The national whig., 1847-06-12

ana ears Oh -lhrir opponthis!
\ lJ-The Raleigh Register says that Mr.. Polk
was astonished that not a man Of the ten lhou-
sand who shock hands with him in the old
North State approached him on The subject of
Office. No wonder North Carolina is a pure,
genuine U,hig State.
MIR. BE.NTO.N''S PLAN or THE U.aR.
One war had been avoided, without loss ofrights
or honor; another had fallen upon us; and now, the
question which met him nj every step was, Dhen
mNit be flushed? Alas he could give answer
There was a time when he had opinions; the Pre-
sdent approved that opinion il was founded upon
combined movement Of arms and Of policy--two ar
mies-2O 900 under Taylor. 2 600 under Scott
with mission Of peace in company--and the sword
to be effective ifihe olive branch failed. Policy and
arms were to be combined and policy relied upon
more han arms; and il that plan had been adopted
he fully believed that peace would have been restored
in the month Of April past or this month Of May;
and peace, not The cessation Of fighting, but
restoration Of friendship, commerce.. social inter
course and all the sympathies Of republican brother
hood Congress refused the appointment indisPen-
sable to the success of that plan; and now he was
without any means Of forming any opinion upon the
probable duration Of the war.
jefferson City Speech, published in part in the ST.
Louis Republican. It discloses his plan Of the
The public will no doubt be astonished to find that
it is nolhing more than Mr.. Webster's idea, pro-
claimed by him on the floor of the Senate Chamber
shortly after the news of the battles Of the Rio
Grande was received in Washington Mr. Webster
said that he would have the olive branch and the
sword 60 hand in hand, that when we had struck
the enemy blow should hold out to him the
olive branch. and If il was refused. that should
smte him again, and SO on until we should bring
him to terms Well do we remember how Mr.
Webster was ridicned for the promulgation Of such
an idea by Senators in debate, and by the Democra
tic press and especially by the Presidents mouth
piece, the Washington Union. We have not the
Union by US at the present moment, or we would
extract the article refer to for the amusement of
tho reader. And now we have iMr. Benton coming
forward at this day, after holding out to the
world that he had plan by which the war could he
brought to an immediate close--a plan Of so much
value that it would not do 10 make it public, and
proclaiming the very identical plan Of Mr. Websters
as his own But it is just like Mr. Benton in every
thing. He never had an original Thought in all his
life. He is always ploughcr with other mems hci-
fars.
But the intelligent reader will not fail to be struck
with the proposition of Mr.. Benton, to give Gen.
Taylor 10000 men and Gen. Scott only $4,000
men in his plan of operations. Without speaking
positively upon the subject, cannot help remark
ing that this is ON aftcr-though II is in our opin-
ion tribute to the popular feeling in favor Of the
Old Tnundercr Of The Mexican war; But be this as
it may, Mr.. Benton p rsisls in maintaining that he
and he alone, of all the men in the United States,
was The only person qualified to carry this plan into
execution. He says he indispensable to its sue
cess We do not believe there is declaration on
record in any language equal TO this for selfeseem
and egotism It is more like the declaration Of la
natic than Of sane man. Indeed, it is the declara-
ton Of lunalic for nature has never been known
in any instance, to be niggard in her endowInents
as to leave sane man without soms powers Of per
ceiving in himself the weakness common 10 hu
manty Mr. Benton talks ns though mind was de-
MED to all his fellow creatures beside He talks
though he united in himself all the wisdom Of ages,
civil and military.
No man in his common senses could be guilty Of
such egotsm; and, therefore, disgusting as the ex-
hbition Isl pity is excited for the Missouri SEN
ator. Indeed, we have always believed that the
whole NOV mant Of the l.intenant Generalship was
intended by President Polk more trap to take
Mr.. Benton in, with view TO prevent repetition
OF his Oregon opposition, than with any expectation
that the proposition would be adopted. At all
events the speech of Mr.. Benton in the Senate, in
vindcation Of himself aud his correspondence with
the Pres dent place the Senator in an exceedingly
equivocal position. We think The reader cannot
fail coming 10 the conclusion that the President
not sincere in his advocacy Of the Lieutenant Gene
ralship, and we cannot help believing, sometimes,
that Mr.. Benton begins 10 suspect the same thing.
But whether these things be or not, the country
will see in these latter exhibitions of Mr.. Benton
either lamentable weakness, absence of intellect,
or the cunning designs of on unscrupulous dema-
gosue, whose vanity is his only possession. For
own part we do not care which horn Of the dilemma
either he or his friends, il he have any, will take.
The country suffers equally from the ascendancy OF
such men as Mr.. Polk and Mr.. Benton in the public
councils.
Money is SO much iaken up in Boston IN Govern