Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-09-13

to stand prominent before all others IN such a
work. Whenever lGaster-spirt aud crisis
concur to produce such M event. the NAN be-
comes, and rarely ceases to he. the idol Of a
party or of a nation.
1t was at such Il crisis that the m;l,tcr-Slririt
Of Andrew Jackson availci To overthrow the
system OF Congressional caucus upon which
his competitors 50 implicitly relied for Success
Recognizing the vanity Of any attcmp; TO cor
rect the existing evil !y means Of mere de
liberation where his opponents possessed all
the machinery Of dclibcratiyc management.
and where ,lcmurc trinmci> could have the
easiest opportunity To- darhcn connSeiS hy
words without wisdom, the Old Hero like
another Alexander, iisdaincd In weary his
fingers in the pcrplcxiticS Of tho Gordian knot,
and boldly cut it in twain. At single blow, 10y
! hearty appeal 10 popular sentiment and tie
mand for popular action, he struck down the
: whole abusive system Of Congressional CAUCUS,
before hc attempted 10 contrivc substitute
which should supcrscdc it, functions, wisely
leaving to popular necessity the whoIr task pi
! invention thus ncccSsltated.
! The system Of national conI cn;oa> thus
sprung at oncc-not from the bosom OF dcllbc-
rativc reform, but from the very lap of party
revolution. For awhile it was all sufficient for
the purpose ofits creation. Andrew Jackson was
borne to the highest position in the nation, on the
very crest the tidc.wayc Of popular movement
the choice Of the majority Of the American
pcoplc-belorc all other men, their undoubtcd
choice And the same popular choice which
raised him to the Presidency, maintained him
there Congressional caucus was as powcrlcsS
to control his administration, a. Il was TO OBJ
struct his election. Congress was shorn so alb
rupt!v of its accustomed but unconstitutional
powers. that the feeling Of surprise amounted
III some instance TO preSentlmcnt Of danger
so strong aS afterwards TO assist temporary
rcyulSion Of the attitude Of parties. based on
iStrllSt OF Executive power untrammcled by
I unconstitutional legislative control. Henry
! Clay SAW that the very completeness Of there
volution effected. gave the best promise Of Il re-
action II was then that Mr.. Clay uttered the
celebrated sentence Mr. President: We are
'.in the midst Of rcvolution-hithc,to blood
less but rapidly tending towards the ron>oli-
"'la!ion Of Ill power in the hands Of one man.
"a lar as tlic election or Administration Of
Iacksom was couccrne'l Congressional cawcus
was ruwc,lcsS When he retired from power
however, il Immediately BEGAN 10 be employed
: To influence national conventions. In this man
ncr, il has never since ceased to WELD an iniiu
rncc. in some instance, almost rs powerful.
though less direct than when it claimed the
sole power Of Presidential nomination.
Andrew Jackson's popular influence Vas
still sufficient to raise one Of his adhcrcnts to
the Presidency. These adhcrcnts rcsortcd to
Congressional caucus to assist in making the
selection of the candidate. Mr.. Van Buren,
owed his nominations to Tie influence Of Jack
sons popularity coupled with the action Of i
Congressional caucus.
After his elevation TO the Presidency, Mr..
tho position which the immense popularity ol
hi, predecessor had enabled him to hold Mr.
Van Burcn was no, strong enough to "ctg
Congressional caucus. He determined 10 ~
ii: he did use it with sufficient address 10 So
cure his OWN re nomination to the Presidency;
he uscd it, too 80 nnsparlngly as TO widen that
division in the Democratic ranks which Icd TO
the election Of Il coalition ticket composed oil
4 National Republican from Ohio and a State
Rights Democrat from Virginia, i'll 1910.
1t was to prevent the suppression Of the will
of the majority of tl:" party, by means ol the
influence of the Congressional caucus on Ma
tonul Conventions, that the party 'cSortcd I"
the two-thirds rule.
The remedy afforded has been but partial
and insufficient. Congressional caucus WAS
assiduously employed BY faction Of the De-
mocracy to obstruct the glorious Admnlstra-
,icn Of James X. Polk, and, doubtless, was one
If the clements Of Democratic defeat i'll ISIS.
And although Congressional caucuS was in,
sufficient to defeat the nomination Of Franklin
Pierce, it did avail to defeat the nomination OF
James Buchanan in 1852. Nor did tic caucoS
relax its invidious efforts even after the cleo
ton of Mr.. Pierce Scarcely was he Inaugural
ted before members Of Congress, Of his own
partv had arranged cmbarassmcnts for his
I Administration and even established an oppo-
,ition press to war upon it at Washington.
Again: The Congressional caucus was called
into play in 1866, to defeat the nomination Of
Mr.. Buchanan, Il result which it barely failed
to accomplish; and the Presidents inaugural
was not delivered before the same caucus had
arranged all the machinery of Democratic op-
position to the Administration.
Present indications arc unmistakablc. The
same Congressional caucus which gave the cold
shoulder to james H. Polk, the same Congrcs-
sonal caucus which insured Democratic defeat
in 1856, the same Congressional caucus which de-
fcatcd the nomination Of Mr.. Buchanan in 1872,
the same Congressional caucus which warred
on the Administration of Franklin Pierce for
three years, and then joined his friends only in
order to defeat Mr. Buchanan's nomination
in 1856, the same Congressional caucus
which organized an unprinciplcd opposition
to the present Administration, which menaced
,bc President into the vacillatins and uncer-
tain policy which has already resulted in such
disasters, to the Dcmocracy-this very SAME
Congressional caucus now affords nucleus 70,
efforts, open and secret. incidental and direct
to ,lcfcat the will Of the majority at Charles
ton, by the adoption Of n platform, which, one
of our Virginia cotcmporarics assures us
would drive off from the support Of the candi
date Of the Convention nine-tenths OF tht
Southern Democracy. Democratic mnoriteS