The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-06-30
From the Washington Union.

The wing canvass for General Taylor IN Io4o
has passed into history as the great political
raud of our times. The wing party was then
aboring under the crushing odium Of "morni
reason in the Mexican war. Their whole
system of Legislative polcy-embrac,ng every
me Of the measures which they had rallied upon
ne their main issues-had been condemned by
The people and signally overtarown by demo
cratic legislation. A migh'y acquisition of new
territory Of incalculable wealth and Importance,
had been consumated in the teeth OF aim st
unanimous wing opposition, and had brought
with it que stons of infinite moment TO the eoun-
try with which wing policy and wing politicians
were utterly incompetent TO deal; Ter they lay
far beyond the purview Of that wing doctrine
and craftsmanship which for fifty years had re-
fused to sympathizr with our national eApah
sion, and had found its whole strength IN local
and class legislation, and in perverse ard sy
cophantic conformity to the nagrowest instincts
of sectional pre- udce. No other course was
left them Tor the wing party but to ahiurr princi-
pie and policy thus found 10 be wholly made
ouate to the crisis, and tn make their whole
canvass personality and that personality
fraud
Their work was thoroughly done. They took
soldier from his camp, who avowcd that he
had never gwen a vote, and minated that he
had never formed Political opinion. Feeling
that here was nominee 'snot fit to be Prcsi-
dent they undertook first 10 cut the presidential
Office down TO his stature and TO this end they
rallied upon platform which made the presi-
dency an office ssnot fit TO be exercised under
the constitution, by virtually striking out OF Its
! functions its great conservative reto ponfr
| Then came the false cry of "no party, and the
baneful delus;on of "no pledges, bringing with
them the worst and most prohigate cheat ever
practised upon generous and grateful people,
! in the careful concealment, rather the elabo-
rate perversion, OF the views, upon the momen-
tous sectional issues, of the man whom leagued
and banded party sought to clothe with the
chief executive power and responsibility Of the
nation But for the glazing splendors flashed
from the immortal battlefield Of Buena Vista,
the people would have turned their backs on
such partisan organization with loathing dis
gust As it was, rejecting men of all PARTIES
the most eminent wings among them-felt and
avowed that in the programme OF the wing
canvass the politics of our country were at low
ebb.
And they were light. How soon the tree OF
popular deluson, even rooted as 1t was IN
natural and generous sentiment Of gratitude to
. the hero Of Buena Vista, put forth its bitter
: fruits, is known 70 all men, Public wisdom
! American nationality, and political honor, dis
appeared from our chief executive councils,
and left in thier places the blind bigoiry Of sec
tonalism, the syco2hantic suhservence 10 for
eign influence, and the shameless profigacy OF
t official peculation, alike without precedent,
e justification, or excuse. Against the sectonaf
e policy Of the administration the hunted South
turned fiercely to bay. Against the blunder
which sacrificed American interests and honor
to British cupidity and cunning on the great
American Isthmus, and against the cruel and
craven spirit which gave up the blood of Amer
lean citizens to be shed by Spanish despotism
in Cuba, in defiance of the plain letter of solemn
IF treaties, and which permitted French and Brit
md r,rl
: coast to execute our laws of neutrality, the
!" pride and patriotism Of our country, feeling
'e the stain like q wound, - made solemn and in
IT dirnant but Intellectual protest. And before
the atrocities Of official plumber, running through
all the lawless schemes of fraud and profigacy,
7 till they eliminated in the mammoth scandal
IN of Galphinism, the conscience and the virtue
Id Of all p,res in the country stood outraged, hui
J, inflated, and ashamed! The harvest was in-
= indeed as the sowing. The tree had borne its
Y bitter fruits
RS Nor in this connection ought to be omitted
d. the aggravations Of hypocrisy and falsehood
which nave marked The proscriptioe spirit of the
wing dynasty which the canvass of194o placed
'u in power The candidate of that canvass over
,u and over again declared that he not and
! never would be the candidate of party. He
had ono friends to reward and enemies to
a' punish y He would be the President of the
ur people, and ssno prescription" was the war-cry
IN in which his battle fought. He came into
power, and forthwith prescription ragged. The
: political "guiHotine' wrought necessarily and
IL with indiscrmna,e fury, till at last, urged by
II the indignant cry Of the people against this
Ms Wholesale and shameless violation of presden-
49, tial pledges the advisers Of the President were
forced to defend his prescriptions by alleging
d. that the President had virtually relinqushed
III with his reto his constitutional power OF appoint
ment, and contentcd himself with his single
rote in the cabinet in cases of removal from OF
flee.
1t is painful TO turn even for moment tc
those unhappy dssensions in the democratic
party which, at a crisis of political contest pre-
qnant with such results. gave up the Samson Of
er democracy TO be for time the victim and the
mock ofhis enemies, aud surrendered the powe
of the country into the hands of party already
4 proved utterly inadequate to govern 1t in har
mony with the principles and the impulses o
n the people. Ii is more TO the purpose now t.
:. remember the whole energy in the sacred cause
of the Union with which-after the sectona
ne policy, so long fostered by wing tactics and il
OF wing strongholds, had brought the countr,
u, TO the verge of separation, if not OF civil war
:, the democratic party in pursuance of its ancien
~ principles, and looking to the preservation o
at IF the equal constitutional rights of all tn,
w States, snatched the initiative of government
+. from the hands of the whig administration, ant
y tic IN the whig ranks, organized system of pa
I'll ci6ca,on. demanding indeed the sacrifice o
.s cherished views from both sections, yet by tn
A. acquiescence and support which it now receive
70 from the democracy, forming at his time so
at bulwark of defence behind which the peace o
e. the county may be safe, and against whicl
a, the pillows of sectional agitation will rage il
vain
- In turning to the aspect of the present can
We vass, we note in the first place, the auspciou
We and decisive fact of a democracy thOr0ughE
~ united throughout the country in the support o
its chosen standard bearers. In the next place
ef we note that this union of The democracy ha
lis not been cemented in the sacred cause of tn
ar Union. The termination Of that great sectiona
=, controversy which has So long distracted tn
country is now the fundamental fact in the de
- mocratic organization and the preservation o
If national tranquility and peace, by the recognl-
M ton and defence of the constitutional rights o
~ every section, is capital purpose tor which tn
" democracy is now embattled That this grea
ut idea is fully mbodied in the democratic nomi
lit nations and in the platform on which the,
be stand, is not only admitted by all our opponent
but is charged against US by the bigots Of aboli
ton fanaticism everywhere. In the prevail
RI encc of this accusation against the democratic
n. party the patriotism of the land will hail witt
Joy the sssgn'' in which the democracy deserve
to conquer, and will conquer
as But the rescue of our land from the terrible
d perils of sectional agitation is by no means thu
er only Purpose in which the democracy is nov
ut rallied. The country is also to be delivered iron
III wing NAL administration and misrule. We are
to insure return to an american conduct Of on
ne foreign relations, and american sympathy
Id with the expanding interests of our country o,
- the American continent. We are to insure a,
:, economical administration of the government
r We are to rescue the public chest from the law
a. less rapacity of Galphinism and Cardnerism
,r- Above all, we are te return to the old democrat
!, ic doctrine of rct construction ofthe censti
tuiena, powers of the government and of tn,
- statutes designed to carry those powers int
in effect. By other agency can the abusel
&c under which the country, in its financial admin
stration, has for the last four years groaned, b
abrogated and quelled
:. In the principles of the democratic platform
I'D and especially in the whole character and histo
\ IF Jo,p f,o \ q