Washington telegraph., 1849-07-11
From the Republic.
THE OFFICES.
DISTRIBUTION AND EQUALIZATION OF
PUBLIC EMPLoYMENTs.

read and weigh the publications made by
General Taylor and his triends-the two
Allison letters, the authorized statement
of Judge Saunders, IN behalf of the Lou
isiana Delegation, to the Philadelphia
National Whig Convention, and the let
ter of Gen. Taylor to the Independent
Taylor party of Maryland, taking upon
himself the responsibility of what was
then and there said for him. which form
ed the basis upon which the Administra-
ton party was organized-will not be at
a loss to put the proper value upon the
ruthless and indecent assaults which
have been made upon the President and
his Cabinet on account of the removals
which have taken place since the 4th of
March. A single sentence has been taken
from one of these documents, and, after
being amended and interpolated to suit
hostile commentators, has been construed
to mean that General Taylor had bound
himself down bypledges to leave every
Locofoco officeholder untouched until he
was arraigned, tried, and convicted by
Jury, of some misfeasance Or malfeasance
in office. The opposition of the Wing
party to the introduction of the "Spoils
System" in the Administrative policy of
the General Government, has also been
invoked in aid of construction which
would create perpetual monopoly OF all
public trusts in the hands of those who
deny the right of a vanquished party to
be participants in the honors and emolu-
ments of public employment.
1t is contended that General Taylor
and the whole Republican party is pledg-
ed to "proscribe prescription" and from
this is deduced an unlimited tenure of
office for all and singular the spoils-men
who have been thrust into the places of
prescribed Wings, Let us now examine
into the pretension here set up; and in
doing so we are willing to admit, for ar
cument sake, that the party in power is
committed against indiscriminate pro-
scription. We make no pretence of rep
resenting the Government in this matter;
we propose merely to see where the con-
struction of the opposition would lead.
The Democratic party has for many
years, adopted and acted upon the pro-
scriptivc policy. The organ of that par
ty in this city has, time and again, laid
down the doctrine as party cne. In its
recent numbers, it has interspersed its la
mentations with reiteratiOus of. a princl-
pie which might have dried up its tears,
had it really felt that the Administration
had been converted to. and had adopted
in practice, the dearest article of the Dem
cratic creed. The following passage
from leader in the Union of Sunday last,
is in the type of many others:
"The Democratic party has never de-
MED the general policy ofremovals. On
the contrary, whenit has been temporari-
ly defeated, and again returning to power
after brief interval, and finding the enc.
mics of its measures and policy in posses
sion of the important and influential Off
ces of the Government, it has acted upon
that policy. 1t believes that an admins
tration which has a well-defned system
of principles, and well-matured set of
measures founded upon those principles,
to carry out, should employ agents for
that purpose who are favorable to those
principles and measures, and will take an
interest in their faithful execution"
This admission, taken in connection
with the fact that, for twenty years, with
the brief interval of month, the pro-
scriptive party, which never does things
by halves. has been in power, will give
the reader an idea of the condition of the
public offices which greeted Gen. Taylor
on the day of his Inauguration. He might
have looked in vain into all the custom
houses of the Union, from Texas to Maine,
into all the post-offices of the cities of the
United States, to find Wing collector
or deputy postmaster. He might have
examined the land offices, diplomatic
corps, marshal's offices, and the public
bureaus, with like disappointment. The
party which had just triumphed had been
for fifth of century repulsed from Off
ces ofhonor and trust. and even for that
length of time held as aliens in their own
country, in so far as official promotion
was concerned. This proscriptive spirit
had been carried to such extreme lengths,
that, out of some score and a-half gene
rails selected from the citizens at large to
lead our armies in foreign war, not a
Wing in this wide land was found worthy
of an appointment; though, amongst the
rank and file, and amongst the subordinate
militia officers, there were men of that
faith on the field of battle fit to be en-
trusted with the fate of empires.
We would ask any fair thinking man.,
what would be the duty of a President,
even if he were elected to 'proscribe pro-
scription,'' and though his banner had
been borne through the canvass with that
inscription alone upon it, on finding such
condition of things? Should he continue
the prescription? Should he keep great
party, comprising in its ranks moiety OF
the voters of the Union, in banishment
from the fountains of honor! Should he
k<>A IL i L SIxx<,.