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"will I be nominated by a Caucus."* And the smile of bitterest scorn was revealed on the reproachful lip of the noble South Carolinian.

Never was man so adored as Calhoun by his State. "South Carolina alone stood by me." "She is my dear and honoured State." "South Carolina has never mistrusted nor forsaken me.”

as an inducement, that, in the event of a tie, the bill would be defeated without his vote. He promptly refused, and replied that no consideration could prevent him from remaining and doing his duty by voting against it; but added, it should not hurt General Jackson's election, for in that event his name should be withdrawn from the ticket as Vice-President. Such was the interest he took in his success, end so strong, and, at the same time, so patriotic, was his opposition to the bill of abominations; and yet many have been so unjust as to attribute his after opposition to the bill to disappointed ambition. On the contrary, he was ready to sacrifice every object of ambition, at a time when not a cloud darkened his prospects, to defeat a measure he believed to be so fraught with mischief. He was then the second officer in the Government, and stood, without opposition, for re-election to the same place, on the ticket of General Jackson, whose success was then certain; nor was there any other man in the party of equal prominence and popularity, except the General himself. Nothing was wanting on his part but to accommodate himself to the course of events, without regard to their effects on the country, to have attained the highest office, which lay within a single step from the place where he then stood. This he could not but plainly see; but his resisting temptation on this occasion is but one instance of self sacrifice among many in a long life, the whole course of which abundantly proves that office, even the highest, has ever been with him subordinate to his sense of duty and the public welfare."

*

A Caucus is a Convention assembled to nominate the candidates for the Presidency.

"Mine she faithfully has ever been." And as he hung upon her memory and her devotion, her Statesman evinced the tenderness and pride with which a lover dwells upon the constancy of his mistress. His breath came quick and short, his proud head was flung back, and his voice was subdued by emotion.

At this moment he is the most powerful man in the Union, and holds the most commanding and dignified position, from the success of the measures he has advocated, and the correctness with which his predictions have been verified;—

Peace and Free Trade are achieved; and
Mexico is still unconquered; and

Calhoun is Lord of the Ascendant.

Such is this great citizen and Statesman. So exalted in genius, so excellent in virtue; I part from him now with sorrow, as I did before in Washington, when he twice returned to say— Farewell-before he left me; but well I know, that however distant from him and from his country, I shall ever hold fast my place in his memory and in his affections. His sentiments and character,

LL

as

I trace them in his speeches, form a portion

of my daily study.

EXTRACT

FROM SPEECH ON THE RESTRICTIVE SYSTEM.

"The restrictive system," he said, “as a mode of resistance, or as a means of obtaining redress, has never been a favourite one with me. I wish not to censure the motives which dictated it, or attribute weakness to those who first resorted to it for a restoration of our rights. But, I object to the restrictive system because it does not suit the genius of the people, or that of our Government, or the geographical character of our country. We are a people essentially active; I may say we are pre-eminently so. No passive system can suit such a people; in action superior to all others, in patient endurance inferior to none. Nor does it suit the genius of our Government. Our Government is founded on freedom, and hates coercion. To make the restrictive system effective, requires the most arbitrary laws. England, with the severest

penal statutes, has not been able to exclude prohibited articles; and Napoleon, with all his power and vigilance, was obliged to resort to the most barbarous laws to enforce his Continental system."

After showing how the whole mercantile community must become corrupt by the temptations and facilities for smuggling, and how the public opinion of the commercial community (upon which the system must depend for its enforcement,) becomes opposed to it, and gives sanction to its violation, he proceeds—

"But there are other objections to the system. It renders Government odious. The farmer inquires why he gets no more for his produce, and he is told it is owing to the embargo, or commercial restrictions. In this he sees only the hand of his own Government, and not the acts of violence and injustice which this system is intended to counteract. His censures fall on the Government. This is an unhappy state of the public mind; and even, I might say, in a Government resting essentially on public opinion, a dangerous one. In war it is different. Its privation, it is true, may be equal or greater; but the public

mind, under the strong impulses of that state of things, becomes steeled against sufferings. The difference is almost infinite between the passive and active state of the mind. Tie down a hero, and he feels the puncture of a pin; throw him into battle, and he is almost insensible to vital gashes. So in war. Impelled alternately by hope and fear, stimulated by revenge, depressed by shame, or elevated by victory, the people become invincible. No privation can shake their fortitude; no calamity break their spirit. Even when equally successful, the contrast between the two systems is striking. War and restriction may leave the country equally exhausted; but the latter not only leaves you poor, but, even when successful, dispirited, divided, discontented, with diminished patriotism, and the morals of a considerable portion In that of your people corrupted. Not so in war. state, the common danger unites all, strengthens the bonds of society, and feeds the flame of patriotism. The national character mounts to energy. In exchange for the expenses and privations of war, you obtain military and naval skill, and a more perfect organization of such parts of your

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