New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-08-16
81, ,7sq,TpUrT0N or PUBLIC OFFICE.

present day the trade OF pelielSs plu' N0
sense 81 honor and destroys public morality be cor
rect it follows rs consequence thaS Il Is also de-
stroyer ~ that serupulous decorum and stern dignity
which are expected to be and should be inseparable
from high public Office aud power. The scheming
ants. tie triekery batteries, subterfuges and down
right living to which our political deagogues resort
by wholesale and generally owe their success, and
which few of our greatest statesmen Gf we have any
that may be called great) altogether free from,
must have the effect of greatly impairng, if not wp-
ing out entirelyso far as the business of politics is
eoncerned-that sensitive and high consciousness
Of integrity which upright men are supposed to carry
into all other affairs of life. The crimes Of lying,
swindling corruption, promise breaking, bribery,
deeeiying the people, robbng the public treasury,
and numerous other harmless little peccadiloes which
have become quite common to public men Of the
present day. at least in this country, have attained
the advantage of being generally regarded venial
solely and entirely through their universal and long
continued practice -.a.=
1t really would SEEM to a disinteresed outside OBJ
server as if the seekers after public favor and place
had by common consent thrown aside whatever
tranmels Of honesty or scruples of honor and con.
science might be found nconyenient in the race for
Office, and that the people-the predestined victims
/
| tion Of a more free and easy code Of morals, as
most excellent Joke Such conclusion would be
fully warranted not olly by the evidences continually
afforded in the struggles at the hustings, but by the
conduct of our legislators and men in office generally
from the President down to the petty village post
master. Demagogues lie, and rant, and below by
the hour to crowds who, perhaps for the fun of the
thing, listen and tolerate if they do not approve
votes are openly bought and sold the grossest frauds
practiced and the laws set at defiance with boduess
and impunity by bands Of armed men In our legis
lative halls the most INSCRIPTIONS means are made
use Of to insure the success of measures intended to
promote private interests; the most shameless and
audaeous cases of bribery and corruption are passed
over in silence, looked upon as evidence Of extra
smartness or extort few careless comments or
iests, and are forgotten Or if as happened during
recent session Of Congress, the offending member
should be expelled the chances are that he will be
returned by his sympathzing constituents It is of
course to be expected that men without principle
will take every possible advantage of this obliQuty
of public sentiment and that 50 long as it exists
these exhibitions Of popular a1iliation with ndiyid-
ual rascality will continue. 1t is condition Of public
and private morals not very desirable nor credtabe
| to the nation.
That the trade Of politics is generally fatal to the
propreties and dgnities of official station is fact,
which nobody who reads the newspapers Of the day
or knows ANYTHING about the conduct and practices
81 the majority Of oficehoders can shut bis ewes to-
Lest any should be 50 obuse and benghted as to be
innocent of that knowledge, or so impractfcably OBJ
stipate as. knowing the fact, to deny it, we hereby
introduce most convincing and astounding nroot
thereof which we find in the Cincinnati Gazette
contemptible. scbemfng letter from his ExceIepcv
James Buchanan. written with the sole pprposo oI
influencing the vote ola Congressional district Here
it's:
- ,,....-. wAsmSGToy Jny 25h, 1855
don MO Far momnatns bemoere caadlas fr G6agres II
your dr,G w ILL., so tst o n tT H. Ga9n9 Tg og
that convention IfIyed nySu district and had tnon and
GS c52tde essential fbat You sGo9i succeed u t9g
H. X @ &Rs II B T TbaTe be h. BY me
aspr lHts tr tls position yqnr 4 80
voT md nus ezp5e 10 Be provided for il Suitable F m"nner
IL I %i NF0" as much assistance oo your district
Our friend Hughes, see has alRrd hoe. He will be
! Literally sustained. Of this yOH may rest assured
EuuE friend, JAMES BuCHANAN.