and the bad were promoted; when military, naval and civil officers dismissed from employment for yot- ing against the minister and his partizans put into office for voting for him; when secret committees, composed of political hacks, made inquisitors into the conduct of their enemies aud never failed to find what the minister sent them to hunt for. We
 
 this, was the work of the English government; and when whig administration gave all the originals of which our federal whigs are presenting with faithful copies here. In every thing, great and small, foreign and domestic, legislative and executive, the Walpole whig measures of the reign of George the second, are the measures of our federal whig here; and if the master spirits in command should have as long time to work in, as their great original had in England, they would probably succeed in giving us as much debt and taxes as many paupers and pensions, and as many corporations to rule govern and brlbe us, as the English people now have. But I fancy their reign will not be quite so long as that of the Walpoe wings in England-thati it will llhardly extend to twenty-five years; and of this the master spirits seem to be little suspicious themselves, and there fore are "for making hay while the sun shnes.'
 Haste to the wedding is the tune to which they dance double quick time is the time of their step. Hence the hurry in every thing. Hence this extra session of Congress- which, in the briefspace ofhaf dozen weeks and under the fires of solstitial summer sum- and midst the sweterng heats of the dog days is ex- pectsd to do much as Wapole accomplished in one of the seven year tory parliments of which he was the whig author. As compensation, however, for doing so much in so short time, Congress is to be permitted to sink into the quiet and passive condition of he'd of justice, Git de Jusce) of the old French monarchy, for the registration of edcts realize for the edifcation of the American people, the metapysical conception of the dumb legislature which gave so much celebrity to the Abbe Seyes. In word we are to be permitted to vote upon the bills, without telling the reasons why or wherefore, which the master spirits prepare for in secret, and lay be- fore us in public.
 consider myself called here to be present at the immolaton of our constitution, and at the formation ofa government to be composed fbank and state, in which bank is to be master, and state is to be save and the people be taxed and pundered for the ben- eft of both. here at the holocaust of the const- tution If they succeed in their there will be nothing left of that instrument but the ashes.
 This, sir, is what snatch moment to write to you in answer to your enquiries. Iii frank letter such as my feelings dictate and the times require and you are at liberty to use t in any way which will accomplish its object-that of preventing my name from being used on the list of presidential can didates. la,lfla'f fguLO Has4l hfA 1.,aycf Respectfully, sir, .trA Your obliged fellow citizen, | u.'l bsts'sA THOMAS H. BENTON. |
 Col. Henry Simpson, Philadelphia, -S ''t's. i@+