Year: 1868

, ana emphasis 10 It's proceedings, ant
to fill the gallery daily, iapplaudinl
J the speakers against the President
saluting with noise and confusion thos'
who spoke ON his side during all thii
, time, and when nation seemed to b'
in arms, and the earth in commotior
against him, he was tranquil and qni
} ct, confident of eventual victory, ano
} fully relying upon God and the people
to set all right.


! Nay, more. An attemptwas made
TO assassinate him at the door Of the
J Capitol by man named Laurence,
who twice attempted to fire upon him,
but failed. He was arrested and ex.
amined, but never brought to trial
and Benton says of the case:


at is clearly to be seen from the
medical examination of the man, that
this attempted assassination OF the
President was one of those casts OF
which history presents many instances
"a diseased mind acted upon BY a
general outcry against a public nan
Laurence was in the particular con
dition to be acted upon by what he
heard against Gen. Jackson work.
man out of employment, needy, ille
mentally morbid and without reason
to argue regularly from false prcmises.
He heard the President accused OF
breaking up the labor of the county,
and believed it; of being a tyrant
and believed it of being an obstacle
10 all relief, and believed it. And
coming to a regular conclusion from
all these beliefs, he attempted to dc
what he believed the state Of things
required him TO do-take the life OF
the man whom he considered the sole
cause of his own and the general
calamity, and the sole obstacle 10 his
own and general happiness"


From these extracts it will be seen
that the cxciteneats of that day were
equal to those of the present, but amid
them all, the never-erring onward
moving march of mind of the people
found the right


In that day, the people appealed
TO calmly investigated, deliberately
Judged and awarded their verdict
The reaction came, and the resolution
charging Jackson with violating the
Constitution and laws was expunged
from the records of the Senate.


Men like Webster, Calhoun and Clay
were those who Illuminated this thun.
derbolt to crush Andrew Jackson.
They were the giants of the Senate
and they created and fed the excite.
ment that was to impale the Presi.
dent; but their thunderbolt recoiled
from the impregnable position upon
which he had placed himself and the
people vindicated him. The pigmies
of the Senate who now attack the
President, when compared in intellect
with the men Of Jackson's day are
seen TO be but '1ight weights" When
they failed to sustain themselves how
can it be expected that this attack
upon the Government shall succeed


The people want no more war, they
have had enough of bloodshed, enough
of reckless expenditure of the peoples
money, enough of attacks upon the
cardinal principles ofthe Government
A deep wide chasm has been dug be.
tween the sections and into il the
blood OF the Republic has been poured
the mangled forms and bleeding corps
es of thousands of the fairest and
bravost of our young men fill that
deep and wide chasm, and by youi
persistent agitation for the perpetua
tion OF your power, you preserve il
enclosed. Across that chasm we seek
to throw the bridge of the Constitu
tion, to cement the structure with
concord, amity, commerce and mutual
benefit, and upon it to rear again the
magnificent temple Of constitutional
liberty. In this, your appeal to pas
sion and TO arms against the peaceful
settlement of the laws, we see another
effort to precipitate us into bloodshed
to kindle the flames Of civil war, &c
rouse the passions of brother against
brother, of neighbor against neighhoi
and TO deluge the north with the blood
of our people.


Against this reckless agitation, this
senseless excitement, we protest. In
defence of our position we appeal "a
tho laws, and we demand that you will
as we do, yield submission TO their de-
cree.





let the laws determine, and let us
frown upon every attempt that may
seek TO imbrue our hands in each 9th.
ers' blood. Do not pray you, aid in
placing us again upon the high road
TO anarchy We want no war, but II
naught but'the destruction of the gov,
ernment is TO come and you will pre-
cipitate us into war, and those with
whom ] act, will be found following
the flag with thirty-scven stars, and
gazing fondly upon our dUdunt courier
the old banner of the Republic main.
tanning the Constitution and preserv.
ing the Federal Union of the States
Will this attempt atrevolution relieve
you and Of any of our public bur.
densY Win it add to the security ol
the debt of the nation Will il i'm.
prove the condition Of the business in.
terests Of the pcoplel 7 Reconstruction
now entersinto every mans business
and every interest feels the necessity
for stability and certainty in govern.
mental affairs. How much worse
will it be when you attempt to illegal
ly impeach the President, when you
establish precedent by which you
unsettle the government TO accom-
plish party ends;


But suppose you continue this mad
appeal to force and precipitate us in