Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-02-10
From Washington City.

Correspondence Of tie Rmhmond Enq"jr.f.
WASHINGTON. Feb. j.-It is the current
rnmor of til" hour that the President has de-
tcrmin"dou making the thirty million bill
and Il Modification in the tariff in favor Of
specific duties. test questions of the Admin
i>tration. If So, then he makes direct issue
with the South whose principles have been
always opposed to extravagant expenditures
of the public money, and tariff of PR
lection III place Of one of revenue. One
would imaglnge that after his experience On
the Lecompton test" similar attempt
would not be repeated during the remaining
half of his term of office. The hopes, how
ever, of every national Democrat, of seeing a
total abandonment of so hazardous a process
of coercing the independence of frcemen to n
seryile concurrence with the Executive will,
are not To be realized during the existence Of
the present Administration. This is certain
" the epoch OF tests and tcstineSs, OF pctu-
lance, pride and the persecution Of honest
differences of opinion on political questions
of no intrinsic value to the Democratic
party, in party point Of view, if We
except the tariff, which it is sought to al
ter, for the benefit of the protectionists.-
What is u be the end of this policy it is not
difficult to foresee With Douglas testified
out of the party at the North because he rcti-
SEES to swallow Lecompton, a cheaianda jrdud,
as it has been since then pronounced by Mr..
Hammond. of South Carolina, in his Barn
well speech, though he spike and coted for it.,
knowjng it To be what he describes it, and
Clingman. Slideil 1t I'd omne genus, testified
out of it, at the South, for opposing the Pres-
dents views on the tariff, where does the Adj
ministration stand? No where but in n
state of betreenity, not knowing 10 which sec
ton of the country t" look for support i'll its
difficulties. Verify at no time since the days
when
"Pyrrhus cured his ts.tg courters with kick
has the Executive of nation foot-balled it,
parasites about with so serene an indifference
to their convictions Of duty 10 the country as
Mr. Buchanan IL is either Lccompton or the
guillotine: the thirty million plumber fund.
or the same: and the modification Of the tariff
in favor of protection or there is II" room for
the "rehcls" t. il in his affections. IL i
time. surely. for this state Of things to cease.
and for him 10 carry out in good faith TN"
principles of the party a, enunclated Ill the
Cincinnati platform, and thus savcit from dis
solution, upon the verge of which it now
stands, and which it i, destined 10 suffer if the
leaders in Congress do not forthwith come
to its rescue.
In connection with this subject will men,
ton the fact that. although the States" Of
this CITY endeayors to give Mr.. Hunter the
sole credit for the introduction of the resolu-
ton offered in the Senate caucus last week.
declaring it inexpcdient 10 make any moditi-
cation in the tariff to Mr.. Clingman alone
does all its honor belong. The history Of the
affair is simply as follows; The Senator from
North Carolina suggested 10 Mr.. Hunter Il
few DAYS before the caucus met. that II was
necessary the Democratic members OF the
Senate should have private meeting III or
der that the views of all should be ascertain
ed on the question, and requested him I" di-
rect the Sergeant-at-A Arms to notify them
Mr. Hunter promised he would do So. No
one Of them, however, received any no
tice from the Scnatc's officer tn meet IN
caucus for some days, when Mr. Cling
man appealed to Mr. Douglas to have it done,
who PROMISED TO attend to it? In the
interim it wss asccrtained that the cs-
pecial friends Of Mr.. Buchanan, including
Messrs Hunter and Slidell, wished 10 avoid
tho issue, which such test was likely u"
create betty ern them and the President, and
hence the delay III conforming 70 Mr.. Cling
man S proposition. Mr., Clingman in the mean.
time. had the notices sent out and when the
caucus was called Mr.. Hunter madea virtue OF
necessity, and offered the resolution which the
States gives him credit for. 1t is understood
that the President has promised MIR. Hunter
his support at the Charleston Convention,
for the nomination for the next Presidency.
il he will consent to IL modification of the Ia
riff in ureorianac with his views. In I'll"
meantime. MIR. Hunters friends ar" about I"
organize for the promotion Of his Prntens"n>
for that Office. for learn that Lewis {. iiar-
vie, of Richmond, j. here. making arrang"-
ments 10 establish Hunter organ Ill your
city. for which it i. in contemplation to buy
out the office Of the Examiner. Mr.. Goodc
is talked of ~ its editor, if Mr.. Pryor, whose
services in that department are sought and
expected, should prove intractible. Thus
has the Presidential campaign been fairly
begun, bv the movements above stated.