The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1857-01-21

disunion and civil war. Senators may fin,
fault with the Presidents argument; they ma,
sllege that it is not warranted by the premises
but l appeal to any candid mind-I appeal t
these Senators themselves, upon reconsidera
tion-where is the prctext for asserting tina
the President has employed libelous epithet
toward them, or called in question their mo
tives or good intentions? .., ,t...-
The Senator from New York Mr.. SEWARD
took occasion, in his briefobseryations, to decIar
that passages of this description were without
precedent in our executive message. He repre-
sented General Pierce as the first President o
the United States who had ever, in official com
munications to Congress, spoken of the conduc
of any considerable number Of the American
people. The Senator seems to be as little &C
quaintcd with the language, as with the princi
pies and sentiments of George Washington
In the sixth annual address to Congress, datet
the 10Th Of November, 1874, find this para
graph, speaking ofthe citizens ofwcstern Penn
sylvania, who had, by associations, obstructet
the execution;of thelaws of,the United States
but whose insuTecton had been suppressed BY
the military forces Of the United States: .,
Sand when, in the calm moments of refec
ton, they shall have traced the origin and pro
gress of this insurrection, let them determine
whether it has not been fomented by combiua
tions of men, who, careless of consequences
and disregarding the unerrihg truth, that those
ol.
convultion, have disseminated from an ignor
ance or peryersion of facts, suspicious, jealous
ies,s and accusations Of the whole Govern
ment." H--aa a,t"s ~
1t would really seem as if the line of argu
ment adopted by General Pierce in .tEis mes
sage had been taken from the line of argument
pursued by General Washington upon that oc.
casion. "'t
But the same Senator, as well as the Senators
from New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, de.
clared that there was no other case in which d
President of the United States had referred te
the results Of a presidential election in any Off
cial communication. Without in1uiring to much
extent, have found two cases, the example Of
two Presidents, either Of whom would lie suffi-
cient authority with me. In the second inatir
gural address Of Thomas Jefferson, delivered
on the 4th of March, 1905, lie spoke in distinct
terms of the charges which had been made a.
gainst his adminstrationin thenewspapers, and
Of the result: r-s5. .a,q-~ds. ~ -ssgg
During this course of administration, and in
~,
been leveled against US, charged with whatsoev.
er its RIGHTEOUSNESS could devise or dare These
abuses Of an institution so important to freedom
and science are deeply TO be regretted, nasmuch
as they tend to lessen. its usefulness and to sar
its safety; they might, indeed, have been cor,
rected by the wholesome punishments reserved
and provided by the laws of the several States
against falsehood and defamation; but public
duties more urgent press on the time of public
servants, and the offenders have therefore
been left to find their punishment in the public
Indignation. p"
"Nor was il unintercsting to the world that
an experiment should be fairly and fully made,
whether freedom ofdiscussion unaided by pow
or, is not sufficient for the propagation and
protection of truth-whether a Government
conducting itself in the true spirit Of its consti-
tuition, with zeal and purity, and doing no act
which it would be unwilling the whole world
should Witness can be written down by, false.
hood and defamation. The experiment has been
tried; you have witnessed the scene; our fellow
citizens have looked on, cool and collected; they
saw the latent source from which these outrages
proceeded; they gathered around their public
funetionaries, and, when the Constitution called
them to the decision by suffrage, they pronoun-
ced their verdict--honorable to those who had
served them, and consolatory to the friend o
man, who believes he may be intrlsted with his
own affairs" ,,.,,-..-
If Mr.. Jefferson had lived in our times, he
would have learned that the falschoods ofthc
press increase rather THANK diminish as our Gov
ernment proceeds. q anag,. ar Afra .ib~a
There is another precedent l will not read
it, but only refer to it. DO we not remember
that, in his celebrated protest addressed to this
body, as well as throughout his annual message
of the next year, Andrew jackson referred tc
the fact of his re-e election as an endorsement o
his policy towards the Bank Of the United
States? ---~-.
1t may be suggested, however, that the pres
ent Chief Magistrate was not himself re elected
as Jefferson and Jackson WERE That distnc
tion, for the purposes of this argument, amounts
to naught. Those Senators declared here at tho
last session--they declared throughout ths
country, in all imaginable iorms---that the elec-
ton ofMr. Buchanan would be continuation d
the policy which General Pierce's administration
~.