Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1849-05-03
General Taylor's Pledge.


gencer, what does the pledge " not TO be the Pres
ident of party" mean! 1t means simply thai
one will not be what General JACKSON was venge-
fully, violently, tyrannically what Mr.. VAN Bu-
rem was more mildly, but not less decidedly; wha
Mr. POLK was, with singular mixture of cruel
ty to one side and of perdy to the other: it means
that one will not, as the Executive Chief of the
Nation, direct the public powers-often for thai
purpose stretched to the utmost lengths of usur.
pation-towards measures having for their END
not the general good, but the advantage OF party
and of persons alone and, as the administrative
trusts or emoluments, confer them with system
attic view, not to merit. competency, and the pub
lie service; but the reward and the instlgation
of Inscriptions rtisanship. In the most llber-
al sense that can be given to it, the pledge OF Gen
TAYLOR means patriotic, not party policy, and,
as to Offices and other personal benefits, some
thing like fairness in their distribution. 1t does
not mean, therefore, statu quo, unless sfatu quo
ante 6ellum; for certainly there would be 10
fairness as between parties. in leaving things as
they stand, and thus perpetuating the almost ex-
elusive possession Of public employments by the
"Spoils" men. Mere equal justice for the mo-
ment would require that the Wings should be re-
lieved from their long prescription, and the Dem
ocrats curtailed Of their long and almost exclusive
possession of all the places and profits in the gift
of the Federal Government. Nor, indeed, would
it, as to mere justice unfit that the past should
be considered as well as the future, and by way
of starting fair again, that nearly all the offices
of the country should be given for twenty years
TO the Wings, as during the last twenty years 10
Prescriptionists We are not arguing for any
such vindicuve Justice, of course for none can
be more averse than we are TO melting out to the
wrong-doers their own wicked measures but
rigid Justice, stern and high, would nevertheless
warrant such dealing, and warrant it even on the
part of Chief Magistrate pledged to weigh out
even handed right to both sides alike. 1t would,
in fact, be only prescribing prescription.
The pledges of Gen. TAYLOR" then. are in
no manner violated by any thing which his Ad-
mnstraton has done. or is likely to do, in regard
to removals But that is not all : not only was
(as every body knows) no such sense as that now
pretended attached by the people to Gen. TAY-
LoRs declarations. but both they who coted for him
and those Oho voted against him looked for any
thing but the conduct which the Democratic press
now affects to have expected at his hands. His
supporters certainly hoped in him, and his oppo-
nents as certainly dreaded, man whose integri-
ty, patriotism, and unwavering fidelity to public
duty would bring about a large civil reform in
this Government; which reform, il was we'll known,
must include not only more elevated, benefcent
policy but the correction of many
great abuses, and OF course, important changes as
to the persons conducting the public business
Many of these were considered as thoroughly af-
filiated with the bad, corrupt, destructive system
and organization of LocofOcoism, with which the
good people of the land, the steadisr queter Sort
that love sober law and honest, respectable, God
fearing rulers, were entirely disguised. In mean
ing to shake it off, they knew well enough that
they must shake off with it large body of its de-
voted agents, instruments and minions Of power,
its habtual and determined confederates, as much
bent perverting all the subordinate functions of
the Government as their masters on mis- employing
the superior ones. This is plain state of facts,
known to every body, and which it is idle--quite
a waste of time, words, and characterize deny.
The people of the United States had, during the
last four years, got hearty surfet of Mr.. Polk
and Locofocoism-of such man as their Presi-
dent, and of those who brought him in-of such
measures and of the unscrupulous faction that
supported them; and. being thus bent on having
done with the matters the country had, of course,
little idea of keeping the worse of the men. Nor,
indeed, did these themselves cherish any such ex-
pectation they knew perfectly well that Gener-
al TAYLOR would not want such people as they
were, nor the peculiar, sort Of services for which
alone they were fit; and hence they did their un-
most, every mothers son of them to ward off his
electon.