The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-12-29
Fem The Concord IN. H., Pst,ioi, December Is
.g Removals rrOtsa Onks.

Since the Presidential election the Federal oress
has INDUCED in much speculation in regard to the
course to be pursued by General Pierce in the
matter Of removss Of politiraI opponents from of.
nee, Many Of them seetn TO hope much for their
friends from bis known magnahimityi and, to
hetp alive their hopes, as we'll as apparently to
deter him from doing justice to the great majority
OF his Gopntrynien. they have been publishing OK;
tracts irom speech Upon The subject made BY
h'n in the Senate in ls4l. so garbling il as 10
make 1t appear that he was then opposed to all
Wovals ot political opponents That speech
most eo9uent and scathing review OF the profes
sions o! the Wing party before and during the
canvass OF 1910, compared with the Wholesale pro-
s~riPtion which characterized them in power. II
Will be remembered that during that canvas the
Federal leaders promised that If they came into
power "proecripton should be proscribed," and
no man was TO be removed from office Tor opinions
sAke But when they got Possession Of the Gov
eminent, they instituted and carried out a system
oil prescription unexamped in the history Of the
country. 1t was In exposare and rebuke Of this
gross and wicked violation of solemn pledges that
General Pierce spoke. That was the whole object
and tenor Of his speech, as the following brief e1-
tract will show!
'But that removals have occurred 10 not The
thing Of which complain. complain Of your by
orators made promises to he nation .ohich fhey did
not intrna 10 redeem, and t5hic Mey no,c UainIy at
tempt 10 cover up by cob,nebs. The Senator from
south Carolina near me Mr.. Calhoun) remarked
yesterday that he had no language to express the
fnfdmy which, in his judgment, III attach to that
man who had been before the people, raising his
Voice in the general shout that prescription to
be prescribed, and was, in the face of such ton
now here begging for place at the footstoo of pow.
er. II my heart ever responded fully, unqualified
~, to any sentiment, it was to that. Fortunately,
before the keen scrutihy of our countrymen, dis
Eulses are vain, masks unavailing. The practice
OF the present administration has already fxed
| upon its profession one Of two thinss-the stamp
either OF truth or falsehood; the people will judge
which.
| .One word mara N nd lac ve hi. s,h;o.. ..;-,
lul one to me, from the beginning to the end. The
Senator from North Caroliuaj In the course of his
remarks the other day, asked, DO gentlemen ex.
pect that their friends will be retained in Office
against the will of the nation? Are they so un-
| reasonable as to expect what tho circumsta noes
and the necessity of the forbid' VIVA. our
expectations were is NOT the question no,o but ,uha
totre your pledges and promises b.fors the people,"
Our political opponents are welcome to all the
| "aid and c"miort' they Gun derive from that
| speech, hen considered in cornexion with their
own practice while in power. And if review Of
| their own course ia calculated to beget in their
minds any degree OF assurance tia. they deserpe
| iorbenrance in this respect from Democratic ad-
ininistratlon, they arc welcome to that also They
obtained 1ntroi OF the Government in 1910 by loud
and solemn professions and promise against max
| Ing removals for opinions sake, and when in
power they made "a general sweep," carrying
their prescription to an extreme never before
dream, d Of In lSlS they made the same plsdses
before the electioni and soon as they came Into
power those pledges wers Violated in the same
shameless manner; and that too in the iiiost wicked
I'rm, Tor they attempted to brand every removed
democrat rs dishonest or incompetent, as an OK
cusc for his removal. But in the late canvass
they were fully committed to the principle and
practice Of Proscrittien, for General Scott in
his letter accepting the nomination of tE.ir con-
ventlon, with the resolutions annexed" ex-
pIesely declared, in regard to the policy Of his
administration, that he should "look among
t.; ooss TSH may spp'oye e that Boey for agents
the prrn,y.c of prescription for opihto:i's 6aFe
to be Of the cardinal pri., pIcs Of his creed,
and declared that he should act upon that
principle. He thus directly endorsed the SEN
tinent that "to the vctors belong the spoils >, and
pledged himselfto act upon it. ihs doct,ine was
not disavowed, during the canvass, by the Wing
organs and speakers, although the avowal of Il
was fully commented upon ly the Democ ratio
press and speakers. On the contrary IL canno! be
denied that one of the issues directly involved in
the contest, as admitted and Al gued on both sdes
was the possession Of the offices under the vern.
ment. All admitted that If the Democrats pre-.
vailed In the election, they would have these, and
tie Wings made no preience that they expected
to retain them II defeated this was one OF The is
sues before the people, and the result of the cleo
ton contains the verdict Of the people upon that
issuea verdict against the present inc umbents Of
the Offices within the gift of the Executive
Such being the fact, such the antccedents Of the
Wing party in this behalf, what claim have they
70 apy forbearance from Democratic admnistrn-
| toni When in power they have been ruthlessly
proscripve, and In the contest which has resulted
in their overthrow they openly avowcd that IL
successful they should give all the Offices to their
friends; and 1t would be O mockery of Justice for
them to be allowed to retain them when defeated
upon such an avo~at. And the officers themselves
certainly have no claims TO forbearnnce, for most Of
them obtained their places by the removal of DEM
ocras-many of them by the removal Of worthy
and faithful officers upon the false and fraudulent
Pretence that they were iiicompeentand dishonest.
And not only 3d. but these officers took an active
part in the canvass against the Democracy devot.
ing the influence Of their stations to prevent the
election OF the Democratic candidates. They
fought for their places. and being beaten, they
have no cause for complaint If they compelled
to yitli the places thus fairly forfeited.
We contend therefore that the Wing party have
no claims upon the forbearance of the new admin.
istration in this respect, both because they have
never practiced any when in power towards the
Democracy, and berause, In the late contest, they
openly proclaimed their determination to practice
none II they were retained in powerj and were
slgnaily defeated upon that issue, with others We
leo Contend that the Wing Office holders have no
claims 10 forbearancc. both because they obtained
their place by the removal Of Democrats at least
as competent and faithful as themselves and be
cause they devoted their time and money, md
used the influence OF their Offices, to defeat the
Democracy for the purpose Of retaining Their places
and being beaten ON that issue made by themscves
II - but simple Justice that they shall now give
place to their oppon ents, Ant, Furthermore, the
administration will be under obligations TO cx
ercse lorbearance towards its opponents, both for
tncse reasons, ana because the Democratic party
gave no pledges during the contest to do so but
on the contrary, everyw proclaimed that their
success would involve O general change OF officers
Thus stands the matter as between the two par
ties But the new administration will have duty
to perform to the country in this respect which is
OF higher moment and far more difficult to per.
| form OF this, and of the general subject OF re-
movals and appointments, shall have some
thing more to cay hereafter. We will only now
remark that the offic ial corruption, neg ligence,
| and imbecility 50 visible and prevalent during the
reign Of our present rulers must be re formed and
The authors banshed from the places they have
dtsgraced. The people demand, the very exist
ence OF the Government requires, that the Augcan
stables shall be ciesnsed. Corruption, imbecity,
and inhdelity must give place TO integrity, en-
| ergy, and fidelity. even il the removal Of every
ONCE holder in the country is required to effect it,
The people expect this; they elected General
Pierce 10 accomplish il; and we have every reason
to believe that 1t will not be his fault if their rca
sonable expo cations in this behalf nre not fully
realized.
DEATH or SAMUEL R,Gas.-Samuel Riggs esq.,,
prominent merchant and banker Of New York,
died in that city on the 26,h instant. In noticing
the event, the Commercial advertiser snye:
"Mr Riggs commenced business in the city of
Baltimore about he of ,b.