Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1845-07-26
PRESCRIPTION FOR OPINIONS SAKE.
We copy the following Letter from the Union"
Of Thursday night:

we copy The iohoWmg i-ctcI iom Tic = Union
Iof Thursday night:
To THE EpIroR on TIE :" UsIos."
Sin There appeared your paper, short time ago.
communications impung the Mayor motives in the nomi
nation Of Corporation officers which, every citizen Of
Washington with the exception Of yourself and possibly the
writer OF the articles, knew TO be false, were not deemed
thy Of notice As, however, perceive that these commune
cations extensively cited by the Democratic presses
ustyng the removal Of officers by the Government they
have become invested with Importance and power Of
inflcting injury others, which will trust excuse my
coming forward, thus publicly to give them an unqualified
denial
The first Of the communications referred appeared in the
" unon Of the oath ultimo and contained the following
statement
eve have another apt illustration of Federal consistency
hereat home-n the uniform spirit Of federation with which
the Democratic party treated BY the Corporation Of Wash
ngton, with the Editors Of the InteIgencer Mayor
Seaon at their head Commencing with the nayoray, and
going down through all the different Offices under the municipal
laws NOT is held By Democrat For this total exclusion
Of Republicans from public employment fair unfair
cuse be pleaded any man. in TRUTH call il augt
but vile and ruthless prescription"
This was succeeded two days after, by another communi
cation giving list OF the nominations accompanied by
dry comments from which the following extract
Please publish the following the persons
by w w Seaon Esq, Mayor Of this city, Monday last,
on Tor the year next ensuing These to under
stand, comprise all the offices within the g Of the authorities
named among the sixty friend and supporter Of the
and that the post filed by him is only worth
about nifty dollars per annum.'
Now Mr. Editor, after giving currency these confident
assertions, be surprised to learn that the nominations
referred to- instead Of having been selected principle Of
prescription avotism, embrace almost without exception
the same persons that the Mayor found in Office the time Of
his election five ago and nearly all Of whom
nued in appointed Office by Democratic Mayor that
the Mayor has made but four removals during his adminsa
uonwo Of which were for nemperance and two for ncom
potency that the whole four to the best of his know
ledge, Wings that two of the four who succeeded hcm
he has since learned Democrats that he does not
this day. know the politics Of oneha of the persons he found
in office, and has continued in Office to the present time that
he has excluded from Office, appointed
office, of his politics that instead Of there being
alleged but Democrat in Office the Mayor has de-
m0crac authority for stating that considerable number
Corporation officers are Democrats that SO far from holding
the cruel and antrepubcan doctrine Of prescription for opn
ions sake the Mayor dsavows and detess it that far from
regarding the offices placed his disposal being his property
to be given taken away, according his caprice the
indulgence of party favor he looks upon himself simply the
foreman Of the public to that his eow-servans perform
their duties faithfully with the power and the obligation to
remove them fthey do not and that long officer
faithful competent and exemplary in the discharge of his
dutes the Mayor would think of going and thinks he
would have just much right CO. his house and take
the bread from his hearth to take away his office. Whe-
Their this be Democratic doctrine you best tell but has
been the doctrine out Of Office and the practice in Office
of your obedent and very humble servant,
/ WAsHINsToS, july "a, l845.
| Upon this letter the Editor of the Union makes
the following comment:
"If the following extract which find quoted in the
communications of correspondent portion Of the ed
oFial matter Of the National Intcllgencer of the 27h Of
April S4l expressed the sentiments Of Mr. Editor Seaton,
(and the world has right to presume that did we
must be permitted to say that evident very evident
change seems to have the spirit of his drcam
that the party which he supports has longer the pow
hundred postmastes within the space
Of few months
"We yet Of opinion that il is due TO consis-
iency, well to the known wishes Of the popular majority
which brought the present Administration power that
the reform of abuses IN the Government should embrace
as ,ceH things that the required change of
sures should be accompanied cfh such change Of officers
viii produce harmony Of action in the different departments
he Government This, il appears TO us, Is no
mare than oha andordiny prudence require
ery nap an private life, TN tie management Of has a
fairs No man, for example, coming the head ola landed
estate, Of mandatory, OF mercantile house, the
command of ship, moud retain in authority under him
overseer foreman, cashier, mate land also Of e
rtor e'npAoymefs in whom he had no confidence, &c.
eve need scarcely ask whether was not considered
good Wing doctrine the time uttered. The case
however, being somewhat altered may have somewhat altered
the The Mayor best tell The wind certainly
blows from different poinof the compass from what il did
in April, ls4l."
| The paragraph thus quoted, from the National
Intelligencer of April 81, ls4l, contains opinions
which the Editors of this paper entertained at that
time, and which have since undergone no change.
The reform Of abuses in the Government must be
considered to include persons well things !:
that is to say persons who have abused their trusts,
and in whom therefore mo confidence can be
placed, ought TO be removed from office, and other
competent persons put in their places. Does that
imply the right to tyrannize over opinion? Is it
pretended that no man has been removed from office
| by the present Administration who had not abused
his trust Is il not notorious, the contrary that
removals OF most competent and faithful public Off
GERS have been made to a great extent, and under
circumstances of unfeeling cruelty, upon mere sus-
picion Of their opinions being obnoxious, and, even
without that excuse, to make room for ravenous
hunters after the spos
| But the quotation made from the National Intel
ligencer is from article two columns in length,
the whole tenor of which shows that the quotation
could have been made by the correspondent of the
government paper with no purpose but to deceive.
From that article we quote below just enough to
show how shamefuy it has been garbled by the
Unions" correspondent and TO show, also, that
the Editors of this paper entertained and expressed
four years ago, the identical sentiments on this sub
ject which they express now, and upon which they
have themselves, not only in their Office, but in
,var,, stotiop IF life Jointly and savarally ayar