Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1859-04-22

the voice of denunciatOry opposition, l
was all right, and rebellion" became 10y
atty And yet Pennsylvanlans see 10
thing wrong in this (; nay, they commend
it. Chains never clanked upon the limbs
Of beings more servile and debased. W,
might, perhaps, be able to open their eyes
to the truth, aud loosen their tongues tc
utter it, by continuing them IN office undei
a new administration, governed by more
benign policy. If parties with such plas'
tic notions, shall be able to grasp the con
troll Of cur government, then must the
strong empire of the North be dwarfsd tt
barrenness, and eighteen millions Of white
slaves ftre, be added to the four millions
of black slaves yonder. That is indeed a
strange illustration Of the advantages o.
free government which prOclaims neces
sity for crushing out the Inherent power
of people by fashioning their institutions
for them, requiring it to be sanctioned,
and yet allows and encourages denial oil
law by which alone bankrupt treasury
can be replenished, and honest debts paid.
But, sir, we charge further upon the
administration of Mr.. Buchanan one Of
the main causes by which We have reached
the point of national insolvency, a reckless
prodigality in the expenditures Of the pub
lie money, and prevailing vice in the de-
partments of the government. 1t is a
gross mistake to suppose that our increas-
ed expenses are owing to an expansion OF
territory aud the removal of oar frontier.
The administration Of Mr.. Van Buren,
with an annual outlay Of thirty seven mil
lions Of dollars, was pronounced extrava-
CANT now our expenses are close upon
one hundred millions q year. But We
have got used to talking of millions with
out stopping to consider the magnitude of
the figures. We have abandoned our for
mer and better practices. When Mr.. JEFF
ferson was President, he required honesty
and capability in his appoiutees now, su-
bordina,es are selected for their own lack
of independence, conscience and will.
There was time, which our fathers re-
member, when to be the head Of depart
ment, Secretary of the Treasury, or OF
War, or of the Navy, required greatness
and inspired confidence; now man of
very moderate dimensions will suffice for
either place. An ex Governor or eifete
Senator will always answer for the posi-
ton, provided be has the marks of gives
upon his legs, and does not know too
much l hazard little in saying there is
now more money squandered aud stolen,
yearly, than it required during the admin
istratiens of Madison, Monroe, and the
younger Adams, to support the Govern
ment.
There is not only no careful supervision
of our finances, but funds are drawn, con-
stan,ly, directly from your treasury to re-
ward favorites, and to give approved shape
to public opinion at the polls; IN other
words, to carry elections. The Secretary
of the Navy, among others, may know
something of this. If he should not, the
Patterson letter, with the Presidents en-
dorsement, may afford him information
Public property OF great value Is sold,
privately and cOyertly, at 1.-THE of Its
worth; other land is bought as almost
fabulous prices. Navy Yards, Post OFF
ces, Custom Houses and Mlnts, have been
stocked, crowded, crammed, for weeks and
months, with superanuates and ldlers, and
paid the wages only due to well-taugh BIT
craft and deserving industry, for the mere
purpose Of overriding the legal voters, re-
turning parasites, tumbler and trencher
friends, to Congress, and publishing an at
tested lie to the world. These acts
these fragrant violations, Of preservative
law and. decent behavior-have all been
endorsed here, in this place, in this Capt.
tol, and uttered and published as true
and genuine Democracy. God save the
Republic! And knowing them all, and
in the face of them all, the President him
self, to whom but three short years ago We
gave the fullness of our confidence, now
bleached by age, and blanching before
the frowus Of an outraged aud insul,ed
constituency, cants and whlnes, IN hypo-
critical numbers, over the degeneracy of
the times, and in the expression of fear
lest elections should be carried by gold.
Catching the sounds of lamentaflon as
they issue from the open easements and
portals of the White House, your Biglers,
ct III onne genus, move with the hCshed
and solemn tread Of mourners, and shed
gouty tears of blood.
The iudefensiblc and destructive man.
agemeus of the Post Office Department,
requires especially to be noticed. Within
a very short period, for the mere purpose
of enriching contractors, bestowing larges-
ses upon sterile and uninhabted districts
of the South, and acquiring power, the ex-
penditures have been almost doubled
run up to the enormous sum of twenty
millions of dollars-and the mail system
made a by-word and reproach. With
new, extended, and expensive routes,
without corresponding returns, sunk in
fathomless debt, aye, paralised by burth-
ems, its chief Justify cries for bel and pit
eous!y begs the sinews Of prolonged NAL
feasance. But upon whom does he call j!
Upon those to whom the appeal lis always
made when money, votes, soldiers, or 9th
er effective help is requlred-upon the Ia
boring thrifty-the mud sills' Of the
Eastern, Northern, Middle and Western
States. 1t is consoling to know we are
good enough to pay, If not to receive.
l..