Arkansas intelligencer., 1844-10-26
MEDICATION
REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTER AND SERVICES
of the late -.r
COL. EZEKIEL POLK,
OF MECKLENBURG, N. C.
f"0l'shed and prepared by order of The Tennes-
essee Stale Central Committee.
OF MEcKLENBURG, N. C.

mall commu mites. and in all ages of the world
there has existed a class of men who, suffering
undera CALLING sense Of conscious inferiority, and
desPairng Of improving their own condition by
course of manly and vriuous conduct, prostitute
themselves to the ignobIe purpose of detrac,ine
from the merits AM defamIng the character of The
virtuous, the patriotic and the good. Ilqs any
one attained niche in the temple of fame to which
the base and vicious dare not aspre-he becomes
at once an object of their caumny and detraclion.
Time and truth and justice rarely fail to expose
the motives. and .counteract the effects of such
assaults. Tested by fire or the crucible, meta Is
become more pure and brilliant-and coin is often
not known to be genuine, until subjected to this
ordeaL 1t is so with the character Of men. In
our country, one especially in seasons of political
excitement, iIliberal opponents traduce and vilify,
whilst honorable and candid man of all parties
will scrutinze the facts and ultimately award
just verdict. = ~ ....
The false and calumninous charges which have
recently been. made against the revolutionary
charc.er and services of Col. Ezekiel Polk, are
intended not so much to defame the memory of
the patriotic dead, to effect the popularity and
we'll earned fame of his grand son. James K. Polk,
who has been presented by the Democratic party
to the people Of the U. States as their candidate
for the Presidency. How ignobIesthe purpose
and how dcspcable the means resorted TOTO affect
It. The charge is not only unsustained by proof,
but fortunately the evidence is still in existence to
show that It is calumnious and wickedly false.
1t has been the fortune of James X. Poll, the
Democratic candidate for the Presidency. to have
po ssed repeatedly through the fiery ordeal of the
closest scrutiny while canvassing for public sta
ton before the people. He has lnd on every
occasion competitors and political opponents who
have 18th eagle eyes examined every act of his
Ii u, lie ,on
citizen, neighbor, son, husband, brother, friend
his official acts as Representative in the State
Legislature, and in the Congress of the United
States for fourteen successive years, and as Speak
er of the House of Representatives, and as Go.
vernon Of Tennessee, have all been the subject Of
public examinations; and even his political oppo-
nents admit that he has passed through the scutny
with character, private and public, pure and
unspotted. Not a stain rests uponhis escutcheon.
Not blot sullies the purity of his fair fame. In
the private relations of life he is known to be as
amiabe and worthy, as in his pu bc and official
acts he is admitted to be consistent and rreproac
able. In the private circles of society he shares
largely, not only in the respect, but in the esteem
of those politically opposed to him.
1t is certainly matter of congratulation and
Of pride to the friends Of James K Polk, that in
the midst of the rancour of political luminosity,
and the assaults Of partizan warfare, the more
reckless of his political opponents, having sought
in vain for any part ofhis own conduct life which
they can successfully assail, have been driven to
the disgruceful necessity of invading the sanctity
-. 9 ;. '-s..aof digging up the mouldering bones
OF one OF his ancestors, VINO has slept with his
fathers for near quarter ofa century--and by
assailing ms character, and making false repre-
sentatiors OF hss conduct in the glorious war of
the Reyolui'on, seek to make political capital
against his grandson This infamous attempt has
met with few aPologists in the whg party in Ten.
nessee, where James K. Polk is best known. To
their hopor and credit be ii spoken, that most Of
them have refused to stoop to such means. and
repudiate i as unworthy Of their cause. Their
leading presses have refused 70 lend shemselyss "a