The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1847-08-14
WING.
BEAUTIFUL EXTRACT

syirania, Jnly 4th, 1915,
BY JAMES BUCHANAN,
nor Secretary of State Of the Uaited
States.
.Time will not allow me to enumerate
all the other wild and wicked projects Of
the Democratic Administration. Suffice It
to saw, that after they had deprived us OF
=. the means of defence, by destroying our
navy and disbanding our army; after they
had taken away from US the power OF re-
creating them, by running commerce, the
GREAT source of national and individual
wealth: after they had, by refusing the
Bank of the United States a continuation Of
their charter, embarrassed the financial
concerns of the Government, aud with
drawn the only universal paper medium OF
the country from circulation; after the peo-
pie had become unaccustomed TO, and, of
course, unwilling to bear taxation, and
without money in the Treasury, they RASH
ly plunged us into war with nation more
able to do US injury than any other in the
world. What was the dreadful necessity
for this desperate measures Was our
country invaded? No. Was it to protect
our little remaining commerce from the
injuries it sustained by the orders in Coun-
Gil 7 No. Commerce was not such a
favorte, and the merchants wished for no
war on that account. Besides, if the exis-
fence of the orders in council had been its
true cause, after their repeal our country
would have accepted the olive branch which
was offered by England. What then was
the cause, The one for which we pro-
fessed to draw the sword, and risk our all,
was TO determine an abstract question Of the
law Of nations, concerning which, an opin-
ion different from that Of our administration
was held by all Europe, to decide whether
man can expatriate himself or not In
the decision of this question our admins
traton pretended to feel deep interest.
The greater part Of those foreigners who
would be affected by it, had long been their
warmest friends. They had been one of
the great means of elevating the present
ruling party, and it would have been I'M
grateful for that party to have abandoned
them. ...,
"Super6cial observers may suppose this
to have been the real source Of the war
but whoever will carefully and impartiaIly
examine the history Of our country, will
find its true origin to have been far differ
emit It took its rise from the overweaning
partially which the Democratic party have
uniformly shown for France, and the con-
sequent hatred which they felt against her
great adversary, England To keep this
foreign feeling alive, has been the labor Of
their leaders for more than twenty years !;
and well have they been repaid for their
trouble, for it has been one Of the principal
causes of introducing and continuing them
in power. Immediately before the war,
this foreign influence had completely en-
bodied itself with every political feeling of
majority Of the people, particularly in the
West Its voice was heard so loud at the
seat Of government, that the President was
obliged either TO yield to its dictates, or re-
tire from office. The choice in this alter
native was easily made by man, who pre-
ferred his private interest 10 the public
good. We were therefore hurried into the
war utterly unprepared.
"What has been its result? Exactly
what every reasonable man expected at its
commencement. We declared our inten-
ton of conquerng Canada; whether for
the purpose Of annexing it to the United
States, or of compelling our enemy to yield
the doctrine Of mpressment, is immaterial
10 the present question. Instead of con-
ouering it, we have ourselves been invaded
in every quarter, and the best blood of the
country has streamed in defence of our own
soil. The very capitol Of the United States,
the lofty temple Of liberty, which was rear
ed and consecra,ed by Washington, has been
abandoned TO its fate by his DEGENER-
ATE successor, who ought to have shed
his last drop Of blood in its defence.
t!After the Administration had entered
upon the war, instead Of coming forward
with manly confidence, and taxing the peo-
pie for its support, they basely shrunk from
their duty, in order to maintain their pop
nlarity, and adopted the ruinous system of
carrying on the contest by borrowing
money. What were the effects of this
policy? Does not every man in the coun-
try know, was it even disguised by the
Administration, that the United States
would, in short time, have become bank
rupt, had not peace been concluded :
Thanks then 10 heaven, that we have OBJ
tanned a peace, BAD AND DISGRACE
Full AS 1T is; otherwise, the beautiful
structure of the Federal Government, sup.
ported by the same feeble hands, mig ht
have sunk, like the capitol, into ruins.
d
" Instead Of exempting seamen sailing
under our flag from impressment by the
war, we have altogether relinquished that
principle; because it is we'll established
truth in the law Of nations, that if war
be waged by one country against another
for specified claim, and the treaty which
terminates the contest, is silent upon that
subject, it is forever abandoned. Thus
the Government have at last yielded the
very point for the maintenance. of which
they protested TO go to war, after having
expended nearly S2oo,0o0,o0O.
"We have not only not obtained by the
war any thing which we were taught to
h,,t ha,