The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-03-07

Liz IIN<14NSI>O.
DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPREsEN
TATIvEs, JANUARY IL, 1848.
Mr.. STEWART, in rising, said he wished tC
avail himself of the first opportunity presented
of reviewing some of the leading topics of the
late Report of the Secretary of the Treasury
in vindication of free trade and the tariff o.
1916. He felt, however, strongly tempted, be
fore doing so, to say word or two in reply tc
some of the remarks made by the gentleman
from Illinois, (Mr McClernand.) That elo
quent gentleman has just pronounced stud
led and high wrought euloglum on the Presi-
dent. eulogy, not upon one Of the depart
ed, but upon the living, ruling, and patron
age-dispensing President of the day. The
gentleman calls Mr. Polk "the Model Presi-
dent" Washington. jefferson, and Madison
dwindled into utter insigniicance before the
finished perfection of James X. Polk And
the gentleman tells us, that it has been reserved
| for this, our model President, to build up and
finish the great democratic Column" which
! was to stand as bright and enduring monu-
ment of his iustrious Administration. Now,
sir, what is this column, and of what isit COM
| posed In the first place, we are told that, TO
prepare a foundation for this new column ofthe
progressive democracy, our President found it
necessary to get rid of the rubbish, by tearing
down and removing the old Democratic COL
,nan, erected by the joint labors of Washing
ton, Jefferson Madison, and Monroe The el-
ements of which were, Protection to National
lndustry-lnternal -harbors.
rivers, and roads Good Faith and Justice, to-
ward all nations, and Peace and Harmony with
all adherence to the Constitution economy IL.
the Public Expenditures-above all, opposi-
ton TO Standing Armies-to Wars-to Nation
al Dcbts-ard to heavy and oppressive Taxa
| tion-thcse were the elements which composed
this old fashioned Democratic column, which
Mr.. Polk and his party have utterly demolished
and scattered to the four winds-peace and
protection, rivers and harbors, economy, con-
stitution, and all. And in its stead, they have
erected this new and wonderful column Of the
progressive democracy, decked off in regal
| -plcndor, with crown upon its head-built
| with paper money, and based upon an empty
sub-trca5ury. The next element in this SPLEEN
| did democratic structure, is military glory
war-,rar made by the President himself, in
| violation of the Constitution, by sending his
army to Mexico, instead of sending his mess
are TO Congress, the war-making power, then
in session.
Next in order comes a standing army, and
al thNh iOiiOhS,Ol
an enormous national debt, pension lists, and
heavy and oppressive taxation-not levied on
| foreign goods but upon our own people, by
direct taxation. And should the people com
plain, then, like his illustrious friend Santa
| Anna, with his standing army of one hundred
| thousand men, this ''Model President of ours
can administer IN anodine of balls and bdyonets
to cure the discontcnts, and teach the people
subm;s.i TO their masters
! 1t is this ancient and ruined column we wish
| to re-cstablish-the old Washingtonian and
Jellcrsonian column of other and better DAYS:
this is nor the Wig column, which the dread
ed military chieftain,' referred to by the
gentleman, intends TO reconstruct; he has said
he will adopt the policy ofthe first Presidents
not the last. His column will be very unlike
that of the gcntcman's, all bright and dazzling
with military glory, built of the bones and &C.
mentcd with the blood of thousands ofth best
men of the Republic. Sir, the gentleman
seems to be in ecstacies with his model master,
and his gorgeous column; in celebrating its al
vent, they seem to have quafIed their goblets
of glory to their bitter dregs. But in the very
midst of their revelry, sporting their pleasure
boats in the oceans of blood and rivers of tears
which war and pe>tilence have made, ard lis
tening to the delightful music made by the
groans of the diving, and the shricks and cries
of despairng widows and orphans, all at once
the gentleman is startled by the shadow of
military chieftain"-a phantom which arose
suddenly, "to scar their eve balls" in the
midst of their JOYOUS revelry; and looking IL
cross to this side of the House, the gentleman
! from Illinois exclaims, ''don't get behind that
military chieftain.'" And why shall we
not rally under this noble old chief? Is it
because he never leads his followers but to
victory? But if the shadow of his nodding
plume, and the distant rumbling of the coming
storm, has so alarmed the gentleman and his
friends, how will they feel when they behold
"Old Rough in their midst-when they hear
the rafting of Capt Bragg's grape and canns
ter-when they hear the cracking Of the rifles.
and the roar of the big guus? Sir, the gen.
tlcman and his party, his "model President"
and all; will fly, as did the Nexicans ut Buena
Vista. But the gentleman contends not only
Mr.. Polk is the ''model President" but that
he is the "refer of the popular opinion of this
naton~ Poll the ''rcfer" of public senti-
ment! Sir, as to that matter, let the gentle
man but look at this side of the House, and
then at that; at the last session, there was
majority of about two to one for the President;
now we have a majority against him. This
was one "refeX;" but there was another at
hand, the arcfex" of Trough and Ready" the
blaze and brightness of which, would utterly
confound and consume his enemies But G.
nough of this. leave his .model President"
his democratic column" and this reflex to
the gentlemen and his reflections.
will now proceed to the task before nc
the examination Of Mr. Walkers late Report.
which has been lauded to the skies as ''the
greatest production of the aga document
which has been printed in German, and know
not how many other languages, and by thous-
ands and tens of thousands scattered broadcast
over the land-a work of great labor and a
bility, and admirably calculated, if not intend
ed, to mislead the people in regard to the
practical operations of free trade and the tar
if of 1916. And will here say, in my place,
which hold myself bound to make good, that
there never issued from an official source
document containing so many and such gross
orad l. lad