Weekly North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1858, 1857-09-16
The Presidents Letter.

The Presidents Letter.
The Presidents late manly and patriotic letter in
reply to the Connecticut clergymen, is hailed with
satisfaction in all portions of the country. Nor is
the Northern conservative and Democratic press be-
hind that of the South in commencing this docu-
ment We give below some specimens of the tone
in which it has been received by our Northern CO.
temporaries. The Pennsyloanian says:
"There is total absence of all mere partisan de-
clamation in this paper of the Presidents. He prop
erly rebukes the illegal and dangerous tendencies of
the Topeka convention; but even that is done as
impartial Judge, who looks only to the evidence for
his facts and the law for his guide. The deep feel
ing of reverence for the constitution which is mani
tested in every line of this answer Of Mr. Buchanan
contrasts most forcbly with that want of proper
gard for the faithful administration Of law which
forms the basis of the memorial" of Prof. Silliman
and his colleagues. Mr. Buchanan has thus early
in his administration put on record a most powerful
rebuke to that spirit of pharsacal superiority which
underlies the whole abolition movement in the
country, and at the same time furnished another
ldence of his intention to preserve the rights of the
States and the integrity of the Union from the open
attacks of traitors and the secret Vaccinations of
protesting friends"
The Press Mr.. Forney's paper, says:
"a public man who is fortunate in his friends is
an object of envy to his opponents. But Mr. Bu-
chanan is fortunate in his enemies-emnentlyf fortu
nate, in that they have furnished him opportuni-
y OF appealing against an insane sectionalism, at
critical period like the present. to the whole coun-
try. The Executive is compelled both by custom
and by courtesy to be silent in the midst of calum-
ny. He must stand by and see his motives i'm
pugned and his sincerity suspected and refrain from
the utterance of that word which, spoken from him,
would blow his assaants into the air. But there
are proper exceptions to everygeneral rule and in
this case the exception enables good man to re-
buke, in the language of the simple truth, most
unwarrantable and gratuitous indgnity to himself,
and gross libel upon history. We do not think
that the annals of controversy can furnish a more
complete reply to dogmatic assumption of superior
patriotism and piety than that contained in Mr. Bu-
chanan's response to these Connecticut meddlers.
The country them thanks, for the first time in
many years-thanks for exposing their vain and
vapd sophistry to the irresistible artillery of the
Presidents old-fashioned Pennsylvania logic and
common sense"
That old and sterling Journal, the Boston Post,
says:
mortal will remind old democrats land old federal
lists to of the times and the writings of jefferson
Though there may be some doubt whether the
President should have replied at all these memo
riasts, there can be no question as to the power,
dignity, and conclusiveness of his rejoinder. The
correspondence is striking illustration of the de-
mocracy of our institutions The Chief Magistrate
of mighty republic reasons with his constituents
answers their complaints in the face of the world
all the world will say courteously, and great
majority of it will say triumphantly"
The Trow (New York; Budget introduces the letter
with the following remarks:
"This letter, after having been kept back some
weeks has now made its appearance, and lose no
time in laying it before our readers. The reply Of
the President is something more than scathing
buke of his clerical cathechists; it is we'll forci-
BILE exposition of Executive duty and mastery
vndicaton of the Kansas policy of the admnistra-
ton. His position towards the Topeka convention
is precisely similar to that of President Madison to-
ward the old Hartford convention, and he will fol.
low that precedent that has been sustained by the
good sense of the whole county for more than forty
years. He will take notice of the proceedings OF
such "illegal and dangerous combinations" until
they shall perform some act that will bring them in
actual collision with the constitution and then they
shall be resisted and put down by the whole power
Of the government" We imagine it will be some
time before Prof Slliman and his clerical coadjutors
draw Mr.. Buchanan out the second time"