Defence of the national administration, mi7!4M.

Address, by
Cato Concord, 1828.

1,- ?'

'¦¦'I give thf/e Bath ^
\fi^thie.faiini&ngif a. ColUgt. tB^O^^ebmyf

From the estate of
Professor W. G. Sumner
1912

tAlE UNIVERSITY U8HA«V, ^ . /
HEW HAVE»I, C•ll%ei>*w^^-^*/-rc,_^«/^^.<.yv,.>^^

-TT'  P '»

DEFENCE-

•9F 5CHE

If

p^#,-5'ici

,IN AN

.TO THjE,

FEOPLE OF NEW-HAMPBjirRE.

BY^CAJ'p.*'

" Bemeraber, O my friends, the laws, the rights,
- The gen'roiis plan of pow't deliver'd dawn,
.From age to age, by your renowfi'd fore fathers,
• (So dearly bought, tlie price of so mucli bluod :}
O let it never perish in your liands ! "'
Sut piously transmit it to year children." «>

CONCORD!
PRKSTED By H. E. MOOiyE.

%.

ADDRESS.

Fellow CiTijtENs, — You must be aware of the evils, result'-
ing from having our state government arrayed in hostility to the
measures of the-.geaeral government. The peace, pro: p'erity
and Jiappincss of this great people are best secured and pto-
moted, when the state governments and the federal government'
move on harmoniously -together in common efforts for' (\\e cooi'
moD good. We live under a government founded upon written
constitiilions, — and it is emphatically a government of laws,—
but the essentia! and life-giving principle, which invigorates and
supports it4 is public opinion. No administration can pursue' any
measures fop the public good, howe^ver just and ivise, unless
they be approved and sustained by .the whole community- . ,,
'•<PWe do not perceive either in the. characters of, the men, who
form the administration of our general 'government^ or in their
system bf policy, any occasion, that calls for an organized and vio
lent opposition to their measures. They are men of great tal
ent — of long experience — of tried integrity, and .of the most un-
questioAable patriotism. They have been lorig before the pub-
He, and have filled the highest and raost respoiislble trusts. Their
history is idestitiiied with the history of our government.
John Quincy Adams was tbe favorite iSaqdidate for the presi
dency with the people of New-Hampshirp. He received the
unanimous vote of the Electors of this state, chosen by the peo
ple, without the show of opposition. "- ¦*
I ? No candidate having a majority of electoral votes, there was
of course, no choice by the people. Mr*. Adams, Gen. Jackson,
and Mr. Crawford were the three candidates," presented by the
electoral votes. , ' '
Our-Constitution has imposed the duty of choosing a President
upon tbe House of Representatives, when an election fails by
the people. And the mode prescribed ^y that instrument, for
the election of a President, in such an emergency, seems the best
that human wisdom can devise. Upon the House of Representa-<
lives, then, the people's branch of the "legislature, devolved
the high and iraportant duty of selecting from these 'three catt-
didates, the President of the United States. The choice was to
be mode by men, who could compare their rd'siJectivc merits.;
and who could^form the best judgment of the capacity and abilitj
of each, to promote the peace and prosperity of thje country at
home, and the honor^ancl glory of t!ie nation -abroad, Under

these favorable circumstances for forming a right judgment, and
under as deep a responsibility, as was ever imposed on any body
of men — the House of Representativ'es, at their first ballotting,
elected Mr. Adams'— -He was elected by'the people, through
their agents and representatives in the popular branch of the
legislature, in the manner the people themselves had prescribed,
when a choice should not be made by the Electors. He was
J chosen by the same provision of the Constitution, by which Mr.
Jeifferson obtained his first election.
His election was also .fairly made, without bargain or intrigue.
It was the result of a thorough convictioii of his eminent fitness
for the office. Of his fitness for the, office, he had given the
most, ample evidence, the highpst repeated proofs. It is found
in the history of his life, and in ail his public acts. Frpm very
early, life, he has been a public man, acting in various civil
capacities of the highest trust and importance, and bringing to
every occasion, and to every exigency, the most adequate ability.
He was appoint'cd by President Washington minister to the*
Netherlands in 1794. He was continued by his father, by the
express and written request of President Washington, who al
leged that it would be a dereliction of his public duty, if, through
a false delicacy, he deprived the nation of the services of John
Quincy Adams.
He enjoyed the confidence and friendship of Jefferson.
He was appointed to most important offices by Mr. Madison.
He discharged the duties of Secretary of State during the
eight years of Mr. Monroe's presidency.
. No man ever brought to the discharge of public 'I;ity, more
severe and intense application, more persevering and indefatiga
ble industry, or greater fidelity and uprightness.
He is a man of such purity of private character, of such- re
publican simplicity of manners, of such inflexible integrity, and
elevated and disenterested patriotism, that Rome raight have
beenjustly proud of him, in the brightest era of her illustrious
men. , '
Yet &Ir. Adams had hardly entered upon the duties of his of
fice, before a "combination'!* was formed to thwart his views,
embarrass his proceedings, and put downhis' admmistration " right'

or wrong"

For the first time .jp the history of parties in this country, it
was openly and sliamelessly avowel, that purity of character, in
tegrity of principle, uprightness of ntotive, wisdom of conduct,
and.propriety and justness of measures, were to be disregarded,
informing a judgment of the' characters ' and deserts of men, en
trusted with the highest functions and duties of gpvernment.
It is' a combination of all sorts of men and of all sorts of charac
ters. Look into the elements of the opposition, and into the, nature

of the materials that go to form it, and you will find it composed
»f the shreds and patches, the odds and ends, the thrums ajid the
heeltaps of all parties and principles, of all interests and opinions.
Of ultra democrats and ultra federalists ; of tarlfr-men, and men
vyhoare anti-tariflf ; of the.friends of internal improvements, and
the opposers of internal improvements ; the friends of domestic
industry, and the enemies of domestic industry ; the advocates of
a liberalconstruction of our constitution, and the contenders for
80 construction at all. , .
Geographical distinctions are, for this purpose, forgotten, when
they are remembered and cherished for every olher. The east
and. the west, the north and the south, throw their poisoned in
gredients into the bubbling cauldron, and there mingle ^^Mack
spirits and w/ii<e, reti spirits and g-re;/." '^"'he Roanoke mingles
its sooty \Taters with the Pascataqua in blessed union. ,And the
man who represents slaves, and the man who misrepresents free
men, are seen in. the ranks of the opposition, arm in arm, united
and as loving.as a diphthong. A combination of such men may be.
formidable to the most able and upright administration, and dan
gerous to the existence of the best established government.
They may be powerful to do mischief, and, at the same time,
utterly impotent to do good. They may embarrass the operations
of government, when the very elements of their union and strength
render them incompetent to administer it, successfuJlyj for a day.
Opposition to Mr. Adams is the fundamental principle, on which
this combination is formed. The measures of his administration
are to be opposed, solely, because they are the measures of his
administration. His motives are attacked, his character calain-.
niated, and his conduct misrepresented. Declamationis suhstitU-
ted for argument, and positive assertion for proof. The combi-! ,
nation hope to carry flie country and thte government by storm, —
and to sustain their cause by the very boldi.«sa and violence of their
proceedings. They attack the administration in a manner the
most factious and unheard of. -They apply to it every opprobri
ous epithet that our language can supply. They charge it with
every species of profligacy and corruption. They proscribe every
man, who will , not forego the honest convictions of his own judg
ment, and think and act with them. They subsidize every pros
titute press to circulate, through the nation, their misrepresenta
tions, their slanders, and their calumnies.
In the south they avail themselves of local feelings and preju
dices, to arf'ay tbe peoplejn opposition to Mr. .\dani3, because .
he is from a free state and of Yankee origin and blood. Andthey:
put forth the hopes and promises of ofiice, to fill up their r^nks
with apostates from the north.
They biave arguments for all prejudices, parties and places —
In one place Mr. Adams is a native of New-England, and of course

can do nothing right, tn another^, be is a /riend of the woollen.?
bill — of the American system, of encouraging the skill, enterprise
and' induiitry of the country, and therefore 'he must not be support
ed. With some, his republican principles are too rigid and ex
clusive, and thereupon the Tazewells, the Rowans, the Berriens,
tl:e M'Lanes and the Ridgeleys, go over to the opposition. —
While in New-Hampshire tbe same opposition represents bis ad-
inirtisti^aticn as federal, and designate those Avho support it, as
federalists ! '
The President has been charged with extravagance in the ex
penditures of the public money. He has been called, to answer
for appropriations, made by Congress long before he xvas Presi
dent, and for usages of the government, in compensating public
servants, established and settled by his predecessors. He has
been accused of taking public money for private 'purposes ; and
when this accusation has been disproved, by the highest official
testimony, the'falsehood has been repeated and re-affirmed, with
the most impudent efiTrontery. We believe that in his adminis-
trationino instance can be produced of a departure from that strict
economy, which markfed the measures of Mr. Monroe, Mr. Mad
ison and Mr. Jefferson. His practice has been in accordance
with the principles advanced in his, messages to Congress. In
them he has urged upon the consideration of Congress the policy
of making provision fortbe speedy and total discharge of the na
tional debt, the observance of the strictest economy in the appli
cation of the public funds, and a regard to that " maxim of po
litical economy, which the stewards of the public money should
never swffer without urgent necessity to be transcended, which
keeps tbe expenditures of the year within the limits of its re
ceipts." The flourishing state of our finances affords ample and* demon
strative proof, that there has been neither waste nor prodigality
in the expenses of government.
The loss of the Colonial trade has been imputed to the miscon
duct of the administration. The opposition affect to represent,
that the difficulties, on this subject, are of recent origin, and
charge thern to the "diplomatic imbecility and idiotism of John
Quincy Adams and his Cabinet." lliey charitably assume every
thing in favor of the British government, and against their, own.
Every thing the British do is right, and all our own government
does is wrong. They advocate the British side of the question,
with ail their ability and with as much zeal and eagerness as the
British minister himself. The failure to adjust these difficulties
by negociation, is to them a matter of joyous triumph.
it is known that the controversy on this subject began long be
fore Mr. Adams was president. And it 'is just as well knowii,
that he could not accept the terras proposed by the British gov-

ai'uaieut without departing essentially from the principles main
tained by his predecessors.
A direct trade with the British Colonies, on terms of fair re
ciprocity, would be undoubtedly beneficial to both countri^^. —
In all conventional arrangements, the advantages should be mu
tual. Independent nations should treat on e«jutil terms. In this
controversy Mr. Adams urged our rights, ably and decisively, but
with temper and moderation. He put forth no new doctrine. —
He conteuded for no new rule or principle. He stood upon known
and accustomed ground. He maintained the principles of our
government frpm its origin. From these principles he could not
depart, consistently with the interests or honor of the country..
The British interdict of our direct trade," will not essentially
injure our commercial or navigating interest. This assertion is
justified by our experience siuce that inderdict.look efi^'ect. If
indeed it operated much more injuriously, it should be borne
with a patriotic feeling, until the prevalence of more liberal
views in the British Cabinet should do justice to the claims of an
equal and independent nation. We should remember, under whatev^
er injury it i..flictsnponus, that an entire deprivation of that trade, ^
would be an evil infinitely less than its possession, on terms incom
patible with our character and proper self-respect. Among na
tions, as amon.i individuals, when honor is lost, all is lost.
The mission to Panama has been made a subject of aecusatioa
against the admiuistration. It has been said, this mission could
not be justified on any consideration of national interest, or na
tional honor. Was the establishment of free governments in sev
eral states of the new world, a m.atter of so little moment, that
it was to be disregarded by our own government ? Surely
friendly and commercial relations with those rising republics
must have an important bearing on our manufacturing and com- ^
mercial interests. They were dissolving their connexions with
the old worid. They were forming new channels of trade, and
opening new and vast fields for commercial enterprise. Those
states will1)e the purchasers of' our manufactures and products,
and the prosecution of a successful commerce with them, will
not fail'to produce a happy influence upon all the great interests
of the country. In the article of cottons alone, we exported to
them the last year more than a million of dollars.
To secure a free trade with them on liberal terms, would be
mutually advantageous to both countries, and would be an object
most deserving the attention of our own government. The ad
ministration would fail, in an essential part of its duty, if it neg
lected any opportumty, which offered, to open new sources of
trade, to provide new markets for the products of our manufac
tures and "our sell, and to widen the. field for commercial enter
prise and competition.

' S'-
A proper regard for our interests ^ould induce us to seize ev
ery occasion, to extend our commerce with the American repub
lics, to conciliate their affections, and to strengthen tbe kind feel
ings |ind good temper already existing among them in our fa
vor. Principles, purely in relation to the trade of the country,would
amply justify the mission.
But other considerations belong to this subject. Another view
may be taken of it.
,The men who administer our government could not be unniind-
ful of their situation, nor of the duty which that situation imposed
upon them. Our Kepublic, they knew, occupies a great and
prominent place in the eye of the world. It is a city set on a
hill, and cannot be hid. Her light shines for good, or for evil, up
on the nations of the earth.
In Washington's farewell address, it was one of his supplica
tions, that we might so preserve and improve the great blessing
of liberty, as to acquire the high glory of recommending it, by
our example to the applause, affections and adoption of every
people who are strangers to it. And surely a belter prayer for
his country, or the human race, could not be framed or conceived
by tbe heart of man. So rapid has been the advance of this coun
try to its present greatness, that ere the words were cold from
his lips — what was the object of his devout aspiration, Heaven in
its mercy has bestowed upon us. That high glory we have at
tained. It belongs to our country, and ours be the fault if it be
not preserved.
Wherever men are attempting to throw ofiT the fetters, that
have bound their minds and bodies for centuries, wherever they
are striving to breathe a free atmosphere, and live under a free
^government — hither, hither they turn their eyes. In times a-d-
verse or prosperous, in the darkest aiid brightest periods of their
fortunes, they look to our great example, to sustain and encour
age them. And they look to the prosperity and happiness, which
we enjoy, as the consummation of all their hopes, and the end of
all their labours and sufferings. \
When the American republics, having just asiserted their inde
pendence, invited our government to be represented at the Con
gress about to be assembled at Panama, to consult on great ob
jects and purposes,' which importantly afl"ected them, and might
impertantly affect us also, was it for our government to turn a
deaf carlo this invitation? To give it a cold, chilling refusal ?
To manifest no sympathy for them, nor any regard for tbe great
cause jn which they were engaged ? To belie'" the whole genius
and spirit of our institutions, and prove false and recreant to the
great cause of liberfy ? Ordid it become them to meet that in
vitation, from our sister republics, in the same spirit, in which it

9
tvas gif en ? To gratify their wishes — to fulfil their just expec
tations — to give them the aid of our counsels, and the benefit of
our better, because longer, experience — to open to them the
principles of our constitutions, and to cause to be reflected upon
4,heir aching sight, the cheering and defightful image of tlje'felici-
ty, publick and domestic, which a free and well administered
government bestows.
Let us rejoice that tbe government actedup to the emergen
cy and greatness of the occasion — that they adopted a course of
policy, consistent with our honor and our interest, a course of
policy which the best feelings of the heart suggest, and the ma-
turest reflections of the understanding approve.
Had the administration adopted a different course, and refused
that invitation, they would have been charged by this same opp'o-
sition, and justly too, with' being confederate with the Holy Al
liance, and with the treacherous abandonment of the cause of
fieedom in the New World.
Proud may we well bo, that we are fellow citizens with that
man, who, on the floor of Cor-gress, first moved the recognition of
the independence of the American republics, and with those Avho
declared in tbe face of the world, that this government would
never permit the interference of. foreign force, to reiduce them
again to Colonial subjection.
We cannot perceive that it should be a reason for opposition to
Mr. Adams, that he is a New-England man. Most certainly this
reaso.i should not operate in New-England.
Without desiring to excite local feelings and prejudices, and
without in tbe least, entertaining them, we would support the
President on national grounds, and as the President of the nation.
-He was not chosen by any local interest. ¦, His measures are not
taken lo favor the interests of any one part of the country to the
injury of the other. His administration is national, in the broad
est and best sense of the term.
Willi a magnanimity highly honorable, diffeient portions of tlie
country aided his election, and continue to approve and sustain
the just and patriotic ineas'jres of his administration. And while
high minded men, in the middle, western, and southern states,
forego.local feelings and prejudices, and give to Mr. Adams a
cordial, sincere and patriotic, support, can we, as citizens of New-
England, find within us, a spirit so mean, so base, so I'ecreant,
so lost to all just pride and honorable feeling, as to engage in the
objects and views of a "combination" formed to oppose,, coun
teract and disgrace him, because he is a son of New', England ¦?
He has been reproached wilh his descent from the Puritan Pil
grims. We are proud to claim common kindr.ed with the Puri
tans, the noble progenitors of. the Pilgrims of New-England, the
persevering and strenuous assert? is of jh«> cause "f human free-

10
dom, and the hold and fearless advocates of free republicap Insti
tutions. In maintaining and defending their principles, they suf
fered persecution and martyrdom in every form. In this cause
they poured out theii" blood like water and kept alive in their own
bosoms, the spirit ofcivil and religious freedom, when it was lost
and extinguished, in every other part of the civilized earth- '
When all around them, in the political world, was cloud, and
darkness," and tempest, this light was visible fo the nations.. It
was the bow, placed in the Heavens, by the providence of God,
to give confidence and hope, to the love.-s of liberty., throughout
the 'world. These Pilgrim Fathers left us a goodly land, free
institutions and a republican government, securing to us civil and
religious liberty. But above and before all, they have left us
their principles and ih&lr examples. . • • . ¦
If the glory, of states consist in the characterof her great and
tllustrious.uien, New-England has contributed her full proportion
to the nation's glory. .
In the revolutiop.aiy contest, her sons were not behind the chief
est of the patriots of that day, in deeds of noble daring. In war
and in peace, ia^prosperity and in adversity, in the field and in the
senate — dhey stood by the side of Washington, sharing his dangers,
and enjoying his confidence, .She has given to the Union the sec
ond President of the first generation, Since our independence, and
the first President of the second.
It is, then, no cause for casting reproach and contumely upon
the , President of the United States, or forming a systemStic op
position to his measures, that he was born among us,' and is de
scended from the Puritan Pilgrims of New-England.
We are happy in knowing, that in supporting the administration
of Mr. Adaras, we act with most able, enlightened, and virtuous
men, in every part of the Union.
Where, fellow citizens, are the certain mnrks, the infallible
indicKt'.ons of a bad administration of your government ? What
branch of national induslryhaa been discouraged and depressed ?
VYhat national interest sacrificed or abandoned ? Where has
been any waste of the public treasures 2 What new and oppres.
sive -burdens~hav8 been imposed upon you ? Who has suflered
persecution or oppression ? Who has been illegally imprisoned
or deprived of his rights and liberties .? On what occasion has
tlie course of public justice been stayed or intei''rupted ? What
principle of the constitution, or of civil freedom has been viola
ted ? Where ace the violence, and convulsions, tbe throes and
the plunges of an arbitiaiy and a bankrupt government ? Hap
py ! happy people ! Your grievances exist only in the heated
imaginations of intemperate politician's. Your blessings are real
substantial, felt, enjoyed. •*
Look around you, and yon see nothing but peace and tranquilfi -

11
ty, prosperity and happiness. Yoo live under a government foun
ded on the most enlightened principles of civil and religious lib
erty. Your persons, property, and characters, are secured and
protected by just and equal laws, faithfully administered by able
and upright judiciaries. v
You live uhdep constitutions so happily framed, and laws so im
partially administered, that no man among you is so high, as to he
above the law," and no man is so low,a:s to be beneath its protection.
You hardly feel the hand of government in taxation. You are
free to pursue your own interest and to improve your own condi
tion, according to 4;he best dictates of your own judgment.
Your agriculture is prosperous. Your commerce is extending,
and your inanufactures, generally, are advancing with wonderful
rapidity. You exported the last year more than |7,000,^)00 of domestic
manufactures. The whole amount of your exports was
^80,000^000. These are evidences of your great and growing
prosperity. Within the three last years, the administration, without the im
position of any new' taxes or duties, have defrayed all the current
expenses ofy'our government, have applied $13,000,000 to objects
of internal imiprovement, in opening new means and extending the
facilities of intercourse between the different parts of the coun
try ; jn erecting fortifications fSv its defence in time Of war, in
building armories, ships of war, naval docks, and for other pur
poses and objects of great national importance, and within the
same time*baye applied $-33,160,656 13 toward extinguishing
the national debt, and yet leaving in the treasury, on the first day
of January, 1828, an unexpended balance of more than $6,000,000.
This . is the manner, in which that administration, which has so
often been declared to be prodigal and eixtravagant, husbands the
resources and applies the revenue of tbe coTintry.
This is the enviable condition of your country at home. EquaK
ly fottunate and happy is the condition of your country in her for
eign interests. "
Within the last year |51, 204,960 have been received from
Great Britain, as indemnity to our citizens, under the first article
of the treaty of Ghent. The commercial and territorial connec
tions with that gdyernment, which by their own limitations were
about expiring, have been renewed by our late minister, Mr.
Gallatin. The subject of the Colonial trade alone,* remains for
adjustment. The most friendly relations, commercial and politi
cal, are maintained with Great Britain, with a single exception,
with France, Russia, Sweden, aiud indeed, with the other nations
of the world.
A spirit friendly to us, and a disposition to cultivate peace and
amity with us, are generally manifested by all nations with ^hom
we hafe commercial intercourse.
2

1^
A growing commerce covers eveiy ocean and sea. New re»
gions are opening and expanding to' the enterprise of our country*
men. New, sources of trade and wealth are discovered and ex
plored. A respect for our republic, for our free institutions, for
the JDrinciples of pur govemment, is every day increasing through
out the civilized world.
At no period in pur history has pur republic stood in higher es
timation abroad, or been looked to with so confident a hopd and
assurance, as a great and cheering example, of the success of
free institutions, and as giving to the world a practical illustration
of the truth, that man is competent to self-govetnment.
- The measures of Mr. Adcms' administration have been tested
by experience; Their happy results are witnessed in our gener
al prosperity.
The leading features, in his policy, are peace at home, and
peace abroad.
To seek peace with all the world, in the true spirit of peace.
To settle the difjScultie.s which inevitably arise in our, inter
course with other nations^, by fair and /riendly negociations, and
netby the sword.
To give to our commerce and navigation new privileges anJ
greater advantages, by fprming treaties' of amity and commerce,
on just and equal terms with the _ nations, with whom we have
trade and intercourse.
Tp husband our resources. Tp observe the strictest eecnpmy
in the application of the public funds. To regard the maxim
that keeps our yearly expenses within our yearly income, and, by
these means, to accomplish the speedy and total discharge of the
public debt.
To protect domestic industry in all its diversified branches,
and thereby so to encourage its prosperity and success, as will
enable the country to supply all its own wants and necessities —
all its conveniences and comforts, and become truly independent
of the rest pf the World.
To cherish a spirit of internal improvement, which creates and
extends the means of inter-communication, and which lessens the
distance between the remote parts of this great country, and
makes them better acquainted with each other, which enables
thern to supply each others wants,and which by the interchange of
avast domestic ccmmerce, and the kindly operating influences pf
a thpusand causes, teaches us that we are brethren of one great
republic, having the same gpvernment, the same interest, and the
same destiny.
To take the place of Mr. Adams, the opposition bring forward
Andrew Jackson.
rOf General Jacksoii we wish to speak what truth and justice
deiaarid. We yield liim all the praise, for his military services

13
lh«t his friends can claim for him. He has received the grati
tude cf his countrymen. With that he shpuld be cpntent, if he
rega.rds the preservation of his own fame, or the welfare of his
country. In entering upon a new and untried field, without competent
ability or experience, he will lose the laurels he has won, and
inflict injuries upon the instituticns and interests pf the natipn,
that ages may nat repair.
The adherents pf GeneralJackson, tp justify them in their at
tempts to elevate him to'thepfilcepf President, refer tp the elec
tion of General Washington.
There are not points of resemblance enough between Wash
ington and Jackson to form a cumparispn. No twp man,
less alike, ever existed. Wash-ington was a well read,
well principled, and well practised statesman befpre he was
efaosen president. Most abundant evidence of this, is found in the
history of his early life, and m his correspondence with Congress
and the governors of the several states. These writings are re
plete with maxims of civil wisdom. In all disasters and extrem
ities, he manifested the most sacred regard for the right of the
civil, authority. His was the case of a great statesman accepting,
from force of circumstances, a military command, and returning
again to tbe councils of the nation ; and not the case of a military
adventurer seizing the reins of civil government.
We reaitbe campaigns of Washington^ and dwell on his milir
tary achievements, through tbe whole war, with the profoundest
admiration- of bis talents, and yet be displayed higher talents, and
did more for his country, for tlie world, and for his pwn imperish
able fame, in the cabinet, than in the field. The distinguishing
.features^cf his mind were the statesmanlike qualities that fitted
him to discharge the high civil and political duties pf the chief
magistrate of a great republic. In peace he made his greatest
conquests. Peace gave him his most brilliant victories, and.Iaid:i
the everdijring fpundatipn of his glory.
GeneralJackson has not hatl such.' an acquaintance with civil
affairs, such experience in public busiijess,' as can enable him to
discharge the complicated anil arduous duties of Presidents His
habits of Hfe, his temper,, his ignorance of the concerns of oup
government, foreign and domestic, executive and. diplomatic,
disqualify him for that office. .. .. <
He has never distinguished himself, on any occasion, in any
civil capacity. At the bar, on the bench, in the convention that
formed the constitution, of Tennessee, and in the Senate of the
United StatC5,be never rose above mediocrity. Several of these
ofliccs he resigned from, a conscious inabihty to discharge their
(duties. If he felt incompetent to discbarge the duties of these
subordinate civil stations, how cnn he be thought qualified to
discharge the duties of President of these United States ?

14
So strong was Mr. Jefferson's opinion of his unfitness Yor the
office, and of the dahger,from his election, lo the- ^yery existence
of our free popular form of government, that in the most solemn
and emphatic manner, he declared to Governor Coles, that
nothing had occurred, since our revolution, that had so much
shaken his confidence in the durability of our free instilutions,
as the vole given to him at the last eleclion.i
And, on another occasion, in a conversation with Mr. Gilmer,
he said,in his peculiar and characteristic manner, " Ofie might as
well niake a sailor of a cock, or a soldier of a goose, as a Presi
dent of Andrew Jackson."
Mr. Jefferson had the means of forming a correct opinion of
the merits of Andrew Jackson, and that opinion he honestly and
frankly expressed.
General Jackson's talents, his' acquirements, his pursuits, his
experience, his mode of thinking ahd acting,' his associations and
partialities, aie military. It is the victory at New-Orleans, that
gives him his pretentions and his popularitji Without that, he
would not have been thought of as a candidate for the presiden
cy. Talents merely mihtary, even of the highest order, do not
qualify a man for the office of President. Of all military men,
we deem him among the most unfit and dangerous, to be entrust
ed with the duties of high civil authority. He opposed the ad
ministration of Washington, and when Washington was retiring
into private life, followed by the hearts and benedictions of bis
countrymsn, he, then a member of Congress, refused, by his
vote, to approve of his public conduct.
He was opposed to President Madison, because that mild and
amiable man could not look en- " blood and carnage with com
posure." Exercising a military command, he, in repeated instances,
disregarded the orders and violated the laws of the government,
and showed, an utter contempt of the civil authority.
Long after the news of the signing of the preliminaries of
peace was known to General Jackson, and long after he had
written to the Secretary of War, that Louisiana might be con
sidered as fl'eedfi~6m her enemies, he issued an order, command
ing all Frenchmen to leave New-Orleans, within three days,and
not keep, within one htiiidred and twenty mites of it.
Mr. Louis Louaillier, a citizen of the first respectability, a-
member of the legislature of Louisiana, who had made great
efforts in the cause of the country and of humanity, during the
invasion, himself of French origin, felt most keenly the distress
es, inflicted by disorder, on the French people, many of whom
had been in arn|s during lhe carapatgn, and had suffered all its-
privations and its dangers. Under these circumstances, he pub
lished in a newspaper, in New-Orleans, an article complaining o

15

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t

the injustice' and harcIshipof,this order. For this expression ot
his opinion, General Jackson ordered him tp be arrested and im
prisoned, subjected him to martial law, and ordered him to be
tried, for his life, by a court martial. " '
The court martial, of which General Gaines was president,
honorably acquitted Louaillier. But General Jackson disapprov
ed of this sentence and kept him under arrest and imprisonment,
till martial law was abrogated by the president's proclamation of
peace. Ddringiis c6nfinement, Louaillier directed his counsel,
Mr. Morel, to a'pfily to the Hon. DominickA-jHall, Judge of the
District Court of the United Slates,, fpr a writ,pf habeas corpus.
Judge Hall, in obedience to the constitution, to the law of the
land, to the obligations of his oath, granted the writ.
Jackson, instead of rendering obedience to the erder of the
highest judicial authority, sent a body of. men, armed with guns
and bayonets, and imprisoned the Judge jn the same room with
the applicant. Louaillier looked for enlargement, to the writ of
Habeas Corpus, the boasted privelege of an American citizen, to
the Constitution, to the laws of his country, but he found the
constitution and the laws trampled upon, and contemned, and
the Judge himself imprisoned, . by the same despotic power that<
had deprived him faf bis liberty. Jackson, after having perpe
trated this outrage, said to the Marshal, in a manner the most
taunting and contemptuous of the civil authority, that he had
" shopped the judge."
Mr. Dick, the District Attorney, then applied to Judge" Lewis
for a writ of habeas corpus, fpr, the purpose of liberating Judge
Hall, which being granted, jfacksou, in the same spirit and tem
per, arrested the District Attorney for making the application,
snd issued an order for arresting Judge Lewis for granting it.
In these proceedings 'he stayed the course of justice. He
suspended the privilege of the. habeas corpus, the great charter
and the best security, of personal liberty. He violated the best
principles of our constitution. He annulled all law. He abol
ished all right.
His temper, his forbearance, his moderation and his respect
for the rights and the dignity of a sovereign, independent state,
may be learnt from his correspondence with Governor Rabun
of Georgia.
His disposition is ungovernable and vindictive. And his vio
lent spirit will not be likely to be restrained ahd moderated, by
such cool and prudent advisers, as the Randolphs, the M'Dutffies,
and the Hamiltons. . -
His will stands for law, and he takes counsel of his passions.
He issues from his " Hermitage" under his own signature, the
most false and groundless calumnies, against the President, and
a most distinguished member-of his cabinet, and when their fals-

16
ity is proved, by the witness calledby him to support their truth,
he makes no apolo.i^y or explanation, but encourages ibeii'circu-
btion, in hopes to benefit his cause by their operation on public
seoi^cnt. . .'"
He has bcpn denounced as a "military usurper," as a " mili
tary tyiant," and as a man whose elevation to the presidency
woujd prove a " curst''' to the' country, by some of the rfiost zeal
ous among his prescrit supporters.
He has attempted to elevate the militarj above the civil power.
He has deprived citizens of their rights according lo his own-
arbitrary will. ^ ,
He has caused them to be unlawfully imprisonedj during his
own arbitrary pleasure.
He look the life of a fellow citizen, Mr. Dickenson, in a duel:
With a body of men, armed and selected for the purpose, he
attempted the assassination of Mr. Benton, now a senator iiv.
¦Congress. , The seqrelaiy of war made a peremptory order on him to dis
band his troops, and that order he disbbpyed. ¦ '
He repeatedly disobeyed the orders of lhe government, in bis
'campaign in the Spanish territory.
He applied td the legislature of Louisiana to suspeiid the priv
ilege of the bjabcas corpus, and they refusing to do it, he him
self suspended it, during' his own pleasure. *
He declared martial law, and kept it in force for months after
the enemy ^vcre repulsed arid all danger from their return had
ceased. , . ,
. Som,e militia men had enlisted for six mon'ths. They had
honorably served the term of their enlistment* They Avere told
by the commander of their company, Captain Strother, that thcir
lime of service had expired, that tljey were discharged and .
might return tp ihcir families.* And for attempting la do what
they (lad a lawful .right to do, he caused six of them to be arrest
ed— to be tried by martial law — lo be condemned and executed.
The Icgi-slaturc of the state of Louisiana were in session, acting
and deliberating upon the great nnd vital interests of their con
stituents. He surrounded the Hall, in which' they h^ld their
.sittings, with, a body ofarmcd men, forcibly expeUed the i*Bpre-
.^en;atives who were prescnt,and prevented others from enteripg,
by applying to their breasts,the bayonets of his soldiers. «•-
This is the character of the man for whom the opposition hope
!o carry the electoral vote of New-Hampshire. To' accomplish
ihis object, they are making every effort to elect a Jackson gov
ernor, who w'ill give hi.s influencfc, pfficial and personal, to their
cause ; and majorities in both brancbes o( the lefislature.
By the law of 1824^ the right of choosing Electois is secured
to tlyj people. This law is raade perpetual, and the people can>

aot be deprived of their right, without a cShcurrcnce of all the
branches of ih* legislature. *
1 f the oppositibn should succeed in re-electing Gov. Pierce,
and in electing majorities in both houses, that law may bej'e-
pealed, and the legislature iiself choose lhe electors. Wiihbut
the alteration of this law, the choice of electors may devolve
upon the general court. Incase of no election by the people, gr
if any electors chosen should fail, from any chuse lo be present
at Concord, on the day appointed for giving the electoral vote,
the two houses, in convention, rausl proceed to complete the re-
¦quisite number of electors.
In addition to thi^ important, tuainrss, they will have to choose
a senator in Congress. And if, by the supineness of the friends
of the ajdministralion, the opposition should obtain a majority iu
either House, it would preveul the choice of any man to that
office who would give support to the just and patriotic measures
-of the present adrainistralicn.
These objects stimulate them to the greatest efforts. Let
those efforts be met on 'our part, by corresponding exertions. —
Let us oppose reason to passion, argument to declamation, and
truth to falsehood.
The besetting danger of RepubUcs, is a proneness in our na
tures, to pay a blind and indiscuminate homage ta martial re
nown. tVe look upon military men in a false dazzling light.^-
There is something in military, greatness and glory, that over
powers the ima^nation and subdues the reason. It is this pro-
peVisity, excited into enthusiasm, that enables the military chief
to triumph over, the libeififes of his country. .
The crisi.s, fellow cflizcns, is momentous and full of danger. —
It is a lime for men to act in. : 6urs is a contest for principle. It
is a contest between civil authority and military power. A con
test between lhe constitution an3, liie sWord.
Shall we be deaf to the voice of experience ? Shall the les
sons of history neilher instruct nor alarm us ? ArCjWe conferring
Xipon a mere fortunate soldier the highctt civil office known to
our government ? Cannot the inifortunes and miscarriages of^
olher republics teach us wisdom? Is all experience a cheat?
Is every fact a'' liar ? *¦ , '
Pause — pause, fellow citizens, 1 beseech you. Consider what
has proved the destruction of ancient and modern republics ! —
Travel up the track of histo'i-y to remotest time,- and you will find
your way strewed with the ruins of republics, destroyed by the
ambition of mi'itary chiets exercising civil authority, by usurpa
tion or by gift. • j
No special decree, r.ely upoji it, will exempt you from lhe nat
ural effects of your own rashness. Follow the example of olheis
a;nd you will share their fate. Elect General Jackson, and, in the

1«
act, you cannot tranifnerup ihe-consequence.' It^will be, both in
itself and as a precedent, full of pernicious mischief.
You have great interests at stake, well worthy yo,ur best and
' highest efforts, to maintain them. All the confiderations, that can
act on the motives and purposes of honest men, urge ycujto^a
faithful discharge of duty. You arc contending for free pnnEi-
pl?s, for civil liberty, for the sovereignty of the Haw, and the su-
. premacy of the constitution. Your free institutions, your popular
government, are dear to you as the patrimony from your father^
dear lo yoif in the l;housaBd blessings they confer upon you, and
dearer, dearer still, as an inheritance for your children.
Fellow citizens; the"lriend§ of your national administration havfe
presented to you their'candidates for stale and county officers. —
The candidates for counsellors and senators are good men and
true, selected for their talents, integrity,Bnd devption to the pub
lic welfare,. The gentleman, nominated for governor, is a man of
great moral worth, of very respectable talents, ardent in his attach
ment to our free republican government, independent in bis opin
ions, upright and faithfuliri the discharge of his official duties. —
These men will administer your government ably and faithfully,
with the strictest regard, to the interest, respectability, and honor
of your sta,te ; and will give the adtoinistration of the general gov
ernment, a sincere atid efficient support, while they pursue their
present system of policy, — a policy fitted to make us a peaceftil,
prosperous and happy people. ,.
Citizens of. New-Hampshire ! In behalf of these men, and la
behalf of the cause they support, we .appeal to your sober, dispas
sionate, unbiassed judgmerat. -.We appeal to your goodsense, your
patriotism, your love of civil liberty. You are too sensible of
your danger to be remiss and inactive, lob enlightened to-be de
ceived, too honest to be.led astray from your duly.
Remember, we entreat you, tha! your laws, your rights, your
privileges, your free elective government, were purchased by'the
toils, the sufferings and the blood of yo\ir fathers. They are a
sacred trust in your hands. O, cherish and preserve them, E^nd
piously transmit them, unimpaired, to your children.
CATO.

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