Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1844-08-17

lbeen able TO have extricGted itself. Mr.. Muh.I
|lenberg's course upon this question proved the y
(he possessed those far sighted views without
(which no man can pretend to be great states,
Iman. Although in a minority, not only of
Congress but OF the Pennsylvania delegation, hei
saw the evils which this measure would prof.
|Juce, and had the moral courage (and at the,
|,ime it required great deaD to stand up and
almost singly to oppose the bill. Influenced
|by the same views Gen. Jackson afterwards
vetoed it, and Congress and the nation sustain
led the veto From the conclusion OF MIR. Muh-I
|Ienberg's speech upon this subject, we extract
the following paragraphs;
at would appear then that the passage of
|ihe bill under consideration IS unnecessary.-|
And not only that, il appears to me extremely
at this time. Our first object
should be 10 pay off the national dcbt-then to|
duties on all articles uiich zoe can neither man
|nfacture nor grou, or which no longer requlrc|
protection, that the burthens Of our people may
|be lghtencd, if not entirely taken away. The|
district have the honor to represent must pay
IAN enormous tax on the single article Of salt--a
|tax amounting TO no less than 1000 per an.
mum. Can the agricultural interest-the in-
|terest which should be most cherished in our
|country-hourish under such circum stances 4
III we continue approaching such enormous sums
both the payment of'he pablo debt and the re-
|ducticn of unnecessary duties will be materially
perhaps never accomplished, for this
|road will cost, not two and a half millions as
ESTIMATED IN the BILL but fifteen or twenty mil
Hons before we are done with it.-Are the peo
Tor their tea, their coffee, their sugar, their salt
their spices and other articles which have be-
come nccessaries Of life, that the sums thus Ia
ken trom the sweat oftheir brow may be squan.
dered upon the useless projects Of wild theo
rists hope not Let us be Just before we
lare gencrous.-Let us pay our debiS. Lct us
reduce our duties ,ohere they are not necessa-
|rv TO aid and protect internal industry. This
Maternal industry must be supported at al
hazards for upon 1t ultimately depends the sal.
ration and permanent ,oeiforc Of our country"
In 1881, when the question of the Vice-Pre-
'sidency was agitated, his fellow citizens OF
Berks county formally brough; him forward as
IA candidate for that arduous and elevated sta
ton, but although it was thought at the time
that a Pennsylvania would be selected for
that office, he Immediately Withdrew his name
in the following manly but modest and charac
teristic letter to the editor OF the Reading Chio
nicle
"Sir A resolution proposing me as can
ddate for the Vice Presidency was passed at d
late general meeting of The Democratic Re
pubicans of this county, the proceedings ol
which were published in your last paper
"The high compliment so Unexpectedly ten
dered, and in terms SO infinitely beyond my
merits, adds another obligation to the many
am already under to my ieliow-citizcnS. Item
der them in return my warmest gratitude, anC
ertul OF all incentives to the faithful performance
,of my duty.
II "Gie!dIng TO no one in patriotism and a sin
] cere disposition 10 promote the bes, interests o
our common country, | cannot, however, con
sider these as establishing any peculiar claim
to the Vice Presdency-an office which seem
to have been designed in ordinary cases at leas,
for reward Of long aud eminent public ser
vices. must therefore be permitted respec,
fully to decline being considered as candidate
and cheeriully leave an honorable competition
for that distinguished station to those who ma
have superior claims.
"With no present higher ambition than to b
the representative of the good people of Berks
and deeply sensible of their long experience
kindness, assure them with perfect slncerit
that they cannot be more attached to their re
preventative than he is To them, and that he ca
under no possible circumstances cease being de
voted TO their best interests, when not oppose
10 their general coed. Yours, &c,
HENRY A. MUliLENBERG."
What terrible picture of destruction an
misery is presented in the subjoined paragraph
In this latitude we can hardly realize the ids
that so desolatlng calamity has taken place
but it is so, nevertheless, and means shou