Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-04-11

abuses have not been remedied before this
time. The democracy have witnessed them
with painful anxiety for years, and have made
various attempts to remedy them; and every
attempt has been baff1ed and defeated by the
opposite party. Are we to be told that W
have had the ascendency in the government,
and we should have reformed the abuses which
have here exposed Sir, it is but seldom
that the government is in the hands of the de-
mocEacy. The House may be democratic and
the Senate federal. The Senate may be DEM
ocratic and the House federal. And when
both branches have been democratic, there
have always been unfortunately, sufficient
number Of tender-footed, cork-legged demo-
Gratis, who, when added to the federalists, have
been able.to vote down every attempt at re-
trenchment and reform. have many books,
as you perceive, on my desk-they are the
journals of this House and of the Senate, and
contain many efforts of the democracy to re-
form abuses and in every attempt they show
the almost entire federal vote against reforma.
ton and retrenchment. | assert the fact. Is
there any wing on this floor who 6ares deny
il? Now is the time to deny it. Deny it if
you dare. speak by authority, Speak by
the books. Here are your names; contradict
me if you dare?
IF time would permit, coud show, from
these books, that various corrupt and profit
gate claims, eXtravagant appropriations. and
worthless expenditures, have all been presen-
ted, advanced, and sustained by wings and
whig votes. If it were possible to raise the
curtain of distance that wells such Inquitles
| from the peoples observation, their rebuke
would he certain and etfectual. There is no
man who could be so recreant 10 his own In
terest. to the interest of those who look to
- e. cotIn To in hon and vel
of his country, as. for d moment, to sustain
the man or the party of men, whose Votes are
to be found in these books. in favor of the pro-
fligacy and corruption of which l have been
speaking. There is no remedy, nor will there
be remedy, for these evils, until the people
be made sensible OF them. Thes remedy is
With the people. | feel as if wish had the
power Of uh!quIty, that | could read these
journals TO every American voter; or that had
the voice of thunder; would speak in peals
that would pierce every ear, and admohlsh
;, them of the frauds that are practsed upon
them by their own representatives. ! know
that what ain now saying Of the abusive
practices here. and in reference to the profit
eacy of the army, will be denied by every
wing stump orator far and wide, when neither
nor these books will be present; but why
not contradict nre now ? Its because man
are here; every whig tongue is silent as the
: grave. l will expect that the people who
read me, when / am assaled, and when all l
;, now say is denied, will demand the reason
i why am not now contradlcted; why the men
= who are thus charged do not now clear their
u skirts of these charges. My answer is, they
. dare not do it.
r But, sir, have other abuses to speak Of
abuses of d more alarming character than those
y | have been speaking Of They are abus es
y which involve matters Of dollars and Cents.-
:, Those which | I'm going to speak of involve
the most sacred principles Of our government
:; abuses which should make every lover OF
\ our free institutions shudder. My attention
&C has been called to those abuses by the order
;s taken on the subject by the Senate, which
~ have, by resolution, appointed a committee t
9 investigate the frauds practised in the recen
~ presidential election. Will thatinvestigatloI
~ be thorough and impartial? / fear not. |
y will be a one-sided investigation. The Sen
~ ate have appointed committee OF wings iron
-, their own body; that committee has apponte
-, wing commissioners in several of the princi
~ cipal cities. The result will be, that all tn
~ democratic frauds, if there be any, will be ex
>" posed, multiplied, and magnifed; while tn
- whig frauds will he designedly concealed.
IL, is my intention to introduce a resolution i
af this House to appoint committe, itb powe
~ to establish commissions in the principal G.
~ ties, to investigate election frauds. Ihf
~ committee, and those commissions, will e.
~ pect to be democratic. We will then hav
~ the frauds on both sides exposed. If there h
~; III frauds, hope they will be exposed; and
~ hope their perpetrators will receive the col
~, domination and the public infamy that justlc
~ and the purity of the elective franchise d.
nj mand.
of Sir, it is not merely spurious vote TIL
le- contaminates the elective franchise and Pc
Of lutes the ballot-box. Any undue or fraudulel
ire and corrupt means that may be used to poisc
nd the mind of the elector, is equally an abuse
ed the elective franchise, and equally deserve
re- punishment, and the execratlon of every GOO
We man and every sound patriot.
rs, Indulge me, while l expose few of II
aX- corrupt and ubiquitous means which have ev
es, marked the political course Of the federal pa
the ty, not only to secure their elections, but
SUI secure their favorite measures. 1t is fund
nd mental principle of federalism that the wa
Pc Of intelligence of the common people maxi
d them unfit for self-government and they, b
leir ing of the uncommon class, should OF right
erl- the governors. Hence it is; that all the
ON means to secure their elections and their fav
all rite measures, are directed to the supposed
ms. norance and stupidity of the people. The
not usual means are bribery, forgery, caTlcatur
'ty. falseheod, and SANDER. l will trace up son
of those means from an early period of o
,Ai- government. by which the federal party mi
,ow be known under whatever name they m;
end have assumed, or may hereafter assume,
an political deception; for SO long as they shf
ioh be known by their true name, and their pr
10 ciples are known to correspond with the
in nine, the democracy will and must trump
om Every general election which has been CART
;hy in favor Of the federal party, has been carr:
hat by combination OF the coTruptlons ana u
,int quites which have named. | begin WI