Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-11-29

ANOTHER LETTER FROM MAJOR DOWNING

ANOTHER LETTER FROM MAJOR DOWNING.
Do,oninguile, do,on East IN The STATE Of Maine.
November "a, 1851.
THE DowNINGvlLLE PLATFORM.
Mr.. GALES & SEAToN Since my letter to you
two or three weeks ago, I've had another long talk
with Uncle Joshua about the rickety consarn of
our politics all over the country, and about con-
irwin a new platform to stand on. Uncle Joshua
takes hold Of the business like an old apostle Of
liberty. He says something must be done, or we
are gone-goose people; we can't never get along
in this way split up into twenty parties and every
one tighten sgin all the rest When we didn't use
to have but two parties, he says, one or tother
most always stood chance to beat, and they that
wasn't beat could take command of the ship, and
trim the sails as they thought best, and man the
helm, and keep her moving on the voyage. But now
it's agin nineteen every where alover the country
and if The good old ship don't get ashore in the
squabble, or run on the rocks somewhere, it must
be miracle that'll save her.
"Ye see, Major says Uncle Joshua, !" we
must malgamate these twenty parties into two par
ties agin, somehow or other. / can't exactly see
yet how to do il; but the thing must be done, or
say it's gone-goose with US. All parties always
run out after awhile and have TO begin anew. II
can't be helpt; it's the mater of the thing. All
crops will run out if you keep em too long in the
same field; and when you find the land don't bear
hardly nothin but weeds, it's best way 10 change
the crop at once. 1t was so with the first two old
parties, the Federalis.s and Republicans they
had something to fight about and keep 'em alive
for some years. One was afraid the Federal Go
vernment wasn't strong enough to ger along well,
and t'other was afraid ii was too strong. And SO
they fit that battle out year after year, till at last
they got used to the working Of the Government,
and found it didn't want any tinkerin either way.
And they left off fghtin, except little once in
while for the fun of it; and the two parties be-
gun to be sociable like and to talk together
from rank to t'other, and want afraid to come
up SO near as to reach chaw of tobacco across
to one another on the pint of the baganut. AT last
they got kind of mixed up like, and some went one
side and some t'0ther, and forgot which side they
belonged to. And so when Mr.. Monroe come in
and looked round to see how the ranks stood, his
first words was, Why, fact, what Jefferson once
said, tve are all FederGlists zoe are all RepMdAi-
cans, has come to pass And here the first two
old parties died out and new ones sprouted up and
took their places
Here Uncle Joshua got up and went to the fire
and knocked the ashes out of his pipe and put in
little more tobacco and sot down agin.
q Well, now, Major" says he, "ifs been jest
SO with the last two great parties, the Wings and
Democrats. As long as they had any thing to fight
about they could keep their ranks straight and tell
who was who, and they did do it for good many
years. One wanted great National Bank, and
tother didn't; one wanted very high tariff, and
t'other wanted very low tariff; one wanted to
drive ahead, like all possessed, with making roads
and canals and the like, and tother didn't want to
60 step that way. And they drew the lines
and fit it out How long and how hard they fit
needn't tell you, Major, for you and Gineral jack
son had a hand in it and know all about it. Well,
arter while both parties found out they could do
as well without great national bank as they could
with one. So they dropped that quarrel. Then
some Of them that wanted very high tariff begun
TO think they had pitched it rather too high, and
were willing to take one considerable lower. And
some of them that wanted very low tariff begun
to think, and to feel too that they had pitched ttoo
low, and begged for one considerable higher. SO
the jig was up about any more party fghtn on
that score. Well, as for roads and canals, every
body found out at last that them sort of things
would go ahead any how, party or no party, and
it was no sort Of use to fight agn 'em. So here
was the end ont The old parties have had their
day and tell you, Major, they are both as dead
as herrins; they've died material DEATH"
"Why, Uncle joshua says l, g it seems to me
you are getting wild. Do you say the old parties
are dead! Why, amt Wings and Democrats in
every bodys mouth from mornin till night?
Haven't we got Wing papers and Democrat papers
from one end of the country to t'other? Don't we
every day hear of Wing meetings and Democrat
meetings in all the States? Haven't Mr.. Donaldson
and Green got things all cut and dried for Demo
crat Baltimore Convention to nominate President!
And amt the Wing papers all the time talking about
national convention to nominate President on
their side Then how can you say the Wing and
Democrat parties are dead y
Here Uncle Joshua laid his pipe down, and
see he was in arrest and Aunt Keziah laid her
nittin work down. for she see he was in arrest too
And Uncle Joshua turned round to me, and says he,
Major, IteHyou the old Tttig and Democrat par.
ties are as dead as f,Oo old stumps. Their names
may be alive yet, and some folks may think for
good while TO come that they are fghtin agin the
Wing party or agin the Democrat party, jest as
Mr.. Richie thought he was fghtn agin the old
Federal party for than twenty years arter they
was all dead. But what signifies the names when
the life is gone! The two parties can't never be
Strengthened out into line agn and fight each other
as they used to. Folks may keep mumbling
the names over, but the Wing and Democrat par
ties are dead and gone and dried up, and about
twenty parties have sprouted up to take their pla-
ces. This is the reason why some Wing States
now days choose Democrats for Governors, and
some Democrat States choose Wings for Governors,
and why some Wing papers talo sides with nama-
Gratis, and some Democrat papers take sides with
Wings. It's all nothn else but jest the crowdin Of
these twenty young sproutin parties 70 see which