Washington sentinel. [volume], November 02, 1853, Image 2

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EDITED BT
Wif M OVERTON AND CH. MAURICE SMITH.
CITV OP WAS11IXCTON.
NOVEMBER 2, 1853.
G^orgiu E. French, Bookseller,
King street, Alexandria, is our authorized a/eut
to receive advertisements and subscriptions.
Single numbers can be procured at his counter
every morning.
Mr. H. K. LrsDY, bookseller, Bridge
street, Georgetown, will act as agent for the
Sentinel, in receiving subscriptions and adver
tisements.
JfTDGE BROXSON AND MR. GUTHRIE.
We received last evening n letter from the
late collector of the port of New York to the
Secretary of the Treasury, touching the legal
points involved in their former correspondeucc.
We lay it before our readers in another column,
and commend it to their attention.
A Large Meeting of Merchants wns held
yesterday aiiernoon in the Exchange. 10 express
their sentiments relative to the removal ol Judge
Hronsou by the administration. It is almost need
less to state that the feeling was one of universal
condemnation. A uumher of resolutions expres
sive ot the opinion of the meeting were unani
mously adopted. No one will envy the feeling*
with which ihey will be read by Mr. Guthrie.
[lieraid of Tuesday.
We shall publish the proceedings ot'the meeting,
and the resolutions adopted, in our paper of to
morrow.
MR. CUSHING'S LETTER
AJID TUE
MASSACHUSETTS COALITIONISTS.
We publish to-dav a letter recently address
ed by Hon. Caleb Gushing to one of the
editors of the Boston Post. It bears date the
2i)th ot October; and the time it waa written,
and the subject to which it refers, leave 110
doubt as to the purpose it was intended to ae
complish. We have always believed most impli
citly that it was the settled determination of the
President to put an end to the slavery agitation,
if he could accomplish that result: and we
have never doubted that he considered such an
achievement as the most honorable in the
whole field of foreign and domestic politics.
In this point of view, therefore, the strong state
ments of Mr. Cushing's letter gives us no spe
cial gratification.
But designing ruen?mercenary and corrupt
men?men pretending to be the truest friends
of the President, have attempted to place him
in a false attitude, and to inistify and bamboo
zle the public wiMi regard to the prominent
leading issues involved in the New York con
troversy. In this latter point of view we are
pleased at the contents of Mr. Cushing's letter;
for it affords us material aid in thwarting mis
chievous schemes. The most violent and un
scrupulous portion of the whig press begun the
assault on the President. The men "who had
been for years in intimate association with i
freesoilism and abolitionism?the supporters of
Seward's candidate for the Presidency?were
the first in the field; but of late tliey have
rested on their arms because that their work ;
was taken up in a more effectual manner, hv j
democratic freesoilers and their associates and
sympathizers, who have undertaken to uuite the
administration with the fate of a freesoil
faction.
At the very outset Mr. Cushing's letter re
bukes those democrats of Massachusetts, who
have gone into the coalition with freesoilers
and abolitionists. They are told that they
have abandoned a principle which is funda
mental. They are told that to enter into an
arangement with persons engaged in the agita
tion of the slavery question is hostile in the ex
tremest degree, according to the immovable
convictions of the President, to the determined
policy of the administration. This is preciselv
the attitude which Daniel S. Dickinson has
taken in New York. H'1.1 immovable convic
tions were opposed to the meretricious alliance ?
entered into at Syracuse and Utica in 1849.
Was that alliance which Mr. Guthrie endorsed
in his first letter to Judge Bronson a whit
better, or more honest, or purer than the Mas
sachusetts coalition which is now denounced ?
By no means. It was worse, it was more dis
honest, more impure ; for it was a conspiracv?
a pure, simple, unmixed conspiracy for the spoils
of offipe, while the Massachusetts coalitionists
pretend at least to have common objects of State
reform to accomplish. The coalition by which
Bantoul first, and Sumner afterwards, were sent
to the Senate of the United States was the exact
picture, counterpart, and fac simile of that New
York re-union which the Secretary ofthe Treas
ury has told the country was thoroughly ce
mented in 1852.
Thi9 declaration of Mr. Guthrie, that there
was a re-union in New York, which was thor- 1
oughlv cemented in 1852, is equivalent to has- '
ing the much-vaunted union of the New York ,
democracy, which free-soilers have been prating
of during the last four weeks, on a corrupt com
bination which took place befoie the dark days '
of 1850. Mr. Guthrie s ignorance is now re
buked by the Attorney General, a.? his bad
taste and offensive manner were rebuked bv the
same functionary at Baltimore, when thev were
journeying to the Crystal Palace. About this
latter transaction we sj?eak from memory; and
although we forget much, we rarely faii to be
accurate in what we pretend to remember.
Tie good people of the monumental city?
whigs and democrats?united in giving a suita
ble reception to the President and the members
of the cabiuet lhat accompanied him. That
iact was distinctly announced in the reception
address. But, notwithstanding this, Mr. Guth
rie undertook to outrage every idea of good
taste and common courtesy by speaking to the
assembled multitude.ofthe efforts he had made
in the cause of a party. The Attorney General
read, in a thousand indignant countenances,
the offensive blunder that hadl>een committed;
and gently, but pointedly, rebuked his colleague
by Baying, amidst vociferous applause, that the
occasion was one which rose far above all party
feelings. Has the Baltimore rebuke been re
peated? We but ask the question; and flvery
man can answer it for himself.
We have no doubt that Mr. Cashing sj>eaks
by authority when he speaks of the bitter and
unrelenting, but patriotic, hostility which the
President be*N"9 to freesoilers and abolitionist*.
We are perfectly ctT^dent that General Picrce
has never appointed any one to office with the
knowledge that he was a freesoiler or aboli
tionist at the time of his appointment. But
Mr. Cushing says that the President " does not
assume to judge of the hearts of men who pub
licly avow sound principles." This is the point.
Here the " wild fig-trees join the walls of Troy."
It is incumbent?plainly and manifestly incum
bent?on the President, as it is incumbent on
all men, to contrast present professions with pa&t
practices. Is it sane and sensible to trust men
who arestaiued bylong years of crime, ousudden
and suspicious promises? Would any general
admit into his camp and give posts of honor to
returning traitors, who, after defeat and over
throw, comfe without a repentant word and only
with professions of future fidelity ? And if he
should admit them and bestow on them honor
and office, would he not withdraw his confi
dence when he found them in open war with
his best and bravest men?keeping up a secret
association and beating down his long-tried
veterans that never faltered before an enemy?
Surely Mr. Cushing does not speak for the Pre
sident when he represents him as willing to
open his arms to disgraced and dishonored
men. merely on their interested professions of
integrity. As Mr. Webster said at Richmond,
uudcr an October sttn, General Pierce " is not
soft euough for that."
In our judgment the President's position has
not been fairly presented, for the exigencies of
hid position have uot been fairly considered.
No one doubts that General Pierce desired,
above all things, to break down the t'reesoil or
ganization and impart unity to the democratic
party. But pretended friends have represented
him as having gone where we cannot believe that
he ever cau go. They have used every exertion
to nationalize the New York contest and commit
him to the fortunes of a faction, and place him
in hostility to the great democratic party which
elected him to his exalted post. An issue was
made up with Judge Bronson by these pretended
friends, who saw that the issue was really
broader and more comprehensive than one be
tween the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Collector of New York. But the fog will soon
clear away, and then things will be seen in
their true bearings. We await that hour?
fully assured that Franklin Pierce will do what
he cannot do now, and leave no room for the
aspersions which freesoilers and their sympa
thisers have been industriously seeking to cast
on 11is reputation won by long years of un
deviating consistency.
Washington, Oct. 29, 1853.
Dkak Sir 1 perceive that in several counties of
Massachusetts coalition senatorial tickets have
been formed of associated democrats and Iree
sutlers. My judgment is, that the democruts who
have participated in this have done worse than to
commit a fatal error. They have abandoned a
principle which is fundamental. To support or
vot ? for the freesoilers of Massachusetts is to give
countenance and power to persons encaged,
avowedly,in the persistent agitaliou of the sla\ery
question, and therefore hostile, in the extremes!
decree, to the determined policy of the adminis
tration. The President entertains immovable con
victions on this point, as I have had occasion to
express to you heretofore ; and all of us whom he
has called to the public service here most heartily
and zealously sustain his views on the subject, as
beinir tne only ones consent with our personal
honor, the success of the democratic party, te
general welfare of the country, the integrity oi the
Constitution, or the permanency of this I nion. If
there be any purpose more fixed than another in
the mind of'the President and those with whom he
is accustomed to consult, it is that that dangerous
element of abolitionism, under whatever guise
or form it may present itsell, shall be crushed
out so far as this administration is concerned.
This the President declared in his inaugural,
this he has declared ever since, at all times and
in all places, when he had occasion to speak
on the subject. While he does not assume to
judge of the hearts of men who publicly
sound p> inciples, he only needs overt acts
to' show where they are, in order that his set
tled policy ill the conduct of the o flairs ol the gov
ernment shall be unequivocally manifested. Thot e
who have apprehended hailing or hesitation on
the part of the President in treading any path
which truth and patriotism open to him, will find
themselves greatly mistaken. He is up to this
occasion. His policy was not hastily settled;
while he occupies his present position ".wdl never
be departed from. The constitutional rights of all
the States of this Union are as dear to him as the
rights of New Hampshire. I have perceived from
the outset that this great principle ot the constitu
tional rights of the States is iastenod in his thought
as the corner-stone ol this I nion. Depend upon
it, no matter what consequences may ?'nl>end
over him, he will never allow it to be shaken by
abolitionists or factionists. but will set his face
like flint as well against right-hand backslidings
as against left-hand detections, which may preju
dice or embarrass the onward progress ot the re
public. .
I remain, very truly y?cur?ush1ng
Hon. R. Frothinguam. Jr, Boston Post, Boston.
WHO ARK THE TRl'B PRIENDH OF
the administration 1
Obviously the true men who stand upon the
, Constitution and upon the Baltimore platform.
Its enemies are those who repudiate both. It
I makes no difference how loud their professions,
how clamorous their affected zeal?those men
are false to the President and disloyal to the
I principles on which, by which, and to carry out
which he was called to the presidency of this
great nation.
To show whether the freesoilers and aboli
tionists who are so loud-moutlied in their pro
testations of friendship, are the President's tme
friends and the friends of the national demo
crats, it is only necessary to follow them in their
daily haunts and associations. In retirement,
and in the bv-paths, and secluded spots ot poli
tics, they never fail to show the cloven foot.
When they get out upon the large arena of na
tional politics, where detection would instantly
occur, and with it a loss of the spoils, they are
full of noisy and pretended zeal for the na
tional democracy and its platforms.
We extract the following from the Buffalo
j Ontrie?. It ia one of the most significant nidi
; dications of the times on which our eye has
fallen:
A Significant Fact?Thk 'Friknos or the
Administration.'?The la?t Albany Kti
? has the following paragraph;
! '"The sott shells nominated Bradford R " ood,
1 the temperance candidate for .Senator."
I "The -soft shells'?or in other words, the free
soilers, are clamorous hi their claun of being the
only friends of the administration. And yet these
peculiar friends have nominated for Senator in the
capital of the State a man in/w irfiistd to volt fur
Fravki.in Pierce for PrtsitUnt, only one year ago,
avowing that he could not ?up|>ort a man who
stood upon the Baltimore plaitorm. And Brad
ford R Wood still adheres to Ihe position he then
; assumed of open, unconcealed hostility to the ad
ministration on slavery grounds, lie makes no
professions, even, of having changed his position.
These things we know, and yet he is nominated
by the rxelntu* frunds of the administration as
their candidate for Senator. We commend these
facts?Ibr facts they are?to the especial attention
of the Washington Union and the President him
i sell. Jo transactions like this, he may eventually
learn the true character of his 'friends' in New
York. Those who caw put in nomination and sup
port for ho important an office as State Senator
1 an open and undisguised abolitionist, cannot be
verv reliable on the compromise measures or on
the principle* of th? inaugural, nor can they 1*
very honest or sincere national democrats.
PARASITES AND FLATTERERS.
The highest honor that can be conferred on
man it* the Presidency of the United States. ,
That high officer presides over thirty-one
States, containing thirty millions of people
He is not born to empire like the kings and
the magnates of the old world, but is elected
by the spontaneous, unbought will of a free
and enlightened people. But greatness has its
penalties to pay. It has disadvantages as well
as advantages, and among those disadvantages
are the false friends and hypocritical creatures
who sneak in at back doors to pour poison into
the ears of an honest man, whose necessary
isolation and seclusion from the great world
makes thein bold and confident.
Thus are satellites bred and nourished.
Such creatures have their own objects to sub
serve; and in order to do so they give false im
fot-mation?they deceive, mislead, and beguile
disiugenuous natures to the commission of er
rors that are oftentimes fatal in their effects.
But the most dangerous, insidious, and despi
cable foe that any magistrate, or the people
over whom he may rule, can have, is a false
hearted, double-dealing parasite, who tells the
magistrate one thing and the people another.
Anxious to preserve an influence over both
he pursues a course that, for a time, deceives
both, but in the end brings ruin and degrada
tion on himself.
History shows us innumerable instances of
such favorites who have had the run through a
brilliant career?a career that always ter
minates in obloquy and shame?
"Who would rise to solar height
To .set in such a starless night V
It is to be lamented that so high and hon
ored a functionary as a king, or his superior, a
President, should be subjected to such humil
iation as a dependance on ignoble, base and
deceitful men; and a greater pity it is when he
goes wrong, under their misguidance, that the
punishment cannot he visited on them rather
than on him. Such are the arts and the dis
simulations of these men that they are proof
against detection until they have brought
shame and disappointment on all connected
with them.
REPARATION.
Iii our paper of yesterday, among many ex-1
tracts from southern journals, showing the sense
of the people in reference to the several points
involved in the New York controversy, appeared
one prefaced by a few remarks, in which the
Washington Union was characterised as " that
freesoil concern in Washington." These remarks
might appear as editorial to the uninitiated.
They were, however, from another paper, and
were introductory to the extract from the Vir
yinia Sentinel, which was copied into our paper.
We did not design to apply such harsh and un
savory language to the Union, even iu our se
lections. The words referred to escaped our
observation. They would have been left out
had they fallen under our notice.
UAMG-PIELD SPORTS.
We hear from all parts of the country that
game of all kiuds is unusually abundant this
season. The sportsman should avail hiuiKell
of the present fine weather to enjoy the pleas
ures of the field. That man is to be pitied
who can witness the approach and the depart
ure of so delightful a season without whistling
uj) his dogs, seizing his gun, and sallying out
in pursuit of the game that is so abundant And
so easy to be found. We lay claim to much
of the ardor, though we will not boast of much
of the skill of the sportsman. In merry old
England, years and years ago, the genuine
sportsman made it a point of honor not to taste
of the game that he killed. To such refined
fastidiousness we do not pretend. We love to
eat, almost as much as we love to kill, game.
In this consists a double advantage; the sport
of killing and the pleasure of eating. Let no
man say that he loves not a savory canvass
back, a plump partridge, a succulent wood
cock, or a good fat pheasant. "Tell it to the
marines," for we cannot credit anything show
ing such a lack of taste, and such a depriva
tion of appetite.
But great as is the pleasure of eating, nobler
and more exciting far is the sport of killing.
The genuine sportsman feels a sense of inde
pendence, of abandonment, of relief from care
and business, that he enjoys under no other
; circumstances. Take him with two good dogs,
! a well broke horse?a double barrel gun?a
i good supply of Dnpont's powder and of shining
1 number sevens, and who so happy as he! He
should, however, array himself in suitable hunt
| ing costume?the boots, proof against water?
| the clothes against briers. When birds are
plentiful there is no happineas comparable with
that of the sportsman. As they say of the fat
cattle that graze in luxurious laziness over fra
grant fields?"he is up to his chin in clover."
Short Boy Tactics?Destruction of State
Property.
The " softs" in this section, true to their
I " short boy" instincts, have been displaying
their peculiar talents in a peculiar manner of
late. After ineffectual attempts on the part of
the " softs," to obtain the State boats and other
property belonging to the State, under the im
' mediate charge and supervision of Gen. Barrett,
thev have at last had the boldness, or audacity,
to destroy the State property, by scuttling and
sinking the State boat* and stealing the imple
' inents used by the State hands in their labors
on the canal. It appears that they had made
several attempts to get possession of the State
boat used on the creek level, under the com
mand of Captain White and as often failed, and
: on Wednesday morning last the buat was found
< some thirty rods from where she had been fas
tened bv the crew, scuttled and sunk in about
i twenty feet of water. Their motto appears to
be "rule or ruin." This last act of the "short
! boys " is in keeping with their slung-shot tac
tics at Syracuse, and their attempt upon the
1 life of Mr. Schell of New York. We would
ask, in all seriousness, any of our readers who
have been led to support the "soft" ticket, if
they will longer remain in the company of
thieves, pickpockets and short boys. Think of it,
friends, while there is yet time to avoid commit
ting an act that you will have cause to regret.
[ Whitehall (A". J'.) Democrat.
Persia against Turkey.?^Accounts from Con
Htantinople >tate Ibst letters hsve been received
there from the American missionaries si Orootiiiab,
on the 1'eraian frontier, sluting that grest military
1 preparsiioiiH were being inade for the purpose ol
attacking Turkey in the event of war being de
I clnred between that power and Russia. The Pa
oha? of Van, Iloyezed and Suleyntania are arming
the Kurds, and other warlike tribes, to oppose the
threatened invasion. The Persian dream is to cap
| lure Bagdsd snd revive ihc glories of the Cali
phate?a delusion which Ruotiun agents strive to
I mould to their own rods. I
The New York Difficulty, viewed by a South
ern-right* man.
We copy the following from the Baltimore
"Daily Timed " of Monday and Tuesday, where
it appeared in the shape of itco communica
tions, with the writer's consent, for the sake of
convenience, the pressure of news rendering
this necessary. It.was written before Judge'
Brouson's removal, and w# regret that the
writer's predictions, in one or two places, have
not been fulfilled. These views of a "A Socth
ekx Rhjhtssian," we nevertheless insert in the
Sentinel in their orignal form, and request for
them au attentive perusal, us they refer to the
past, present, and future of the freesoil fac
tionists and of their opponents.
Baltlmork, Oct. 21,1853.
Editors American Times:
In your " leader " of last Monday, I think
you have done some injustice (unintentional, I
am sure) to that unfaltering champion of
southern rights, Governor Dickinson, in accept
ing the Van Buren and Washington Union ver
sion of a speech which he delivered several
years ago. Mr. Dickinson explained the matter
fully, in his recent admirable speech at Ro
chester, New York, and there charged John
Van Buren with having cut out certain sen
tences, and parts of sentences, of that speech,
and printed them, without deigning to notice
the rest of the paragraphs to which they be
longed?either going before, or following the
mutilated parts.
Governor Dickinson was, it is true, opposed
to slavery, in the abstract, but was in favor, and
urged the duty of sustaining the south, in the
full, unrestricted exercise of all her constitu
tional rights?that of being 44 let nloue " in
cluded. He was not, I believe, in favor of in
terdicting the extension of slavery by " na
tional legislation," although he declared his
opposition to extending it by such means. He
was for leaving the whole matter to the States
themselves, as it was a question with which
Congress had nothing to do, except so far as
the Constitution made it a duty to protect the
master in reclaiming his fugitive slaves. This
is the States rights doctrine?just the view of
Col. Jefferson Davis and Gov. Dickinson, who
was so intimately associated with Clay, Web
ster, and Cass, in the 44 compromise struggle,"
and who, as we all know, enjoyed their utmost
confidence and highest personal regard, is en
titled to the respect and confidence of the
friends of the Union everywhere, and especially
to the esteem and gratitude of the people of the
south of all parties. And so think our people.
There is another popular error, which I trust
that you will permit me to correct. It is un
fair to represent the " States rights men," of
whom Col. Jefferson Davis is now the acknowl
edged leader, in connexion with the freesoilers,
as "extremistsunless by it is meant that the
one class is strictly right, whilst the other is
entirely wrong. The freesoilers have been al
ways engaged in the work of ruin ; they have
attacked the Constitution and violated the
rights of the south ; while the States rights men
have ever defended both, as it was their duty
to do. They knew, and we know now, that the
only effectual mode of preserving the Union is
by preserving the Constitution in its purity.
There is a tendency in all governments like
ours towards consolidation, and constitutions
are formed to guard against this, as well as to
preserve the rights of individuals; nnd the only
way to maintain the liberties of either our
States or citizens is to prevent infractions of
the compact between the several State sove
reignties composing the confederacy. The Con
stitution of the United States is tlie offspring
of a compromise, and it will be an easy matter
to " compromise" away all that it guaranties to
us if we are to yield to every pressure of an
unprincipled majority, and to every mad cry of
wild fanaticism and infuriated sectionalism.
The doctrine of mere "expediency" is con- |
temptible. No right ought to be compromised.
In many instances, those who enjoy it may have
accepted it "in the spirit of compromise, con
cession, and harmony," in lieu of some oth^r
which they have already surrendered. This
was, unquestionably, the case with the south in
the adoption of the federal Constitution. It was
accepted as a compromise ; and it is hard, in
deed, that every defender of the Constitution,
every strict constructionist, every champion of
our fundamental law, is to be cried down as an
extremist, a nullifer, or a fire-eater. The day
will yet come when these so-called extremists
will be regarded with much more confidence
than the 44 compromisers" and expediency men.
The States-rights men of 1850, like their
fathers, insisted that the question of slavery
was purely local, and that it could be settled only
by the States interested in it; that the north had
nothing to do with it, and that Congress could
not meddle with it. This was the ground upon
which the south resisted "the Missouri com
promise but the north deaf to reason nnd
regardles of the Constitut ion, forced it upon us.
The south acquiesced only after the north had
solemnly promised that it should be a permanent
compromise or settlement between the two sec
tions of the Union, and then, only for peace
and quiet. How that solemn promise was re
garded by the north we all, unfortunately,
know too well. Again, we were called upon
to "compromise." Tariffs had to be laid?upon
the principle of "compromise, concession, con
ciliation, union and harmony," and all that
sort of stuff; but it is a remarkable fact, that
the south had to pay them to the notihern man
ufacturer. Commerce was restricted, and the
southern man was compelled to sell for what he
could get from those who controlled trade, and
to buy at prices established by their cupidity.
"Competition, the life of trade," was out of tlie
question ; for the doors were closed against
Europe, and our Yankee monopolists were
"shrewd" enough to consult together as to the
best mode offleecing us, by taking our produce
in trade, at a miserably low valuation, and ex
tending to us the especial benign favor of re
ceiving theirs at an enormously high one.?
This, "upon the principle of union, concession,
compromise, conciliation, harmony," &o.
During the whole time of this compromise
miUeninm, our "brethren of the north,' believ
ing that we would be much better off without
slaves, and having our interests near at heart,
crossed our border, and assisted our negroes
to rid us of the incumbrance. And all " upon
the principle of compromise, union, concession,
conciliation and harmony!" How very con
siderate !
But fanaticism was not satisfied, and it again
went to work openly. Not content with its so
ciety, church, and " organ" agitations, it again
entered upon political agitation. In many
places, the freesoilers held "the balance of
power," and 44 politicians" began to court them.
" Buncombe speeches," full of the tyranny of
the southern masters, "blood and thuncler"
were shot off at every cross-roads and in every
market-house; and each candidate endeavored
to out-bid the others for the support of "the
friends of universal emancipation" at the en
suing elections. Thus ambition, vanity, the
fictions of the press, and the exaggerations of
oratory, to say nothing of the excitcment of
popular clainor and the "inspiration*" of poetry
ami music, were all seized upon to assist in
" the glorious work of agitation." The annex
ation of Texas was denounced; the war which
followed was declared unholy; and even sen
ators, in their high places, prayed (I) that our
gallant little army, which was acquiring new
honor nnd new power in the field, might
be welcomed by the Mexicans with bloody
hands and hospitable graves." Yet the effort*
jf the freesoilers to bring ruin upon their coun
try and dishonor upon the American-name
laving failed?thanks to the chivalry and pa
riotism of the south, and of the " national"
nen of the north nnd west?they organized for
mother crusade, when the Territorial Bills
?ere presented to Congress. They defeated
he report of the Senate Committee on Territo
ries, and thereby opened even a wider field for
agitation. The democrats nominated General
Caad for the presidency. A nomination which
was particularly odious to the agitators and to
certain "over-ambitious" men ofhisown partv.
Still his friends were confident of success. The
old "Liberty party" which had been disregarded
for years, or laughed at, commenced a very qttiet
movement. Birney, Fred. Douglass, and Chas.
Francis Adams, as well as Ma Jam Folsoin and
others of the "fair sex," only excited our mirth,
being unable to move our indifference as fur as
anger. But a new era for agitation was dawning.
Martin VanBuren, after having been honored by
the democracy, and sustained by the south, even
when the north refused, him Its support, was
again defeated in the convention ot his party,
and false to every principle of honor, dead to
every feeling of gratitude and lost to shame it
self, full of revengeful spite, sent his hopeful
son, " the Prince," as his ambassador to Buf
falo, to arrange the preliminaries for the defeat
of that party which had showed honors, with
a prodigal hand, upon him?and to whose nom
ination he was boutul in honor to yice his hearty
support?for the invasion in the* rights of that
section which had cluny to him, when his own
deserted him ; and for the. nullification of the
sujrreme law of the land, which had been sanc
tified by the toils and blood of their revolutiona
ry fathers. It is very well known that " the
odds and euds" of all factions, of all colors, and
of every "ism" were assembled "in solemn bou
clave" at Buffalo, to hatch treason and con
summate all sorts of wickedness; and that
" Prince Johu" was vociferously welcomed into
glorious fellowship by this "heterogeneous mass
of combustible material." His labors were, at
once, earnest and successful, as his plans had
been well laid by his " illustrious progenitor,"
the wily "fox" of Kinderhook, and he had beeu
inspired with courage by the hate that was
boiling in his soul, and the " irresistible enthu
siasm" of the motly crowd around him. The
Buffalo convention made its nominations, and
adopted a platform which must eternally dis
grace all concerned in it, and which has never
yet been publicly renounced and openly repu
diated by these factionists' conventions or their
" organs."
Some of them have, it is true, apparently
come back to the democratic party, and ac
knowledged the "Baltimore platform" as a
ceremonial; while others still repudiate it, (see
the Evening Post,) and some, again, like Prince
John, uhave not had time to read it " We have
often, during the recent excitemeut in New
York, been told " about the joy over the return
of the prodigal sonbut he came confessing
his sins, and craving forgiveness. Not so with
these renegades. They boast of their exploits,
tells us that there is nothing now to agitate
upon, and even threaten to go to Buffalo again,
when Nebraska applies for admission into the
Union, unless they are handsomely paid to keep
quiet. Some of these gentlemen, it is true,
voted for Geu. Pierce, but why ? For plunder,
and to avoid utter annihilation with either Scott,
or Hale. As for principle, most of them have
none?those who nave, came back, without ask
ing for u spoils;" they are mercenaries, the like
of whom may yet undermine our liberties, and
are a disgrace to any party which admits them
into its councils. I am a democrat, because 1
believe that my principles are correct; and 1
feel great anxiety for the success of my party?
I labored earnestly and diligently for General
Pierce, as I have ever done for our candidates,
but 1 would infinitely prefer defeat with' honor
unsullied, a spotless flag above me, to success
and a share of the plunder, with such com
panions in victory as the renegade traitors
of Buffalo. And I do not stand alone. It is
idle to tell us that the Van Burens, and their
leprous associates, have returned, in yood
faith, to the fold of democracy. But if they did
come back to remain (?) it was with a demand
for the larger share of the "spoils," with scowl
ing brows, and with loud threats. No humility,
no modesty, no confession of past sins and pro
mises of amendment j but with brazen faces,
swaggering movements, and emphatic notes of
dictation. Not only must they have a majority
of the offices, State and federal, in New York,
but also the control of the conventions and
other party organizations, and the nominations
of the State ticket. And upon this ticket must
be placed for a high, honorable and lucrative
office, the "honorable" Mr. Grover, who " felt
honored" in being permitted to hold Fred.
Douglass's hat, while that " honorable gentle
man ' delivered himself of a speech at Syra
cuse, in 1848. Nor do these modest and im
maculate " sons of freedom" stop here. They
must be recognised as the democracy of New
\ ork par excellence, and be greeted with cheers
and waving-handkerchiefs, " when they do walk
abroad;" while Daniel S. Dickinson, Greene
C. Bronson, Charles O'Conor, James T. Bradv,
Augustus Scliell, and the whole "national
democracy," must " kiss the great toe" of his
royal highness, Prince John, or be read out of
the party, and kicked oft' of the " Baltimore
platform." But " Prince John" is not yet Pope!
The south is the great seat of the substantial
democratic power, and, therefore, we are inter
ested in this New York difficulty; and we have
some influence, and are bound to exert it.
Th?re can be no doubt about this fact?the
southern people would rather fall with Dickin- !
son, than rise upon the topmost wave with Van I
Buren. We know that the one is honest, just,
and true; and that the other is false, hollow
hearted, and rotten to the core. If the free
soilers, with the Prince at their head, would de
sert and defeat our party after it had honored
their "favorite son," beyond his merits, what
security have we for their loyalty in the future?
"I have but one way of judging of the future,
and that is by the past; I have but one lamp
by which my feet are guided, and that is the
lamp of experience.'1 W e of the south, there
fore, cannot refuse our sympathies, our hopes,
and our words of encouragement to the true,
because they have been demanded by thosewho
have proved false in the day of difficulty; not
because insolent and corrupt office-holders, and
truckling presses, have threatened us with
wrathful visitations if we refuse to submit to
their dictation. We shall refuse, and are ready
and willing to take the consequences! Desert
Dickinson, and bend the knee to John Van
Buren! Shall the faithful sentinel, who has
discharged his piece at the approach of the foe,
and then fallen into bis place aud battled in
line, be disgraced, while nonors and rewards
are showered upon the traitor who deserted his
post without firing a gun, and joined the ad
j vance-gnard of the euemy, npon tne first oppor
tunity, to fight against his conipauions-in-arms?
Is not this just what the "barnburners" are
asking?what the Union is preaching?what
the Albany Atlas, New York Evening Post,
and some meddlesome newspapers and virtu
ous "officials" hereabouts are commanding?
Can we, of the south, believe that these rene
gades and traitors are now sincere, in opposi
tion to the word of Dickinson, Bronson, Schell,
Bradv, Q Conor, Clinton, Fay, Mather, Cooly,
W alsn, Cutting, aud the rest, who stood so no
bly by the south, when fanaticism, demagogue
ism, and hypocrisy had well-nigh overwhelmed
us? Never, if honor, gratitude, justice, and
common sense are left to us.
But there is yet another reason whvthesouth
must defeat these abolition, Buffalo, Van Buren,
and ? red. Douglass followers. There are other
counts in the indictment, and John Van Bu
ren s ingenuity and recklessness cannot find a
mode of escape from their crushing force.
I address whigs and democrats. I .shall refer
to the administration of General Tavlor, aud to
the disasters which followed the defeat of Cass
in 1848. I shall not recur to those stormy
times, in the spirit of a partisan, but as a
southron, who feels the wrongs and insults
which our section has too patiently borne, and
who is desirous of seeing all agitating questions
peaceably settled at once, or, at least, of know
ing who are our real friends; who our real ene
mies. Now let us see:
Freesoilism has for years been warring upon
the rights, interests, and sensibilities of the
wmthern people?this all will admit?and Daniel
S. Dickinson, Greene C. Bronson,Chafl. O'Conor,
and such men as they, have been its vigilant,
constant toes, duriug ail of this time, making
l any, and every sacrifice of self, to preserve the
nuritv of their partv, the rights of their southern
brethren, and the Constitution of their country.
I They are, therefore, men of principle, political
| and moralprinciple, and such are always much
safer than your expediency men. And the history
of New York politics, ofthe Van Buren dynasty,
and of the Tammany society, abundantly proves
this important fact. "A New York politi
cian," is now generally regarded, prima facie,
as rather slippery, and yet we know that all
I are not so. \Vhv, then, does the Empire State
bear this reputation ? If you are curious, look
into the history ofthe life of one Martin Van
Buren, and of a certain Wm. H. Seward. These
two " worthies" have always carried on an ex
tensive trade in the now very common article
of humbug; and by it they have controlled
their respective parties, for a long series of
years. Van Buren has always been regarded
as the " cunnincest" man of his day, and "the
priuce." too, is known to be very foxy. Who
that does not remember how " Matty s" long,
mystifying sentences puzzled him, several years
ago? Who ever heard of the prince giving
anv body a categorical answer ? When asked
how he liked the "Baltimore platform," he re
plied, that he hadnt had time to read it. Mr.
Dickinson, in this great talent of the present
I day, yields cheerfully to both the cunuing fa
ther and the cunning son ; but he is too good
a Roman to yield his principles, either on ac
count of disappointments, or for revenge, or
power. His high-toned conduct in the Senate
and in the late national convention shows that
" he is not of that stripe."
No man of observation can doubt that the
Buffalo abolitionists of '48, defeated Gen. Cass;
and that this was the object of that foul gath
ering of " odds and ends," which well-nigh
| shook this glorious Union of ours to its centre.
It elected Gen. Taylor, which gave more than
the premiers power to Wm. H. Seward. The
I old soldier came into the presidency full of hon
| ors and patriotism; his well-earned laurels were
fresh and green j his honor spotlesB, and his
intentions purity itself. He idolized his coun
trv: a brilliant page of its history was his own,
and he had led its armies and gained victories,
which, while they established tne most perfect
confidence in our " power" at home, made for
it a proud and houored name abroad. Every
wish?every aspiration?every sentiment of his
heart, was to preserve that name and his owu,
(so indissolubly entwined with it) as houored
and glorious as they shone at Pala Alto and
Bueua Vista. But he knew nothing about pol
I itics. He had never given his attention to
I civil ajfl'airs. His life had been passed in camp,
garrison, on the field, or among hostile savage
| tribes. He was a brave soldier, a warm friend,
an honest man, but not a statesman. He had
not, like Jackson, left civil life for the field, to
return to- it again at the end of the strife; and,
| unlike him, he had never held a single civil
I office. His simple and noble nature knew
nothing about the tricks and scandalous diplo
macy of politics ; nor could he ever be brought
to realize the cunning, deceit and corruption
that enveloped him. He came to regard the
arch-fiend Seward, as the unbending pillar,
I upon which he could lean with an unskaken
confidence; and he thus relied, almost impu
' city, upon a base, designing, unscrupulous, am
bitious political trader, who sought the forcible
dismemberment of our Union, that he might be
the chief of a bleeding half. And although the
influence of the administration was thrown
against Clay, Webster, Cass and Dickinson, and
given, through Seward s interest, to the policj
of the Buffalo friends ofthe Van Burens, there
can be no doubt that General Taylor retired
every night, in the firm belief, even in the most
boisterous times, that he had just done a better
day's work for his country and his feme than
he had ever performed upon the field, even at
Bucna Vista.
Thus, while the Union was on the very verge
| of dissolution, the simple hearted, patriotic old
soldier fondly believed that all was as quiet,
serene and happy as his own mind and breast.
Seward was the master sjiirit of that adminis
tration: and its appointments and its policy?
especially "the administration plan for tne
settlement of the slavery difficulty?prove it
beyond the shadow of a doubt. Notwithstand
ing Taylor's fancied security, the storm king
arose in all his fury; but ere his might was
expended, the high was laid with the low, and
j a more practised civilian, and better influences,
succeeded to the control of affairs. Mr. f ill
I more entered the presidential chair at the
darkest hour of "agitation," and the govern
ment influence, which had given courage,
strength, and respectability to the freesoilers,
now put forth its strength to save the Union,
from the diabolical assaults of fanaticism, dem
agogueism, and vile, hypocritical, festering
ambition. But the moral force of the govern
ment and "the cohesive power of public plnn
' der*' were given to the freesoilers by the
Clayton-cabinet; and, as you correctly say in
vour editorial, "it corrupted Taylor's party.
While Taylor lived, and the freesoilers had,
his countenance, the Union tottered j and at
one time Henrv Clay declared that "it would
not Fast a week." Fillmore, however, drove
them from this stronghold, and, after a des
perate struggle, they were vanquished; and
' peace was, in time, again restored. But that
battle gave the factionists strength, confidence,
courage, respectability, and even more impu
dence.
If General Cass had been elected, he would
have exerted the legitimate influence of the gov
ernment, and employed its patronage for peace.
Feeling would never have raged, as it d'drage
under Taylor's administration, and our difficul
ties would have been coolly, calmly, and more
justly settled. The south would have obtained
more ; at least, as much ; for the doctrines upon
which the " compromise " was based are those
of General Cass's "Nicholson Letter." Then,
the demand of the south for the promised set?
tie went by the adoption of the line of 36? 30 ?
would have l>een fairly entertained, notwith
standing Mr. Foot's many intemperate speeches
and manv vacillations. At all events, there
would have been less excitement, and every
body would have been better prepared to ex
amine the merits of the anestion, and traitor
ous factionists would now be less exacting and
less extravagant in their demands upon the de
mocracy of New York. I have never thought
that the south was fairly treated in 1860. The
; compromise gave us nothing. Not to notice
the details, California was admitted most irre
gularly, and under alarming circumstances; the
Territories wore given up to practical freesoil;
and the fiigitive-slavo law only re-enacted a
binding constitutional provision. And vet John
Van Buren and associates, after all their mis
chief, are not satisfied. They wonld have the
fugitive-slave law repealed, and consequently
the Constitution violated; and the " Wilmot
proviso" adopted?another violation ofthe Con
stitution ! Yet, we are asked to sacrifice those
who are willing to go as far as public-opinion
at home wonld stand, even when stretched to do
justice to the south?those who are willing, at
least, to respect our honor, our sensibilities
and, if you clioose, our vanity?and to hug to
onr bosoms the assassins who would have
struck, and who would now strike down all at
a single blow. The democracy of the
cannot now. turn its back upon Daniel S. Dick
inson and grasp the leprous hand of John Van
Buren. At least, I think not, and, for human
ity's sake, most sincerely hope not.
Nor can I believe that the good people of
New York can wish to immoW Governor
Dickinson, Judge Bronson, Mr. O Conor, Mr.
Brady, Mr. Mather, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Cooly, Mr.
Fay, Mr. Schell, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Cutting, and
the whole "national democracy, to gratify the
Van Burens and their five-points bullies, who
swaggered, threatened, drank, and swore
Syracuse. But let New York do as she pleases,
these gentlemen have hosts of friends herea
bouts for the whole south honors the com
promiie men" ofthe north, if they do not think
much of southern compromisers; and Governor
Dickinson will be heard of, if he lives, at the
close of the session of the democratic national
convention in 1856, and on the 4th of March
following.
We all know with what a fierce vindictive
ness these gentlemen have been pursued by the
Van Burens and their bloodhouiuls, because
they did not think proper to submit to their
pernicious doctrines and practices, and to the
exalted leadership of the Prince of the Blood.
Dickinson has been driven from the Senate,
and not yet content, they are seeking to drive
him into everlasting obscurity. And yet, demo
crats, so-called, are denouncing him and his
defenders, as disorganizes and factionists.
Whigs, of yesterday, who turned to get office,
in some instances, at least, arc flooding the
country with their epistolary squibs, and are
much the loudest of all in their denunciations.
The first gun from the Union was furnished by
one of these, who is at this moment a standing
applicant for office; and who, doubtless, hopes
to write himself into one.
With what contempt, therefore, must the
masses, who want nothing, and will take no
thing, in the way of office, regard these attacks
upon our veteran democrats, dv those who shot
at them, a year or two ago, with the envenomed
shafts of all-expedient whi^gery! Of this, I am
satisfied: Let Gen. Franklin Pierce but know
these detractors, and his heel will be placed up
on their necks; and thus the very means thay
employ to commend themselves to the consider
ation and favor of the government, will prove
their ruin. Gen. Pierce has evinced no dispo
sition to interfere in the New York troubles;
he doubtless regards it as a matter to be set
tled in New York, by the people; and. one in
which he will have no hand or part. The
chivalric, able Secretary of War, has already
hinted that he is too good a State rights man to
interfere in the domestic affairs of the party in
any State but his own, where the true democ
racy never fails to adopt his advice; and he
will not be found, at any time or under any cir
cumstances, endeavoring, by any means what
ever, to build up an unprincipled faction, by
seeking to disgrace and ruin the national de
mocracy of the noirth. Office-seeking letter
writers (/ refer now to these only) had better,
therefore, take in their horns; for the adminis
tration in committed, before the country and the
world, against freesoilers and their base de
signs, as sufficiently appears from the history
of Gen. Pierce's life, his inaugural address, ana
Gov. McClelland's recent brief, but very noint
ed letter to Col. Wynkoop, the able tfnited
States marshal for Pennsylvania.
A Southern-rights max.
Judge Bronaou'M Reply to Mr? CJuthrle'a l*?t
Letter.
New York, Oct. 31, 15o3.
Sir: If you had been content, in yonr letter of
the 22d instant, with announcing my removal from
office, it would have been the end of our corres
pondence on that subject. But as you have at
tempted to assign reasons for the proceeding, 1
have something to say in reply.
You deny the right of the collector to act with
out instructions from your department, in any case.
This doctrine is entirely new ; for in much the
larger part of the business of the custom-house,
the collector is guided by the revenue law*, and
has alwas acted without instructions from the Se
cretary of the Treasury. It is only in special
cases, where the law is of doubtful construction,
or the duties of the collector have not been lully
prescribed by law, and where the secretary lias a
dispensing power, that he has been authorized to
issue instructions to collectors. And none of these
cases have anything to do with the appointment of
officers of the customs. On that head, the rights
and duties of both secretary and collector have
been prescribed by Congress, and neither can
control the other when acting in his appropriate
you appear to suppose, the collector can
do nothing without instructions from your depart
ment, the business which is now transacted in the
custom-house in a single .hour, could not be ac
complished in a month. You have evidently set
too high an estimate upon the extent ol your
powers.
The reason which you have assigned tor this
sweeping claim of authority is as extraordinary as
the claim itself. Your words are, "when the de
partment is not expressly empowered to give in
Ntructions to subordinates, it has the authority to
do so, as inherent in the power to remove a re
fractorv officer." Now, as I read the Constitution, ?
the Secretary of the Treasury has no power to re
move a collector, however refractory he may be.
The power of removal, as well as of appointment,
is vested in the President. You will do well,
therefore, to look for some better reason than the
one you have assigned for an unlimited authority
over collectors in the selection of their agents.
You think it singular that a gentleman of my
legal acquirements and experience should fall
into the error of assuming that the collector ap
points the various persons employed in the cus
tom-house?some with the approval of the secro-.
tary, and some on the sole authority of the collec
tor. Singular as this may appear to you, it is the
course which has uniformly been pursued since
the foundation of the government. Weighers,
measurers, guagers and inspectors have been ap
pointed by the collector, with the approval of the
secretary; while clerks, porters, bargemen, la
borers, and others, have been appointed by the
collector alone. It has not only bjen so under all
former Secretaries of the Treasury, but during
your own time. All my clerks, porters, cartmen,
laborers, Sec., have been appointed without con
sulting you in any form; and you never intimated
a doubt about the propriety of this course until
you deemed it expedient to interfere in the local
politics of New York.
Still you insist that the clerks and other agents
of the collector "derive their appointment and
their authority as public officers Irom the Secre
i tary of the Treasury alone."' The reason you as
l sign for this new and extravagant claim will show
that it is wholly without any legal foundation^
You place it upon the Constitution of the United
States, which provides that " Congress may, by
law, vest the appointment of such inferior officers
as they may think proper?in the heads of depart
ments." You then add, that " Congress has not
attempted, nor if it had, could it have effected, any
modification of this provision of the Constitution.'
And hence you conclude that the appointment is
in the secretary. It is readily granted that Con
gress has not, and cannot modify the Constitution.
Tint still your argument amounts to no more than
this?because Congress -nuit/ by law, vest the ap
pointment of certain officers in the Secretary of the
Treasury, and Congress has not modified this
constitutional provision, therefore the secretary
has the power of appointment. In other words?
because Congress may, if it pleases, confer a pow
er on the secretary, and Congress has done noth
ing on the subject, therefore the secretary has the
power. Such is the law and the logic of your
letter. . . .
I have thus far assumed that you arc right in
supposing that the clerks, porters, laborers, Arc., in
the custom-house, are public officers within the
meaning of the Constitution in relation to appoint
ments. But in truth, they are mer* agents of the
collector, to aid in the discharge of the duties
which the law has imposed upon him. They are
the hands by which he works, and are no more of
ficers in the sense of the Constitution than arc
soldiers and sailors in the army and navy. They
have never been treated, or even mentioned, by
Congress as officers, appointed by the collector or
any one else ; but only as persons employed by the
collector. I hazard nothing in saying that the.
claim which you have now set up has not a shadow
of foundation, either in the law of the land or in
any former practice of the government. ^
You speak of "unwarrantable assumptions, and
a "manifest spirit of insubordination" on my part,
as a ground for the removal. But you have been
wholly unable to show that I assumed anything
beyond my just rights, or that 1 was unwilling to art
in obedience to vour instructions, in all cas??V
where the law had given von authority to direct
You must allow me to add. that subordination in
office does not necessarily prove inferiority; and,
between gentlemen, the relation of superior and
subordinate confers no right on the one to nse im
perious language, nnd imposes no duty on the
other to surrender his legal rights.
You complain that the remarks in my forme*
letter impugn your motives. I did no more than
state fiicts?facts which yon have not attempted
to controvert, and then said, "As to the motive
of this movement, let others judge." If your mo
tives have been impugned, it is because the facts
themselves, and not any words of mine, create
the impeachment.
Nothing in yonr letter has amazed me more than
what you say about ray selecting freesoilers for
office. No man can r?wd what was said in your
first communication, without seeing that yon
called on me to appoint a larger portion of free
toilert, or persons who had left the democratic