The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-09-17

awaited the appointment under the new AdmA
| istrstion, enxiously, but not with doubts
fears. Mr.. Buchanan was well aware OF the u :
portauce of the occasion. He had been elects,'
TO the Presidency as an able. honest, expos :,
erced, and mpsrtisl patriot. He was regarde
as the impersonation of the Conservative seel
of the country. The nation looked to him t,
suppress the storm, amid the howiings of whir I
he had been borne triumphsntly into Office. /
was no ordinary obstacle that met him In :
outset; and he felt the necessity to himself q !
to the country of overcoming 1t.
Those Governors who had been previou, .
sent to Kansas had signally failed in their no .
sions. And to select man equal to the ene
gency was the delicate duty devolved upon L
Administration. Robert ]. Walker was Al :
nounced, and the appointment was spplaude
North and South. He received his instruction. !
and repaired to the field of his labors, whe, ,
he had hardly arrived before there was a mt :
muir of discomfort at his course in the SOM
which IN a few weeks became aggravated ina J
violent denunciation of him, accompanies
anon with either srtful insnuations or open a.
ssults upon the Administration
Thus there was a schism in the ranks of tia
Southern Democracy-on the one hand, a fes-
bic faction of mslcontents hesping msledictiop l
upon the head of Gov. Walker, and endeavo :.
ing to embsrrass and undermine the Admin =.
trstion and, on the other, almost all the grett
leaders, backed by the sympathy and confidence
Of the immense mass of the Democracy, Mort /
and South, repelling the unjust aspersions #
the opposition, and driving them from the Z
ground, By arguments and answers, which thu ,
could not Withstand. This warfare, as the pu
lie well know, was wsged with spirit on bo =
sides for weeks. And even now an occasion~l
gun is heard, as some one or another of t .
1ismantled ships, belonging to the little feet #
the enemy, fires a farewell shot of defiance uni }
death drifting away into the distance without
chart or compass, her captain crippled, btr
crew mutnied, her ammunition expended, ana
her hulk slowly sinking into the fathomless ses.
The contest, however, may be considers
quite at an end. The skirmish is over, and q J.
Anti-Administrstion faction, feeble a. first, his
been badly beaten, aud is now nOnpllSsed 81 J
disconnected. Such are the circumstances q
der which the Presidents letter appears. b =
enemies have assailed him severely, RELENTLESS
ly, unfairly, and unjustly. They have befa
met, and driven from their position aud nc. Y
that the storm has blown over, the opponen. /,
of the Administration reluctantly retiring froA
he contest, and the National Democracy still
standing fearless and firm, it is peculiarly Cd.
perfume, We think. that the views of the Presi
dent relative to Kansas affairs should be sub
mitted to the country, and assurance made
doubly sure of his continued adherence to The
Constitution, his impartial attention to the i'm
lerests of the whole country, and his impert1r.
oable determination to administer the Govern
uent upon those principles which are advoca
ted and upheld by the Democratic party, ana
With reference to which he was elected Chief
Magistrate Of the American people.
The letter is frank and fearless exposition
of the views of the Administration, on the dis
turbing topic which it treats And it canpo
fail to command the unquslife ed commendation
of every conservative citizen in the Union.