The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-04-30

oil the old Federal party, there was very
little room left for Mr.. MADISON to prac-
tice the Jedersonian doctrine Of prescription
for opinions sake, except where vacancies
happened without the intervention Of the
appointing power The Federalists, except
where they deserted their principles and
fath--and Of these there were not few
stoodno chance of public employment either
under MADISON or MusRoE, though, the
latter President openly proiessed to be no
party Chief Magistrate. But it must be
said, in honor of MADISON and MUNRoE,
that they elevated the standard Of official
worth above what il was in Mr.. JErPER-
sons time, even though they confined thei
appointments TO the men Of their own poltl-
cal faith.
The younger Adams, who had deserted
the political faith Of his faith rs, and who
has never been forgiven by the faithful REM
nant Of the old Federal party, for continu-
ing to serve his country under Democratic
Administrations, when he came into the
Presidency, so far remembered that point
in the Federal faith, which, while il gene
rally required full confidence in an APP
pointee, demanded the possession by the APP
pointee, Of the highest possible official quail
fcations. Prescription for opinions sake,
was a perfect stranger to the breast Of Mr..
ADAMS. Indeed, he did not always ask for
the confidence Of his appointees, in his adj
minstration Had he done SO, he might
have been reelected. II is said Of Mr..
CLAY, that he once observed to Mr.. ADAMS,
unless you remove your opponents, they viii
remove you The sequel proved that Mr..
CLAY was right, for there cannot be doubt,
but that much Of the strength Of the party
which overturned Mr.. ADAMS, was in the
high places OF his Administration Indeed,
such is historical fact. The charge Of the
Union, therefore, that the younger ADAMS
administration was proscriptive, is fasiied
| by the facts Of the case, which are too re-
cent, not 10 be remembered by almost every
intelligent reader,
This brief reference to the doctrines and
practices Of the old Democratic and the old
Federal parties, will serve TO show, how Ut
terly at variance with the truth, the attempt
OF our venerable neighbor is, to prove that
to the Federalists and not to the Democrats,
belongs the merit Of using the constitutional
axe, as political weapon. An intelligent
public will scout the idea Of such an effort,
II has not force enough in il to delude even
for profitable season. II is in the face Of
tradition, of printed history, Of truth itself,
But, passing this bare-faced attempt to falsi-
| fy this portion Of our political history, we
can hardly find language strong enough TO
express our contempt oil the further effort Of
the Union, to make il appear, that neither
JACKSON, VAN buren,, nor Polk was a
proscriptive President Each Of them adopt
ed the JeHersonian formula, and executed it
with such vigor and ferocity, that, il they
had been armed with the sword, they would
have earned lame equal to that Of the
murderous triumvirate, that changed Rome
from republic into a monarchy. The con-
stitutional axe, in their hands, was weapon
to strike down, not to build up, the IN
terests Of the country. They did not
use it as an instrument to dispose Of in
competent, unfaithful, dishonest public Of
6cers. It was Piled to get rid Of COM
petent, honest, and faithful officers, TO
make room for persons Of the opposite
character. 1t was purely party machine,
as worked by them TO advocate the inter-
ests Of the party, that is, to keep il in power,
by addressing to its sel6shness system Of
rewards, in the openly avowed division Of
the public offices among the most unscrupu-
lous and efficient partisans, was the whole
and sole object and use Of the constitutional
axe. And yet in the face Of these things,
| fresh in the remembrance Of almost every
boy in the nation, the metropolitan journal
Of the Democratic, OF Jackson, Van Buren,
and Polk, party, has the unblushing hardi-
hood to assert, that those Presidents never
used the axe for party purposes, never pro-
scribed men for opinions sake. Why, they
owed their very existence and continuance
in power to the use Of this weapon, whose
edge their adherents would now gladly ward
of from their own necks.
The people, however, disguised with the
corrupt use made Of very good constitn-
| -.
tional weapon, originally given to the Presi-
dent for protecting the interests OF the
country, have taken The axe from the hands
Of the Union and its party, and placed il in
possession Of man who win boldly use it,
who is now boldly using it, to purify the
federal official corps of all incomPetency, in
efficiency, dishonesty, inhdelity to the consti-
tuition, and other equally injurious vices. II
! it proscribes at all, il proscrbes all who are