Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-08-04
ADAMS AND JEFFERSON.
A Critical View of Them.
ruE sAtiENr PRINCIPLES or JErrTHsONlAg
DEMOCRACY.

universal cxccration. II it had any
redeeming features beyond the person
al integrity Of the infatuated men
who composed it, history has failed TO
mention them. The British craze per-
vadcd il from first to last and the
cxccsscs of the French revolution, to-
gcther with the celebrated y. Y. l..
affair, whereby it was made to appear
that Tallcyrand had cndeavorcd to
cXtort from the American ambassadors
II large sum rs the price Of Il treaty,
had set the tide with momcntary but
tremendous force in favor Of the Brit
i,h party. The Hamilton measures
were continued, and others even more
odious and in more fragrant violation
of the constitution were added. The
Alien law enabled the president to
Danish foreigners mt pleasure, aud was
aimed especially at the French rcpub-
licaus. The Scdition law was intend
cd to silence criticism, and it wa, rig
orously and brutally enforced. The
country was pushed to the verge Of
war with France and to the edge Of a
most unnatural alliance with England;
and this-long after the determination
| of France to keep the peace with Us
at any price had been known-was
made the prctcXt of great military
and naval establishments, involving
an enormous increase of the public
debt, both Of which were in them
-clve, primary objects Of Fcdcrali-t
policy. Pulpit and press tcemcd with
"manical raying-' regarding the Ja-
cobius of France and their alleged
friends and allies, the Republicans of
America. Every excess, every horror
of the French revolution were pre-
dictcd a, the natural consequences Of
the triumph Of Jciicr-ouiau Dcmocra-
~. among the least Of which were the
dissolution Of the Union and bloody
anarchy. We -av the least dciibgr-
atcly, for in the dream of diaboli-m
which haunted the Fcderali-t Of that
day were thing which may not even
be written
Jefferson had hccn elected vice.
president with Adam. He remained
al hi- post and guided the contest at
the seat of government. But many
Of the Republican Leaders gave up the
conflict in Copgrc--, and went into the
state legislature, "to rouse the people"
10 a just sense Of their danger. Gal
: latin alone remained in the House.
whore the Fcicrali-, member. shouted
him down, and inflicted every iudig-
nifty possible in such body There
wa- talk even OF "dcpprta.iou" Of OBJ
noxiou- persons, and the attorney gen
cral was rs ready a. any attorney gen.
cral of them all, from the fr-t of
Adams to the last of Grant. to lend
himself to any outrage that power
deemed expcdient "No man who did
not witness it can form an idea Of
their unbridIed madness and the ter
rori.m with which they surrounded
Themselves
But the Fcdcral-ts had pushed
their plan of Capitalization too boldly.
When the people saw that they had
"becn dupcd into the support Of meas.
urc- calculated to sap the very founda-
ton of republicani-m' they swept the
offending party from the councils Of
the nation. 10 reappcar again only
after the lapse of more than half
century, when the crimes of it, anccs-
tors had been forgotten, to run the
same course and to meet, it is to be
hoped, the same fate.
The election of 1900 resulted in the
choice of Jefferson and Burr. But
the party which held power, like the
party which held power in 1876,
could not afford to lay it down at the
bidding of the people and they de-
tcrmincd, if possible, to hold on by
fraud, and, If necessary. BY force.
The people of New York having elect.
cd a Legislature pledged to choose
Republican electors, Hamilton wrote
the governor imploring him to Assem-.
ble the existing Fcderalist Legislature
and defeat the will of the voters by
changing the law but the governor
quietly laid the letter away with an
endorsement indicating bis deep sense
Of the infamy Of the proposal and
that was the end of the first attempt
to tamper with the electoral vote of
State. Then they resolved to elect
Burr and trust for their protection to
his treachery and his gratitude Fail
ing in that, they conceived the project
Of defeating an election altogether,
and installing the president of the Sem
ate, scheme which was abandoned
only because the majority of 1900 was
made Of sterner stuff than the majority
of 1876. When every other resource
had been exhausted they resorted to
the inefiable basencss of attempting to
bargain with Jefferson himself, but
their overtures were rejected with con-
tpmnt Tho EaderaIist Marty ,yas 1po1