Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1844-02-29
p % u 7 II 7 q a u o
ADDRESS OF THE
w II a 60 vENTroN
TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA.

belief that ii involves our common. onr
country's interest, more deeply than at any
former period Of our history, we address YOU
on me subject OF the approaching Presden-
tial Election.
Kermit us, tellow-ciliZens, i'm the outset 10
exhort you not 10 be msled by mere party
names, or to credit, upon bold assertion only.
lanciui and Fictitious party genealogies-
The advocates of Marlin Van Buren, will as
sumo TO themselves, exclusively, the name OF
REPUBLICAN, whilst they will endeavor 10
cas-, odium upon the Wings by attaching 10
us the name Of FEDERALrsT' We ENTERTAIN
no such distrust of your intelligence or pa
triotism, as to fear that you will decide n
great practical question. that of confiling the
dearest interests of yourselves and your chill
dren, TO any party, upon the name which thew
may assume, or that which they NAV at,emnt
10 impose upon their adversaries: but trust
rather to your good sense to weigh well the
principles and the policy, but more especially
the past public conduct of each of the two
great parties of the country-and 10 Your pa-
trlotism to sustain that whose ascendancy
you shall honestly believe the best calculated
to promote the public good.
| The Wing Address Of the last wear dis
closed fully and explicitly to the country. the
views of the Wing Party on every leading
measure of public policy, and the reasons on
which they were founded. Sustained by dis.
passionate reasoning, and fortified by all ex
perience, the opinions advanced i'm that paper
seem to have proved alike impregnable to our
adversarles, and acceptable to the Wings. and
are oelievcd not only TO have tended greatly
to strengthen and consolidate the Wing Party.
out TO have made strong impression on every
candid inquirer after truth. Re-afirming the
doctrines and principles of that address. and
the general reasonings by which they are sup
ported,as the doctrines and principles of the
wing party, we here refer and appeal to it,
against all misconception and all misrepresen-
tation.
We shall confne ourselves, now, mainly TO
such observations connected with the topics
there discussed, as are suggested by the oc-
currences of the past wear.
| Charged with exlravagant expenditures oC
the public money, we point, for answer. 70
the decisive fact disclosed by the annual re-
ports of the Treasury department. that the
public expenditures have greatly and con-
stan,ly diminished since the Wings obtained
the ascendancy in Congressman that avera-
glng as they did, through Mr. Van Buren,s
term. upwards of THIRTY FIVE MILLIONS
ot DOLLARS per annum, they have been
reduced since that period to an average OF
LESS THAN TWENTY ONE MILLIONS
oF. DOLLARS per annum-an average sA
WING, IN the annual expenses of the Govern
ment, Of more than FOURTEEN MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS!
Besides this, the principal fruit of the VIC
tory OF 1S4O is the Tariff of '42. Fooled in
| our just expectations of having our Currency
placed on It's former footing-batlled of our
nope ITO use the apt words of Gen Jackson)
oil "Jnst, safe and federal'' Distribution Of
the proceeds of the Public Lanc!s-disap-
pointed of that Moral and Political Reform in
lhe principles of administering Executive DOW
or ana dispensing Executive patronage. to eff
lect which chiefly Rindled our zeal and Sill
mulated our exertions in that memorable s,ruo
gle:-the Tariff, alone, of all the great mea-
sures Tor which we achieved that victory. has
been vouchsaied TO our wishes. Assailed
with all the characteristic violence of dis
committed party, encountering strong oppos-
tion also from many able men who sincerely
believed It's effects would be pernicious. il was
nshered INTO existence under thick clouds of
evil augury, and amid a storm of cIamors
Its effect. 1t was said, would be TO reduce orr
already insufficient revenues; to False the
prices OF what we imported, a, least to tho
amount oil the increased duty to crush the
already PROSTATE South, and still further TO
cripple and impoverish the whole coun,rv-
strong as was the confidence of its friends.
not only that these results would not ensue.
out That the reverse of such anticipations
would be realized, yet was the measure sub-
Initted TO the test of experience with nuch So
llcltude,-a sollcItude excited not onlv bv The
magnitude OF the direct effects of the measure
ltseli, but also Of other important incidental
consequences involved, in all likelihood. in
It's failure, or success. That experience we
have now enjoyed the speculative has given
place 10 The practical-the cobwets of soph,s-
Try nave been swept away by the actual re-
suits OF experience, and we point with tri-
umPh and eXultation we shall neither attempt
10 suppress, nor disguise, 10 results so deci-
sive, that they should set controversy - rest
so clear, that they should satisfy every doubt
and SO iull OF blessings TO the country, thai
they should disarm all opposition. Instead
Of yielding only some IL or 13 millions OF
Revenue, us predicted by its opponents. moi
less than eighteen millions have been poured
by 1t, during the past year, into the public
lreasury-an amount, 1t deserves to be re-
membered, according very nearly with the es-
Inmates OF It's friends, aud afording, if not a
convincing proof, at least strong corrobora-
ton, both OF the accuracy Of their data. and
the soundness of their induclions. We have
the authority of the eminent Chairman Of .be
Senate Committee of Finance, for stating, that
instead of the predicted rise in price of every
article included in the Tariff, to the extent OF
the increased duty, it is believed there exists
not even single instance Of any such result
having taken place; but, on the contrary. al
most every such article is now procurable in