Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1849-01-25
Hon. G., Adams, Jr.

Rouge on the I'd Monday in May next for the pur-
pose Of selecting a suitable candidate for the next
Governorship of Louisiana, we feel assured that
the gentleman whose name heads this article will be
one of the most prominent before, if not the chosen
of the Convention.
Our reasons for this belief are founded upon the
peculiar state of parties which the election of Gen.
Taylor has brought about-in the foresight of those
who compose the Convention-and the care, de-
liberation, and equannnity of temper which we be-
Iieve will mark their proceedings.
The political armament In this State is very far
from being of the same hue as when Gov. Johnson
received the vote of the people. Times have chang
ly fading away before the glare of that effnlgence
which enlightened minds produce. and the 9TH of
last November gave the finishing stroke TO this m-
traism of sentiment, not in Louisiana alone, and
created a feeling and a disposition among men. the
good effects of which will long be realized The
time was once, in the rage and fnry of party mad
ness, that but one requisite was looked TO as qnali~
flying a man for the office he sought. Has he been
an uncompromising partizan? This feeling did
not exist merely with reference to the higher offices
in the gift of the people, but it descended to the low
est. In the local elections of the Parishes, where
it should have been lest felt, this spirit was perhaps
more vituperative: from the constable up to the
member of the Legislature, there was but one per-
vading thought-party. The loudest-mouthed cam
didate, the street brawler and bar-room demagogue.
stood the best chance of being elected. Virtues,
and qualities of the mind, which should ever be
foremost as considerations when a man is about to
cast his suffrage, had but little or no weight. No
matter whether the ~favorite candidate had even or-
binary attainments-no matter whether he was a
private or public bankrupt-a swindler of his neigh
bora st or a blackguard-or had even incarna-
dined his hands with the blood of a fellow creature
1t was enough that he had the talent to talk per-
sIlasively and vindictively, and if necessary to strike
a blow in defence of his principles. But as we
said, times have changed. In the elevation Of Zach
airy Taylor, the people have laid down a precedent
for future years, and we trust for future ages: it
has been stamped in characters brighter than letters
Of gold, that henceforward a violent and uneom-
promising partizan will never obtain the sympa>
thies Of his felIow>citizens And we therefore as
sert, without the fear Of contradiction, that he who
expects to 60 into office with no better recommen>
dalton than hot-headed partizanship, will find that
his ideas are very Far behind the spiritof the times.
Mr.. ADAMS, Of all the prominent Wings who are
now before the people of this State, is to our mind
eminently the imam of the period" and one whose
voo,,l;,r ,b.v,,to,,rt,oc and ysytoo, -, &ba nropns,f
state of public feeling, would be regarded as they
deserve to be. OF quiet and unottrusive manners,
with a mind that rather shrinks from than courts
public ~favors, and of unimpeachable integrity, Mr..
Adams, more than any other man, is most likely
to obtain the vote that was given to Gen. Taylor.
But this is not all that recommends him 10 the af-
fections of the people, and which gives him, over
all others of bis party, the best chance Of becoming
our next Governor: Mr.. Adams, although a warm
and consistent advocate of the principles of Jeffer-
son-an answering friend of the Wing party
he has never made politics a trade for his own ag.
grandizement, nor has he carried the spirit of party
to that dsgraceful acme where a feeling of persecu.
lion towards opponents commences, and when vi.
Imperative language begins; called by the people
-
TO serve them, he has done his duty quietly and
faithfully; and in the exalted station of a Senator
in Congress, he has the prond satisfaction of know
ing that he has obtained that elevation without any
cringing or fawning, or from the character of Viz
olent party zealot. A man, then, like this, at a pes
Rod when the minds of men are settling down into
calm and sober thinking, is the man to obtain the
suffrages Of the people. He has not. like others,
been before them for the office of Governor for
years, that a party might be formed against his
claims, and thereby tend TO a defeat, no matter
what his virtues or his talents. He will be a new
and f~anltless courser in the GubernatoriaI race, and
thousands of friends will cheer him on. Indeed, SO
lately has his name been mentioned in connection
with the ensuing contest, that we doubt if Mr..
Adams himself is aware of it, so deeply engaged
as he must be with his duties in the United States
Senate; and w doubt still farther if he ever for a
moment dreampt that he would be thought of as a
for Governor, or even that the enthusi-
asn1 Of his friends in his behalf in this respect will
be pleasing TO him. But his name having been first
forward in New Orleans, as one likely 10
be the choice of the Convention, Mr.. Adams cans
not expect those Of his Parish-wbere his
worth is best known-to look tameIy on and not