Columbia telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1828-1839, July 14, 1838, Image 2
5Ys Mr. Bur*e, "that the people ol ?n
.jTand have learned to feel the pulse of lib- j
frtv. ami. as they find th nt beat, they think
hesuselves sick or sound."
Thinking thus, could 1 be rn favor of the j
union of ?>ank and State ? Far from it. Hence, !
and hence only, have I always regarded a
Bank of the United States, as a formidable
weapon in the hands of the Federal Govern
ment. Nor did 1 so much dread it for -itself,
as because it was forced froai the very shield,
which the wisdom of our English Ancestors
had pnt into onr hand$, as 'out best defence i
against usurpation and expression. Wise by
the;r teaching, we ttsed it with effect, against
the accessions' of the British Government: !
but* when that struggle was over, we flung it
from us, fondly imagining that the paper de- |
fcnces of a "written Constitution would sup- j
ply its place. Ofjhi* io< onsideraie rashness i
we are now paying the penally-.
No, sir! No man is farther than I from ;
desiring the connection or Bank and State, j
The anion of Church and Sfate was, in its j
day, not marc pernicious. Each was alike |
the device of power to league itself with the
master passion of the ag^ ? fanaticism or ava
tjce ? the worship of Saints and Images, or!
the worship of Mamrron. But what was gain- |
ed to freedom of conscience, when the Tyrant j
Bigot Henry VIII. abjuring the Pope, pro
claimed HittSELv the Head of the Church,
and Defender of the Faith ? And what shalh j
we gain by exchanging the late liaison ?(for it
was no more) betw-een the moneyed and the
poetical rwwerofthe Union, for a regular mar
riage in facie Ecclesa, whereby "they twain
shall become o ire?" Let the Sub-Treasury
Bill be passed* aud, from that time, there is
a complete merger of the monetary in the
political power. The union of wealth and
power will be complete; aud money, from be
ing the rival of power, will become its instru
ment. The snion of wealth and numbers will
becoraplete, and w?a!kh will become the spoil
of numbers, instead of beiug, as }?enetofore,
a salutary check and counterpoise. The uni
ted force of all, becomes at once the instru
ment of one man. The powers of the Shark
nd the Eagle are added to the powers of the
Tiger, "and the beasts of the field, and the
fishes of t*he deep, *ud the birds of the air,
are alike his subjects and fers prey.
Believe me, sir, the reciprocal tendencies
of mooev and power to each other, need no
prompting. They are natural as those of the
sexes. ? Their -strifes are like Lover's quar
rels, and, left to themselves, soon end in the
same way. The problem of free government
is tf? make them irreconcilable. The art of
the Pe-frtrcal Philosopher is to play the mis
chief maker, and fix them in an antagonist
nftttocle and disposition.
How strikingly are the truth and impor
tance of these ideas proved and illustrated
by late events I No man can have forgotten
how, a few years ago, the Colossal power of
Andrew Jackson bestrode the land. Who re
sisted his will ? Principle went down before
fen*, jrnd the four and twenty States " cast
their .crowns before the Throne, sayiug,
4 T Hotr art worthy to reccive Glory and Hon
or aud Power, and for thv pleasure all things
are, and were created'"!! ! Does Mr. Cal
houn remember, how, iu that day, they wtyo
huljust before them been most vociferous io
devoting 44 lives and fortuues and sacred hon
or,," in oppositions Federal nsurpation, were
heard to'**ca$ upon the Ts^antains to cover
them/rom the wrath of Him who sat upon
the Throne V* Has he forgotten the sinking
own heart, and how he, the champion
of the South, sought refuge with you in a
dastarl compromise, by which he bound him
self to bear Tor eight years more, what he
h i-I ja^t declared to be intolerable, on the
faith of what he pretendecfto understand as a
promise, that, at the end of that time, the o
vit should be removed ? Let those who re
member the horrors of that day, and the ea
ger despair with which they looked around
for soaie defence against the Usurper : let
them remember, hpw even then a power
?arose, before unthought of, which showed it
self equal'to the encounter, and defied, and
sacessfully withstood* him. I am aware that
there are a sort of politicans among us who
place tire at the head of the charges agamst
Mr. BiJsHc. Xr. Calhoun himself is among I
the ouiAber, and (with what consistency, he |
can of course explain) regards it as a mon- i
strous evi4> that there should have been any I
interest in tie State {Assessing cottrage and j
adlress to defend itself. Yoa, sir, I am per- j
sanded think <tifferc?nily, and I trust that in i
the result of the struggle, you have seen a !
proof tfie ^alae of some great head of the
moneyed interest, which, in time of need, i
may serveasa rallying p >iut for all the prop- j
erty of the country, in any contest with pow- !
er, whether Executive or Legislative. The |
conclasion.to which I would lead your mind
is this? "that the proposed agent should be '
so coostitmted as to be no otherwise subject I
t? the authority ?f Government, than as all ;
things, whether persons or property, are tie- j
cessarily subjected to it. Thus alone can it
be relied on as a check on lawless domination.
On the opposite plan, it becomes the instru
ment of oppression."
I know not whether the faculty of resis
tance, displayed by the Bank of the United
States, wa3 wholly in the elastic and indom
itable energy of the moneyed interest, or, in
part, in the personal qualities of him who
managed if. I have not the pleasui^ of that
gentleman's acquaintance. But I find my
self his debtor for a lesson in political philoso
phy, -which I can never forget. If he be not
an extraordinary raau, he is at least fortunate
in having been called to act a part which will
give him a place in history, and a high rank
among the defenders of liberty. I know no
man of this day so truly enviable. ? When I
see him guiding his gailaut ship over the
tossing waves of the great sea of Commerce,
heaving from its lowest depths ? when I see
him sitting at the helm in conscious securi
ty amid the tempest that shakes the solid
earth,
?** (ike a great tea mark, standing every flaw,
And saving thea that eye him,"
I should be mortiSed that he should con
descend to exchange his w.ive-rocked for
tress far a palace and 'a throne. I find my
self applying to him the noble language of the
noblest of Poets. Lie is to us *" a symbol
and a sign."
u For ra the patient en?rgy,
la ;he endurance and repuke
Of his unpenetrable spirit,
Which Earth and Heaven ce?ld not repul?e,
A mighty lewon we inherit."
I have ^pleasure in believing that much of
this Sentiment u ilue to the raan himself. ?
Bat 1st ns aot in this lose sight of the impor
tant political trath which theexample teach
es. Circumstances make men -The great
?aa is "he wh? ases circumstances. But
oottfc ?sa a work without them. Paper has
beea to 5Ir. B'uWIe what eottoa was to Gen
-eral Jackson? Let the flatterers of the latter
assure themselves^ that this is the highest
pra'aethat history will award him. It is his
due- I gwe it freely. Let military men
Jesrn what tliey maj from the example set
them by this untaught warrior ol rhe nildei
1 uess. Let profit by that of his great rival,
I trust I need not deduce fo you, at length,
the argument it affords in favor of such a
constitution of the Bank of the United States,
as may array the power of the moneyed in
terest on the side of the States, in any future
struggle with the overgrown power of the
General Government.
A FRIEND OF STATE RIGHTS.
From the Baltimore Put riot.
U. S. SENATE, Junk 28, 1338.
! [Alter describing the passes between Mr.
Buck a.n an and Mr. Ca-lhoun, the corres
i pondent of the Patriot proceeds thus:]
Mr. Clay next rose, and, in a strain of de
lightful badinage, commented on the differ
ences jtibt exhi bited by two such good friends
as the Senators fiom South Carolina and
Pennsylvania. He was sorry to witness their
difference, and would-be glad to see a recon
cilation between two gentlemen who were
such staunch supporters of the Administra
tion.
Mr. Clay rhen referred to the declaration
by Messrs. Calhoun and Stransk t>f their
readiness to. go before the country on that
bill which had been so signally defeated by
| the People's representatives. He assured
I them, for himself and friends, that the sat
; isCaction of the opponents of the measure
f^ruld be equally great at going before the
! nation on that decision. For the People
| have already giver, their verdict against the
I sub-Treasury from one end of the Union to
the other. But if the gentlemen are anxious
for another appeal, let them have it ! At the
next session you will find yourself prostrated
beyond a chanccof recovery.
Mr. Clay alluded, in a strain of great spir
1 it and liveliness, to the remark of Mr. Cal
! Hou.v, that the responsibility rests now on
the Whigs. What ! said he, gentlemen, do
you then acknowledge that you are defeated ?
Then give up your seats like men ? resign
your posts ? go home ? let us have the pow
er along with the responsibility, and, my
word for it, we will, within sixty days, bring
about a restoration of confidence and pros
perity. But at the very moment in which
we are told that we alone are responsible,
the Senator from South Carolina also de
clares he will vote against us ? and vote a
g-aTBst his friends! Really, with such a set
of perverse, obstinate, impracticable gentle
men, who will support nothing, let it come
from friend or foe, we mtist be oontent to do
the best we can. The great object should be
to restore the confidence and prosperity of
the country; and this he maintained was the
purpose of the bill introduced by his friend i
from Massachusetts.
Mr. Clay then curiously reviewed the most j
important provisions of that measure, and j
I urged its adoption. He contrasted it with |
the substitute, and pronounced the latter to ?
be a straoge compound of distrust and confi- i
dence. You confide, said he, in the banks
so far as to receive their notes, but, in the
very act of converting them into specie, there
is an implied distrust. It is the waut of con
fidence which has been so fatal to the pros
perity of the country ; and in keeping up
that distrust the substitute would be most in
jurious.
If Mr. Wkbster's measure should fail,
Mr. Clay said the responsibility would rest
on those who were so obstinate and infatuated
as to refuse any measure bat that odious and
pernicious one which had already brought to |
the Administration a Waterloo defeat ? that
bill which is now dead as any man that has
been hanged on a gibbet ? a measure carried
here in defiance of the expressed wishes of
the constituents of "Senators, and attempted
to be forced through the House of Represen
tatives in the face of the known will of the
People.
Mr. Calhoun rejoined. He said that Mr.
Clay charged him with being a partisan of
the Administration. This he denied r and,
as usnal, talked and argued some time about
his consistency. It was not, he declared, in
the power of Mr. Clay to give him his politi
cal position.
* Mr. Calhoun then tried to cheer on his
troops by a jubillant strain. They were not
orerthrown? not they! Mr. Clay, he said,
was quite mistaken. The battle was not yet
fought out. They had ouly a slight skirmislfc
Mr. Clay would find when the fight should
take place ou the true issue between his
bank, which he (John C. Calhoun, of all
men living) styled a monarchical institution,
and the Sub-Treasury, that the latter would
triumph. There would be two to one against
it ? Waterloo defeat?inglorious discomfiture,
&c. In this strata did Mr. Calhoun con
tinue for half an hour.
Mr. Clay rejoined most felicitously. He
said he certainly did not desire to locate the
Senator from South Carolina. He would
never aim at so impracticable an object. But
he maintained that Mr. Calhoun's own lan
guage warranted every one in classing him
with the friends of the Administration'.
The Senator (said Mr. Clat) talks of be
longing to no party. But have we not heard
him repeatedly talking of making a rally ? of
the party of 1827 ? of the party of '98. Have
we not heard him speak of uniting the whole
South ? Is he of that ? the South-uniting
party ?
He calls (continued Mr. Clay) the end of
the sub-Treasurv bill a mere "skirmish."
*
Why, it has been defeated two times, at the
beginning and end of the Congressional year,
by the Representatives of the People; and
the public voice proclaims the country's ap
proval of the decision.
Mr. Clay gave the "honest nullifier" pro
phecy "for prophecy. The House of Repre
sentatives, in the year 1839, will open, he said,
with a majority of two-thirds against the Ad
ministration, if these measures are persisted
in ; and we shall have some changes too in
the Senate, (added Mr. C., looking archly
round to the quarter of the "instructed.")
M. Clay repelled the accusation that the
bank he proposed had any thing of a mon
archical character ; but if it had, Mr. Cal
houn's lips are shut against it, for he support
ed such a one twice. But it is quite chimeri
cal to talk of the monarchical character ot a
national institution. We had such a one for
i forty years, and our liberties were never in
| danger, until the power of the Executive was
i exercised to draw it to his footstool.
i Mr. Clay concluded by declaring that, al
S though he was for a national bank, he would
not present a scheme for such an institution,
if he were not assured the People were for it ;
and he assured Mr. Calhoun that he would
be found ever as ready to carry out the will
of the People as that Senator had shown
himself zealous to obstruct it.
Mr. Calhoun made a brief rejoinder, of
which the whole purpose was to attempt to
L hold up Mr. Clay as an enemy of the South ;
and to contrast his own course in organizing
a Southern party, to procuie a greater equal
ization of the burdens of Government, with
that of Mr. Clay, who, he intimated, was
looking to other "quarters for support and po
pularity.
Mr. Clay indignantly repelled tfeis insinua
tion. lie looked to no section, lie said, for
support. All the Government measures in
which he had any agency had reference to
the prosperity of the Union, and the whole
Union.
The distinguished orator then broke forth
in astiain of the most impassioned eloquence,
denouncing every attempt to unite the peo
ple of any section of the country in a commu
nity of interests separate from the people of
the other sections. Any man who would set
abroad such a work aided to produce the
occurrence of the greatest misfortune which
could possibly befall the American People,
lie may succeed in conciliating sectional fa
Vor ? he may disclaim all ambitious views ? he
may trample under foot every imputation of
his designs ; but the tendency of such opin
ionsand principles is directly to that catastro
phe ? a dissolution of the Union.
Mr. Calhoun now repeated those insinua
tions?for they had hardly the character of
charges ? in which he had indulged against
Mr. Clay during the abolition debates of the
last winter, of being less ardent in defence of
the domestic institutions of the South than
he ought to be.
Mr. Clay repelled the imputation, and
declared with peculiar emphasis, that if the
day should arrive when an attack would be
made upon the domestic institutions of the
?South, Mr. Calhoun never would b? found
iu lront of him in resisting those attacks. Rut
he believed that the course of that Senator
itself had done more to multiply abolitionists
than all other causes combined.
He again urged in a lofty strain of elo
quence the obligation to maintain the Union,
and declared that the love of the Union, so
deeply planted in the hearts of the American
People, would crush every one opposed to it.
&oimnbta iEclesropc,
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1838.
NOTICE.
Iu order to give a hearty welcome to our
distinguished Senator, Mr. Prestois, on his
return from Washington, and to afford him
an opportunity of addressing his constituents,
a Barbacue Dinner will be given, at Colum
bia, on Saturday, the 28th July, where all
the citizens of Richland and the surroundiug
country are invited to attend.
The other members o^ Congress of this
State are invited to be present and to address
the people.
JOSEFH A. BLACK,
S, BOAT WRIGHT,
JOHN McCULLY,
T, CENTER,
W. DEN LEY,
J. D. MORDECAl,
J. C. PHILLIPS;
T. H. WADE,
ROBERT ADAMS,
Committee.
i
The vote on the sub-Treasury bill, in the
House of Representatives, arranged by States,
was as follows.
For. Against.
Maine 4 2
New Hampshire 5 ^ 0
Massachusetts 1 11
Rhode Island 0 2
Connecticut 6 0
Vermont 1 4
New York 25 14
New Jersey 0 6
Pennsylvania 17 11
Delaware 0 1
Maryland 3 5
j Virginia 12 9
North Carolina 6 7
South Carolina 6 3
Georgia 6 2
Kentucky * 1 12
Tennessee 2 10
Ohio 7 13
Louisiana 0 2
Indiana 1 6
Alabama 3 1
Illinois 1 2
Mississippi 0 2
Missouri 2 0
Arkansas cxl 0
Michigan U 0
Ill
125
By sections of country.
For. Against
The New England States 17 19
.The Middle States 42 32
The Southern Stares 36 31
The Western States 16 43
Now that the sub-Treasury scheme is dead,
perhaps persons may be able to consider it
with less prejudice, and reason on it more
soberly. We Relieve that such countenance
as it has received in this State, has been
chiefly occasioned by want of information
on the subject. The people, we are satisfied,
know or care but little about it. We have
cause to suspect that in the Legislature it
self there are few gentlemen who have even
read the bill. In the confidence of a much
relying faith in its most conspicuous advo
cate, every thing in its favour has been taken
for granted.
Iu the first place, it was asserted with great j
effect that the sub-Treasury would restore to |
the South the commerce which has quit its !
direct course and been carried to the North.
How this was to be brought about by such
means, we have never seen explained, and I
cannot well imagine. If such be really the
operation and intention of the measure, the
vote ou it was extraordinary indeed. Look at
the list. New England nearly equally divid
ed, ? New York 25 for, 14 against ? Penn
sylvania 17 to 11 ? According to the interpre
tation of Mr. Calhoun and the Mercury, here
we have two thirds of New York voting for
taking trade from her great port, and sending
it to oars! ? Two thirds of Pennsylvania vot
ing against Philadelphia, in favour of Char
leston and Savannah.' ! ? and halfof New En
gird voting for Southern interests, at her
own expense ! ! ! ? In these day9 of change,
much may be beiieved; but even yet it is
not quite to. be credited that under the
Van Bureu administration the people of the
North have become so generous and self-safc
rificing as to be now endeavouring to make
the South richer, and themselves poorer.
Secondly, it was to "restore the constitution
al currency that is, gold and silver. What
has given the people of South Carolina this
sudden fondness for "the semi-barbarous cur
rency of metal," as Mr. F. W. Davie used
to call it ? Everyone must remember what
was thought of it when Benton proposed it
about three years ago. It went by the name
of "the Benton Hard Money Humbug," (see
the Telegraph and Mercury of those days)
and as such was put down with ridicule and
scorn. Has silver changed its nature since
that time ? Why is not Benton's silver dollar
or "yellow boy" as good as another man's. ?
How is it that precisely the same thing is so
bad when proposed by Benton, and so good
when proposed by Mr. Calhoun?
It was also said that the sub-Treasury would
"divorce" the money power from the politi
cal power ? the union of which two powers is
so formidable to liberty. Any one who will
take the trouble to read the bill will see that
its effect is just the contrary to that pretended.
It puts the whole revenue of the Country,
30 or 40 millions a year, into the control of
the President, as effectually as if it were in his
breeches's pocket. A Rew sort of " divorce"
this.
Mr. Calhoun says that jt would diminish
the patronage and influence of the Executive.
How! Diminish the patronage of Mr. Van
Buren by giving "him the appointment and
direction of a host of salaried officers! ?
diminish his influence by placing in his hands
30 or 40 millions of dollars a year!
"The Columbia Telescopc and its contributors
continue to harp with much biiterness and personal
rancour upon the letters received from the majority
of our delegation in Congress, by certain members of
the majority of our Slate Legislature, who represent
ed at the extra session the majority oj the people of
South Carolina , by taking ground against the Na
tionals and their Southern allies. We have seen se
veral of those letters, and they are not such
that the writers should grieve much to see
them in print. But were ihere no other letters? ?
Were the majority of our delegation at Washington
alone guilty of the high crime and misdemeanor of
writing letters to their friends in our Legislature, in
tending to effect its action ? Was not some action
on the Sub- Treasury question by our Legislaiure an
ticipated before a caucus w&3 called, and before it
was known that accounts had been received at Co
lumbia of the state of things at Washington ? It
has been proved by testimony which the Telescope
party will Tiot dispute, that preparations to move on
the question had "been made nt home before the Leg
islature met. But we put the question, did not the
minority of our delegation at Washington apprehend
that our Legislature would speak out on the ques
tion ? They did If we are not much mistaken in
our information, a letter or letters from a very high
source in the National ranks came to Columbia about
the opening of the extra session, dictating the plan
?oPthe minority campaign. If a certain member of
the Legislature moved in the matter, it was suggest
ed that his zeal should be tamed, or his influence
weakened, by industriously circulating imputations
against biro Selfish and unworthy motives were to
be imputed ; it was to be spread that he was only
anxious to kill off Mr. A. to make room for Mr. B. ?
&c. &c. This generous and magnanimous mode of
warfare was we understand, partially acted upon,
but with not much success. So much for letters from
Washington !
As it regards the charges of arrogance, persecu
iion, &c. so thickly showered upon tho majority of
our Legislature, we believe them to be bitter in pro
portion to the disappointments of those who are
maimed by the reaction of their own schemes of
proscription. There was a grand marshalling of the
anti-CALtiouN powers before the last regular meet
ing of our Legislature. Mr. Calhoxjn was the man
to be put down, and his influence in the State
E rostrated. To be sure, much of theanti-CALiiouN j
ost was a mere vision of fevered ambition
Col. ?was to bring up the Peedee country.
Gen. was to march up from Savannah RiVter,
and Mr- K. was to carry with him in regal
pomp, the Whole Union party of Charleston The
Telescope counted on nine tenths of the people : and
it is even said thai the resolutions for censuring or
instructing Mr. Calhoun were ready cut and dry.
Had the political foresight of the minority leaders
been greater ? had the grand schemes and calcula
tions above mentioned been as sagacious as they
were sweeping ? had not the Colonel from Pedee,
and the General from Savannah River, and the Li
nton Party of Charleston (deserting their "tower of
strength") all gone for the Sub-Treasury ; h'ad the
people been all dupes , Mf. Calhoun would had been
denounced in South Carolina, and the grand Nation
al consummation obtai led ? Mr- Calhoun b oken
down, somebody else would have been exalted,
and the influence of South Carolina been thrown in
to .he scale of the Nationals. We wou'd have been
on the winning side of Washington ? and nominations
to federal office and to foreign missions, might have
come to South Carolina politicians as a matter of
course But the people stood in the way of all this ?
and hence these resentments. Mr Calhoun And
his friends stood on the defensive, and they act on
the defensive now ; but let their assailants know that
they will maintain their position ? by fiword as well
as shield."
We republish the above article from the
Mercury, which we request our friends to
read attentively, that they may observe whe
ther we omit to answer fully any of its char
ges and insinuations. We presume, of
course, that the Mercury, having " put the
questions," will give publicity to our reply.
To the best of our knowledge and belief,
" the majority of our delegation at Washing
ton" were 44 alone guilty of the high crime
and misdemeanor of writing letters to their
friends in our Legislatnre, intending to affect
its action."
If there was any " action on the sub-Trea
sury question by our Legislature anticipated
before a caucus was called, and before it was
known that accounts had been received, at
Columbia, of the state of things at WashingT
ton," we are now to learn it for the first time,
having never heard of any thing of the sort,
then or since, from friend or foe. The first
suggestion we had of the probable agitation
of that question was the notice for the cau
cus placarded on the door of* the State
House. Nor are we aware of any 44 testimo
ny" that " preparations to move on the ques
tion had been made at home before the Le
gislature met unless indeed the Mercury
alludes to Mr. Albert Rhett's assertion,
which certainly we "will not dispute," that
44 two weeks before the Legislature met,
without consultation, or concert with any
member of Congress or the Legislature, and
when I thought the sub-Treasury bill dead,
I drew, with my own hand, resolutions simi
lar to those passed, which I should have
brought forward on my own responsibility,
though not a word had coine from Wash
ington city on the subject, though no cau
cus had been held, and though not ten men
in the House had agreed to vote for them."
But Mr. Albert Rbett is not the Legislature,
Dor the party either, (for he did not agree
with them even on the meaning of the reso
lutions; contending that they were Dot iu
structionL; notwithstanding that the leader
of the j am. who introduced them, affirmed
througnout the debate that such was their
intention :) and we do not sve that this u tes
'
timony" is any otherwise important, than to
show the precise weight of responsibility
that Mr. Rhett, in his own private mind,
conceived his shoulders to be adequate to
bear.
44 Did not the minority of our delegation
at Washington apprehend that the Legisla
ture would speak out on the question?"
They did not. The Mercuiy is "much mis
taken in its information" that 14 a letter or
letters from a very high source in the Na
tional ranks came to Columbia about the
opening of the extra session, dictating the
plan of the minority campaign." As "Na
tional" is the nickname the Mercury is
pleased to attach to the minority of our rep
resentation in Congress, we presume one of
them is alluded to. We have seen many
I letters from Messrs. Preston and Thompson
to their numetous friends in this place, as
well before and about, as after the extra ses
sion, and in no one of them was any hint of
the remotest suspicion 44 that the Legislature
would speak out on the question," nor the
most distant suggestion of any plan whatev
er of a 44 minority campaign."
As to the 44 grand marshalling of the anti
Calhoun powers before the last regular meet
ing of our Legislature," we never yet have
been in the sccret of it ; nor are we aware of
any movement of any individual whatsoever,
opposed to the sub-Treasury, to make that
measure a party question in this State, until, |
at the extra session, it was announced by the
majority , upon the floor of the House, that
they intended to set it upon that footing.
That any plan such as delineated by the
Mercury, or any other plan of opposition to
Mr. Calhoun; or any instructions, or cen
sure, or other motion to the prejudice of that
gentleman or his friends, was ever proposed
by any party in Columbia, or with the know
ledge and connivance of any party in Co
lumbia, previous to the close of the extra
session ; or that any thing ever occurred
here to give the least foundation to there
port of such proceedings, we pronounce to
be absolutely false.
But there is one article of the insinuations
of the Mercury, which we have not noticeJ
in order, on account of its pecuharchai'acter.
It is no less than a grave charge, ? not upon
suspicion, but on information, ? of a conspi
racy between persons at Washington, irot
named, but said to be of high standing, and
others at Columbia, deliberately to defame
and impugn the character and motives
of some member of the Legislature, also an
onymous, in case he should pursue a certain
obuoxious course. This accusation so deep
ly implicates the character either of the ac
cuser or the accused, that it would be imper
tinent on our part to meddle with it further ;
though it will appear, from what we have
already stated, that we utterly disbelieve it.
There is rank villainy on the one hand, or tire
vilest calumny on the other. The Mercury
will see the propriety ? indeed the necessity
for its own sake ? of being definite upon this
matter, as well in regard to the names of the
parties arraigned and their intended victim,
as to the authority on which it grounds so
grave an accusation. It has been our lot for
a few short months to differ very much from
the Mercury as to the light in which we have
seen the same things : we believe however that
we have never stated facts which we were not
ready to sustain before the world by the same
evidence that satisfied ourselves. To expect
the same from the Mercury is only to expect
fairness and honour. Let this matter be sift
ed to the bottom : let the dealer in the 44 Black
art" of detraction* wherever he may be
found in either camp^ be drummed out of the
ranks and branded with disgrace. With
44 sword as well as shield" we are willing to
meet the Mercury and its friends, but not
with poison.
The Hon. W. C. Prestos has returned
from Washington to his residence in this
place. The Hon. W. Thompson is here,
on his way home.
The Charleston Courier gives a statement
of the sums collected in different States for
the benefit of the sufferers by the gieat fire
in that city. The amount is ?180,506 87.
Andrew Wallace, Esq. was on the 7th
inst. elected President of the Board of Re
gents of the Lunatic Asylum, in the place
of N. Herbemont, deceased.
Congress adjourned on Monday last. The
subject of the currency and the custody of
the revenue, is still left in an indefinite and
unsettled condition. A vast deal has been
gained, however, in the defeat of the sub
Treasury bill; and the oppressive effect of
the Treasury Circular and other measures of
I the Administration, is considerably mitigated
by the new regulations in regard to the banks.
The corrupt party in power is at least arrest
ed, aud the future looks more encouraging.
Mr. Grundy has been appointed Attorney
! General. Mr. Buchanan is spoken of as Se
j cretary of State, and Mr. Forsyth as Ambas
| sador to England.
In Equity .
LEXINGTON DISTRICT.
John J. Sligh and wife vs. Jesse Mathias and oth
ers, heirs of John Mathias.
IN obedience to an order of the Court of Equity in
the above case, expose for sale at public
auction, at Lexington Court House, on the first Mon
day in August next, the following tracts of Land : ?
One tract situated in Lexington District, containing
one hundred and twenty-seven aires, (more or less,)
bounded by lands belonging to John Metz, David
Counts, George Bouknight, and others. One other
tract, containing one hundred and ninety-five acres,
(more or less) bounded by lands belonging to Geo.
Lerick, Thomas Shulec, and others.
Terras of Sale. ? Cash enough to pay the costs of
j the case, and the balance on a credit of three equal
I annual instalments, with interest from the first of
January, 1839? the first of which instalments to be
payable on the first of January, 1840. The purcha
sers to give bonds with personal eccurity and a mort
gage of the premises.
J. A. ADDISON, C. E. L. D.
July 7, 1833 28 lin
Mr. Kditok, ? I find that many of the
friends of the sub-Treasury bill are expres
sing great regret that the Slate is to be torn
up into hostile parties on account of Messrs.
Calhoun and Preston. I regret it too ; but
it is quite natural that those who are attack
ed should deitnd themselves. Is it to be de
nied for a moment, that The attack was first
made and long made Ly the -friends of Mr.
Calhoun against Col. Preston ! When the
unexampled and most unfair letters of in
struction came from Washington to instruct
Col. Preston out -of his seat in the Senate,
did those letters emanate from the friends of
Col. Preston or of Mr. Calhoun?
It is very we H to beat and abuse a maD,
and then advise him to remain quiet and
make no resistance, for fear of raising a dis
turbance ?tid breaking the peace of society^
Would any of Mr. Calhoun's friends thus
act ! No ; they have forced on the issue be
tween the friends and the opponents of tho
sub-Treasury plan, and also between Colonel
Preston and Mr. Calhoun. They have viru
lently, openly, secretly, and heedlessly with
al, conuected Col. Preston individually with
the political question. They have not only
opposed him as a politician, but endeavored
to destroy bis political character and influ
ence, and to turn him ignom'raiously out of
his seat in the Senate : and now these gen
tlemen are pleased to say, What a pity it is
the country should be disturbed by quarrels
about these two politicians!" So say b
But who began it 1 TRUTH.
Passages from the Life of a Great Statesman.
NO. III.
"My lord, you have changcd your opinion; per
mit nie to ail here to your former opinion, I really be
lieve it to be the best." ? Voltaire.
In my last I promised to conduct Mr. Cal
houn through his course, and I have dene
so ? " Pea-vined" him (as Mr. Randolph
would have said) from 1816, when he stood
by William Lowndes, of South Carolina,
sustaining a U. S. Bank, to 1838, when he
stands by Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri,
opposing one. Yet I ilo not conclude this
sentence with a note of admiration : far from
it. If Chaubert or Adrian were to close his
performance by swallowing his own head,
whether iu the bills of the evening or not,
who would be surprised? Surprised indeed!
Manifestations of the marvellous are the sum
mit of the art; and if that be attained, there
is reason that bystanders should be satisfied,
but noce that they should be surprised. In
deed, there is a class of persons, as well as a
sphere of action, in which, and of whom,
skill and dexterity are alone expected. If
your gladiator fight well, what mattere it
whether he contend with the javelin or the
net ? The casting of the character is of sub
ordinate consequence to the execution of
the part. Has this not become the estab
lished relation between Mr. Calhoun and the
Ainericau public ? A passage at arms" is
all that is expected of him, and with what or
with whom be contends is a matter of en
tirely secondary import, so that the weapon,
the adversary, and the contest waged, be so
appointed as fully to develope his astonish
ing powers. In all probability he is uncon
scious of this ; though I have seen few pri
vileged persons who were ignorant of their
prerogative. I doubt not that for purity he
is upon fair average ground with his contem
poraries ; but I doubt just as little that his
immunities, in whatever they may be found
ed, are more freely used, and more fully tol
erated, than the same exemrise of the same
license would be, in any othei statesman in
the country. I am far from conceiving, how
ever, that Mr. Calhoun is at all conscious of
having changed his position. The more I
contemplate this great statesman, in many
respects the most extraordinary in the coun
try, and in all respects a study, the more I
am satisfied that he is of that class of enthu
siasts which has furnished to the world so
many self-imagined Messiahs; and I would
as soon believe tj^at Brothers or Matthias
doubted his own divinity, as that Mr. Cal
houn could be brought either to suspect
himself of a possibility to change, or enter
taiu even a momentary doubt of his perpetu
al and unerring consistency. Hence his un
rivalled influence on the imaginations of oth
ers. It is remarked by Sir Walter Scott of
an illustrious Charlatan, (a greater man by far
than any of this age,) that, being first thevic
tim of his awn delusion , the deception of oth
ers was of easy achievement. If the Arabi
an Impostor had doubted his own plenary in
spiration, think you he would have taken
rank even as a prophet in the East ? The
vast and shadowy outline, combined with
the intensity, self-reliance, rapidity, perseve
rance, flexibility, and subtleness, which com
plete the picttire of this great man, are well
calculated to exalt him into, elevated con
trast with ordinary minds, and to stamp his
image Vith an intellectual grandeur upon the
imaginations of those who are regarding his
course. But there, unfortunately, the im
pression mUst end. Neither the affections
nor the confidence of his country are for Mr.
Calhoun ; though in noticing the fact, I
must forbear to participate in the conclu
sion, so far as it involves an impeachment
of his purity. Not being its champion, I
forbear to be its assailant; though I must
say that I should be the last to be surprised
if, during the current Presidential term, he
were found supporting the charter of a gen
eral bank of his own proposing, and so vin
dicating his consistency in the act as to com
mand the confidence of some and the guar
antee of others. Indeed, so far from being
surprised that Mr. Calhoun should return to
a support of a United States Bank, I now
feel myself fully authorized, from his own
showing, to anticipate it with confidence. ?
In his speech of the 22d of March last, in
reply to Mr. Webster, he says : 41 The only
practical alternative was at that period be
tween a league of State banks and a bank of
the United States, as the fiscal, agent of the