Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-03-11
POLITICS..


particular ground for anitnadrerson, nas'nuch as II
does not always appear what particular object the Pres
dent is driving at Many questions are touched upon
in manner cautious and gingerly as to afford no IN
dcaton of the policy which his cabinet intend to pur'
sue-There is touch of harmless vanity IN the pas
save in which General Harrison speaks of 'the aid Of
that Almighty power which has enabled him To bring
to favorable issues other important trusts conhded /"
him by his country" There is good deal of hncry
from Rollins History, and LPmprcrs Dictionary,
about Cesar and tn" Scpios, Octavius aud Anthony,
the CAN and the Decii, and Rome and Greece all
which snppnse gives to the production the classical
elegance that some of the Wing journals speak Of.
General Harrison ntmates the opinion that the go
yernmen of this country has for time past been
degeneratng monarchy, and assigns the practice
of electng president Tor more than one term as one
of the of this degeneracy he would have the
Constitution altered allow person 10 be elect
ed twice to the Presidency and in the mean time he
pledges himsc the nation that he will not be elect
ed again He to forget that this pledge is OF lit
tie consequence When the president happens not TO
be the greatest the abest in his own cabinet, II
il Just easy for his administration 10 manage the pub
lie ALTERS with view TO the election OF any given in
divdua it would be for able president to do 1t for
himself.
Another cause of the tendency of our government
towards monarchy discovered BY General Harrison is
the exercise of the power Of putting veto upon the
bills passed by Congress. General Harrison we recol.
lect his election expressed himself strongy
against the exercise of this power In this speech he
sets out with condemnng 1t in general TERMS we read
little further, and find that hr dennIninaes It "one Of
the Lest safeguards of the Unnn;' proceed still
further and find that HI approves of exercising II in
all in which the Constitution Is violated, IN all
cases where The people may he protected by It from
hasty lepisation or when the will of the people is
property consulted, and in all cases in which the
rights Of the minority are vl"aied by the majority.
THIS is liberal enough IN all conscience. II allows the
President nerpose his veto both when te majority
of the people are with him and when the majority
hi,N ~ is u
bill presented for his signature is unconstitutional
What Chief Magistrate OF this Republic ever gave a
broader construction 10 the power of returning bills 10
Congress-
The President thinks That the patronage in the hands
Of the Executive IS too creative agree with him full
w. The Congress which closed IT'S last session on
"Wednesday did something To diminish this patronage
by cutting down the comprnsalions Of considerable
class Of officers More may yet be done perhaps by
making certain officers clecuve. We see no reason,
for example, why pusnas.ers should not be chosen by
the people they churse consabes IN some parts OF
the Union, unless It should be thought better, We
believe 1t is 10 throw ASIDE The post Office monopoly al
together.
Some of Gen. Harrisons previous speeches and let
have given the public und-rstand that if he
elected he would not attempt to influence the tglsla
ton of Congress by recommending any measures. In
the speech composed under The advice OF his cabinet,
he recedes from that ground. lie admits, IN place,
that it is "enj'ined duty upon the Chief Mags.
recommend such measures he thinks advisa-
ble and another place he says that the President is
uauthorzrd To make these recommendations But he
that the President ought TO recommend projects
relating 10 the finances o the nation Why not, ask
Ifthe Constitution makes It his duty in one instance IT
makes II his duty in ALL Ii II makes his daty to re-
commend measures III regard 10 The War Department,
the Navy Department, the Post Office Department, ii
also makes il his duty regard To the Treasury De-
partn-nt. II his duty Of finance
we'll as others. and he may have important sua-
gesti"ns to communicate TO Congress regard them
regard to other laws which he execute. The
distinction set up by General Harrison strikes us as
merely silly.
There is passage which, f we rightly understand
it, nmales that the party supporting the late admins.
traton wished to frce upon the nation excins We
metallic currency THIS charge has been often made
and refnted, that whether General Harrison under
sanos the subject not, his cabinet out of regard to
common decency ought not TO have allowed It 10 ap-
pear IN his speech
Correspondence Of the ". Ereaing Post.
WAsnISGToS, March, a.
Gen. Harrisons speech will reach you before my
letter; shall say nothing about il, except that #
written it spoken, it is rather weak affair,
Astounding in bad grammar, tawdry rhetoric, common
place sentiment, and sophomorean philosophy. One
thing, hnwever, particularly pleased me it the
stintrd copousness with which the "Hero poured
his reservoirs Of historical quotation" indeed per-
fccy delightful II called to mind the happy days,
forty summers agnne when munching huge piece of
cake, with "a light heart and hin pair of beeches
trndIed To school. nose the days,
when the hills that surrounded home, enclosed NV
whole knowledge oft world, am, when "firi Roma"
"Cordrroys Colleagues" and "En,v Ivy as in our
blessed simplicity we used 10 cal them, seemed to
contain the treasured wisdom OF all The past How re-
freshing To have the remcmbrancrs Of that period
hrongh, vlvdly the mind: and how deep the drbt OF
gratitude owe 10 Ger. Harrison for revvng scenes
which | had supposed long since forgotten That
some ui your readers may participate enny mpnt
nave mated down few Of the many beautiful and
nilaatn rhcit
n,shcd mind of the President has treated us:
at was the remark of Roman Consul in an early
period of that celebrated Republic. 1.-THE remark was
made by The vriuous and nd,gnant Rmnan."-"The
boasted privilege of Roman citizen was to him
shield only against petty provincial ruler. '-s.The
proud Democrat of Athens could j., himself under
q sentence of death -"That species of mixed Govern
msnt which, in modern Europe, is termed monarchy
in conradisinction to despo,ism. "-"Tha first Roman
Emperor, IN hs attempt To the sacred treasure,
senced the opposition of the officer whose charge
It had been committed, BY significant auson 10 his
sword "-"As efftctual an argument that of Cesar
TO the Roman Knight. "-"Ton much resemble the re.
Communications of Athens 10 her allies -"lt was, in
deed. I" the ambition of the leading States of Greece to
control the domestic concerns of others at owing
to the absence q" that spirit that the rvetc confederacy
has, for many years, been preserved -"The best his
torans agree IN attrbntng the Of all the Republics
with whose existence and fall their writings ha We ade
US acquainted ancient and modern il full of
examples -"C9sar became master of the Roman peo.
pie and the Senaie"-"Cromwpll IN the character of
protector Oft the liberties of the people became thr
dictator Of England"-"Bovar possessed himself Of
unlimited power with the title Of his c"un,tys H.
berator"-"We have examples of republics, whore
the love Of county and liberty at one lime the
dominant passions of the whole mass of ctzrns'-
alt the beautiful remark Of dsting uishcd
English wri,er-"ln the Roman Senate, Octavms
had party and Anthony party, but the common.
wealth none--,'To talk of the soundnrss and beauty
Of the commonwealth and gaze at the statues of the
elder Brutus and of the Curtii and Decii-"The peo
pie assembled in the forum, not in the days of Ca
nilus and the Scpos, to their free votes for annual