Indiana Palladium, Volume 3, Number 51, Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, 29 December 1827 — Page 1

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EQUALITY OF RIGHTS IS NATURE'S PLAN AND FOLLOWING NATURE IS THE MARCH OF MAN. Barlow. Volume III. LAWRENCEBURGH, INDIANA; SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1807. Number 51.

Ftom the Brookville Repository. Pursuant to public notice, given some days since in the Franklin Repository, a ' meeting of the citizens of Franklin County friendly to the present administration, took place on the 29th inst. at the Court House in the Town of Brookville. The Rev. Daniel St. John was called to the Chair, and David Wallace, appointed Secretary. Considering the unpleasant

ness of the weather, and the badness of the roads, the assemblage was much larger than we had any reason toantici pate; there were in attendance, individuals from almost every Township in the County; and those generally among the most respectable for their age, intelligence and standing. After the meeting had been organized, the Committee appointed at a previous meeting to draft an address and resolutions suitable for the occasion, bv their Chairman, the Hon. Miles C. Eggleston, present the following ADDRESS. Vfe citizens of Franklin County, friendly to the present administration of the General Government, and the lead ing and prominent features of its policy both foreign and domestic, assembled for the purpose of giving a free and candid expression of our opinions and our cordial support to the great system of Internal Improvement and protection of Domestic Manufactures i now 60 ardently cherished and patronized by the General Government, by the re-election of John Quincy Adams to the presidency of the United States, whose views are known to be decidedly friendly to these measured, and who has heretofore given them an uniform and consistent support; beg leave in a spirit of candor and liberality, to offer to our fellow-citizens, some of the principal reasons which influence om opinions, and to invite them to co-operate with us in their support, and to aid by all fair and honorable exertions ii. the attainment of the great object wf have in view, the security and permairence of those measures, and the con tinuing in power those able and faithful servants of the people who have through good and evil report, with a constancy and firmness deserving the highest praise ynidst the most embittered conflicts of 'party, adhered to and zealously maintained them. , Deeply impressed, by a rigid scrutinj into the conduct and sentiments of the existing parties which now agitate and divide our country, with the sincere conviction, that these measures, so essentia! to the future greatness, stability and in dependence of the nation, and of such vital importance to the people of the western states, are put in jeopardy b the prospect of the elevation of General Andrew Jackson to the Presidency, and that an example most dangerous to pub 3ic liberty and the durability of our free and happy system of government is sought to be established by placing in the presidential chair a man, however renowned in arms, with no other claim to the office but his military successes, we deem it a sacred duty we owe to ourselves and posterity, to come forward at such a crisis and employ the best efforts in our power to prevent his election, and thereby avoid such an example and to defeat one of the chief objects of those who make use of him to ef fect by stratagem the destruction of measures which they could not otherwise successfully oppose, either before the people or in the legislative councils of the nation. t : iL- - r - in uppusing uie succc: vi urenerai Jackson we desire to abstain from all epithets of unmerited reproach, or any expression which might in the slightest degree derogate from his high reputation either as a patriot or a soldier. W e would not if we could mar a single emblem in the bright escutcheon of his fame, nor rend from the column of the edifice a single laurel that adorns if. As a General, he has led our armies to victory, and as a patriot, we concede his claims to our affections. Baptised in the baptismal tires of the revolution, he has passed another ordeal which fully attests his devotion to his country. With these sentiments in his favor, we cannot distrust the purity of his principles nor the rectitude of his intentions. But while conceding to him the high claims to our confidence individually, and feel ing towards him the most fervent grati tude for his brilliant military achiev ments and the glory they have confer red upon our country, we must with equal frankness affirm that we do not believe him qualified to fulfil the mo mcntous and complicated duties of the chief Executive Magistrate of this coun-

try. Gifted with a temper unwilling 10 brook control, rash, violent and wilful, accustomed to follow the dictates of his

own will, unfettered by the restraints of the laws, nets illy qualified by habit and education to submit to the duties they impose, or to hear w ith calm dignified composure the acrimony of party spirit of those talutary excesses of liberty inseparable from the nature of a free constitution. Of this his whole life abounds with proofs. At the head of our armies he trampled without remorse the most sacred provisions of the constitu tion under hi feet, the writ of Habeas Corpus and the freedom of the Press. As G )M-rnor of Florida, he exercised the extraordinary powers of his ofiice with a latitude, libertine and despotic, and in private lite, his conduct has be marked by private broils, outrage and bloodshed. With feelings of no little pain and regret we have found ourselves constrained to advert to these blemishes in a character, which we wished to cher : k : J .n . .1 ; . . iou its lueimueu wun a proud pace in our country's history, and most willingly would we nave consigned them to oblivi on, but for the peculiar character of the times, which requires the truth to be told, however painful the task, or how ever humiliating the facts it may disclose ran great industry and solicitude we have looked into the volume of his life for those evidences of his civil talents which alone would test his capacity and ntness lor me duties of the civil macis irate. 1 nese have not hppn fnnrwi We have looked in vain through the whole of his public service both in the; councils of the state in which he lives, and the different periods in which he served in the congress of the United States, for some speech or public document spoken or written by him, which shows mm capable of taking a luminous and masterly view of the public concerns r that he is in any wise versed in those great principles of international law, and iheintiicate and profound arcana of foreign policy, which constitute by far the most arduous and important part of the duties of a president. If any exist, the have eluded our researches and defied our toils. And we think it rarely nr n ver happens, that where the opportunity has so frequently occurred and the state of public affairs required the effort, that a legislator and statesman, with an enlarged capacity for public busines and endowed with abilities of a hih order, would not on some occasion in the course of a long life, have furnished some evidence at least, of the superiority of his understanding. Not having furnished this evidence we are compel led to presume he is deficient in these qualifications, and that he is asking too much at our hands when he asks to be placed in a situation in the government which requires the constant exercise of these qualities, and which neither nature nor education has qualified him to fill. These objections would go to his ex clusion under all circumstances; but there arc others of a formidable charac ter against him which if they stood alone ougnt, as we conceive, to prevent us trom according to him our support. Apart then from the heresy that the highest civic honors which worth and merit can obtain in a country, which boasts the supremacy of civil rule, are to be won on the field of blood, we would from the character of the opposition .and the views of notional policy entertamed by the great body of his sunoort ersin the southern states, yet strenuouill' , ... .v.. ly oppose nis election. These states are known to be onnosed to thp Amori. can system, to what is usually called the

tariff, a system which has brought ourjlatter altogether, and the former to that!

manufactures to tneir present state of

maturity and will if persevered in at tiojvicor and perfection of the system.

rnnrtAf v nnrivi-I akl.v..H.kA! 1 . . 1 remote period, render us entirely independent of foreign nations for all the necessaries of life, and ultimately swell in to a proline source of national revenue. This is proved beyond a doubt by the votes and speeches of their delegations in Congress including those of Tennessee herself, and the general tone of pub lic sentiment prevailing m the south. Among these Virginia is most promi nent: for her legislature at their last ses sion in the imposing attitude of represemaiivesol the people, in the form ofi . I .a j -i resolutions after solemn argument, emphatically denounce the policy both as unconstitutional and inexpedient. Thev also deny the power over Internal Im provement: and this too, in the face of the cotemporaneous exposition of the constitution by those who framed it and approved by every administration from the foundation of the government, and wljat is most remarkable, by the very

man, (Mr. Giles) who introduced the resolutions. Herp is a step not to be mis

taken in its import, truely unique in its principles, hostile if not minatory in its character. It gives U3 great pleasure to state that Mr. Madison, a name bright and venerable in our history, the author of the Virginia resolutions of 1798, and called in his own state the orthodox ex positor of the constitution, has recently in a letter written to the press expressed his strong disapprobation of the conduct of the legislature and fully affirms the power under the constitution, in Congress, to adopt a system of protecting duties for the encouragement of our own manufactures. And who can doubt the propriety of the measure? Has not experience the wisest of all things demon strated its utilit) ? who can visit our store-houses and take a survey of Amer ican fabrics with which their shelve are rilled, both cottons and woollens, and see the almost incredihl) low prices at which they are sold, and take a retros pect of the pa?t, but a few years back, w hen but few, if any were to he 6een, when scarcely any but foreign goods were to be had, and these of an inferior quality and sold at the highest prices, can wish for a moment to destroy this system, compel us again to have our workshops in Europe and reduce us to our former state of commercial vassal age to the boasted mistress of the seas? Our Southern brethren are opposed to it from interest, their staple commodities cotton rice and tobacco find a rea J v and profitable market in Great Britain, in exchange for these, they obtain of her all the goods and articles of luxury which either their pride or necessities require. Hence their opposition. Not so with us in the Eastern and Western States. England has hermetically sealed her ports against all the staple productions of the West. She does not take five hundred dollars worth of her bread stuffs in a year, when we buy and con siime millions of her manufactures in the same time. Is this fair? is it either iust or wise, that we should submit to be the panders of her vast collosal pow er, the humble dependents of her arti sans and mechanics and receive no cor responding oeneiits in return who so v ' blinded by party spirit as to answer in the nun mativc ? On the subject of Internal Improve mcnl, we piv.-ume but little need he said: its-advantages are too obvious to escape the most careless observer Who does rot feel the want of good roadand canals leading to the different marts of trade enabling us to get the best markets for our produce, ar.d binding every section of the country together by the strongest ligatures of interest and affection. Had the facilities been provided, the nation would not have been saddled with half the immense debt incurred during the last war: our armies would have been fed and transported at one half the cost: the Canadas might have been conquered and the war terminated, if not with more glory to our arms, at least in half the time and with a great diminution of personal suffering. Convinced from the nature of thincs be - A nil fnvil flint novt i f ll"" rrr Mi on

J VI 1 till V 1 7 liiil 11V b V V-r V1IV 1 VV ! - - f and inculcation of free principles andjan administration whose views agree the exercise of the christian charities.! with our own, able, enlightened and pa-

n-nr ilfnoml nn thi nnlirv to rrWo.

strength and union to our country and to! exchanging it for another .of inferior abil accellcrate the ranid development of her 'ity whose principles and policy are un

resources than any other, we are nee to, . declare ourselves its steadfast and con sistent advocates. The opinions of Gen. Jackson on these subjects are at least problematical. He is mainly supported in the south on hU Rimnnsed hostility to them. To fhe .extent which is deemed necessary to the; t - 1 i l cotten planter himself his personal intercst is opposed to it, the present dutics on cotton being already hih enough to secure that article against foreign competition. The friends' cf these measures have called on him earnestly for his opinion; he has refused to give it, but folding Ins mantle more closely around him he observes a mysterious and portentious silence. Indeed it is lately said by a press among the most able in bis favor and the most decided in its opposition to this policy, that the Editor has recently seen a letter written to a friend in Virginia in which General Jackson expresses himself "startled" at the latitude of construction contended for by Mr. Adams in his first message to congress, embracing and enforcing it. greeing with this, is the resolution of the Tennessee legislature the present srssion which declares all he measures of the administration to be "injurious to

the interests and dangerous to the liberties

nfthe country." If such are his sentiments and we have no doubt but they arc, he then proves himself to be what his friends in the south say of him, truy i;a southern man, with southern feeliigs and interests," and it would be our bounden duty to oppose him. And which side would he likely take if elect ed? Would he go with his friends or acainst them? Dare he deceive their lopes and betray their interests? who will venture to question his honor or to accuse him of treachery? If any there be, we are not of the numher: we do not doubt the course he would take. Put into office to effect a particular object, tossed on the surface of a turbid and furious current, boiling and dashing with the rage of the ele ments, he must be more than man if he does not go with those who uphold him and is not borne away by the fury of the tempest. Mr. Adams has srone with those who efected him, and history does not furnish an instance of an opposite example. IJect General Jackson then, and who would he take into his cabinet, the friends of our policy or those who are opposed to it ? We cannot doubt but he would take his own. It would be worse than folly in him not to do so, and w hat might we not fear from their influence'. Already that par ty is so strong as to palsy the operations of the government. It was with great difficulty that a majority could be obfamed last winter in iavor oi tne grams to this state and for the extension of the Cumberland road. How would it be if the power were placed in their hands. Suppose congress should pass other laws in support of these interests and he through, the influence of his cabinet or his own scruples on the constitutional question or otherwise should place his veto upon them? Could two thirds of the body be obtained to carry them in despite of his opposition? Certainly never we would have to go without them and those great works so esential to the commerce and prosperity of the w estern states and particularly our own would lie neglected for years if not finally cut up and destroyed by the power over them passirg into other hands. Again we would further ask who would guide our councils his cabinet or himself? We believe his cabinet undoubtedly! for he is too little acquainted with civil admin istration, too little conversant with our connexions with foreign powers by treaties or otherw ise to rely upon his . own iudsrmcnt. Should he do so, who would not'trcmble for the result ? he might involve the nation in inextricable horrors: she it is who would have to reap the fruits of his follies and his rashness. , But should he content himself to be ruled by others with more wisdom and expert ence than himself, the great concerns oi this mighty nation would be managed by a set of intruders unknown and irres ponsible to the people, lying incognito and working the wires for their own personal emolument or to further their own objects of ambition: we trust our coun try will not incur these dangers nor haz O . . . -ml f 1 ard her interests and her lame oy so Derilous an experiment. v e have now triotic. and we cannot see the wisdom of ii 1 r L1- :..J Known, ana as iar a weaie auie lojuuge would be opposed to the best interests of the west. We have moreover seen with feelings of the deepest interest and concern, a party arise amongst us whose avowed object is to put down the president and his cabinet "though pure as the angels in heaven" W e cannot conceive an object Almore execrable. It should be met with the most decisive indignation every pa triot should speak out should rise up and denounce it. No compromise should be made with its abettors they should be held un to the public scorn to the just denunciation of their country. Let them succeed and it will grow into a precedent, and who will venture to predict the evils it will entail upon our coun try, and the excesses it may encourage, when future times shall become more corrupt. To the reproach of our age w e have already seen this dark and evil de mon pervading every village in our land, disturbing the repose of society, setting neighbor against neighbor, and father against son, throwing over the moral vis ion the deepest delusion, and with a ma lignant audacity invading our halls of le gislation, defeating the wisest measures ind paralysing the energies of the gov ernment. As friends to our country's peace we deprecate this example;- we!

fear the spread of its contagion. No re

al causes of dUconU-nt have betr per chived fhe firmament of our political sk) is as bright and clear as ever eve rv planet is moving in its appropriate orbit the president and his cabinet have followed in the footsteps of their predecessors all the land marks of the constitution are preserved the govern ment is adminitered on true republican principles at home, & in the language of the father of his country, with an "equal fc comprehensive eye over this great assetrv blage of communities and interests -and the honor of the nation scrupulously and sedulously guarded in all its intercourse with foreign nations. Where then is there any just cause of complaint" has any citizen been oppressed? has any of his rights been invaded? has any laws offensive to public liberty been proposed or adopted? we answer no we have heard of none of these things what then has kindled the tornado which now lowers over our country and is sweeping it with its whirlwinds? Party spirit, deep, deadly and venomous, fo mented by prejudice, and originating in disappointment: the fell distioyer of social harmony and all the charities of private life. The frightful Gorgon crested with serpents, whose breath is poison and whose look is death, appalling the heart of the patriot and threatening ruin to our country. Must we yield to this? Must we deliver up our beloved country to the embraces of the monster? Shall the victim make no struggle at the spectacle of the shambles? Shall we lie by in inglorious ease at a time like this when schemes the most fatal to our interests are engendered and matured? when passions of the worst kind are at woik? when pestilence is walking abroad at noonday, infe3ting where it flies, and poisoning where it reposes 2 when discord reigns and peace flics weeping from her presence? when all the suro foundations of our government ire sought to be uprooted by placing the military over the civil power? by preferring the sword to the constitution 2 and when men are seeking their own elevation at the expense of the fortunes of their count rv 4 we think not wo think every patriot should be up and doing should buckle on his armor and meet the foe bravely in the open field. And who so recreant a to shrink from such a contest? if he is destined to defeat, if he must fall before superior numHer, if the cause for which he contends shall be lost, he will have the consolation to know that he had done his" duty 9 that t4it is not for mortals to command success but deserve it" and that if he failed, he had failed gloriously in the cause of liberty and the constitution We invoke all such to come to our aid -nothing can be gained by listnesntea and inaction: we invite our friends throughout the state to put their shoulders to the wheel, to call meetings in the, several counties, appoint committees to co-operate with ours and to do whatever is fair and laudable to convince our fel low citizens of their dangers and to fur ther the great object of this meeting. Let us take a view of our present rulers and their fitness for the offices they held. Mr. Adams is now our President: he is a man of nearly forty years standing in the public service and has lived in the confidence of all the illustrious citi zens who have laid the foundations of . . . . . ... - ' public libertv.and presided over the des tinies of the Republic: he has filled ma ny ortices of great responsibility ar d all with distinguished ability, and z:al and to the general satisfaction. In the one he now fills, the highest of all, he has acted with great prudence and moderation and performed its functions in a liirxnr.e.f becoming the head of an intelligent ar d free people. On a careful review of his life both public and private, we believe him an honest man and a true republican in principle and practice his private' life unstained with a crime, moral, charitable and benevolent, and in his public, stations, upright, diligent and laborious, and at all times, with all the ardor of the patriot devoted to the institutions of hi country. Few, if any deny him abilitiej of the highest order his learning is extensive, and his habits of thinking and investigation profound. He is firm of purpose clear in his conceptions of ths public interests sagacious ih his choice of measures listens calmly to the advice of others, decides deliberately and pursues his councils with dignity and firmness. Such is the character of Mr. Adams and who can say the picture is over-drawn? we might add more, who can withhold his applause at the magnanimity and strength of mind with which huhusborno insileacoths malice of hi?