The Cecil Whig., 1844-07-13

crcasing, in consequence of the Presidents de-
4 nurIciation Of tie existing tariff, might be tenn
Pdrarfy arrested by thG acton OF few Senators;
but those Senators saw that unless some COM
promise could be effected, Whth t%eS retained
their slender and very precarous majority in the
| Senate, the ultimate triumph of the destructive
system and chat too, at no distant day, was iii;
evtable.
|
4 Any attempt to Withstand and idpel the food
then rushing upon us, would have been frutless
| 1t was clear that We should be carried away by
the torrent. We preferred to divide, to divert,
to retard il. And then, and now think, that
the mighty fort Of MIR. Clay, on that sion,
to save his iavoritc measure lorh the danger that
| threatened it from every quarter, was the most
triumphant act Of his life.
After most exciting debate on the merits of
| the bill, great part Of which was never pub
lishcd in consequence of The feeling into Which
friends had beer betrayed, who had always be-
fore shat acted together this subject, the ques
ton was taken on the engrossm"nt oflhe bill, on
the night ofSaturday, the I'D Of February, 1883
and it was ordered to third reading in the Sen
ate by an overwhc Inning majority. Al this stage,
VIC arrested further proceedings in the Senate,
in consequence of the constitutional difficulty of
originating revennc bill in that body But we
had secured one object, by thus indicating to tho
| House the measure to which we were disposed
TO acccde. On Monday, being the 25th of Feb
rhary, a successful motion was made in the
House 10 strike ort The whole Of Mr.. Verplanck's
bill, and substitute the Compromise in hen oft.
| The bill thus amended was ordered to be en-
crossed for third reading on the same day, and
| shortly after, became the law of the land.
II is too late now, after the experience
the nation has had of General Jackson's
influence while President, to pretend that
it was not in his power in 1893 to have
crushed the protective policy. His party
was in the zenith Of its power. 1t had
abandoned every principle formerly pro-
tile. 1t had sacrificed every institution
and every measure which it had formerly
advocated as soon as he declared war
against it, II is too late to say that he
had some friends among the tariff men
who could have influenced his own course.
lie HAD friends among the bank men, he
had friends among the internal improve
menl men, and it was mainly by their aid
that he was made a prominent candidate
in 1922, and actually elected in 1923.
Had the friends of the bank, the internal
Improvement system. and the tariff, fore
seen his policy in 1924, he could not
possibly have oblaiEed votes enough III
the United States to have carried him into
the House OF Representatives as d cand-
date for election. His intentions On all
| these ublects were studiously concealed
pending his election, and when they were
finally disclosed they exhibited that gen
eralship III politics for which he was de-
servediy distinguished. lie killed off the
Institutions Of the country in detail, al
ways selecting Tie weakest first. destroy
ing that with the aid Of the friends Of the
others before he venturcd to announce
any hostility to the latter; and never al
tacking the strongest until the friends OF
weaker measures, which had been vicll-
mizcd, became powerless. His first at
tack was On the internal improvement
system, and although it was quite a ia
vorite with most of his Western and
n Northern supporters on the day his vet"
on the Maysvillc road bill was sent t"
Congress, We, three weeks after yards it
had scarcely a friend in his party. The
ltllle remnant who dared to demonstrate
against the veto wcre immediately pro-
scrihch and turned out of his political
church. "UcalcSon prorimhs ardet."
The banks turn come next. His deter
mined hostility to that was disclosed i'm
mediately after he found himself success
lul in the destruction Of the Improvement
system; and not before. 'Erhe General
(said his friend Felix Grundy one day to
me) is sportsman who must always
have a cock in the pit" He had tried his
apprentice hand on the internal improve
ments, and although, while he was mem
Der Of the Senate OF the United States, he
had, by all his votes, carried that SYSTEM
10 the most extravagant extent, and won
golden opinions BY the latitude ofhs con-
slitulional construction among his dupes
in tie West, yet he crushed the whole Of
it so eflectuaIly at d single Blow after he
became President that its friends los all
influence with his gigantic party. En-,
boldened by this success, by the ecat
which the enemies of internal improve
menls bestowed Upon him from all quar-
'ers; he sought new laurels of the same
kind in new field; and although at n1
period Before his election had he even
venlured TO whisper his hostility TO tht
bank, although during the Whole period
of his service in the Senate of the United
States, when, if he had harbored any hos
liliIy TO the bank on the ground Of its uni
constitulonality or dangerous tendency
10 our Liberties, his oath of fidelity. as a
Senator ougti: to have compelled him To
disclose 1t, lie never breathed word
against it. yet as soon as he had got rid
Of the internal improvements, he declared
war against the bank, and elltctualIy
crushed that too.
True il is that The PENNSYLVANIA LcgisS