Litchfield enquirer., 1842-12-08
LETTER FROM COL. BENTON.
JEFFERSON CITK, Oct. 70, lS

CrNr1xMrN-I have to make my most ~;ncere thanks to the Democracy of BooR- viIIe and Cooper county, and to yourselves, for inc kind invitation you have givcn FElv in visit your county, and to accept of the honor of public dinner. To visit you, and to remain sometime in your county, m com mon with others in your neighborhood, has been my intention for years and the ngree- able task was commenced in 1889, and in- tended to be promptly follow ed up' but has been prevented thus far by the long sc ssiOns of Congress, and the extra ses< <.on ;..;lt in- teryened. The next summer will bring the long recess, and it is then my intention to devote my whole leisure time to my consti- tuents, and to visit many parts Of the state for the purpose of seeing them. The town of BoonviIle and the county of Cooper would not be overlooked in this general vii sit, and have the pleasure to assure you ifhatI shall take an early occasion in the spring to be with you. A fixed time is not
 necessary; for, as l do not take public din. 4ners, and shall stay long enough to see my fellow citizens individually--a way of see- | ng them more agreeable to me than that of large masses-there will be time enough
 after | arrive, for all to hear of it, and for those to see me that will do me that honor.
 thank you most cordially for the appro. bation which you have expressed of my
 public course, and feel bound to say that
 nothing but the generous conduct of my po-
 litical friends in the state, and the friend
 ship of my colleagues in the Senate and m
 the House of Representatives, could have
 carried me successfully through the long
 service, in the difficult times which ] have
 been in the Senate. have been there now
 two and twenty years, and have had to act
 a decided part, in a succession ot great
 events and it isa great satisfaction to me
 to find myself sustained by the appreciation
 of those who placed me in such rosponsi-
 ble situation. During all that time my mot
 to has been "every thing for the cause
 nothing for men :" and under the guidance
 of this motto I have been fortunate enough
 to gain credit for good intentions, and for exertions to do what was best for the coun- arv, regardless of all selfish, personal, inte- rested or individual considerations. The same shall be my course until l cease to serve you, and come to spend the evening of my days in the noble state of which we are citizens.
 The limits of this letter and the few mi- nutes have to give it, do not permit me to dilate upon general politics, Suffice 1t to say, that the Federalists have now been in power nearly two years, and h,ve had two sessions of Congress, and the fifty previous wears of the existence of our General GO- vernment do not furnish as many instances of violation of the Consttution-violatio of the rights of the states and of individuals, and of oppressive legislation, as these two wears have done. To enumerate their bad measures, would be to give history of their acts for two entire sessions.
 When this party came into power, one of it's most conspicuous members MT. Web- ster) had the affrontery to say that they would open new set of books-thai they would lay away the old books used by the previous administration, and take new set for their clean and patriotic entries un- derstood that the accounting officers suc- ceeded in preventing this fine scheme of laying away tho old books and commencing a new set but if new books could not be onened. new entries have at least been Eaado in inc old ones-entries which were stran- gers to their pages when Jackson and Van R,Iren were at the head of the Government. and Democratic maiorities filled the two Houses of Congress. Among these new en- tries we find taxes, loans, unredcemed trea. s,Irv notes, national debt, prohibitory tariff, of land revenue, non-payment of public creditors, protested bills on the Government, disgrace, the borrowing agent of the Government insulted m Europe, pro. scription, mandamus act, a habeas corpus act and an out lawry act against the states, (ths last pocketed by Mr. Tyler,) repu. diation of private debts under the .pretext of a bankrupt law, and new British treaty. of which I cannot now speak. but of which mv sentiments will appear in the speeches which | made against it, which left. at Washington to be published on the ex- change of the notifications. Such are their new entries! Finally, the Federalists pro- missed to us change of times; and they have given it. This they have kept, and it is the only thing they have kept. The times are changed, and changed about as much for the worse, as modern Federalism (now at the head of our Government in the person of Daniel Webster) is worse thaR inc old black cockade Federalism of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton.
 Two years ago, when this party got into power, I took occasion to say, m letter which was published, "that they would have short ride, and by no means merry one." Both clauses of this prediction have heen verified. The ride has not been a merry one. as the state of the party we'll shows: +: that it will be short, the elections now going on sufficiently prove. Democ- racy will soon be in power again; and 1t will be for them to rub out the new entries in inc old books, and to make another change of times by restoring the prosperity of the Jackson and Van Buren administra- tions And they will do it. The country and it's cause. not men and their schemes, IS now the order of the day. throughout the
 Democratic hosts; and the country and it's cause will be attended to. ....
 Turning to our oWn noble state, we see the Democracy in full power and ready for action. A base currency afficts the state, a nJ ;t ;s for inc approaching General As