The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-09-12

thepeopie, il the. stereotyped char of cor
rapiionN and sxtrayagance, Which hey prefer
against the present Administration. Its a
shallow artifce, resorted to by demsgogues
who are eager to obtain power, and wholly
inscriptions in regard to the means employ
ed to attain their ends.
Putting the case in the strongest possible
point of view for those who make the charge,
suppose the charge were literally true what
would the people have to hope for froni the
Opposition party, if they were placed in pow
erl Areits members all men of immaculate
integrity Suppose everyone of them to
be honest to-day, whoist to give the people a
guaranty that they will rernaia honest, under
the temptations to which, as office-holden,
they would be exposed Again who gave
those eloquent gentlemen. who wax so red in
the face as they denounce the corruptlens
and extravagance of the Administration, an
thority to speak for their party in the prem
isesi The platform Of that party is -the
Constitution, the Union, and the enforcement
of the laws" They are not "committed' to
honesty or economy. All expressions of in
tcntion on those points are carefully "prcter-
mitted," by authority Of the Convention
which nominated their candidates and tho c
orators who expend so much Of their breath
in discussing matters that are outside of the
platform, may be running counter to the de-
liberate purpose Of the leaders Of the party,
who, in view of the fact that they had
been a long time out of power, may hive
judged itunwise to pledge themselves against
doing little "picking," now and then, TO
make up for the time they have lost during
their long exclusion from Office. Mr.. Wat
son, of Holly Springs, when he spoke in Ok
ford some weeks ago, did little else except to
assdil the Administration. What assurance
can he give that the members of his party,
elsewhere, will indorse what he says! Have
they ever put forth any authoritative declar-
alton on the subject9 Or is he satisfied
that they will ratify anything that contributes
TO their success
Men Of sense, who are content to be reason
able, would remember that Mr.. Buchanan is
not candidate for reelection, and, consc-
qucntly, that it Is an immaterial question, In
the present canvass, whether his administra-
ton has, or has not, been such as 10 COM
mand the public appreciation. Mr.. Breckin-
ridge is the candidate of the Democracy;
and il our opponents can fasten any charge
Of dishonesty or extrayagant expenditure Of
the public money upon him, they may legit-
imately do so. An argument, showing his
unfitncss for the Presidency, might be built
upon that foundation but to say that Mr..
breckenridge ought not to be made Presi-
dent, because Mr.. Buchanan's administration
has been faulty, is to employ species of log
ic which is by no means creditablc to him
who urges it, and which is "A direct insult to
the understandings of those to whom it is adj
dressed.
Thus far we have treated the charges
against the Administration upon the assump-
ton, for the purposes of our argument, that
they were well founded in point of fact but
when we come TO look into those charges,
and examine the grounds upon which they
rest, we find that they are almost too flinsy to
be treated with ordinary seriousness. The
Black Republicans, aided 10y the Opposition
party, have been engaged, for years past, in
Il continuous effort to fix some dishonoriug
blot upon the fair fame Of that pure old p1
triot to whose hands the people have couflcd
the helm of government. by means Of Sc
cret and er pdrte examinations, conducted
before committees that were controlled by
the deadlicst enemies Of the President, it has
been sought to establish some fact which
could be used as the basis Of charge against
him, or some member Of his cabinet To
procure testimony for this object, the puricus
Of rascality have literally been ''raled" by the
committees. Swarns of disappointed Office
seekers. embittercl by the rejection of their
applications for place, and hordcs of hungry
eonnorants, whose thicvish designs upon
the public treasury had been thwarted by the
vigilance of the President ard the heads Of
departments, were brought forward to testi-
~; but, although a more willing pack of
witnesses could not have been found in the
country, they were able to establish nothing
to the prejudice Of the Administration, for
the simple reason that they could invent no
tale which was not either false or incredible
upon its face, or which could not readily be
shown to be false by reference to the rec
orls Of the country.
The President has many thousands of APP
pointments in his gift. In the nature of
things, it is but rarely the case that he can
act, in comforting an appointment to Office,
upon his own personal knowledge of the
character Of the appointee; and, necessarily,
therefore, he has to act upon the information
Of Others. There has never been President
who was abe always TO protect himself
against impositionS practiced upon him by
the friends Of applicants for Office. Il not
unfrequently happens, also, that man, whose
whole life, prior to his entering Office, had