Carolina Watchman

              term «>» *'><' watchman l,r subacription per year two dollars-payable in advance but if not paid in advance 1 wo dollars ami fifty cts will be charged lnvrn-risemexts inserie.l at 1 for the first and 25 cts j for each subsequent insertion four orders charged ' j per ct higher than lies rates a liberal deduc l lion to those who advertise by the year etti-r to the editors must be postpaid remarks of vr.1truman smith of connecticut on the imputation of n b blunt esq of the city of new york on his course as a delegate to the recent whig na tional convention together with an t v i position of thc benefits which will result i to the country from tin eh ration of gen eral zachary tayloe to the presidency \ of the united states to the public i perceive from a report in some of ihe mew york papers of the proceedings of n meeting of the whigs of that city con vened in tin baik on the lgth instant n )). blunt esq one of the delegates to the recent convention at philadelphia took the liberty of introducing my humble fiame to the consideration ofthe meeting accompanied with the imputation of a want of fidelity on my part as a member of the same convention to the trust re posed in mc by the whigs of connecticut jn one ofthe papers alluded to mr blunt is reported as follows : '' look at your sister of connecticut — ajne of her delegates who has filled high ollice in her gift and who is about to en ter upon a still more exalted position be fore the nation was elected and instructed in cast his vote fur henry clay he came into that convention with the name of henry clay on his lips but with all his nergies predetermined to defeat him — this fellow-citizens was his conduct and i though i have no personal injuries to re fdress i feel that 1 have a right to hold the mirror up to nature to say whether this man deserves well at the hands of his constituents it has ever been with me a rule not to take any notice of the scandal or abuse irom whatever quarter it may come as 1 am of the opinion that a public man had better live lown all such attacks and if he has not character enough to do so he should seek immunity therefrom in retire ment and obscurity if 1 make the pre sent case an exception to that rule it will not be on personal grounds — it will not be because i have the slightest idea that there is any occasion to vindicate myself before the whigs of connecticut but be cause such charges tend to bring tbe con vention itself into disrepute the proceed ings of which were as i think character ized throughout by a spirit of fairness - moderation impartiality and rectitude 1 have not the honor of a personal acquaint , ance with blunt but i am ucc to confess lhat all 1 have learned of his standing as ban eminent lawer and of his character as a good reliable whig has been adapted to inspire me with respect 1 do not there fore desire and shall not enter into any troversy with him hut shall content . myself with stating plainly the facts of the case and shall leave him to repent at his leisure of the injustice which he has done to a fellow member of the conven tion who claims no oilier position than that of being his equal with the right to consult bis own sense of duty and to be guided by his own convictions of what in the very difficult and trying circumstan ces in which the convention was placed was best adapted to promote the good of the country and the success of the whig party in answer to the unceremonious and unwarrantable use which has heen made of my name and to imputations from whatever quarter they may come i submit tbe following remarks 1 it is not true as aliedged by mr blunt that i was elected to the conven tion and instructed to vote for henry clay i was a member of the state convention which convened in new haven last fall and which appointed the delegation lothe national convention consisting of messrs rockwell stuart babcock trumbull white and myself and no instructions whatever were given to the delegation it is not the practice of the whigs ol con necticut to commit their delegates in ad vance but it is and ever has been ex pected and desired that they should go , into the national convention untrammel ' led and prepared to enter into a full and free consultation with their brethren from other sections of the union and then do what they shall think just and right un der all the circumstances of the case — ! such is my sense of the evils of a packed convention that i would not accept of a i seat in such a body instructed to vote for any man 2 it is not true that i went into the convention with the name of " henry clay on my lips but with all my energies predetermined to defeat him on the contrary i was well assured from all i knew of the composition of that body that he would in no event get a nomina tion i was in fact desirous that he should receive as large a vote as possible as an expression ofthe high appreciation of his talents and public services which all good whigs entertain and as an alle viation in some degree ofa result adverse to his claims which i considered inevita ble 1 even now regret that the ken tucky delegation did not feel it to be their duty to cast a unanimous vote in his fa vor for reasons that must be obvious — i but * all my energies were predetermined to ensure the nomination of gen taylor as between him and some other candi detes not because 1 did not entertain the utmost respect for such candidates but simply because i thought we should best subserve the interests ol the country by putting forward in the present conjunc ture the name of gen taylor when i speak of other candidates i must not be understood to refer to mr webster of the carolina watchman i honor him ; as he is distinguished for good sense and sound discretion i think he will make a safe president -, as a high sense of justice has ever characterized f v ar v vi,lin s to trust him ! w th the rtghts and interests of all parts , of the country and particularlv those of , markable for firmness and decision of : character « asks no favors and fears no 1 responsibility i believe he will ith a steady hand guide the country safely through all the perils which may environ it ; as he possesses the utmost parity and excellence of character 1 shall take plea sure in seeing bim at the head of public : s ; as he is truly republican in his habit and manner being one of ihe people and sympatl.i-.in-z thoroughly itfc ibe „ 1 think there ia a fitness in making bim ibe ebb 1 magistrate of those same masses of whom the humblest can exclaim with troth he is „ ne of as aad as be i _ .. . ervative and reliable whig abominating ar and con temning meanness fraud . a-rf trick ery who will put far from bim all evil doen r . then-rise 1 am for bim from ibe beginning to ibe , ; e r . icuse ck::e my band sreptrea will do all within the range uf mj feeble abiii ties lo make bim the next iv - lent . ftbe i'ni ited slates j [{[ \\ \\ smith wasjuxsctos jim jo 1-4 dcr'the '* norfolk herald of the 1 tth says :— ex-governor morehead of norlh carolina arrived in this city yesterday morning from philadelphia where he presided over the late whig convention and put up at walter's city hotel at 12 o'clock a depntation of our citizens of the whig party called on bim to lender their respects and acknowledgments of bis eminent services in the convention and to invite him to the meeting of the whigs in the evening to ratify the nomi nations in which he had borne so conspic uous a part the invitation was deliv ered by jos 11 robertson lis in a neat complimentary address which was grace fully responded to by the governor the interview which lasted for about an hour was very agreeable and interest ing the governor is a gentleman of fine colloquial power as well as intelli gence and observation the conversation of course turned chiefly upon tin subject of the convention and its nominations and it is the opinion of gov?rnor m lhat the slight manifestations of oppositions to the latter which we have seen reported will soon cease and the whigs be found acting together wiih wonted harmony and determined energy in support of the nomi nations as in i li gov morehead also attended by invi tation the ratification meeting held in norfolk during ids stay in that city and on beitiir called on d livered an address although laboring under considerable in disposition at the time ti herald says when gov m bad concluded his ad dress which elicited thunders of applause during i's delivery three chet is w re a gain given to him and three more for the old north state with a perfect will which made lhe wails quiver new orleans the news of old zac's nomination cre ated great st ir in crescent cifv the - new orleans bee after crowing lustily over the nomination remarks : we never saw a better pleased set of people than are the whigs at this time the nomination of < lid zach has given them such substantial assurances of tri umph that they regard the battle a al ready won the locofocos affect to look perfectly indifferent upon the subject but they are secretly chagrined at the result and their depressed visages indicate the extremity of their apprehensions they look a il thi th of november was al ready at hand and their st ntence about being put in execution they may com fort themselves however vet awhile they have a respite ol marly live months before them they should put that inter val to profit and repent them of their manifold sins gen taylor in missouri the following from an esteemed correspon dent at st louis uives reason t hope lhat even mr benton's state ia about to be carried away in the populai enthusiasm which per vades the land for i d " rough and k"a.lv . st i ii mu june id 1-1 the news came yesterday on the wings of lightning tbat taylor ami fillmore were the nominees of lhe national whig convention and i cannot refrain from congratulating vou and tlie honest people of good old north l'ur olina on this mosl bappy and i beli - cessful nomination i be announcement pro duced great enthusiasm here — uch congratu lations hearty cheering and shaking of bands voi never did see to-nigbl wc have u grand ratification meeting when thousands of o-jr citizens will mingle together lo do honor to the old her uli has alreadj shed so much re nown and lu**ire on lhe nation am who only ambition is to serve i.i country faithful - — gen taylor is the man for the west — tor the whole nation stainless and spotless b lb kj litically and morally he im been first in the heart of his countrymen in was — i will be first in peace he i also ** right side r un all the important questions affecting the pro gressive interests of ihis mighty valley and will be found right side up wiih care on every measuie involving the honor dignity and prosperity of the ulule union let us then give one loud shoul tor oil zich and our coun try let the echo coi go from sea hore to mountain lop — let it he hraid from last to west north to south ibat he i honest capa ble brave incorruptible tbe man foi ihe times and the people let it be known that be has been a patriot republican soldier from youth to old age that he has never cringed to petty tyrants at home or played the sycophant at courts of kings and luiperurs abroad let our motto be — >* gen taylor never surrenders / whom permit me to say that the people of the united states would have honored themselves and have rendered our free institutions illustrious if ihey had made him president long ago it is true the name of henry clay has often been on my lips but it has ever been in accents of praise and admiration ; such was the fact in 1844 when i devoted almost an entire year in co operation with friends to res cuing our commonwealth from the hands of the opponent and in giving him the electoral vote of connecticut i claim to be a much truer friend ol mr clay than those who have so unadvisedly urged him into the field when there was little proba bility that he could be nominated and less that he could be elected if nominated 3 it i.s well known here and i believe throughout connecticut that having giv en the entire subject a full and a most anxious consideration i early in the pre sent session came to the conclusion that we could with more certainty put down the present administration and promote the success of the whig cause under the auspices of gen taylor than by using the name of any other of the distinguish ed men who have been brought before the public in this connexion nevertheless i have said on all occasions that i would not as a delegate to the convention act on my own private opinions but would co-operate with the other delegates from connecticut in an effort to obtain such a result as we might on consultation deem to be best 1 when the delegation assembled at philadelphia for consultation in advance of lhe deliberations of the convention my opinions were favorable to gen taylor and the grounds on which those opinions are based were fully stated to my co-del egates ; but at the same time 1 avowed the purpose of abiding by the decision of my associates we then determined unan imously to vote for mr clay ; and i can assure mr blunt that we should not have departed from that determination one hair if olher delegates had been disposed to cooperate with us so as to give mr clay a majority of the convention ; in such case he would have been the nominee of the whig party and i would have exerted myself as in 1844 fo make him the chief magistrate ofthe american people 5 on the first ballot mr clay received 97 votes fewer by far than 1 anticipa ted and on the second he receded to 80 the delegation assembled the next morn ing for further consultation ; and know ing as we did that many delegates who voted for mr clay on the first and second ballots would vote lor other candidates on the third and that therefore his nomina tion was unattainable we decided unani mously lhat each delegate might thereaf ter give such a vote as he should be con vinced the good of the country required i then recurred for the first time to my real opinions and voted for gen zachary taylor and found myself supported by two of my colleagues messrs stuart and trumbull who acted on their own judg ment wholly uninfluenced by me directly or indirectly i presume i shall not be guilty ofa breach of confidence if i say that gen taylor would have received if necessary to his nomination mr clay being out of the question two more votes from connecticut i believe the same thing is true ot some delegates from other slates who voted for mr clay to the last g i entertain the utmost respect for and confidence in the whigs of the city of new york ; but it must be recollected that 1 went into the convention not as their agent but as the representative of the whigs of connecticut 1 thought my self a free man acting for the free whigs of a noble state in a perfectly free na tional convention with no obligations to mr blunt except those of courtesy and respect in that character i did not deem myself a mere automaton but a reasona ble being in duty bound to act fairly and candidly towards all but with liberty to exercise an honest judgment as to the best means to be selected to accomplish an object which all good whigs desire i am supported in the course which i pur sued by conscious rectitude ; and through " evil report and good report i shall pur sue •' the even tenor of my way paying no more attention to denunciation irom whatever quarter it may come than i would to " the idle wind i am not at all apprehensive of having incurred the resentment either of mr clay or my own constituents 1 know too much of that magnanimous and noble-hearted man to believe that he will harbor a particle of ill will towards such of the convention as fearlessly did what they believed to be iheir duty whatever he may think of those who have gambled with his name of which by the way i do not suspect mr blunt as to my constituents 1 feel my self under infinite obligations to them i have received many expressions of confi dence at their hands and recently one which nearly touches my heart but i can assure mr blunt we can settle ac counts between ourselves without his aid or interference ; and further that when ever it shall appear that 1 have incurred their displeasure i shall instantly return into their hands any trust which they may have confided to me and take refuge from the misconstructions and malevolence of politics in the duties of my profession and thc repose of private life i hope mr b will excuse me for intimating that if cer ti.in whigs of the city of new york were less in the habit of maligning the motives and traducing the conduct of the whigs of other parts of the country they would have more influence in giving a direction to public affairs from this exposition i think it is mani fest that mr blunt " in holding the mirror up to nature has placed it in false lights and has reflected a distorted image ; and in view of the facts stated i fearlessly submit my course in the convention to the scrutiny of all honorable and upright men i have acted openly and avoiding ultra ism and violence on the one hand i hope my conduct on the other has been charac terized by the independence and firmness which all should possess who desire to be of any use to the country dismissing then this subject which i shall not be surprised to find regarded as of little moment i seize the occasion to give a brief exposition of the benefits which i conceive will result to the coun try from the elevation of general zachary taylor to the presidency i anticipate from such a consummation — 1 an essential alleviation of the acer bity and violence of party spirit which has been running to extremes for many years past and which has produced noth ing but evil to the country and that con tinually 2 a more moderate and reasonable action on the part both of congress and the executive in establishing a policy in reference to all essential interests in which all good men if not perfectly sat isfied can acquiesce 1 wish to see pub lic men disenthralled in some degree from the iron rule of party and placed in a con dition to act freely according totheirown conscientious convictions of right and du ty time was when leading men of the same parly felt themselves at liberty to differ on great questions of public policy but now the state of the case is widely different and many are forced by the ty ranny of party into the support of mea sures which they cordially disapprove if they do not detest relentless proscrip tion awaits every man who falters in the least i have within the last few days heard an upright and truly patriotic sen ator from my own state bitterly denoun ced by a leading democratic member of the house of representatives merely be cause he will not go the whole figure in supporting all the wild and mischievous measures of the present administration the state of things which has long exist ed at the seat of government i can suffi ciently illustrate by an anecdote : at tbe time the final vote was taken in the house at the first session of the last congress re-enacting the subtreasury law a highly respectable democratic member came across the hall to my seat and exclaimed with an oath which i will not repeat " it is a shame that a law should be pass ed to which a large majority of the house is opposed or words to that effect i am confident that had it not been for " the bonds of party the tariff of 1846 could not have been passed though that of 1842 might have been essentially and perhaps advantageously modified i am equally confident that but for the same cause the country would not have been plunged into " an unnecessary and unconstitutional war with mexico the past and present evils whereof few yet comprehend and the fu ture evils of which will only be taught us by many years of bitter experience but when moderation shall become the order of the day which i am well assured will be inculcated by gen taylor should he be president by both precept and exam ple a new spirit will come over congress and 1 trust the great body of the people and we shall all feel that we have com mon institutions to preserve a common country to serve ; and whether we sink or swim we are all committed to one common destiny whether for good or evil 3 an administration which will conse crate all its faculties to the preservation ofthe peace ofthe county i regard this as an object of paramout importance no man is better qualified than gen taylor to sieze with a firm grasp the spirit of war which unhappily infests the american people the great besetting sin of all re publics and to hold it effectually in check that he entertains sentiments of the ut most abhorence of war and that he will be the resolute friend of peace i know i hope i shall be excused for presenting here an extract from a letter which i had the honor to receive from gen taylor dated at baton rouge on the 1th of march last : " i need hardly reply to your concluding inquiry that 1 am a peace man and that 1 deem a state of peace to be absolutelv necessary to the proper and healthful ac tion of our own republican institutions on this important question i freely con fess myself to be the unqualified advocate of the principles so often laid down by the father of his country and so urgently re commended by him in his farewell ad dress to the american people indeed i think i may safely say that no man can put a more implicit faith than i do in the wisdom of his advice when he urged up on us the propriety of always standing upon our " own soil in his letter to captain j s allison da ted april 2*2 gen taylor says : " my life has been devoted to arms yet i look upon war at all times and under all circumstances as a national calamity to be avoided if compatible with national honor tbe principles of our government as well as its true policy are opposed to the subjugation of other nations and the dismemberment of other countries bv con quest at a dinner in new orleans given in december last in honor of gen taylor he responded to a complimentary senti ment by declaring — that the joy and exultation of fhe greatest victories were always after the heat and excitement of the battle succee ded by feelings of poignant sorrow and pain ; and that war after all was a great calamity and his the greatest glory who could terminate it general taylor has on other occasions avowed similar sentiments ; they do him much honor he will resist the lust of dominion and the passion for acquisition which marks so distinctly the character of the american people and which is fraught with more peril to our free insti tutions and the perpetuity of our glorious i nion than any other cause whatever there will be no danger of the annexa tion of either cuba or yucatan under the auspicies of gen taylor 4 also an administration ofthe strict est impartiality and of the most rigid justice as between all the great interests of the country and all sections of the con federacy 1 believe gen taylor to be en tirely above sectional prejudice ; and there are not any of the interests of the free states which i would not unhesitatingly confide to his hand he has a head to comprehend and a heart to embrace his country and his whole country having spent his whole life in the public service and on terms of cordial and friendly in tercourse with the people of all parts of the union he entertains the broadest and most liberal sentiments of nationality 1 do not regard him as a citizen ol louisiana butasacitizen ofthe u states of america 5 he will do much if elected to put down the efforts now making various quarters to run all the politics of the coun try into a mischievous spirit ot sectional ism if he shall prove to be the presi dent i doubt not he will be the people will learn that ofall the qualifications for that high office that of citizenship residence or domicil is the lowest i am more dis posed to look to the man himself to the qualities of his head and heart rather than to the accidents of birth or residence w ho would not rejoice to have a success sion of presidents for the next five cen turies who shall administer the govern ment after the fashion and in the spirit of washington though every one of them should come from the capes of flor ida ? 6 congress will be restored to the pow ers and prerogatives which the framers of the constitution intended that body should exercise it mnst be obvious on the slightest examination of that instru ment that to congress was confided the power of expressing the will of the peo ple in the form of laws and to the exec utive the duty only of executing that will when ascertained by congress but with in the last few years there has been in progress a rapid concentration of all pow er in the hands of the executive the president has become every thing and congress nothing an irresponsible body called a convention and generally a small committee of such body assembled in the upper room of some tavern have arroga ted the right of settling every thing in ad vance and of binding both congress and the executive the latter has become the agent of a debased and grovelling partizanship to overrule the former either through the instrumentality of the veto or by a corrupt exercise of patronage to the correction of the enormous evils of the one-man power general taylor stands distinctly pledged the moment this is done the great questions of public policy are taken out of the presidential canvass and are carried into the con gressional districts if the people desir a protective tariff the improvement of our harbors and rivers or any policy in regard to our territories they will elect members of congress accordingly this will relieve the legislation ofthe country from the malign influence of party and will be likely to give much greater stabil ity to snch measures as have a favorable bearing on the important interests of the country than has obtained for many years past 7 the influence ofthe name and char acter of general taylor will be quite cer tain to give us a congress whose views of public policy will accord with those of the \\ hig party in this respect he can do more lor the country than any man now living few of those who under take to pronounce so peremptorily on the question of the presidency have given this subject any consideration whatever while i am free to admit that mr clay ought to have been elected president long ago yet i think it certain that if he could now be brought successfully into the field he would have the two houses of congress to thwart and embarrass him during the whole of his presidential term any man who will consider the condition of the representation in both branches of congress from thexorthwestern western and southwestern states must admit the truth of this remark i want a whig president a whig senate and a whig house of representatives ; and gencr al taylor being strong in those parts of the union where we are weak will fa vor in a high degree so desirable a communication s in short i believe that all denart ments of the government will become conservative under the auspices of gen eral taylor that he will administer the executive department in that spirit no man can doubt ; and this makes him a good whig enough for me he will take high conservative ground on all questions appertaining to our foreign re lations he will dispense the patron age of the government in a spirit of moderation he will be particularly cautious to see that justice is done to all sections in this regard and s fo questions appertaining to our demestic policy he will tollow the example of the earlier presidents and will throw them into congress what more can he desir ed by the just moderate and patriotic of the whig partv ? i doubt whether there has ever been assembled in this country a convention the proceedings of which were more just and fair in which there was less of man agement and intrigue than that which re cently assembled at philadelphia it was refreshing to meet from the farthest ex tremerity of our widespread union good and true hearted whigs who had incurr ed the fatigue and the expense ofa jour ney of many hundred miles to participate in our consultations all seemed to be actuated by the best spirit and anxious for the success of the common cause it is true there were strong differences of opinion among the members honestly en tertained and respectfully and kindly ex pressed and these differences were sub mitted to the proper arbiter voluntarily constituted and preeminently worthy of the confidence of all the result was the nomination of general zachary tay lor as the whi candidate for the pn sidency and by lhe blessing of god he will be e lected whoever may bolt the track i accord fully in the opinions recently expressed by the hon c c cambreleng in a political assembly as follows : the great object of the wise men of the capital for three years past has been to make a president they have labor ed day and night zealously and assiduous ly and have succeeded admirably and triumphantly they have most effectu ally accomplished their object ; they have by their own acts made a president of the i nited slates but it happens not to be the man nor either of the men ihey in tended it is neither the president nor any of his cabinet nor is it the conserva tive nominee ofthe baltimore convention from the first roll of the drum at palo alto through all our splendid victories to the final and glorious conquest of mex ico the president and his cabinet have labored to male zachary tat/lor presi dent of the united slates it matters not whether he is from the north the south the east or the west nor how he gets into the field whether supported by volunteers or regulars once in the field the man who hash the heart of the nation with him is irresislable and must inevitably triumph and why should it be so when the real issue to which we are brought is whet ii er lewis cass or zachary taylor shall be the next president ofthe united state ' i desire to say nothing disrespectful of gen cass but his career in congress particularly on the oregon question and the mexican war are too well known to render mistake possible as to what will be the tendency of an administration of which he shall be the chief unfortun ately he is one of those who think they can find inexaustible fund or source of popularity in the belligerent propensities ofthe american people war war has been incessantly on his lips for years past i trust that whigs every where will pon der well on the consequences which re sulted from third partv organization in 1841 did it not elect mr polk over throw the tariff of 1842 re-enact an odious and oppressive subtreasury annex texas involve us in the war with mex ico commit twenty-live thousand amer ican citizens to a premature grave and squander over one hundred and fifty mil lions ofthe public treasure ? does not a large share of the responsibility of all these evils lie at the door of those who by a third party movement defeated mr clay .' whoever takes a similar course now will incur dread responsibilities \\ hat if war again should follow from it ; the annexation of cuba or indefinite ex tension on the side of mexico ' 1 cannot believe that any such suicidal policy will be pursued no : the hour of retribution has come and those who have heen gam bling with war in reference to the presi dency will find themselves put down by a man who by his noble conduct and bril liant exploits has raised himself to the level of the most eminent commanders of modern times let us now elect gen taylor president and aspirants for that high ollice will be little inclined hereafter '• to make of war and its bloody front a game of politics 1 declare my utmost confidence in gen taylor i feel that i have a thorough in sight into his principles and his character as he is an honest man 1 confide in him as he is a moderate man i respect him ; as he is a humane man i admire him : as he is a man of unsurpassed bravery salisbury n c thursday july 6 1848 bruner & james ) editors 4 proprietors j " keep a tk all t0ue do this a xbl ee rtv iss.fi i e series gen i harrison volume v — number 10