The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-10-06
:
LET HISTORY SPEAK.

LET HISTORY SPEAK.
IN onr Yesterdays issue we promised bret
glance u iEs. yasissass 81 shr Old Fcdrrsi rarty
To do This, let US review those measures which
signal zrd the administration Of the elder Adams,
commenc,ns March i797 and terminating
March 1901 Mr.. Adams had distinguished
himself during the vari.us and trying struggles,
which contributed to the separation OF the COL
onies from the Mother country, as m Ardent
and able advocate, of the rightsof the Colonis's,
although he wa. one, who was prone to believe,
that Republican syslcm, if adopted, would
tail 10 Be sustained, and that il would be much
b. tier for the people e pattern after tho system
nt Great Britain, which had been ctfeciually
tested, than to launch into new and untried
field. Entertaining ihe"e views, and present.
np them on all occasions as Representative,
with the force and candor peculiar to his char
acter, it is not strange, when he entered upon
his duties az the second President fthe Repub
tic. that he should have called around him, as
Ca met advisers, the leading Fede ralists Of the
country and recommended the adop' ion Of such
measures as he believed to be necessary and
advantageous to the prosperity ut the Country
and the welfare Of the people. This will ac-
count for the adopt IN OF four measures ofpub
lie policy, during his administration, which
were noted for their strong Federal tendencies
and which gave to their advocates more dis
tinct party character than they had ever before
acquired These measures were the "AHen
and ssssediton'' laws, the ''Stamp Act and the
nature of these laws, to obtain very accurate
conception Of the true character Of the wing
party Of the present period Although it does
not a. this tune, advocate measures which con-
tain 30 palp-blca declaration of rank Federal
sentiment, vet the inc vitnhle, though gradual
tendency Of every measure which 1t proposes
for adoption, is to consolidate power in the gen
eral government. create monopoles aud classes
and Cypress the masses, by wiley system +
partial legislation, obnoxious to the true theory
Of self government and destructive OF the
interests and iberties ofthe masses.
The Alien law conferred upon the Presdent
the power, in case of war with Great Britain,
or a threatened war, to order every foreigner
who owed the accident Of his % her birth, to any
country over which Great Britain exercised
rule, out Of the country within n given time,
under penalty Of fine and imprisonment. True,
the President could if Disposed, allow them the
time stipulated by treaty between Great Britain
and the United States to dispose Of their eff cts
and retire from the country, bnt this privilege
was left discretionary with the Executive, who
" az presumed not TO exercise it except in cases
where a crime attached to the party, greater
than the CRIME of having been born in ar other
land Their children if born in the United
States, were esteemed "Natve Americans and
allowed to remain, but if born in the land Of
Montgomery, Paul Jones, or Hampton, they
were obliged to pack up and leave.
The Sedition law--that monster of Tyranny
was to protect the Federal President and the
Federal Congress which enacted il, from the
just and necessary criticism Of the press and tn.
people.
provided in section 2, "that il any person
shull write, print, utter, or publish, cause to
be written, printed, uttered, or published" any
thing "agaiust the government of the United
States, or either house Of Congress of the Uni
ted States, or of the President of the United
States with intent to defame the said govern
ment, or either house OF said Congress, or the
said President, or to bring them, or either Of
them into contempt or dsrepute |; or to excite
a gainst them, or either any ofthen, the hatred
Of the good people Of the United States" on
"being thereof convicted before any Court Of
the United States, having jurisdiction Thereof,
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding taco
doiiars and by Imprisonment not er
cerding too years"
This was a beautiful example for Repnbli
can government to set, in the infancy Of its or
ganizatlon.
The Stamp Act required all legal instruments
to be upon stamp paper, under heavy penalty
A certificate of Naturalization cnuld not be iss.
ued short of five dollars and deed could not
pass from the government to an individual,
without costing the party four dollars for the
paper upon which the conveyance was made
u
asceriained to be an attempt to drfraud the
United States, subsequent act, subjected the
party to fine Of one thousand dollars and
for tenn not exceeding seven
years. ss.e
The Excise law laid tax on home made
spirits, and other articles of domestic manufac-
ture. This tax was 50 exorbitant that it had to
be enforced at the point Of the bayonet The
! Whiskey insurrect;on," when the Western
part OF Pennsylvania, was overrun with Uu,ted
States troops, in order to put down the people,
banded together to prevent search of their
premises, to find stills, will locg hold its place
upon the page of American history, as one OF
The earliest and most oppressive acts of Federal
legislation. Here isa very brief review OF the
leading measures which distinguished the long
TO be remembered administration Of the elder
A dams-an administration which was purely
Federal in its character and which exacts the
of that party to the present period
acts of less radical, but equally
iange rous character, have marked the uniform
md rigid fidelity Of the descendants of HamIl-
on and Adams to the old party land marks.
In an other No. We shall trace this party down
o still later period.
John Van Buren, lately said in a speech that.
# the 100000 persons in New York who voted
or Martin Van Buren, in IS4S, he had heard
f only three who will not vote for Pierce and |
Sing. go
The Chicago Democrat sets down Chicago
I some hundred thousand population at the
lose Of 1882" declaring that its growth for the
ast two months ''has exceeded anything tina,
he maddest enthusiast ever dream Of"
Geo. w Allen, the well known orpnatnr of