The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-06-21
DISHONESTY.


In The early part of the present session,
certain member of Congress, by the precipltate
zeal of advocating favorite political dogma,
was betrayed in the employment of an argu-
ment to show that purity of administration, In
republican government, is utterly impossible.
Though his reasoning was sufficiently compre-
hensve in its application, it did not reach the
integrity Of the Representatives of the People.
Whether that gentleman, however, has not at
times ventured 10 mpeach those at least who
were politically opposed to him, Of direlictlon
of duty, if not of unworthiness of motive, we
will not at present venture to assert. Whether
he did or did not is circumstance OF no
great importance The imputation of corrupt
motive has been made by others--by one far
greater than he is, and one who has found, and
no doubt will find, numerous imitators in the
easy task OF the ascription of motives.
To say, in general terms, that much of the
hardness in the transaction of the public bust
stance of the attention of so many being d.
verted from their appropriate duties to the inn
portant business of President-making, is
crime which cannot be forgiven, and brings
down the bitterest denunciations from the
mouh-pieces of certain partisan leaders. In
stating this cause of well known fact, no new
charge was made-no charge impeachng the
purity of all the members of Congress, or OF
any one of them Whether it be the true cause
or not it is, at all events more respectful to-
wards the House than the contemptuous insln-
uaton concerning the business habits OF the d.
rect Representatives of the People, made by
a great orator not many years since.
That the public business has been greatly ne
elected at the present session, cannot be denied.
The effect must have a cause. We were will
ing to accept the one assigned by MIR. Morris
Others are not so easily satisfied. They are
more shrewd than we are in d,tecting the Sc
cret springs which direct the acts Of public men,
and more reckless in publishing their conjec-
lures When member of Congress, elected
by the People to represent their interests and
wishes, dares to utter sentiment which can
be tortured into declaration even OF partial
independence of party tyranny, he is immedl-
ately charged with bribery. We have heard
that a certain great man in the National coun-
ellis once asserted that an important bill passed
at an early period Of our Government was the
offspring of bribery. From an opponent OF the
provisions of that bill, he has become the warm
est of its advocates. Was his conversion pro-
duced by bribery? We have never thought so.
But his virtue was not, we presume, more I'M
pregnable than that Of the great men of the pre-
a. hn 70 hn
purer and hoier than many of those around
him. His example, however, can be quoted as
a justification Of the course and Language OF his
parasites But what must the People begin to
think of their own Representatives, when the
charge of direct bribery can be so readily made
against them--or what, on the oher hand, must
they think of the glib accusers-if they are
deemed worthy of thought at all.
cit is impossible that the administration Of a
Republican Government can be pure and honest"
is the assumption of an oracuIar expounder OF
the Constitution and the laws, "and members OF
Congress are bribed by a small qud pio quo
into desertion of their principles" Ifthese pro
positions be correct prognostlcs,we are approach
ing RAPIDLY an unfavorable issue of the Repub'
lcan experiment. Does Mr.. Davis believe this
In conclusion we may say for ourselves, that
though we have frequently called the attention
of the people to the fact, that the public bust
ness proceeded at slow rate in Congress, the
cause we did not pretend to assign-motives we
did not pretend to impugn At all events we
feel no inclination to attribute or suspect dis
honesty.