The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1856-08-16
])plitiral
LctGer ofehar!es II. calvert, ESQ.
who should the Old Clay
Wings SHppOEt


sing that my opinion will influence the dcci-
sion of single individual, desire a small
space in your paper TO assign the reasons
which induce mo to support Mr.. Fillmore.
The contest in Maryland can only be between
Fillmore and Buchanan, and deny the pro-
pricty of going beyond those candidates to
hunt up reasons. for our choice. Let every
man in the Union ask his own conscience,
and not the pohs'cal trichstcrs who endoavor
to control their selection by establishing po-
litical platforms and other devices, who of the
candidates will make the best President for
the whole Union, and act according to his
own decision Of the question? Ask yourselves
which Of these candidates from his past life
and services, deserves the support of the old
line Wings, or rather the old Clay Wings. I
make a distinction between those who left the
line to look for military leaders and those
who remained in to the last. 1t is said that
comparisons are odious, but we can only Judge
Of persons Or things by comparison, and
therefore propose TO compare the antecedcnts
of these two gentlemen.
Mr.. Fillmore, after ably serving the Wing
party in many distinguished positions. was
selected in 1913 as ono Of their standard
bearers, and we al! rccollcct the excitement
which pervadtd all classes over the whole
Union when he became. by the death Of Gen.
Taylor, the President. He at once became
the President of the Union and not of a party
| and by this very act drove of from his future
support all those politicians who only desired
the success of their party to attain their own
selfish aspirations. lie administered the Gov
eminent with such signal ability that the
waves of sectional jealousy aud strife which
had been running mountain high, were calmcd
in moment, and he gained for himself, ami
richly deserved it, the title Of the "NTodcl
President for it may be safely asserted that
no administration since the days of Washing
ton. ever gave more universal satisfaction to
| the masses OF all parties. If the true interests
! of the Wing party and the country had been
consulted, he would in 1852, have received
the unanimous nomination Of the Wing Con-
vcntion bnt he was defeated by politicians
| who misreprrScntcd the wishes Of their con-
stitucnts, because he had been the President
of the Union, and not of their party. Up to
the time of his acceptance of the American
nomination, Mr.. Fillmore certainly was the
choice Of the old line Wings: and now pro-
pose to take peep at the history of the Dem
| ocratc nominee.
In reviewing history, find nothing worth
recording until wo come to the celebrated
Bargain and Corruption" story, which first
brought Mr.. Buchanan prominently before the
publc-and as many attempts have been
made to free Mr.. Buchanan from the odium
attached to all concerned in that transaction,
| propose to examine the testimony. lie GER
family was the foundation on which the whole
calumny rested and although his friends at
tempt to show that he did Mr.. Clay full JUS
tcc by promptly denying, when called upon
that he had any authority from Mr.. Clay, or
his friends, to make any propositions to Cen
cral jackson, or that he had intimatcd any
such authority, still General Jack son asserted
that he had done so. 1t was in the power of
Mr.. Buchanan to have at once silenccd the
SANDER, by stating a conversation which he
had previously had with Mr.. Clay in the pre-
sence Of Gov Lctcher, but not satisfied with
Withholding the substance of this convcrsa-
ton from the public himself. he succeeded in
sealing the lips Of both Mr. Clay and Gov.
Letchcr, by personal appeal to their mag
nanimity, and he is, therefore, in no better
position than if he had endorsed the state
mcnt From that time up to his late nomi-
nation, if have read his history correctly,
he has wagcd un:clenting war upon Wing
principles and leaders, and in his last speech
to the Keystone Club he says :-'Bring the
representative Of the GREAT DEMOCRATIC
party, must square my conduct according to
that platform: and insert no new plank or
take one from it. That Platform is sufficient
" broad and national for the whole Demo-
cratic party" Alter this, his last dcclara-
tion | ask the Wings, in the words Of Web.
stcr, Where am 10 so"
Since writing the foregoing | have seen the
letter of Gov. Pratt and examined 1t to asccr-
tain what course he advised the Wings to
pursue in this emergency. In the iirSt place
he endcavors TO read Mr.. Fillmore out of the
Wing party, because he joined the Americans,
but Mr.. Fillmore did no more than Gov
Pratt, myself ana many thousand other Wings
did. who believing that the Wing party was
diSbandcd, as it really was at that time, uni
ted oul selves TO some other, and 1t does not
become us to lecture each other because we
cannot think alike. Gov. Pratt seems to sup
pose that the only question for the Wings to
determine. to come to proper conclusion, is
(which of the two national organizations can
by their vote be made most Ger tainly sue
ccssful, aid he then jumps to the conclusion
himself that the Democratic organization is
the one. He declares that the election of the
Republican candidate will be destruction to
the South and the Union, and then advises
the southern men 10 ucSeTI MT. Fillmore,
who has always stoot. nohly by the South,
and sacrificed his popularity at the North by
his noble stand in favor of Southern rights;
and he would have us discardan old ana true
friend to take up one who has always stood
in rather an cquiyocal position. He argues
that Mr.. Fillmore is not the strongest man,
because in his opinion he cannot carry one
Northern State, but he docs not say that Blu
chanan can do any better, and il there is any
reliance to be placed i'll the signs Of the times
he might have further said that buchanan
cannot certainly carry "a single Southern
State.
These, however are the mere opinions of
individuals, and should not have the weight
of feather in making up our Judgment. \
much safer guide is for every man to give his
support to that party which approaches near
est TO his standard of excellence, without
being governed by amy other influences. In
the words of Crockett, "iirst see you are
right, then go ahead" Gov. Pratt admits
that all the free soil and abolition Americans
have left Mr.. Fillmore and the American
party, and still he asks Southern men to unite
upon party supported by the Soits, as they
are called in New York, with Martin Van
Buren, 1.-THE candidate of the abolitionists in
lS4S) at their head. Mr.. Fillmore has been
tried, and proved himself national and con-
eery,t w., man mt oulv Inv b,S acts when