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A LETTER 
 
 ADDRESSED TO 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 IM ANSWER TO 
 
 THE LATE ATTACK UPON THE NAVY, 
 BY THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 St-'C^r-'i-' 
 
 /r-e/; 
 
 Sir : I have read with astonishment and indignation the late 
 libel and calumny of the Globe upon the character and standing 
 of the navy, that noble arm of our national defence. My as- 
 tonishment is not that the official organ of the Government 
 should originate and circulate such a base tissue of falsehoods — 
 for of its fitness for any low purpose, and its utter recklessness 
 of principle, I have long been persuaded — but that the whole 
 article should be so much at variance with all the messages of 
 the late Executive, as well as the different communications from 
 the late heads of the Navy Department upon the same subject. 
 No act of inconsistency, however, of the present party now in 
 power should excite my wonder or call forth an expression of 
 surprise, as their whole course, since they, have had the man- 
 agement of the affairs of state, has been entirely opposed to their 
 precepts when candidates for public favor. But, sir, I am 
 proud to perceive that this foul-mouthed* slander has found but 
 little favor with the people and press generally. The odium 
 and contempt which it has vainly endeavored to fix upon our 
 gallant navy have but recoiled upon itself, and it is now writh- 
 ing under their effects. It is not my purpose to attempt to re- 
 pel any of the infamous and degrading charges which they have 
 impudently and wantonly advanced. The character, the honor, 
 the deeds of noble daring, of this high-minded and chivalric 
 body, are too well known and highly appreciated by the Ameri- 
 
can people to be tarnished by the filthy outpourings of this 
 foul vehicle of slander. I shall merely notice some of its more 
 opprobrious epithets and comparisons, and may, perhaps, allude 
 to and rebut one or two of the graver assertions ; before doing 
 which, however, I will briefly give my reason for addressing 
 this letter to yourself. You have adopted " the maxims and 
 principles" of your illustrious predecessor, pledged yourself to 
 follow in his footsteps, and will consequently do as he did — take 
 the responsibility of the acts and doings of the different Depart- 
 ments, more especially Blair's, as this seems to receive more 
 of the executive attention and supervision than any or all of the 
 others ; nothing, at least, can appear in its venal and prostituted 
 columns, without being, written, dictated, or sanctioned, by the 
 Executive. The " whole" navy has been the object of this 
 slander and abuse. Old and meritorious officers have been 
 abused, insulted, and vilified, and the faults of the few have been 
 made to attach to the many. It has been charged upon this 
 gallant corps, " that there is a total w^ant of the esprit du corps, 
 without which there is nothing high or ennobling in the profes- 
 sion of arms." Grant this for the sake of argument, (which by 
 no means do I,) to whom are blame and censure attributable? 
 and who should receive condemnation at the hands of the pub- 
 lic ? The officers of the navy, or those who have had the 
 control and management of it ? Certainly the latter as in their 
 hands has it fallen to its present ebb ; for its condition when the 
 present party came into power was sound, efficient, and well 
 organized — admitted to be so by the present dynasty, who were 
 the celebrated reformers of that day. It was the pride, boast, 
 and ornament of the country, and to be one of its members was 
 considered a sufficient passport to the very best society of the 
 day. In those tiays reputation and fame were gained by merit 
 and service, not by cringing servility to the party in rule, for 
 such was not then the order of the day. But how sadly has 
 this once high-minded and honorable corps fallen since then ! 
 It seems by your own showing that they have not been exempt 
 from the corrupting influences of the infected atmosphere at 
 Washington ; and, as there can be no effect without a cause, 
 there must be a reason for it. Is it to the force of example in 
 other Dejmrtments, or to a new one in their own ! If to either, 
 the present administration is unquestionably the source of the 
 evil. It is attributable to the weakness, inefficiency, and dis- 
 
grace, with which the Department lias been conducted. New 
 rules and regulations have been introduced, and old, good, and 
 well-tried ones dispensed with. But, in spite of all this, the 
 navy has remained unshaken and true to herself; anJ it was 
 for this very reason — because she would not bow the knee to 
 Baal — that it has become the object of executive animadversion, 
 and called forth the curses and execrations of that spotless or- 
 gan, the Globe. Yes, sir, amidst the many temptations to which 
 they have been exposed — the honors paid them at court, and 
 favor shown them — there has been too much spirit and inde- 
 pendence in the naval corps to be reduced from the high and 
 enviable stand which they have always occupied, to the condi- 
 tion of fawning sycophants and pliant tools. It was this firm 
 and laudable resistance to encroachments upon their rights and 
 long-established usages that invoked the executive displeasure, 
 and the wrath of the vile and polluted Globe. It is true that 
 some of the officers have strayed from the path of duty, honor, 
 and fame, by the glitter of reward and promise of promotion; 
 but I am pleased to say that these are few, and these few are 
 those who were exculpated by the Globe in the charge it made 
 upon the whole body. 
 
 The next part of the libel which I shall notice is that charging 
 the officers with a " disposition to skulk from duty," as " lazy 
 louts," "hangers on," "IWashington campaigners," and "blood- 
 suckers at the public Treasury." I will answer the charge by 
 asking a question. If such be the case, why is it })ermitted ? 
 What is the duty of the Secretary of the Navy ? To notice, and 
 connive at, or correct abuses ? The fault, if there be any, is here, 
 as in most other instances, connected with the Depm-tments, 
 at the fountain head. The above comparisons and epithets 
 are too low and degrading to be noticed in any other way than 
 by giving them a place, in order to show the foulness and un- 
 worthiness of the source from whence they emanated. But 
 with regard to the charge : I deny it, except so far as relates 
 to the exploring expedition. And here, instead of skulking 
 from, they manfully and openly refused to do duty. And why 
 did they refuse ? Because it was so miserably mismanaged ; 
 because such new rules and regulations were introduced in 
 selecting its officers as to render it justly obnoxious to all higii- 
 minded and honorable men. When it was first set on foot, the 
 hearts of the oldest and best of the service beat high in anxious 
 expectancy of the appointment to its command ; and all were 
 
ready to volunteer, for it was then understood that none but 
 volunteers would be appointed. But this arrangement was 
 soon succeeded by another regulation, which soon brought the 
 expedition into disrepute — that of a commander selecting his 
 own officers. 80 that, instead of officers asking service from 
 the Secretary of the Navy, they were soliciting it from a post 
 captain ; and in consequence, in the language of an officer of 
 the navy, " misrule, confusion, and mismanagement, stalked 
 forth with giant strides. The once popular South Sea expedi- 
 tion was now rendered odious to the officers. Through the 
 mismanagement of the Navy Department, it had become a by- 
 word and reproach upon the navy; and when the country, 
 impatient of its protracted delays, was informed that the 
 expedition was at length upon the eve of sailing, it was sud- 
 denly left without a commander; and the Secretary, with one 
 hundred captains and commanders subject to his orders, re- 
 ported that he could not get one to go. At this time the control 
 of the expedition was transferred to another, and the belief 
 was indulged that he would restore it to its former favorable 
 standing ; and niany officers, whose glorious deeds have won 
 for them an imperishable name, and now occupy the brightest 
 piiges in the annals of our country, were waiting, with a modest 
 forbearance and decorum, (which those in power could not 
 value or appreciate,) to be appointed to its command. But 
 they had not kissed the foot, and hence were less fortunate than 
 those who were less worthy. A junior lieutenant, who had no 
 claim to the appointment but a base servility to the ruling 
 clique, and what is so heartily execrated by the Globe, " a 
 campaign at Washington" of six or seven long years, and who 
 had scarcely seen twelve months' sea service in as many years, 
 was, contrary to law and usage, lifted over the heads of labor- 
 ious and deserving officers. It was doings of this kind, sir, 
 which rendered the expedition so odious and unpopular with 
 the navy. And how was tiie requisite number of officers ob- 
 tained at last ? By assurances of promotion and increase of 
 salary. This was the recompense for their compromise of 
 dignity ; and, m.orcover, tlsese very men were selected from 
 among the "campaigners at Washington." This expedition, 
 sir, was the cause, the prime cause, of the libel and attack 
 upon the navy, w^hich was made for the purpose of relieving 
 Messrs. Woodbury, Poinsett, and Dickerson, as much as pos- 
 
sible from the disgrace which their m'smanageinenl has brougfit 
 upon them, and saddle it upon the oliicers of the navj% although 
 the officers remonstrated warmly and severely against the 
 course pursued, and foretold you of the consequences. Instead, 
 sir, of a disposition to " skulk from duty," upon all occasions 
 except the one just alluded to, they have always been very 
 prompt, ready, and anxious to do duty ; and, instead of asking 
 extra compensation for services not rendered, as has been 
 alleged, they have protested against, and absolutely refused to 
 be compensated for, extra service. An instance of the kind I 
 will cite, as being fresh in the memory of all : Last spring it 
 was reported that the Susquehanna, a packet ship from Phila- 
 delphia was captured, just without the capes, by a piratical 
 schooner ; and no sooner had the intelligence reached the cities, 
 than officers of the different stations, with the greatest alacrity, 
 repaired immediately to sea in search of the supposed pirate. 
 Their conduct upon this occasion was honorably mentioned by 
 the Secretary in his message, and extra compensation asked. 
 Against this, however, the officers remonstrated, and said, if it 
 was granted, they would not receive it. 
 
 I shall now pass to the most exceptionable part of the libel, 
 and upon it make a few remarks, which will conclude what I 
 have to say upon the subject. The charge that the officers 
 " had adopted the maxims and principles of tinkers and cob- 
 blers." Can it be possible, sir, that, with all your intrigue and 
 cunning, you could no longer disguise your true feelings and 
 sentiments towards the mechanics and working people ? Has 
 the great ball of revolution which w^as started last fall, and has 
 worked reform from Maine to Louisiana, and which is still in 
 motion, so startled and affected you, so thrown you off your 
 balance, that, in a moment of frenzy, you should tear from 
 yourself the hypocritical garb you have so long and success- 
 fully worn, and show yourself to " the dear sweet fenple,^^ whom 
 you have so gulled and duped, in all your blackness and de- 
 pravity. The charge was certainly made without reflection or 
 consideration ; and happily for the country it w^as so, for the 
 mechanics are now aroused from the deep deception which 
 has been practised upon them, and can perceive by what 
 seeming pretences they have been deluded. It is said that "out 
 of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh;" which is more 
 especially the case when the expression can do the speaker no 
 
6 
 
 good, and may do him great injury, as in the present instance. 
 Yes, sir, even pohcy, for which you are so justly celebrated, 
 could not prevent your giving utterance to the sentiments you 
 have so lone: concealed and entertained towards this worthy 
 class of the community. When you wished to cover with 
 infamy and disgrace our gallant navy, you could conceive of 
 no means more certain than the assertion that they had " adopt- 
 ed the maxims and principles of tinkers and cobblers ;" the 
 very men for whom you once made such protestations of love 
 and affection; and for whose rights you were laboring so dili- 
 gently and earnestly. Yes, sir, you labored hard and success- 
 fully. They reposed confidence in your promises, and almost, 
 with one accord, contributed to your elevation, thinkifig that 
 their interests would be safe in your hands. And now, since 
 your acts have been in direct contradiction to your precepts, 
 and that they have been deceived in you, and can no longer be 
 duped into a furtherance of your projects ; viper-like, you turn 
 around and sting them to death — they who have warmed you 
 into being, and nourished you. But, sir, the mechanical interest 
 of the country can sustain no injury from your hands ; the spirit 
 of free institutions still warms the hearts of the American peo- 
 ple. They are not yet prepared to say amen to all executive 
 edicts, and at the coming elections they will rid you of your 
 usurped power; and in the fall of 1840 hurl you from the place 
 you have gained by false pretences, and substitute one more 
 worthy, and one whose time and talents have always been de- 
 voted to his country, and whose sentiments are those of the 
 bard, that 
 
 "Honor and shame from no condition rise, 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 
 
 One who would never select such an organ to speak his views 
 as would consent to become the calumniator and traducer of 
 cobblers, among whom was Roger Sherman — and tinkers, 
 among whom was General Greene ; men who aided greatly in 
 achieving the liberties of our country in those dark days " which 
 tried men's souls ;" but, on the contrary, would look upon them 
 as upon all others, as American citizens, and pay them the same 
 respect and attention. It is one of the greatest blessings of our 
 republican institutions that merit will have its reward ; and it is 
 well for yourself that such is the case, or the son of an obscure 
 tavern-keeper would now be in the neighborhood of Kinderhook, 
 
and not known out of the precincts of his own county. Such 
 would also have been the case with respect to your opponents, 
 save one ; and he, although of illustrious parentage, fought his 
 own way up the ladder, and built up his own reputation. As 
 has been very justly remarked by an eminent jurist, " In our 
 country the highest man is not above the people — the humblest 
 man is not below the people." If the rich may be said to have 
 additional protection, they have not additional power. Nor 
 does wealth here form a permanent distinction of families ; the 
 richest man amongst us may be brought to the humblest level; 
 and the child, with scarcely clothes to cover his nakedness, 
 may rise to the highest office in our Government. And the 
 poor man, while he rocks his infant on his knees, may justly 
 indulge the consolation, that, if he possess talents and virtue^ 
 there is no office beyond the reach of his honorable ambition. 
 I am astonished, sir, that any one springing from the humble 
 place in society that you did, and most of those around you, 
 should speak so degradingly of tinkers and cobblers, honest and 
 hard-v-/orking mechanics. You seem to have forgotten your 
 origin, and think the public will do the same, by your attempt- 
 ing to cover with infamy and disgrace all those who occupy the 
 place in society which you once did. But it is well known in 
 the South, that a negro, acting in the capacity of an overseer, 
 always shows less mercy to his fellow-negroes than a white 
 driver, and delights to inflict punishment upon them, in order to 
 show his authority and consequence. Those conversant with 
 history know that when a weak and wicked man is elevated to 
 power, he will always abuse the trust reposed in him, and be- 
 come a tyrant, if the people will permit it. Such poor misguid- 
 ed wretches always become insufferably proud and overbearing. 
 But, sir, the mechanics of this country can look down with 
 scorn and indignation, in the pride of conscious honesty, on such 
 spoil-pampered aristocrats, who have grown fat and insulting 
 upon the offals of the public Treasury. They know you, sir, 
 and have put a mark upon you ; and through the ballot-boxes, 
 at the coming elections, will let you know that you are not to 
 indulge in your invective at their expense. 
 
 LUCY KENNEY. 
 Washington, September 18, 1838. 
 
8 
 
 The following letter, from a distinguished friend, is here ap- 
 pended, as well for the edification of your excellency, as for the 
 gratificationfof my whig friends throughout the country ; 
 
 My Dear Madam: It affords me great pleasure to comply 
 with your request tor me to give you my opinions concerning 
 your "pamphlet;" for the gift of which you will please accept 
 my warm thanks. To all that you have written, I say. Amen 
 and Amen. 
 
 Napoleon expelled Madame de Stael from his empire for her 
 political sins ; but it will be impossible for Martin to banish you 
 from his republic. 
 
 Shun Van Buren as the dominant spirit of a political hell ; 
 but court Clay, as the anxiously looked for restorer of a political 
 heaven. 
 
 Frown upon fanatic abolitionists as public demons. They do 
 not know that slaves in the South are better clad and fed, more 
 happy, and less burdened, than paupers in the North. 
 
 Restore the United States Bank, as the best patron of the 
 ** American system" of industry. Jackson pulled her down ; 
 not because she was unfaithful to her charter, but because she 
 refused to be made the political machine of his party. 
 
 In conclusion, it will be as easy for you to remove Van Buren 
 from the presidential chair, as for you to place Clay in his 
 stead ; and the whigs w'ill deify you. 
 
 WM. DARLINGTON. 
 
 Miss Lucy Kenney. 
 
 Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to your excellency to be 
 informed that, at the Mechanics' celebration in Philadelphia, 
 (cobblers, tinkers, and all,) of the event of the resumption of 
 specie payments, it was declared that the publications of Lucy 
 Kenney had revolutionized the State of Pennsylvania, and 
 would, in the end, make Clay the President of the United States. 
 
 LUCY KENNEY. 
 
\. SAl IKE: 
 
 BEir^G A IlEJOINDLH 
 
 TO A REPLY BY MRS. E. RUNNELLS 
 
 TO MY LKTTKR 
 
 IN VINDICATION OF THE NAVY. 
 
 1 have been induced, after nmcli |)ersuasion and hesitation, 
 to make the following remarks, thereby violating a determina- 
 tion long since made, and by which, 1 trust, I have always 
 been governed, never to be drawn into a controversy with any 
 one whose place and standing in society did not conmiand the 
 notice and attention of the respectable and intelligent portion 
 of the conniinnity. But', it liaving been intimated that my 
 silence may be misconstrued, 1 have, upon reflection, thought 
 it advisable to give publicity to the reasons why I have re- 
 mained silent since the publication of an answer to my last 
 letter, and why, in future, I shall preserve the same silence 
 towards any production of this highly-gifted and talented au- 
 thoress and biographer : the first and chief of which is, that 
 I would compromise my own dignity as much by condescend- 
 ing to notice this fair and notorious lady, as by refusing to no- 
 tice him and those whose cause she espouses. As regards this 
 particular publication, however great maybe my disposition to 
 answer it, it is almost impossible to indulge it, for, with the 
 perusal of such a tissue of nonsense, I never but once before 
 had my patience so tasked, and that was in reading the Life of 
 this very distinguished character; however, as I have been re- 
 luctantly compelled to say so much, I will say a few words 
 upon tliis reply to my letter to Mr. Van Buren. The whole 
 force of her remarks (if, in the fertile imagination of any, they 
 can be supposed to contain force) is directed against the United 
 States Bank, an institution respecting which, in my letter (to 
 which hers is intended as an answer) I said not a word. 
 This digression, however, is excusable, it happening in one o 
 
the sex whose exclusive attention it is almost impossible to 
 give to any subject save one, and that presenting itself at a 
 time of life long since passed by my honorable disputant. 
 However, as I am always disposed to do justice to merit, even 
 though it should be in an adversary, I am constrained to ac- 
 knowledge, notwitstanding what I have just said, that her re- 
 marks have not been without effect. The bank has felt the 
 blow, and could scarcely withstand its force ; it is now totter- 
 ing under it, and only remains to receive another from the 
 same source in order to be completely prostrated and over- 
 thrown. Upon the arrival of this production in Philadelphia^ 
 which was sent to the monster, Nicholas, post-haste, by some 
 of his friends in Washington, who felt great "apprehension con- 
 cerning the well-being of the bank after reading it, a messenger 
 was immediately despatched to the several directors, requesting 
 them to meet in their banking-room instanter,to take into con- 
 sideration some mode in which to meet this able and argu- 
 mentative document, which so much threatened to annihilate 
 the existence of the bank. Several plans were proposed and 
 discussed; but the only one engaging much attention was the 
 practibility of enlisting the services of this very lady to prop up 
 Jheir falling fortunes, which she had just been engaged in bat- 
 tering down, each one present feeling himself incompetent to 
 the task; and it was unanimously conceded that this would be 
 the most effectual mode of preventing the downfall of the bank, 
 if they could but succeed in employing her aid; but many 
 doubted its feasibility — some upon the ground of her purity of 
 purpose and the impossibility of her being bought up, and 
 others the amount required to do so, as no doubt her pen had 
 been well gilded in a golden stream that flows so profusely from 
 a certain Department. These objections were well weighed and 
 considered; when it was determined, by the meager majority 
 of one vote, to abandon the idea; the others believing it would 
 be better to risk a refusal and consequent exposure than tc 
 abandon themselves to the mercy of the public without this 
 strong arm of reason to shield and protect them, their motto 
 being "No venture, no have.'' And, I am persuaded, if the 
 majority liad been gifted with the faculty of prescience, and 
 could have foreseen the consequences of this letter, (to them 
 so much dreaded,) they would have united to a man, and 
 proffered the whole surplus of the bank to obtain her valuable 
 
■services, even though there was held out but the fahitest pros- 
 pect of success. It is said that ''honesty is the best policy," 
 and I must confess that, after reading her reply to my letter, 
 although the renrarks of a personal nature applied to myself 
 were not characteristic of the chaste and immaculate person 
 from whom they came, I was almost compelled to forget my 
 own wrongs and the severe castigation she gave me, and, from 
 the fulness of my heart, cry out, Amen, amen ! My natural 
 generosity of soul prompted me to it, and I s'lould doubtless 
 have given utterance to my feelings, but for that innate 
 craving and selfish passion which seems incorporated with my 
 very existence, and to which every otlier feeling and passion 
 is subject — that passion which is fed by the dazzle and glitter 
 of filthy lucre, the profligate source of vice and corruption. 
 Ah! money, money, how many sins you will have to answer 
 for! At your shrine, how many distinguished and favored 
 friends of the present administration, with whose success the 
 author has identified herself, have fallen martyrs, and the fair 
 places their names once occupied upon the standard of honor 
 and distinction, now so many black spots held out as beacons 
 to deter others, who may be so unfortunate as to possess the 
 same propensity, from like transgression. But, at the same 
 time, as every evil has its good, I must not forget this old 
 friend in whose acquaintance I so much delight, although at 
 times he has been quite refractory and turned his back upon 
 me, for he has some very commendable and good traits of 
 character, the most prominent of which are sincerity and firm- 
 ness of attachment. When all others have deserted you, he 
 remains firm and unwavering; and, at such times, if you have 
 or can get his acquaintance, he exerts a powerful and peculiar 
 influence in regaining the smiles and favors of lost friends, or 
 acquiring new ones; and, for this very quality, though it be 
 unsupported by others, I am determined never uncerimoni- 
 ously to cut his acquaintance, but clinch his hand so long as 
 he extends it. Nevertheless, if any thing could have induced 
 me to disregard his favors, it would have been this very an- 
 swer to that letter, which contributed so much towards our in- 
 timacy of acquaintance. 
 
 But, aside from the bank, the writer attempts to answer one 
 of my charges — that of gross mismanagement in fitting out the 
 exploring expedition; and, after charging me with ignorance 
 
upon the subject, very candidly acknowledges herself so, and 
 wisely leaves it to others more able than herself to rebut. 
 Before doing so, she remarks, "No doubt every measure was 
 adopted to carry it through with wisdom, honor, and safety, 
 [would that they could adopt some measures to become more 
 wise — then most probably some of the subjects which the lady 
 suggests as being more suitable to my sex would engross 
 much of that time which I conceive it is now my duty to give 
 to these stumblers and experimenters,] as it was their interest 
 to do so." Yes, it would be to their interest to adopt meas- 
 ures to carry out their measures with wisdom ; but this is the 
 very something which it is necessary to have in order to adopt 
 proper measures. It is wisdom which dictates proper meas- 
 ures; but measures born and nurtured in the very lap of igno- 
 rance and impudence cannot be piioductive of much good or 
 conducted with wisdom, so long as they are intrusted to the 
 care ot those with whom they originated^ and should any good 
 result from them, it would be by accident, and not the conse- 
 quence of well-matured plans and design. As another induce- 
 ment that these measures should be well matured and properly 
 considered before their adoption, she says, with them rested 
 the responsibility. I ask, what responsibility? The responsi- 
 bility of this act and measure ; and it was for this very respon- 
 sibility that I thought proper to hold them up, in all their 
 blackness and depravity, to the scorn and contempt of the pub- 
 lic. In this very same sentence she says, "to err is human, to 
 forgive divine;" the first half of which remark is fully exem- 
 plified in the case of the individuals whom she has undertaken 
 to defend; but the latter part, although one of the noblest at- 
 tributes, does not belong to the American people when they 
 find their servants guilty of gross and culpable neglect and 
 mismanagement. And, as the honorable lady's bosom seems 
 to be the seat of such patriotism, I am astonished to find her 
 possessed of so much mercy and charity when the dearest in- 
 stitutions of her country, for which she professes so much re- 
 gard, are assailed, and that too by those to whose guidance 
 they had been intrusted. I will here state, for her information 
 and that of others, that I shall in future expose abuse and cor- 
 ruption wherever I may find it in any of the Departments or 
 in any public servant, but only in these, which I consider to be 
 the property of the public and responsible to the public. 
 
In another part of her letter, she alleges that I reflected upon 
 the humble origin of Mr. Van Buren. A greater falsehood could 
 not have been uttered; m proof of whicli, I refer the reader to 
 my letter in which the charge is said to be contained. It will 
 there be found that, instead of saying aught against that con- 
 dition in life from which Mr. Van Biu'en sprung, I upbraided 
 him for attempting to cast reproach upon that very condition ; 
 remarking that he should not forget from it he himself arose. 
 It was introduced in speaking of the blessings of the institu- 
 tions of our country, which gave to none office or distinction 
 on account of wealth or name, but opened alike the road of 
 preferment to the poor and the rich, to the humble in birth, 
 and the high ; that they recognised no distinction, or else the 
 present incumbent of the executive chair would be elsewhere 
 than where he now is; and that I thought it ill became him to 
 turn around and attempt to brand with infamy those who oc- 
 cupied the same place in society that he once did, and for no 
 other reason than of that occupancy. 
 
 In another part of her reply, she charges me with contra- 
 dicting in one part of my letter that which I said in another, 
 in attributing in one' place the attack upon the navy to the 
 President, and in another to the Globe. When speaking ot 
 the Globe, my readers, at least all but those of the most limited 
 comprehension, understood me as meaning the whole clique 
 of those who conduct it, /. e. editorially, and him whose 
 views in particular it spoke. Indeed, I distinctly stated that, 
 although he might not have written it, it received his sanction ; 
 and, according to the pledge given to follow in the footsteps of 
 his predecessor, took the responsibihty. It was upon this 
 ground that I addressed the letter to him, and, in it, held him 
 accountable for the evil doings of his underlings, if, indeed, it 
 was not his own act. 
 
 Speaking of this pledge reminds me of another portion of the 
 lady's letter, that charging me with inconsistency in support- 
 ing General Jackson and opposing the newly-made hero, Mr. 
 Van Bureii, as the latter pledged himself to carry out the 
 measures of the former. In my letter I said not a word about 
 any of the measures of Mr. Van Buren, save the one which 
 called forth the remarks; and 1 now ask this lady, or others 
 more informed, to point out in any communication of Presi- 
 dent Jackson, or in any column of the Globe during his ad- 
 
ministration, one word of reproach upon the character of our 
 navy. If she can succeed in this, I will then confess myself 
 convicted of inconsistency, for the sake of an inducement to 
 make the investigation; for 1 know well, notwithstanding the 
 lady has heen an attentive reader of the Globe, she is as igno- 
 rant of what General Jackson said or did, and what hns from 
 time to time appeared in the Globe, as she is of the subject of 
 which I treated, and to which she has attempted a reply. 
 However, because I was an admirer of General Jackson is no 
 reason that I should be one of Mr. Van Buren; as the two 
 characters are entirely distinct, the one being honorable and 
 high-minded, the other, low, groveling, and intriguing; and, 
 the mere fact of his pledging himself to follow in the footsteps 
 of his predecessor, instead of recommending him to my favor, 
 would of itself be sufficient to destroy any favorable opin- 
 ion I might previously have entertained of him, the sentiment 
 being entirely too cringing and subservient to be entertained, 
 mucii less proclaimed, by an aspirant to the chief magistracy 
 of this Union. Apart from this, there were many of General 
 Jackson's measures which never received any favor at my 
 hands; audit is those measures, in addition to others which 
 liave been recommended and introduced since his retirement, 
 that have been most pertinaciously advanced and insisted upon 
 by the present incumbent. Even though I approved of all the 
 late President did or recommended, I should be very loath in- 
 deed to rely on a pledge of Mr. Van Buren to move in his 
 footsteps; knowing as well as I do how little dependance is to 
 be placed upon his words and promises, as his whole life, since 
 he entered upon the field of politics, has been made up of in- 
 consistencies. He has availed himself of every political hob- 
 by upon which there was a prospect of riding into power, 
 looking only to the end, and not regarding the means by which 
 he attained it; but, as his character in this respect is so well 
 known and understood, I think I would be tasking the patience 
 of my readers too much to say anything more upon this head. 
 The remarks of the lady in speaking of me personally are 
 too higlily imbued with the spirit of her character — black- 
 guardism — to receive a comment, and go farther than aught I 
 could say to acquaint her readers with the character of the 
 source from whence they came. 
 
 Before concluding this letter, which already covers more 
 
space thai] 1 intended it should, I will say a few words upon 
 the subject of democracy, about wliich the lady, as well as 
 her party, have so much prattle and clatter. There is not a 
 greater piece of humbuggery now extant than this very same 
 democracy. It means any thing and every thing. Tlie most 
 opposite and apparently irreconcilable extremes are brought 
 together and made to unite in harmony under iis great latitude 
 of interpretation and construction. It is one of the most chari- 
 table and accommodating words in our vocabulary, having a 
 definition keeping pace with the changes and evolutions of a 
 certain class of men who have thought proper to avail them- 
 selves of its charm and enchantment of name, and its f^icility 
 of transmutation, to carry out their purposes. To-day it means 
 leaving all power in the hands of the people, from whence it 
 came; to-morrow, concentrating it in the hands of the Execu- 
 tive. One day condemning the interference of officers of the 
 Governmeirl with the freedom of elections; the next day, rec- 
 ommending such interference as being the only passport to fa- 
 vor and ofiice, and as the only proper means of demonstrating 
 their loyalty and fealty. To-day it means the most implicit 
 obedience in office-holders to the will of their constituents; to- 
 morrow, any low intrigue and chicanery, or even violation of 
 oath, to defeat that will. In fine, as I say above, it means any 
 and every thing which will advance or subserve the interest of 
 a particular party, and directly the opposite of what it meant 
 with those with whom it originated. I have now done. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 LUCY KENNEY, 
 
39 Vf 
 

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