The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1844-08-09
MR.. CLAY's SOUTHERN TARIFF VIEWS.
GARBLED AND FALSEFlED BY THE
NORTHERN WHIGS. IL


MR.. CLAY's SOUTHERN TARIFF VIEWS
GARBLED AND FALSEFlED BY THE
NORTHERN WHIGS.
The wings ofthe North are playing bold game
of imposition and fraud in regard to Mr.. Clay's
views of the present Tariff. They dare not per
nit him to speak out in his own language, on thi:
subject, but they put acords into his mouth 'ohich
he necer uttered make him say what they want
him to say, but what he never has said, and can
not say toithOut gross and papabie Inconsistency.
For instance at the masthead of the leading whig
papers in this sate will be found the following Ian
guage, displayed with typographical emphasis, and
attributed to Mr. Clay. We copy it from the
standing dish of the Albany Evening Journal:
ssI had resigned my seat in the Senate when the
act of 1912 passed. Without intending to express
any opinion upon every item of the Tariff, !
| WOULD say IlHfTI THINK THE PRO
| VISIO.N,S Nv THE MIN WISE AND
PROPER" Sept. 1871, 1913. Letter toa Com
mittee of Georgia Wigs
We happen to have before us the entire letter
from which the above purports to be an extract,
and we do not hesitate to pronounce it A DEcEP-
T1oN, as bold and impudent as any that ever char
aCteflSeu lts SOuTCe hat VIC dIe dW"e, 10 saying
a great deal-but we shall prove it to be such to
the satisfaction of any and every body, be he whig
or democrat.
In the first place the letter from which the ex-
tract purports to be taken, was not written "to a
committee of Georgia whigs'--a mistake trivial
in itself, and important only as exhibiting delib-
crate attempt TO deceive and to elude detection, Jy
concealing the pretended source of the passage.--
1t was written to Mr. Bronson, of La Grange,
in Georgia, who, it seems, being about to establish
whig paper there, wrote to Mr.. Clay "on his
own hook" because, he says, "I desire to know
precisely in what manner I am to meet the demo-
cracy in their numerous modes of attack But
the design 10 deceive is apparent enough from the
peculiar manner in which Mr.. Clay's language is
gbled, in order to make him say that he is in fa-
your of "the Tariff, as IL is" Mr.. Clay says no
such thing--as will be seen by the following geau-
inc extract from Mr.. Clay's letter to Mr.. Bronson
written in September last. On the contrary, he
comedies that there MAY BE "EXCESSES or
defect it," which sought to be corrected" Mr.
Clay's letter to Mr.. Bronson reads thus -
"After my return to Congress in 1881, my efforts
were directed to the modification and reduction of
the rates Of duty contained in the act 1928. The
act of 1882 greatly reduced and modified them;
and the act Of 1888, commonly called the Com
promise Act still further reduced and modified
them. The act which passed at the Extra Session
of lS4l, which supported, was confined to the
free articles Undersigned my seat in the Senate
when the acl of 1912 passed. Generally, the dts-
ties Uhich IL imposes are iotoer than those IN the
act of 1882. find, without intending to express
any opinion upon every item of this last Tariff,
would say that l think the provisions in the main
are wise and proper Tthere be any ercesses IN
or defects IN IL, (cf tchich hare not the means
here efjudgmg, } they ought TO be corrected"
The reader will see by the italicised portions of
the above extracts what has been clipped out, after
the operator began to quote-and how skilfulythe
dissecting hand has been at work with it. To make
the passage convey the very opposite meaning
from that which the writer intended, an entire sen
fence is erpuaged from the body Of the pretended
quota aion--and the word connecting it with the
next erased, TO conceal the trick-and all that Mr.