Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1845-11-28
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FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER, 81, ls45

"Mr Phetps' appeal to the F9ople of Yer. G
mont, in viaaien.;"" or sr.ssy- against !
the charges brought against him upon the I
occasion Of his reelection to the Senate
Of the United States, in relation to his
course as a Senator. Middebuy: pub.
ished by the Author. Nov. 1s45."
Tho above is the title of a pamphlet of {
forty three pages, which has appeared with {
in few days, and we have read its contents
with regret and disappointment.
1t is always matter for regret that great
opportunities for good are deliberately
thrown away, and noble powers Frustrated
at the base shrine of sensual indulgence, but
even these natural regrets are frequently
softened by occasional gimpses of light
through the darkness; by consoling indica-
lions that the subject of them is not quite
lost to the duties imposed by the mighty
trust committed to hIm-not quite callous to
the claims of honor and of'se4erespect.-
How much deeper must be the sorrow Of the
right.thinking, when powerful intellect,
forgetiul of the dignity inscparable from
greatness, goaded by remorse a. the memory
Of powers msapplied, and stung by the Sc
verify of censure winch is ever harmless
except when it is just, deliberately betakcs
itself 10 the business of low vituperalion
and, in assailng with the language of the
ale house, those who refuse to witness its
degradation in silence, sadly demonstrates
the inability of even great talents 10 make
malice respectable This is spectacle
that is p,iablc indeed, and we would to God
it were possible TO shu, our own eyes to the
conviction brought home by this pamphlet,
that it is to be found in the highest sea, which
this State can bestow upon citizen.
If il, had been the manifesto Of a disap-
pointed candidate for highway surveyor, we
should have read without wondering, or ra-
ther, we should not have read at all, after we
had arrived at the "card of gingerbread !"
But no. ii is the deliberate, digested, we'll.
weighed venom Of successful candidate for
the Senate Of the United States ! 1t must
t 60 abroad-for this We suppose there is no
, help. And what will people elsewhere
3 think of Vernon. when they read III Its
hand.bi looking title page, Its coarse paper
o and coarser language. are to 60 out as 9
: specimen of our refinement
), We shall not of course undertake TO thrus
ourselves between this gratuitous missile and
n those it was aimed at, for we are inclined tt
}. think they are capable of defending the m
~ ~ selvcs-but we feel authorized to make on
e own comments on tho production.
j. The gravamen of the charge brought
e. against the Legislature is, that when Samue
IS S. Phelps with the mighty sound Of trum-
~ pets, and the gathering of the feet Of many
10 runners appeared at'the Legislative hall. an
n demanded a reelection to the Senate, tn
~ men Of whom such election was demanded
lie out of consideration for him, appointed
Committee to investigate charges brougt
a against him by almost every body exceT
&c those charged with the business Of procurin
II. his re selection. The committee set abo'
d. their work as we'll as they could, and g.
y, such evidence as was within reach. II tn;
nd evidence was not plenary enough, il was NJ
't. ,orious to every unprejudiced man at Mon
&c pelier that it was because, notwithstandin
On the foolhardy lasting Of this pamphlet, ii
er witnesses forbore to indulge in plain speal
he ing from obvious motives. AID when "
cd read the lofty Wanting, and observe the a
IRE fected air Of injured innocence which pei
- vades this unique publication, we find it dif
m, cult to bring ourselves to believe that its al
i've thor is the very man who in the last agoni
md Of rage and despair, condescendod to 60 b.
ii fore the very body which had cruelty he
be him dangling in mid air for two or three day
and there, in the presence offriends and foe
e es. abjectly appeal to the pity of his audienc
ion and ra,heticslly talk about ",he clods of Il
sfy valley covering his ashes =" And aft
' hu wringng reluctant election by such mean
at from men who were inclined too much
i've pity, we are RECALLED by ferocious onslaug
aa e upon men who told half the truth becau
our they could not decen,ly avoid it, and wit
me held the worst bali from motives more cree
ube table to their hearts than to their heads.
or This pamphlet must Of course bring {
,a,e the whole history Of the Senatorial elect
Ea. Of 1874, and we are very certain that it v
not exhibit the author in any lieh, more fl
on. ons terng to his pride than he occupied befo
'sed The Infamous and unprovoked alusion
i'm. the private affairs fone of the gentlemen
s"s saulted, will not probably be held as dim
,ses ishng the force of the old saw about Tho
'ose who live in glass houses, and the infalua,i
s mu exhibited in,the publication Of tina, gen,
,wn mans very proper and considerable letter,
but additional proof that when great M