John Tyler: his history, character, and position : with a portrait

K1DETST OF T UK UNITED STATES

J O H

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L E R :

ORY, (MARACT!

JOHN TYLER:

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HIS

HISTORY, CHARACTER, AND POSITION,

WITH A PORTRAIT.

NEW-YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-STREET.

1843.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by

Harper & Brothers,

In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York.

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H

JOHN TYLER.

The primary object of this publication is to re-
pel the calumny which has been heaped upon John
Tyler, and to disabuse the public mind in reference
to his character, history, and position — his aims, and
the purposes of his administration. Up to the period
when Mr. Clay arrayed the majority of the twenty-
seventh Congress against President Tyler, the pub-
lic career of no eminent man in the nation had
commanded respect more universal, or admiration
more uniform and sincere. Consistent in every act
of his life, devoted to those sound republican doc-
trines which have ever been cherished by the de-
mocracy of Virginia, unambitious except to pro-
mote the good of his country, he has illustrated all
the virtues which can dignify and adorn the char-
acter of an American statesman. When called by
an act of Providence to the executive chair, he car-
ried with him those principles which had been the
guide of his life, and an unalterable purpose to ad-
minister the government in strict conformity with
their spirit and tendency.

But how were his patriotic intentions met by the
party which had placed him in power ?

Sustaining cordially every principle which he
avowed before the election, he has, in return, receiv-
ed no support from that party since that event.
Unchanged in a single sentiment, he has been treat-
ed as a traitor. Animated by the most sincere de-
votion to the welfare of his country, he has been
thwarted in every measure for that object. Anxious
to relieve the public distress, his plans have been
consigned to the undisturbed dust of committee-
rooms. Ready to co-operate with the co-ordinate
branches of the government in making laws requi-
red for the public service, he has had those laws
thrust upon him in unnecessary connexion with
provisions that contravene his sense of duty. Ear-
nestly pressing upon Congress for action upon the
great subjects that interest the people, he was met
either by a spirit of indifference, or a fixed determi-
nation to exert that action in such a way only as to
leave no alternative but disapprobation, or an open
departure from the known principles of his conduct
through life. Vetoes have been courted by clauses
and provisos not required bj the object of the meas-
ure in hand, and not demanded by the people; and
bills were studiously framed in known hostility to
opinions avowed both by himself and General Har-
rison before their election to office, and passed un-
der all the solemnities of legislation, in order that, if
approved, he might be accused of inconsistency, or,
if disapproved, he might be charged with defeating a
favourite measure of the people. Congress was first

5

trained into a general burst of indignation, decide
which way he would ; and an affiliated press was
ready to take up the cry, and sound its fiendish yells
from one end of the Union to the other. The po-
litical annals of the country furnish no parallel to
the abuse heaped upon President Tyler, in point of
coarseness, malignity, and habitual disregard of de-
cency, and the ordinary courtesies and proprieties
of society, both in Congress and by a large portion
of the Whig press. Every opprobrious epithet in
the copious vocabulary of the ribald orators and wri-
ters has been applied to him in the most unsparing
manner. There has been, especially, a mingled
coarseness and cordiality in the vituperation of Con-
gress, that betoken the earnestness of the assailants,
and the depth from which such muddy waters were
drawn. He has been ruthlessly charged with hy-
pocrisy, treachery, feebleness, imbecility — with aban-
doning his party and betraying his friends. This
avalanche of abuse has been cast upon President Ty-
ler merely because he has refused his sanction to
bills ostensibly introduced for popular and desirable
objects, but into which clauses have been purposely
thrust which are not required by their spirit, but
which directly violate the avowed opinions upon
which both he and President Harrison came into
office ; and the history of these transactions resting
almost solely with a venal press interested to give
them a false colouring, and the distinguished object
of these base slanders being himself excluded, by his

position, from the privilege of self-defence, the peo-
ple of the United States, ever generous to the perse-
cuted, and ever true to the right when fully under-
stood, have been generally misled by the grossest
misrepresentations.

Upon this statement of facts, the question natu-
rally arises, What adequate motive could exist for
such flagrant injustice 1 Why should the chief
magistrate, fresh from the hands of the people that
made him, the very form and pressure of the time,
the direct concentrated expression of the popular
will, ere he had scarcely doffed the candidate's robes,
be thus badgered upon questions concerning which
he had a right to consider that the people had de-
cided by electing him, and forced into an attitude of
hostility to measures which he, as well as their pro-
jectors, wished to be carried for the good of the coun-
try, for the evident purpose of casting upon him the
odium of their defeat I Why, after entreating them
all frankly on the score of old friendship, and some
of them pointedly on the score of past favours, not
to imbody in the Bank Bill any of the objectionable
features which he could not approve without incon-
sistency with the whole tenour of his past life, and
which, having been so recently submitted to the peo-
ple, he had a right to consider, by his election, had
been repudiated by them — why, after the most inde-
fatigable efforts to conciliate the conflicting views
of different individuals on this subject, and suggest-
ing a plan of a Bank which would have answer-

ed confessedly every important purpose, and which,
beins within the limits of the strictest construction
of the Constitution, would have inspired public con-
fidence, by its permanence, its unquestioned priv-
ileges, and its adaptation to the exigencies of the
times — why, after all this, and many more proposals
and concessions were made, evincing the most be-
nevolent and conciliatory spirit, and the most sin-
cere and fervent devotion to the public good on the
part of President Tyler, did the majority in Con-
gress uniformly and pertinaciously refuse to present
for his approval any Bank Bill tbat did not contain
provisions that they knew he could not consistent-
ly sanction 1 Why thus stab the measures they pro-
fessed to love 1 Why thus insist on powers being
conferred by that bill which they knew that Pres-
ident Tyler and President Harrison both had de-
clared to be unconstitutional before their election,
and which the people, by electing them, had declared
to be unconstitutional also ! The answer to these
startling questions is found in the new and unexpect-
ed relations created among the aspirants to the pres-
idency, by the constitutional succession of Mr. Tyler
to that exalted position. General Harrison was pledg-
ed to but one term of service, and, during his ad-
ministration, Mr. Clay had relied upon the official
patronage of the government being devoted to the
promotion of his election. Whether the ambitious
views of Mr. Clay would have been favoured by
General Harrison, if he had lived, to the injury of

8

other equally eminent and meritorious competitors,
need not now be discussed ; suffice it to say, that
President Tyler, upon his accession to the office,
did not deem it his duty to show any such partial-
ity, nor did he consider it becoming in him, being
under no pledges on the subject, and occupying his
position only as a substitute to another, to forestall
the popular will by consenting or declining to be a
candidate hereafter, and for the first time, in reality,
for the Presidency of the United States. The mo-
ment this aspect of things was exhibited, and Mr.
Clay discoyered that President Tyler would not se-
lect him, as he would not any one, from the seyeral
distinguished aspirants, as his fayourite candidate for
the Presidential chair, the senator from Kentucky,
possessing the personal deyotion of a large portion
of the majority in Congress, and frightening the rest
into his projects by his control oyer measures deem-
ed for the public interest, assumed an absolute dic-
tatorship in that body ; forced into the Bank Bill, in
every form in which it was presented, the objection-
able features alluded to ; instilled with his own hand
the fatal poison that he knew must kill what he pro-
fessed to lo\e, and ruthlessly prolonged the agonies
of public distress, rather than that President Tyler
should be honourably and consistently placed in a
situation to participate in the slightest degree in the
credit of relieying it.

These facts we propose to demonstrate ; but we
will, in the first place, inquire who and what is Presi-

dent Tyler, against whom such a bitter malignity has
been manifested, and such a foul conspiracy formed.
John Tyler, President of the United States, was
born March 29, 1790, in the county of Charles City,
and State of Virginia ; was educated at William
and Mary College ; finished his study of law under
the direction of the celebrated Edmund Randolph ;
was admitted to the bar in 1809, in the nineteenth
year of his age, and was elected to the Legislature,
by the almost unanimous vote of his native county,
in 1811, when he attained his twenty-first year-
He was successively elected, with equal equanimity,
to the Legislature until the winter of 1815-16, when,
by joint-ballot of the Legislature, and with the loss
of only fifteen votes in the two houses, consisting
of two hundred and forty-two members, he was
chosen a member of the Privy Council of State. In
the fall of 1816 he was elected a member of the
House of Representatives of the United States, from
the Richmond district, and continued to serve in
that house until the year 1821, when, by reason of
ill health, he declined a re-election. In 1823 he
was again elected to the Legislature of Virginia by
the citizens of his native county, and served till the
winter of 1825, when he was chosen Governor of
Virginia for one year, and in 1826 he was re-elect-
ed to the same office by a unanimous vote. Early
in the year 1827 he was chosen a senator in Con-
gress, and was re-elected to that elevated station in
1833, and continued to serve until 1836 ; during

B

10

which time he was elected President pro tern, of the
Senate, when, in consequence of his being unable to
reconcile certain instructions of the Legislature then
given to his sense of constitutional obligation, he re-
signed three unexpired years of his term, and went
into retirement, in which he remained until elected
Vice-president of the United States in 1840, with the
exception of one session's service in the Legislature
in 1338, from the county of James City. He was run
as Vice-president on the Harrison ticket in 1836, and
also on that of Judge White. He was inaugurated
on the 4th of March, 1841, into the Vice-presidency,
and upon the death of General Harrison, on the 4th
of April following, he succeeded to the Presidency,
by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution. Thus
it will be seen that he has enjoyed the singular hon-
our of having had conferred upon him every politi-
cal office in the gift of the people of his native state,
and, what is quite as much to his credit, he never
sought any of the stations to which he has been so
honourably elevated. It is also to be observed, that
he has never owed his stations to executive appoint-
ments, but uniformly to the people direct.

Having thus given a brief sketch of his life, let us
take a cursory review of his character, conduct, and
opinions.

Kindness of heart, gentleness of disposition, and
nobleness of nature have been his distinguishing
characteristics throughout his whole life. As a boy
at school, he was the favourite of his playmates ; as
a young lawyer in practice, he was proverbially the

11

friend of the unfortunate, and choosing always the
side of the friendless and the accused, he was uni-
versally recognised as their standing advocate ; pos-
sessing, as a speaker, great power over the emotions
of the heart, he was almost universally successful in
his philanthropic exertions. As a legislator, he was
the enemy of oppression, and was always foremost
in demanding that most difficult of all things to get
at the hands of government, private justice ; and, as
in the case of Douthat, he was uniformly first in
zeal, and unrivalled in eloquence, in the cause of suf-
fering humanity. Indeed, most gentle, blameless,
and amiable has been his private character through
a well-spent life ; and until he fell under the dis-
pleasure of Mr. Clay, no one dared to hint that it
was otherwise.

As a politician, he has always been of the Demo-
cratic school, but inclined to moderate measures.
Knowing that our system of government is based
upon compromises, he is not willing to sap its found-
ation by tearing one stone out after another. Faith-
ful to party so long as party is faithful to the coun-
try, he possesses the moral courage to abandon it
when wrong, in the face of the bitterest slander;
recognising his obligations to the popular will, he
does not hesitate, when it violates his sense of duty,
between that duty and the sacrifice of place, power,
and every consideration of self-iuterest. When call-
ed upon and instructed by the Legislature of Vir-
ginia, in 1836, to vote for the celebrated expunging
resolutions, which he considered as violating that

12

clause in the Constitution which requires the Sen-
ate " to keep a journal of its proceedings, and to
publish it from time to time" he respectfully refused
to comply, and resigned three unexpired years of
his term, in a letter to that Legislature full of indig-
nant eloquence. He says :

" I should be afraid, after performing such a deed, if Virginia
is as she once was (and I do not doubt it), to return within her
limits. The execrations of her people would be thundered in
my ears ; the soil which had been trod by her heroes and states-
men would furnish me no resting-place. I should feel myself
guilty, most guilty ; and however I might succeed in concealing
myself from the sight of men, I could not, in my view of the sub-
ject, save myself from the upbraidings of my own perjured con-
science. How could I return to mix among her people, to share
their hospitality and kindness, with the declaration on my lips,
' I have violated my oath of office, and, sooner than surrender
my place in the Senate, have struck down the Constitution V '

Does this show a fondness for office at the ex-
pense of his conscience, or a lack of firmness to do
his duty under the most trying circumstances 1

Firm, faithful, and consistent as a party politician,
he has never wanted independence to differ from
that party, when the good of his country and the
dictates of his conscience required it. Upon the
occasion of the assumption of power hy President
Jackson to appoint a minister to the Sublime Porte
without consulting the Senate, Mr. Tyler, who was
then a friend of the administration, was not, like the
rest, whipped in to acquiesce in this dangerous stretch
of presidential prerogative, but solemnly protested
against it in a speech before the Senate, in which
he says :

13

" Shall I displease the President by doing so 1 If I do, I can-
not help it. But I claim to follow in the footsteps of his exam-
ple, and bright and glorious is that example. When he exer-
cised his veto over certain bills during the last session of Con-
gress, he had my most unqualified applause. I have seen much
in his career to applaud. The patriot who has shed his blood
on the embattled plain in behalf of his country, will not hesitate
to approve the effort which is made to save the Constitution from
the effect of an error into which he may have fallen. He rati-
fies no error of ours. The two houses of Congress, no doubt,
with solemn convictions of both its expediency and constitution-
ality, pass a bill which, in his estimation, infringes on the Con-
stitution : with Roman firmness, he forbids its becoming a law.
Shall we rival this example, or shall we be less faithful to the
trust confided to us ?"

" It is our duty, Mr. President, under all circumstances, and
howsoever situated, to be faithful to the Constitution. Eslo per-
petua should be the motto of all in regard to that instrument, and
more emphatically those into whose hands it is committed by the
parties to the compact of union. Sir, parties may succeed, and
will succeed each other ; stars that shine with brilliancy to-day
may be struck from their spheres to-morrow ; convulsion may
follow convulsion ; the battlements may rock about us, and the
storm rage in its wildest fury, but while the Constitution is pre-
served inviolate, the liberties of the country will be secure.
When we are asked to lay down the Constitution upon the shrine
of party, our answer is, the price demanded is too great. If re-
quired to pass over its violation in silence, we reply, that to do so
would be infidelity to our trust, and treason to those who sent us
here."

Mr. Tyler has on all occasions shown himself
the friend of liberty, and of a just balance of all the
ruling powers of government ; he has unflinchingly
opposed every assumption of power not recognised
by the Constitution, and resisted the natural ten-

14

dency of one co-ordinate department of the govern-
ment to trench upon another, and of each to make
points with the rest. When President Jackson as-
sumed to control the public purse, by forcing the
removal of the public deposites from the United
States Bank, and displaced a Secretary of the
Treasury in order to procure its accomplishment, Mr.
Tyler was among the first to raise his voice, in the
Senate, against this abuse of power. Though oppo-
sed on constitutional grounds, to that institution as
it was then organized, and put upon a committee of
investigation into its affairs, he possessed the candour
and magnanimity to render it full justice in his able
report; and when, a short time after, the subject
above alluded to came before the Senate, he was
not blinded, as men of narrow minds would be, by
his objections to the Bank, to the error of the Presi-
dent, but nobly vindicated its rights, and clearly
seeing that error, boldly and indignantly reproved
it. On the subject of the Bank, the following are
his sentiments, delivered on that occasion :

" Is the presidential power only to be considered dangerous,
when he is at the head of an army ? Patronage is the sword
and the cannon by which war may be made on the liberty of the
human race. Is power won only by armies ? money is more
powerful than armed men. So long as the spirit of liberty ex-
ists, there is no danger from the last. If driven from the plains,
she has still a retreat in the mountains. In their gorges and
fastnesses she may still make good her cause ; and not until
those gorges and fastnesses shall be filled with the bodies of
the dead, will her glorious flag be struck. But what can brave
men do to guard against the effects of money and patronage ?

15

They work silently, and almost unseen ; they make sure their
advances by corruption ; they gradually undermine the public
virtue ; the match is then applied, and the mine is then safely
sprung, and the edifice of human liberty scattered into atoms.

" I am against the Bank, not because it deals in exchanges to
the amount of $250,000,000. No, sir : I should as soon com-
plain of the ocean for furnishing facilities of intercommunication
between distant nations, or of the ships which bear the rich
freights of industry from our own to distant lands, as to com-
plain of any other agent employed in furnishing similar facilities
to the exchanges of the country. Nor am I insensible to the
beneficial influences it has had over the currency of the coun-
try ; but I oppose it because it is unconstitutional, and that is
reason enough. If the Constitution authorized its creation, no
man, with the experience of the past, could well doubt the pro-
priety of a well-regulated and well-guarded bank, due reference
being had to the condition of the banking system ; but no benefit,
however great, should lead us to make an inroad on the Consti-
tution, except by amendment, in the manner pointed out by that
instrument ; although no system resting on the state banks for its
execution can be as well executed as through the agency of the
United States Bank, yet, sir, I would prefer to rest on them to
acting without constitutional sanction. If my opinion could have
any influence over the country, my advice would be, restore the
deposites and amend the Constitution. Such amendment is called
for by numerous considerations. This contest has continued long
enough : its agitation has never failed to produce disastrous re-
sults ; whatever affects the currency affects every interest of
society. Why shall this dispute be periodically continued 1 Let
it be settled in the one way or other by the states, and settled
permanently. The question of bank or no bank has been always
made a political stepping-stone — ambition seeks to vault into the
presidential saddle through its influence. Sir, it is the last sub-
ject which ought to be handed over to politicians : there is too
much of distress produced by its agitation ; the interests of the
country are too nearly connected with the currency to be eter-
nally made the subject of political speculations."

16

No fact in the life of Mr. Tyler is susceptible of
clearer proof than his uniform hostility to a Bank
of the United States. During the first session that
he served in the Legislature of Virginia, he intro-
duced a resolution censuring Mr. Brant for having
disobeyed the instructions of a previous legislature
in voting in the Senate for the Bank charter in
1811 ; and Mr. Giles for having denied the obliga-
tions of instructions. The resolution was passed
with some modifications, and those distinguished
senators never recovered from the blow.

He was a member of a committee of the House
of Representatives appointed to examine the con-
cerns of the Bank, in 1818. A resolution was in-
troduced into the house to repeal its charter ; and
the following extracts from Mr. Tyler's speech on
that resolution evince not only his firmness, his
conscientiousness, and his integrity, but also a most
remarkable forecast in regard to the subsequent con-
duct and ultimate fate of that corrupt and unfortu-
nate institution :

" From the moment," said Mr. Tyler, " that the speaker
thought proper to confer on me the honour of an appointment on
the committee whose report is now under consideration, up to
this time, I have felt the responsibility of my situation. It is
known to you, Mr. Chairman, that I represent a district deeply
interested in the decision of the question now pending. It is
known to this committee that it became my duty to present a
petition, signed by many of my most respected constituents, the
other day, to the house, adverse to the course which I shall pur-
sue. I can, however, sir, look neither to the right nor the left.
My oicn personal popularity can have no influence over me when
the dictates of my best judgment, and the obligations of an oath, re-

17

quire of me a particular course. Under such circumstances, wlieth-
er I sink or sivim on the tide of popular favour, is to me a matter
of inferior consideration. It is my misfortune, also, to follow in
this debate the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Lowndes),
whose views are, in the general, most luminous and correct.
Upon this question I am forced to differ from him. Sir, the gen-
tleman has dwelt upon the benefits arising from the Bank. He
has presented you alone the fair side of the painting. In many of
his views 1 concur with him, but it becomes us to examine both
sides of the painting. He has represented this institution as vi-
tally connected with the prosperity of the country. Its destruc-
tion is to be attended with the most fatal consequences. And
are we come to this 1 Shall we be forced to countenance specu-
lation and fraud for fear of encountering the evils of putting down
this system ? Is it so completely interwoven with our interests
as to endanger those interests by its destruction ? Does this gov-
ernment, indeed, rest on this corporation for stability and sup-
port ? I cannot believe it. We are not reduced to such a state
of degradation. Sir, if the gentleman from South Carolina had
exerted his talents for the purpose of devising a scheme by which
we could have successfully extricated ourselves from our present
embarrassing situation, I cannot but think, with all due respect to
that gentleman, that he would have much more beneficially em-
ployed those talents than by the course he has thought proper to
pursue. If the evils of this system, as disclosed in the report
and testimony, be not sufficient to induce us to direct a scire fa-
cias, in the name of Heaven, I demand to know what would be
considered an inducement ?"

Having disposed of these things, Mr. Tyler proceeded to the
subject more immediately under consideration, "Whether it be
proper to issue a scire facias against the bank ;" which divided
itself into two heads : namely, whether the charter had been so
violated as to ensure a forfeiture ? and, if so, were it expedient
.o exact the penalty ? " The decision of the first," said Mr. Ty-
■ er, " would preclude me from an inquiry into the second. For,
sir, inasmuch AS I BELIEVE THE CREATION OF

c

18

THIS CORPORATION TO BE UNCONSTITUTION-
AL, I cannot, without a violation of my oath, hesitate to repair
a breach in the Constitution, when an opportunity presents itself of
doing so without violating the public faith."

" There remains now but one branch of inquiry with those
who do not think the creation of this bank an unconstitutional
act, viz., Is it expedient to direct a scire facias, or, in other words,
to put down this corporation ? I contend that it is. For one, I
enter my protest against the banking system as conducted in this
country : a system not to be supported by any correct principle of
political economy. A gross delusion, the dream of a visionary :
a system which has done more to corrupt the morals of society than
anything else ; which has introduced a struggle for wealth, instead
of that honourable struggle which governs the actions of a patriot,
and makes ambition virtue ; which has made the husbandman spurn
his cottage, and introduced a spirit of luxury at variance with the
spirit of our institutions. I call upon the warm advocates of
banking now to surrender their errors. Shall I take them by
the hand and lead them through the cities ? Bankruptcy meets
us at every step, ruin stares us everywhere in the face. Shall I
be told of the benefits arising to commerce from the concentra-
tion of capital ? Away with the delusion : experience has expo-
sed its fallacy. True, for a moment it has operated as a stimu-
lus ; but, like ardent spirit, it has produced activity and energy
but for a moment ; relaxation has followed, and the torpor of
death has ensued. When you first open your bank, much bustle
ensues : a fictitious goddess, pretending to be wealth, stands at
the door, inviting all to enter and receive accommodation. Splen-
did palaces arise — the ocean is covered with sails — but some al-
teration in the state of the country takes place, and when the
thoughtless adventurer, seated in the midst of his family in the
imaginary enjoyment of permanent security, sketches out to him-
self long and halcyon days, his prospects are overshadowed, and
misery, ruin, and bankruptcy make their appearance in the shape
of bank curtailments. If this be true, and I appeal to the knowl-
edge of all men for its truth, I demand to know if you can put
down this system too soon ?"

19

"I entreat gentlemen to arrest the evil now that they can.
Sir, I was astonished at the argument of the honourable gentleman
from South Carolina. He contended that the great object of the
charter had been answered ; that every facility had been afforded
to the operations of the treasury ; and, therefore, that no forfeiture
had ensued. What is this but to say to the Bank, Take care to be
only the glove to the hand of the treasury, facilitate its schemes
and operations, and do whatever else you please, you shall not be
arrested ? Swindle and cheat, deceive the unthinking people of
this country, without mercy and without end ; only take care to
secure the smiles of the treasury, and all shall be smooth and well.
Is it not actually granting the Bank a patent to offend? It is
only necessary that it should apply at the patent-office, and receive
its license under the sign-manual of Dr. Thornton. I cannot lis-
ten to such a position. I call upon the warmest advocates of this
system, although I am satisfied that that call is in vain, to unite
with me in this measure. You have been disappointed in your
wishes — in our expectations. Instead of a system abounding
in blessings, it has been converted into an instrument of corrup-
tion. Cold, unfeeling speculation has usurped the place of hon-
est dealing. Are we not too young to encourage such a state of
things ? Our republic can only be preserved by a strict adhe-
rence to virtue. It is our duty, if ice consult our eternal good, to
put down this first instance of detected corruption, and thereby pre-
serve ourselves from its contamination. This Bank is already in-
terwoven with the affections of many : its influence will become every
day more and more extensive. If we suffer this opportunity to es-
cape, we may sigh over our unhappy condition, but that will be the
only privilege which will be left us. Let my fate be what it may, I
have discharged my duty, and am regardless of the consequences."

Having thus given a brief exposition of his con-
duct and sentiments on the Bank question, let us
glance at his course on the other great topic of the
times, the Tariff.

In forming the Compromise Act of 1833, all the
great, patriotic, and leading minds in political life

20

were zealously engaged, and happily succeeded in
" dissipating the gloom that hung upon the country."
It is well known that, before this fortunate idea was
hit upon, the friends of an ultra-protective system
were urging matters to a great extremity, and forcing
the Southern States, and particularly South Caro-
lina, into an attitude of almost open resistance to
the Union. Mr. Tyler, distressed to see his country
distracted by such dissensions, and feeling the most
intense anxiety for its restoration to peace and har-
mony, made an eloquent speech in the Senate, in
which he gave a most able exposition of the nature
of our government, the basis of its organization, the
provisions of its Constitution, and the spirit of its
institutions, and was, in fact, the first to suggest the
very plan of Compromise which was afterward so
happily adopted. Opposed to a Tariff merely for
protection of domestic industry, but in favour of a
Tariff for revenue which may incidentally afford
such protection, he appealed to the South for the
necessity of the latter, and to the North for the re-
linquishment of the former, saying :

" His (Mr. Tyler's) mode of preserving the Union was by re-
storing mutual confidence and affection among the members ; by
doing justice, and obeying the dictates of policy. The Presi-
dent has pointed out the mode in his opening message. We
had been informed that there was an excess of $6,000,000 in
the treasury. I would destroy that excess, yet I would not
rashly and rudely lay hands on the manufacturer, if I had the
power to do so. While giving peace to one section, I would not
produce discord in another. It would be to accomplish nothing,
to appease discord in one section and produce it in another.

21

The manufacturers desire time — give them time — ample time
If they would come down to the revenue standard, and abandon
the protective policy, I would allow them full time. I present
these suggestions, for I am anxious to see this vexed question
adjusted."

Here we find the basis of the Compromise Act
first suggested by Mr. Tyler, and afterward so hap-
pily matured by the Senate.

It has been usual to ascribe to Mr. Clay the chie*
merit of accomplishing this great conciliatory meas-
ure, so happily hit upon at that critical juncture ;
but though he is entitled to the praise of having aid-
ed it with all his influence, the credit of originating
it belongs to Mr. Tyler; and it is believed that his
brilliant, and eloquent, and patriotic speech in the
debate in the Senate on that occasion produced
more effect upon that distinguished body than any
other of the speeches, and led, more than anything
else, to the glorious results whose benign inlluences
are felt to this day.

The delicate position in which the proposed en-
actments would have placed South Carolina, and
the fatal influence they would have had upon the
sovereignty of the states, as guarantied by the Con-
stitution, aroused all Mr. Tyler's chivalrous and gen-
erous emotions, and called forth all the resources ot
his vigorous mind to defend that great palladium
of our liberty. We have not room for his logical
argument and sound exposition of this important
subject, but can only make a few extracts. Speak-
ing comparatively of the two systems of govern-
ment, he says:

22

" Mr. President," said he, u if any man would run a compari-
son between a federal system, such as we have, and a consolidated
system, he could not fail to express his warmest admiration at
the beauty of the first. When I contemplate the difference be-
tween them, it has struck me with astonishment that any portion
of this Union should desire to see a consolidated government es-
tablished on the ruins of a federal republic — that beautiful sys-
tem, which, if truly carried out, was calculated to render us the
happiest and most powerful people on the face of the earth.
He could compare it to nothing so properly as the solar system.
It was the sun (the Federal Government), giving light, heat, and
attraction to the planets revolving round it in their proper orbits.
No two could come in contact with each other ; they rolled on
in ceaseless splendour so long as they preserved the course
pointed out by the Constitution. It was impossible for them to
come into collision either with the government or with each oth-
er so long as they were confined within their proper orbits.
The people of the states were attached to the state governments,
to whom they looked for protection, and to the Federal Govern-
ment, which guarantied the safety of the whole. The state
governments exercise a paternal sway : they regulate the do-
mestic concerns, prescribe the rules of property, the punishment
of crimes, the internal police, and throw the aegis of protection
over the family circle. To this are confided the great powers of
peace and war : the sword and the purse are here. Power,
however, often forgets right. The states act as sentinels upon
the watchtower, to give the alarm on the approach of tyranny ;
and, being organized into governments, stand ready, after all
other measures shall fail, and the only alternative is slavery or
resistance."

Alluding, in his peroration, to South Carolina, he

says :

" But regard it as exclusively a South Carolina question,
what prevents you from yielding to her wishes 1 Pride
alone stands in the way — false pride It is the worst, the

23

most pernicious of counsellors. Against its influence Lord
Chatham and Edmund Burke raised their voices in the Brit-
ish Parliament ; but the reply was, that it would not do to
make terms with revolted colonies ; and a besotted minis-
try lost to the English crown its brightest jewel. It is idle
to talk of degrading government by yielding terms. This
government is strong — South Carolina weak. The strong
man may grant terms to the weak, and, by so doing, give
the highest evidence of magnanimity. All history teems
with instances of the evils springing from false pride in gov-
ernments. Bruised thrones, dismembered empires, crushed
republics — these are its bitter fruits. Let us throw it from
us, and try the efficacy of that engine which tyrants never
use : that great engine which would save Poland to Russia,
Ireland to England, and South Carolina, not as a province,
with her palmetto trailing in the dust, but as a free, sover-
eign, and independent state, to this confederacy — the engine
of redress. This is my advice.

"But my advice is disregarded : you rush on to the con-
test; you subdue South Carolina; you drive her citizens
into the morasses, where Marion and Sumter found refuge ;
you level her towns and cities in the dust ; you clothe her
daughters in mourning, and make helpless orphans of her
rising sons — where, then, is your glory 1 Glory comes not
from the blood of slaughtered brethren. Gracious God ! is
it necessary to urge such considerations on an American
Senate 1 Whither has the genius of America fled 1 We
have had darker days than the present, and that genius has
saved us. Are we to satisfy the discontents of the people
by force; by shooting some and bayoneting others'] Force
may convert freemen into slaves ; but, after you have made
them slaves, will they look with complacency on their
chains 1 When you have subdued South Carolina, lowered
her proud flag, and trampled her freedom in the dust, will
she love you for the kindness you have shown her 1 No :
she will despise and hate you. Poland will hate Russia un-

24

til she is again free ; and so would it be with South Carolina.
1 would that I had but moral influence enough to save my
country in this hour of peril. If I know myself, I would
peril all, everything that I hold most dear, if I could be the
means of stilling the agitated billows. I have no such pow-
er : I stand here manacled in a minority whose efforts can
avail but little. You who are the majority have the desti-
nies of the country in your hands. If war shall grow out
of this measure, you are alone responsible. I will wash my
hands of the business. Rather than give my aid I would
surrender my station here, for I aspire not to imitate the
rash boy who set fire to the Ephesian dome. No, sir : I
will lend no aid to the passage of this bill. I had almost
said that ' I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, than
such a Roman.' I will not yet despair : Rome had her Cur-
tius, Sparta her Leonidas, and Athens her band of devoted
patriots ; and shall it be said that the American Senate con-
tains not one man who will step forward to rescue his coun-
try in this her moment of peril ] Although that man may nev-
er wear an earthly crown or sway an earthly sceptre, eternal
fame shall wreath an evergreen around his brow, and his
name shall rank with those of the proudest patriots of the
proudest climes."

Having thus exhibited the conduct and opinions
of Mr. Tyler while he was a representative of the
people in their various deliberative bodies, let us
examine the sentiments that he avowed and the
pledges that he gave while a candidate for the Vice-
presidency.

The two most prominent subjects that agitated
the country during that canvass, and continue still
to shake it from one end to the other, are the cur-
rency and the revenue, with their collateral depend-
ances, a National Bank or Exchequer, and a Pro-

25

tective Tariff. We have seen that Mr. Tyler had
been uniformly opposed to the charter of a Na-
tional Bank on constitutional grounds, but admitted
its great utility, and his desire that the Constitution
should be amended so as to meet the exigencies of
the country in this respect. He voted against a re-
charter of the Bank in 1832, and never, in the course
of his whole life, had he said or done anything that
could be tortured into a doubt in- his mind of the
total inability of Congress, under the Constitution,
to charter a bank to act within the limits of the
states without their consent. When called upon
by the Henrico Committee, in the fall of 1840,
during the presidential canvass, for his opinions on
this subject, he frankly replied, "There is not in the
Constitution any express grant of power for such
purpose, and it could never be constitutional to ex-
ercise that power, save in the event the powers
granted to Congress could not be carried into effect
without resorting to such an institution ;" and re-
ferred them, for a more full exposition of his views,
to his speeches and vote above alluded to. Now
we put it to every candid mind to say, whether an
issue could be more fairly put before the people
than this I Through his whole life, repeatedly, in
public and in private, in his speeches and conversa-
tion, up to the very moment when the votes were
cast for him as Vice-president, he had invariably
declared that no power was granted to Congress to
charter a bank to act in the states without their

D

26

consent ; and in this opinion he was sustained by
General Harrison, for he used the very words of
that lamented patriot in his reply to the Henrico
Committee ; yet they were both elected to their re-
spective offices by a vast majority of the people of
the United States, and thus had the very best evi-
dence which could be given of the expectation and
wish of that people, that, as magistrates, they would
be governed by the same principles which they had
avowed as candidates.

Yet one of the gravest charges in the long cata-
logue of allegations against President Tyler is that
of treachery to the party which elected him, founded
upon his veto of the two wretchedly inefficient Bank
Bills at the extra session. Now we have shown, in
the preceding pages, that, throughout his whole po-
litical life, Mr. Tyler has been an unwavering oppo-
nent of a National Bank. Upon this point there can
be no dispute. His sentiments, often avowed, were
known to the convention which nominated, and to
the people who elected him. Nay, his hostility to
such an institution, on constitutional grounds, was
urged upon the people as a reason for his support.
In an address made to the people by a State Whig
Convention of Virginia, it was stated, in language the
most emphatic, that his uncompromising hostility to
a bank was one of the strongest inducements for the
South to sustain his nomination.

We have shown that, up to the period of his ac-
cession to the presidency, Mr. Tyler was a known

27

and uniform opponent of a National Bank. Con-
gress convened on the last day of May, less than
two months after the death of General Harrison.
In his message at the opening of the session, Mr.
Tyler avowed his readiness to co-operate with Con-
gress in all measures necessary for the country, and
declared his determination to conform his action to
that of the Legislature in all cases where he could
reconcile it to his sense of constitutional obliga-
tion.

Mr. Clay foresaw that the establishment of a bank,
and the passage of the other measures which consti-
tuted the entire policy of the Whig party, with the
co-operation of the President, would not only dis-
arm him of weapons to contend with the Democrats,
but very possibly place Mr. Tyler in such a position
at the head of the Whigs as to make him a danger-
ous rival in the contest of 1844. He determined,
therefore, to extort a veto on a Bank Bill, and thus
separate the President from the Whig party. At an
early day of the session, he procured the adoption of
a resolution by the Senate, calling upon Mr. Ewing,
Secretary of the Treasury, and his devoted friend,
for a plan of a bank. The plan was presented : it
was Mr. E wing's own, with the exception of the main
feature, the assent of the states for the establishment
of branches, which was incorporated, as known to be
indispensable to the executive sanction. The call
being directly upon the secretary, President Tyler
did not interfere with the details of the scheme, or

28

attempt to dictate in any manner, except merely to
insist upon the principle of assent of the states.

The treasury plan was contumeliously spurned by
Mr. Clay, and he reported to the Senate a bill for
an oldfashioned bank — a bill which he knew the
President could never sign, and which he did not
wish or expect to become a law. After several
weeks of discussion and management, Mr. Clay
discovered that his bill could not pass the Senate
in the form reported. A senator from South Caro-
lina, and another from Maryland, both friendly to a
bank, refused to vote for Mr. Clay's bill. He was
greatly incensed at this contumacy, for he appre-
hended that such a modification as was necessary
to its passage might secure the executive sanction.
Determined, however, to carry the bill without
yielding one inch of substantial ground, without
conceding one iota of principle, he set about devi-
sing a plan which should obviate the objections of
the seuators above alluded to, and, at the same time,
ensure the negative of the President. Mr. Rives
had offered an amendment providing, as a condition
precedent to the establishment of a branch in any
state, that the consent of the Legislature should
first be obtained. This was rejected through the
influence of Mr. Clay. An amendment was then
prepared by Mr. Clay, authorizing the directors of
the Bank to establish branches in such states as did
not express their dissent at the then next session of
the Legislature; and, in case the Legislature did re-

29

fuse, then Congress might authorize the establish-
ment of branches wherever the public interest
seemed to require them. This proposition was ex-
hibited to the President by a friend of Mr. Clay
before it was offered in the Senate. Its insidious
character was manifest to Mr. Tyler, and he re-
pelled it at once as unsatisfactory and unfair, and
as evading the true question at issue ; and he avow-
ed his preference for the original bill, as bold, direct,
and manly, while this professed compromise was
Jesuitical and inexplicit. Having ascertained that
this proposition could not remove the President's
objections, and affecting to consider it as a liberal
and generous concession, Mr. Clay procured its
adoption. The bill was passed, and sent to the
President. It was returned, with the objections of
the executive, and so far Mr. Clay's plans were
successful. His wish, as avowed in the Senate,
was to adjourn without any farther effort to obtain
a bank, and go before the people on the question.
But his friends overruled him in this instance. An-
other bank, was planned with a view to another
veto, and Mr. Clay concurred in its passage with a
kuowledge that such would be its fate, and in the
expectation that it would render the breach between
Mr. Tyler and the Whig party final and fatal.
The veto came, and the cabinet was dissolved at
the dictation of Mr. Clay, and in the hope that the
President would be unable to constitute another,
and would thus be without the means of carrving

30

on the government, and, perhaps, be forced to re-
sign. But the scheme failed. President Tyler
found men honest, patriotic, and able to supply
the places of the retiring members, and the ma-
chinery of the government was not impeded for
an hour. Certainly, with these facts before them,
a generous and intelligent people, even differing in
sentiment from President Tyler, will cease to blame
him for not suffering himself to be entrapped in the
" heading" snares that were so insidiously laid in
the path, and refusing to sign bank bills into which
clauses and provisions were purposely and unneces-
sarily thrust, that, in his estimation, not only viola-
ted the Constitution, but expressly contravened the
pledges upon which he came into power.

It is apparent, then, to every reflecting mind, that
there must have been some secret reason, independ-
ent of the merits of the bank measure itself, which
induced the Whig majority in Congress to persist
so pertinaciously upon encumbering it with a pro-
vision authorizing the establishment of branches in
the states without their consent, when no one was
ignorant that such provision rendered it, in the opin-
ion of the President, unconstitutional. Whence,
upon any other supposition, the extraordinary infat-
uation which led the leaders of the Whig party to
break with the President upon a point so trivial,
and sacrifice, for so futile a purpose, all the fruits of
their great victory I Why, with the fact staring
them in the face, that not a single subscriber would

31

have been found for the stock of the new bank
with the most propitious charter, and with the car-
cass of the old bank festering in its corruption be-
fore them, and tainting the very air they breathed,
did they press upon the President the cruel alterna-
tive of being unrighteously denounced as a traitor
for defeating a party measure, or signing, against
his convictions of duty, a provision in that measure
forcing the Bank upon the states, while, if it really
was desired by the people, or even the party, that
provision was entirely unnecessary, since consent
could be granted by a simple vote 1 A rational ex-
planation for conduct so singular, for sacrifices both
of party and public interests so enormous, is to be
found only in the view we have taken. It is only
in the poisonous shade of personal ambition that
such vast interests wither and perish. It is only at
the shrine of personal aggrandizement that such
hecatombs are sacrificed. It is the same spirit that
has kept the leaders of the Whig party in Congress
aloof from the President from the beginning, and led
them to treat him with coldness and distrust. From
the moment of his succession to office, and espe-
cially from the time when the bank vetoes gave them
some pretext for such conduct, the whole body of
Whig members of Congress, almost without excep-
tion, have repelled all his advances of kindness,
withheld themselves studiously from his presence,
heaped upon him all sorts of contumely in public
debate, vilified him through their obsequious presses,

32

treated all his measures for the public good with
contempt, and absolutely refused to give his admin-
istration any sort of countenance or support. How
long will he be required to bear such indignities 1
and how long could he be expected to close his
mind against suspicion, when a leader in the con-
spiracy even avowed the express intention of "head-
ing"' him, by forcing the Bank Bill before him with
this obnoxious provision? Is this the kind of treat-
ment he had a right to expect from them, not only
as citizens and gentlemen, but partisans and pru-
dent tacticians 1 Surely, if a party were bent on
destruction, they Cuiild not have resorted to surer
means, though, doubtless, they are blinded to that
result by the infatuation of their personal idolatry
for Mr.. Clay.

It was reasonable to have anticipated that, during
the recess after the extra session, the Whig mem-
bers of Congress, having had time for reflection,
would have retraced their steps, repaired the errors
of the past, and manifested a wiser forecast for the
future. An opportunity for reconciliation was of-
fered by the President, with the utmost singleness
and sincerity of purpose, in his opening message at
the regular session, in his proposition for an Ex-
chequer, and iu the general tone and sentiments
of that able paper. But how was it treated I
Though the Exchequer plan was admitted by all
sound business men to be just what the country
wanted, it was contumeliously smothered in the

33

committee-rooms ; its author was treated with the
same studious coldness and distrust as before in pri-
vate life, and vilified with the same violent abuse in
public debate, and the quarrel was aggravated into
an irreparable breach. The supply bills, demanded
by the exigencies of the public service, were delay-
ed, carped at, and reduced to the most parsimonious
basis; aud, to crown all, the Revenue Bill, which was
to be the fountain of these niggardly supplies, was
poisoned by the introduction of an incongruous and
fatal ingredient, which it was well known would
render it unfit for use, and force the President to its
rejection. The distribution of the proceeds of the
public lands was a measure which met the appro-
bation of the President at a time when the treasury
was full and unembarrassed, and no necessity exist-
ed of raising for its supply the tariff of duties above
twenty per cent. Circumstances make a measure
expedient at one time, when a change of circum-
stances render it inexpedient at another ; and
such a change had been so far foreseen and pro-
vided for in the distribution law itself, that it was
made to declare that distribution should cease
as soon as it should become necessary to raise
the duties above the rate heretofore mentioned.
Besides, the Compromise Act of 1833, which all
the patriotic statesmen of the time united to send,
with healing on its wings, over this great empire
of vastly-diversified interests and conflicting sen-
timents, contemplates a permanent reduction of

34

the duties to twenty per cent, and an increase
would be justified only by the sternest necessity,
after all the available resources of the government
had been found insufficient for its support. The
very Congress that sent this bill to the President,
requiring distribution, although they raised the du-
ties above twenty per cent., is the same one that
but a short time before sent him the Distribution
Bill, with a clause requiring that distribution should
cease if the duties were raised above that rate ; and
because he dared to maintain his consistency of
opinion, while they had no respect for their own,
they loaded him with reproaches, and endeavoured
to make him odious with the people for adhering
to the very sentiments they themselves were the
first to adopt, as they were the first to abandon.
Other serious objections existed to this bill, strange-
ly compounded of revenue and appropriation. It
united subjects that had no affinity, and, if allowed
to grow into a precedent, would introduce into
our national legislation the system of log-rolling
which has brought many of the states to the brink
of ruin in its connexion with their system of internal
improvements, and, as the President well observes,
cannot fail to prove "destructive of all wise and con-
scientious legislation." Indeed, the reason openly
avowed for introducing the distribution clause into
the Revenue Bill was, that the measure could not
be carried without the aid of the friends of distri-
bution ; and who does not see that this is the same

35

principle which, blending wise and foolish projects
into the same category, started railroads and canals
in regions where they never will be wanted, in or-
der to carry forward those that are unquestionably
useful, leaving all of them unfinished, impoverishing
the treasury, and destroying the public credit?

We have thus shown conclusively the truth of
the propositions with which we set out, and devel-
oped the foul conspiracy of which it has been at-
tempted to make President Tyler the victim. What-
ever may have been his claims heretofore to popular
favour ; whatever predilections may have been felt
for other distinguished individuals, or whatever pre-
tenskfhs they may possess to the highest office in
the gift of the people, surely, if we know anything
of that people, we can confidently say that the
claims of President Tyler will not be regarded by
them as having been diminished by these extraor-
dinary transactions

The events of the late session of Congress are too
fresh in the minds of the people to require recapit-
ulation. The studious and continued indignity
heaped upon President Tyler by the National Le-
gislature has already awakened the popular repro-
bation, notwithstanding that almost every avenue
to the public mind was preoccupied by his unrelent-
ing enemies. But the progress of truth, though
slow, is certain, and the scores of presses that have
spontaneously sprung up in behalf of the administra-
tion in every section of the country will soon dissi-

36

pate the foul slanders that have been circulated
against him.

The pure and unflinching democracy of Mr. Ty-
ler is the distinguishing characteristic of his political
life. His democracy is not that of party, but of
principle : not wavering with the whim of the day,
but stable as the rock of ages ; not subservient to
popular clamour, but firm to the public good ; self-
sacrificing, conscientious, unfaltering, devoted, hear-
ty, and consistent. It is a democracy which will
protect the people against the consequences of sud-
den popular ebullitions ; and around which they
may safely rally in cases of doubt and distress, in
periods of darkness and error, and in times of tfhnult
and confusion. It is a democracy to which the
people may look with safety in the midst of distrac-
tions occasioned by sectional jealousies, and con-
flicts resulting from selfish aims of personal aggran-
dizement ; and it is a temple of refuge to which
they may fly and be protected, when those dissen-
sions threaten the peace of the country by the mad
spirit of partisan warfare. It is a democracy which
stands immovable while popular feeling is sway-
ing to and fro, but to which that feeling, sooner or
later, will finally come as sure as the needle must,
ultimately, point to the pole. By the standard of
that democracy he has always stood firm : un-
daunted by the attacks of its enemies, and undismay-
ed by the desertion of its friends ; chosen always
to bear it at the head of their ranks as their favourite

37

leader, when the people shake off their delusion, and
return again to their duty with their accustomed
cheerfulness and vigour. That time is now at hand.
The people, distracted by ambitious and designing
demagogues ; tired of selfish leaders, who, by igmis
fatuus lights of false democracy, have betrayed them
into the swamp of error and the slough of despond,
and beholding with mingled admiration and regret
the statesman and patriot who, on high and lofty
ground, is watching the beacon-lights of liberty and
grasping the banner of pure democracy, are hasten-
ing rapidly to his side, and will soon exhibit an ar-
ray that will daunt the hearts of his enemies, re-
store" the failing confidence of the country, and re-
establish its prosperity and happiness upon a firm
and immutable basis.

Mr. Tyler's literary efforts evince genius, attain-
ments, and accomplishments of the highest order.
To purity of taste, elegance of diction, and strength
of reasoning, he superadds the ornaments of a lively
fancy, and a copious command of impressive and
striking images. His eulogy on Jefferson is decided-
ly the best that was pronounced on the death of that
illustrious man ; and his address at the Randolph
Macon College exhibits to great advantage his high
classical attainments, his refined taste, and his su-
perior talents as a chaste and elegant writer. It is
rare to find such accomplishments surviving the
rough ordeal of political strife ; and when they are

38

seen, they never fail to command admiration and
attract regard.

Not only is Mr. Tyler one of the most elegant
writers in the country, but he is also one of its most
fluent, eloquent, and brilliant orators. In happy, off-
hand, extemporaneous speaking, he has seldom been
equalled, and in more laboured and extended efforts
he has but few rivals. While a senator in Con-
gress, he took an active and prominent part in all
the debates, and was uniformly listened to with great
attention and profound respect. His manner is im-
pressive on all occasions : affable in social inter-
course, forcible in forensic efforts, and eloquent in
public debate.

Having presented, briefly and imperfectly, some of
the most prominent events and most striking pecu-
liarities in the history and character of John Tyler,
we appeal to you, the people of the United States,
to say whether you will sustain your public servants
in maintaining consistency of character, integrity of
heart, and firmness of purpose, when assailed under
the most trying circumstances ; whether you will
sanction the attempt to reduce your chief magistrate
to the mere tool of a dictator in the Senate ; wheth-
er you will justify a few party leaders, under the
control of such a dictator, to prolong your sufferings
merely to spite a rival for your favour, and to sport
with your great interests as mere pawns in the game
for the presidency ! Will you suffer those leaders,
if determined, in their idolatrous zeal, upon self-im-

39

nidation under the Juggernaut car of party, to drag
with them under its crushing wheels all those inter-
ests, and even the glorious Constitution itself? Will
you see the ruthless tyranny of an inexorable major-
ity, not of the people, but of their representatives
merely, trample down the rights of all who may dif-
fer from them in opinion, and sacrifice the welfare
of all parties to the trickery of maintaining their as-
cendency and furthering the ambitious projects of
their favourite ; and thus succeed in reducing this
great North American Republic to the condition of
its South American neighbours, with whom the ma-
jority of to-day is the minority of to-morrow, and
both alike are reckless of the general good, and stain-
ed alike with the best blood of their country 1 Are
you prepared to submit to an oppression more fatal
than the despotism of the autocrat of Russia — a
despotism which affects masses rather than individ-
uals, and which, if it does not send the offender to
the deserts of Siberia, converts the whole country
it misgoverns into a waste far more desolate and far
more deplorable ! If parties in this country go on
much longer as they have done for the last few-
years, you will soon have occasion to regret even
your independence: under the lash of present evils,
you will sigh for even those of the past ; under the
sway of ignorant and heartless demagogues, you will
pray for the more quiet rule of barons and of kings ;
with industry paralyzed, and the product of your
fields rendered worthless by selfish party legislation

40

and party broils, you will have little to boast of over
those despotic countries, whose territories are laid
waste by the private feuds and ambitious projects of
contending princes !

THE END