Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1844-01-18

dom and virtue as well as the essential sources Of
national prosperity and happiness, which, we
have every reason 10 believe, would inevitably
follow the restoration Of Mr. Van Buren. We
shall, doubtless, have paraded before our eyes, in
oreotypcd horrors the old and thread-b;re appa-
ri,ion OF the IUig, tie Bank and Distributions
On the subject OF the Tariff, do not hesitate 10
say, that MIR. Clay's creed developed IN his recent
letters, is In every respect, just, sound and
unexceptOnabe, that Of MIR. Van Buren,, ana
his practice infinitely better. Mr.. Clay did NOT
vote Tor. approve the Tariff Of 1928, consigned
to AN odious celebrity, under the name Of the Bin
OF denominations, which MIR. Van Buren, and his
friends carried by their votes. 1t is rather UNI
fortunate coincidence, considering the professions
OF Mr.. Van Buren,. that all the Tariffs which have
been most complained Of in the South, owe their
existence upon the Statute Book TO the votes Of
himself or his friends 1t is no want of charity,
men, but the result Of the most candid and DELHI
craze consideration, when l express The decided
opinion, That MIR. Clay is far more TO be relied up
on ior practical adjustment Of this delicate and
anu conpIeN SUBJECT, on terms just and satisf;cto-
ny to all sections OF the Union, (harmonisng their
various interests by the golden rule of modera.
hon, which is the only pledge of pern,anence and
STABILITY IN any arrangement that may be ntade,A
than Mr. Van Buren,. The wise and temperate
spirit so strikingly exhibited in his letters which
nave been recently given TO the public, sustained
by his weil7known influence with his friends, and
his own high and unquesoned character for
iranh'iesS and decision, is guarantee which no
portion OF the nation will lightly regard.
WIN respect to the Bank, if the country shall
be reduced to a choice between the odious and
grinding Sub-Treasury Scheme, and National
Institution Of Finance, properly guarded against
abuse by the jealous restrictions of lis charter, as
well as by veart public supervision and con.
troll, do not believe that the sober judgment Of
The people, under ,hopressurc Of such an aterna-
uve' would and any cause of quarrel against those
who' Tree from constitutional difficulties on the
SnJec, should go for the latter, in preference 10
The former. And TO the Distribution of the
proceeds oil the Public Lands, that stands necesa
sariiy and evidently adjourned, as practical Ques.
u,n' III The revenue OF the nation, compared
WIN lis expenditures and engagements, shall be
| In very different situation from that in which
they now are, or are likely to be for years TO
come. My own individual opinions these
subjects, have been so often and fully stated that
need not repeat them here. What mean to say,
al present, Is that these issues either hypothet.
zeal and speculative, neutralized by equal and
opposing considerations the other side, and
siioniu not divert the mind, for moment, from
thosc higher and more urgent and vital questions,
which are the true tests of sound and correct de-
cision In the pendicg Presidential Election
Those tests have already averled to. They are
such as are Inseparably connected with the purity,
character and preservation of the Government il,
sell, and in my humble Judgment are overwhel-
ningiy conclusive against the professions of Mr..
Van Buren,.
As lille shall we permit ourselves, trust to be
'HiSh'ed from cur pIoprlety" by the old and hol.
low eXpedient of d senseless and arbitrary use Of
! party names. Those who are so prone to ring
ne Changes on the nomenclature of Federalisl and
Republican would do well 10 remember that they
nave men, reading and enquiring TO deal
WIN, and not children. Try Mr.. Van Buren, and
Nir. Clay by any test derived from the authentic
history OF political parties in this country, or by
,he standard OF those great principles winch exist
IN the essential elements of our popular inslitu.
IONS and Mr.. Clay stands before the world the
lar better Republican Of the two.
In that great array and struggle of the two par.
ties oil HE country, (among the most memorable
IN our history.) which of the controver.
~ and war with England in 1912. where vas Mr..
Clay and where was Mr.. Van Burenl Mr. Claw
gaiianty leading the Republican hosts in the
house oil Representatives, and sustaining the adj
minlstratlon OF Mr.. Madison, with all the ener.
g!es oil his patriotism and eloquence-Mr. Van
Buren uniting with the Federalists to depose that
iilustrlous man from power, and to supplant his
I administration Try them again by that standard
which MIR. Van Buren, himself, in a most elabo.
rate speech delivered in the Senate of the IT, S..
In 1898, declared to be the true and Legitimate
distinction between the Federal and Republican
parllcs-te one seeking to ec'cnd the other to re-
STRAIN Ezec.ficc power. The public have not for
gotten tie various schemes SO sedulouIy devised
or countenanced by Mr.. Van Buren, during the
whole period of his administration, and fully ex.
posed al The time, TO augment Executive patron
age, discretion and power; and nothing, SURELY
has more ennently distinguished the career of
MI Clay than his constant and perseVering efforts
10 restrain, and TO provide dikes and securi-
Ties against the enlargement abusive exercise of
! lhe powers OF that department of the Government
Judging them, then by Mr.. Van Buren's own def.
milton u political parties, correctly laid down
by him in 1925 but totally lost sight Of in his
subsequent practice, let The sober and impartial
judgment of the country decide which is the Fed.
eraiist and which the Republicans
1t is Impossible for any rejecting man 10 con-
template The actual and prospective condition of the
country without seeing in il already the germ of
new difficulties and troubles, which NAV, in their
approaching development, agitate our glorious
Union to Its centre. The Oregon and Texas
questions in our foreign relations-at home, de-
hcient revenue, with all lis ordinary sources
pressed up to their farthest productive limit and
some of them, there is reason to apprehend be-
yond--the Tariff controversy re.opened with all
the conflicting interests and passion which never
ialI 10 be awakened by 1t; and added to these tho
rekIndled Tires OF the Abolition cxcement-each
and all OF them are questions which carry in their
bosom the fearful elements of civil dscord and
intestine strife. The worst and most DANGEROUS
aspect they present, is that all Of them bring into
immediate and opposing array, if not into angry
ana hostile collision, the sectional interests and
FEELINGS OF the different geographical divisions of
the coniederdcy Whose, at such moment iy
the master-sPirt that may have power TO still tha
rising tempest, before it sweeps with destructive
Jury over the face of our yet happy Union; or
should this prove hopeless and impossible. whose
the commanding genius "to ride in the whirlwind
and direct the storm 3" To preside over the des-
iInies OF great Republic in crisis of such COM
pIIcaied difficulty and peril, calls for something
more than the acts of the mere party pollution.
IL demands the highest moral and intellectual
qualities oil the statesman-courage, self-posses-
elevation pG ri, cfor ,Iol. r