Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-03-05

and winning as child's. The young loved
him most, for his noble heart and generous
affections were fenced in by no convention
alities, but were freely and often injudicious-
ly bestowed. Few public men have suffered
more from ill-timed condolences, or paid,
without finching, heavier penalties for the
indiscretions of others. A man of purer SEN
timents-of simpler habits or more irreproach-
able morals-never lived. The atmosphere
Of the metropolis, its syrens and seductions,
had for him no taint. Calumny itself never
imputed to him, during lifetime of temp
tation, single lapse from virtue. Yet he
viewed with no ascetic eye the infrmities OF
others, and never pursued error as crime.
His most intimate friend-the late Warren
R. Davis-one of the most gifted men cfhis
day-was proverbial for his frailties and in
discretions. Mr.. Calhoun was fixed, rigid,
and immovable in his notions of right and
wrong. He early adopted certain great
principles for the regulation of his political
conduct, but, with singular blindness, he
constantly wandered from them. Ills in
tellectual vision, miraculously acute in all
other respects, was notoriously obtuse when
studying himself. To the last hour of his
life he was pursuaded that his political ca
reer had been uniform and inhexible, when
to every one else his inconsistencies were
transparent lie was less deeply read than
Mr.. Adams he knew less of mankind than
Mr.. Crawford nothing of the management
or discipline of party. But he had more in
tellect--more individuality-more conccn-
trativeness-more enthusiasm-ahigher and
purer appreciation of truth, than either of
them, or any other statesmen our country
has produced.
Mr. Writ, the encouragement, was of
large stature and heavy cast of features
with little, at that period, to indicate the
vivid imagination that colored and exaggera-
ted his early productions. He was either
too forid or too jejune; always too elaborate.
He was an excellent man; a little too saint.
ly, perhaps, in after life, in atonement for
early discretions, as the feudal barons found
ed monasteries in compensation for their
crimes; a delightful companion-very sus-
ceptible of fattery-yery didactic-very
credulous and very ambitious, as his accer-
tance of the anti-masonic nomination for the
Presidency, at an advanced period OF his
life, demonstrates--a nomination 4 truly
great man would have scorned to accept;
and which ended-as it deserved to do-1n
disgraceful abortion-a complete eclipse OF
Mr. Wirt's political sun, and he soon after
died of vcxation and disappointment.
This cabinet, it may readily be inferred,
was the government. They made of Mr..
Monroe mere pageant. He travelled from
city to city, and from State to State, while
his ministers conducted affairs. In this re-
spect they anglicised our government, for
the time being. The splendid diplomatic
correspondence of Mr. Adams, elaborate,
highly finished, and full of national spirit,
the luminous treasury reports of Mr. Craw-
ford, and the powerful impetus given to for
tifcations, internal improvements and manu-
factures by Mr.. Calhoun, withdrew public
attention entirely from President Monroe
The cabinet was everything. The game was
for the Presidency, and each of the trium-
virate played bold hand for it-Mr. Cal.
houn the boldcst and most hazardous, full of
promise for himself, but prolific. His poll
cy favored centralism. He pushed the con-
structive powers of the. government to the
farthest boundary, but lived to atone for this
fundamental error by consecrating his intel
lect, in its meridian glory, and his untirlng
energies, even to the closing scene, to the
defence of States rights.
The cabinet of John Quincy Adams was
only remarkable because Mr. Clay conduct
ed the Department of State. Mr.. Adams,
avowing from the first his intention to stand
for a second term, of course shaped the poll
cy OF the administration, sometimes, no doubt
against the advice of his llustrious premier,
and shaped it to bis own defeat and the OK
clusion of Mr.. Clay. Had their positions
been revcrsed--had Mr.. Clay been the chief
magistrate, and Mr.. Adams the minister
Gen. Jackson, in all probability, would not
have been elected. Our country, at this
moment, might occupy very different al
titude. What was called the "Amcrican
system" rapid development of home
manufactures, by schedule Of cxorbltant,
and in some instances, prohibiting duties,
concentrating vast capital in few honds: ma
tional banking. in close connection with the
federal treasury; the Federal Government
penetrating the States, and controlling their
legislatures and popular suffrage. by internal
Improvements, involving large outl"ys OF
public money; and cloSe.listcd policy in
relation 10 the public lands, holding them at
fixed prices, refusing the rights Of prc.enp-
tion, and impeding, as much us possible, the
flow of immigration from the manufacturing
to the agricultural Statcs-thi; vast machn-
cry would, doubtless, lave been engraitcd
upon the national policy, had the chief ma
gistrate been a really great man, Of popular
attributes, like Mr.. Gay, III tcai Of poiltl-
cal enthusiast, who, obstinate as his di>tin-
guiShcd sire, never knew when to retreat,
and regarded Fabius as 4 historical coward.
Under this policy We should have grown COM
pact, formidable, very aristocratic, very Eng,
lsh. The four great events most memorable
in our annals since the lievoulion-tEc sc.
paration of bank and statc-the metallic cur,
rcncv--thc annexation Of Texas, and tho