The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-04-07
Administration Failures.


point from which We may look back over
the brief inglorious career OF President
Buchanan, and derive lessons Of political
wisdom.
1t is not too much to say tina. the Pre-
silent, when he came into Office, had an
opportunity to establish for himself an en-.
viable reputation. Fettered though he was
by the Democratic Platform, still, even
that would have given him liberty to ex-
ercise some degree of fairness in his deal.
ings with Kansas. He was elected by
strong majority both the Senate and
House were largely Democratic and a
tolerable degree of decency and frnness
would have secured successful admins
tration. He had been known as mod.
crate man. He was the candidate of the
Northern wing of the Democracy and
the most confident promises were made by
his friends that his policy would at once
put an end to agitation, and give Repub-
licansm its death blow. Many Republi.
cans were disposed to credit these repre-.
sensations. Some newspapers which had
opposed him, such as the New York Times,
were ready to give him hearty support
should these assertions prove true.
How were these expectations realized
In his inaugural, before the bred Scott
decision had been made, he pledged him.
self in advance to stand by the deci ion,
well knowing what it was to be He was
the tirst man to state decidedly and au-
thoritatively, that the u. 5. Constitution
protects slavery in all the territories, al
the same time expressing his wonder that
any one should ever have doubted it,
though he himself, in his earlier life. had
denied it. He refused to sustain Gov.
Geary in Kansas, though he had been one
OF his most energetic supporters. He re-
fused to remove Judge Lecompte, whose
base caricature of jud cial character had
disguised even Pierce. He appointed as
Governor of Kansas, man we'll known as
an able defender of Southern doctrines.
Afterwards, refusing to sustain him in the
course which he himself had marked out
he compelled Walker to resign, and re-
moved Stanton for the first act of Justice
to the majority of the people of Kansas.
Openly abandoning the principle of Pop.
ular Sovereignty to the support of which
he was bound by his election, in his first
annual message, he proposes the admission
Of Kansas under constitution..adopted by
delegates elected under a law, which ex-
cluded large part of the Free State men
from voting, enacted by Legislature
which they had no part in chosing-a con.
stitution which recognized slavery as per-
manent institution, and which the people
were to have no right to reject. He rec
commended this admission, though he had
in his instructions to Walker, advised its
entire submission to the people. He pre-.
tended, contrary to every principle OF COM
mon sense, that the slavery clause was all
the people of Kansas cared about, though
he knew that even the rejection of that
would not have made Kansas free State.
We have not time to enumerate all his acts
of weakness and folly. A great scheme
Of wickedness necessarily involves the com.
mission Of numberless small acts of wick.
edness. 1t involves large number of lies
and inconsistencies and of these, Bu-
chanan has been guilty of enough to make
even a small man famous.
His great object was to put the Leoomp-
ton Constitution through Congress. For
this purpose, he descended to such depth
of trickery as would have ruined any, but
a modern Democratic Administration.
When he sent his special message to Con-
gress, he said that Lecomp.on would 90
through in sixty days, or he would die.
Senator Douglas and his adherents for OPP
posing It have been read out of the party,
and subjected to every kind of abuse. By
every possible effort, those that were in.
clined to bolt have been whipped into the
ranks. Every proposed modification of
the bill has been rejected by the Southern
fre-eaters, and therefore, by the President.
The Lecompton Constitution, with its UNI
sugared bitterness, was to be forced down
the threats of the Kansas people.
In this form, the bill passed the Senate.
In the House, after every thing had been
done to prevent it, Senator Crittenden's a.
mendment, proposing to recommit the Con-
stitution to the people of Kansas for adop.
ton, or rejection, was passed by major
ity of eight. .a
This is q defeat of Buchanan, and Bit