Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-07-01


presently the head of the nation, shall not give
loose to mere party obloquy, TO reproaches against
opponents which only incsease public ran
cors and lessen his own power to govern well
should he be elected. Add, then, that such imputa-
tons are not only indecent but wrong TO utter still
they might be true. We will proceed, therefore,
to diyes them Of every pletence Of that pallafion,
as at best it would be if true.
The Generals own statement Of the charge, re-
lieved OF its verbage, is to the following effect: lst,
that the Wing party is, by unbroken continuation,
the old Federal party I'd, that il has only changed
Its name, not its principles purposes Sd, that of
hese, Alexander Hamilton was the great expo
nent if not the originator; 4th, that he taught that
the Peoples intelligence could not be trusted as
sufficient always to secure good and free Govern
ment; 5th, that the Wings (alias Federalists) held
and hold that doctrine Of him; 9th, that the Loco
focos (of whom he speaks as the old Repubcans)
hold and always held the adverse faith 7th, that
from the difference of party belief on this main
point flow all minor differences, which may, in
deed, be distinctly derived back into that; slh that
the Wing party, therefore, has always aimed to
strengthen the Government against the Popular
Will, and to defend it from change; 9th, that the
so-called Democracy. consequently, has always
striven to weaken the Government and reduce il to
the smallest quantity of authority with which it can
live; 10th, what this quantity is-how merely as
much as :" the Largest Liberty" and flat Dorrsm
would leave-we shall by-and-by establish, out of
the final proposition in General C.'s 9th paragraph.
Now, all these are assertions Of fact, of history
going back to the foundation Of our present Consti-
tuition, 1889 or 1887. They are then, either his
torcally true, or not at all.
The main question is that of Identity. And here
the assertion is double: first, that the Wing party
are, back to the beginning, the Hamiltonian FEEDER
alists second, that the Locofocos are as continue
ously back, the old Republicans. Now, how is
this identity to be established? Either perempto-
rly, from constant identity of Doctrines and Acts
or by mere superstition, from identity of persons.
But little could be argued from the latter first,
because the period is too long to allow personal
identities to have extended over it the persons are
not, because they could not be, the same and,
secondly, the same persons have, at different times,
as was perhaps convenient, professed to be now
Federalists, now Democrats. Witness Governors
shire, and Morton, of Massachusetts ; Louis Nc
Lane and John Forsyth, Secretaries of State to
General Jackson and Mr.. Van Buren, Chief
Justice fancy Senator Huger. of South Carolina !;
George Bancroft and James Buchanan, Secretaries
in the present Administration. Nav, Gen. JACKSON
himself was originally supported by the Old FEEDER
allsts and clearly enough, his friend and disciple
IN Democracy, General LEWIS CAss was born and
bred in the Federal faith
1t is plain, then, that there is sort of Federalist
that makes first-rate Democrat. There have been
converted Jews, and there have been renegade
Christians; but nobody argues from such cases
that Hebraism and Christianity are Identical Most
of such changes of the faith that man was born
IN, have, indeed, been thought to smell more of
gain than of goodness.
II is too clear for dispute that an identity of per-
sons cannot be brought to answer for proof in this
matter. Return we, them TO the other sort of iden-
tity-that of doctrines.
And, here, the main and ruling identity asserted
by Gen. CAss consists, if it has any existence at
all, IN two chief things the one, that the old Fed
eral party, not believing the People capable of gov
erning themselves-capable, that is, of a Republic
can Government-wished and endeavored to bring
about strong THAT is to say, an arisocratic or
regal government: the other, that the old Republi-
can party, believing the contrary, and that our Gov
eminent was strong enough if kept or made only
what the popular judgment of the day would have
IT. wished and endeavored only to render the Gov
eminent practically Republican, popular. We need
not add that even if both these points can be made
out, 1t will still have TO be shown that the old Fed
'eral party yet subsiss, with no essential change Of
purposes, in the Wing party, and the old Republi-
can In the Locofoco. We will by-and-by examine
into this question: but, for the present, will, in
argument, adopt Gen. CAss's mere assertion, idle
as all assertions which need. but have not even
attempted, to substantiate themselves
In this inquiry what the Federal doctrines were,
what the Federal designs and ,chefher they aimed
las was that cry Of the day against them which
Gen. CAss intends to revive, though he does not
honestly say SOY at establishing an Arbitrary Gov.
eminent or not that well-informed statesman and
historian has, no doubt, some special advantages
over us. We were not born nor bred in Federal
ism no flal reverence ever mixed it with our
earliest principles, at that period and through those