The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume V

71

scurely in the drudgc>ry of useful dulness, claiming no merit but can- dor, & aspiring to no honor, but to do good. Permit us, therefore, without the flourishes of a formal prolegomena, to introduce ourselves to notice, as plain unostentatious individuals, whose patriotism is superior to their poetry, and who are less the men of letters, than the lovers of liberty. It is upon the qualities of the heart rather than those of the head, that we ground our claims to patronage; & if foll_,. & selfishness Le not stronger than principle, we are certain our attach- ment to country and the cause of freedom will better bespeak the good will and .support of a virtuous & thinking community, than the flashes of wit, the finery of fancy, or the useless displays even of real genius. One of the "Collar" Senators from this State has recently delivered himself on the removal of the c1eposites; but on which side of the question he spoke-whether for or against the :Measure, we are not able -exactly to inform our readers. l\Jost likely he spoke alternately on both sides; sometimes pro and sometimes con- sometimes for the Bank, & sometimes against it; but always under all circumstances, in favor of the immortal hero, who gained the immortal Victory at New Orleans. His speech we have not, as yet, had the pleasure of reading; but two of the Washington papers, the Telegraph & the Examiner, state that he admitted in the course of the debate, that he, himself was friendly to the establishment of a National Bank; and that he would not have advised the removal of the c1eposites, This would seem to be going the full figure against the administration; but not so. He makes ample atonement for all that he says disapprobatory of the removal, by abusing the iJ1corruptible patriots of the Country, & lauding most fulsomely the old dotard at the head of affairs; and for what he says derogatory to the character of the Bank, he secures a forgiveness by the admission that the institution is both expedient & constitutional. The noble Senator had truly a difficult channel to navigate- Charybdis on the one side, & Sylla on the other. He had to praise the President for his conduct, lest he should fall under the ban of proscription; & yet it would not do to commit himself irretrieveably against the Bank, lest he should be called upon to settle the large amount which we be- lieve he owes the institution. His predicament was not dissimilar to that of a certain worthy aspirant, for a seat in our Legislature, who, when called upon to declare whether he was a Nullifier & a Troup man, or a Clarke consolidationist, responded to the call by stating, that "he was a true nullifier up to the hub, but not unto the shedding of blood; and that he was a Clarke man upon the score of economy, but a Troup :Man upon the high principles of honor." Now, although we have not read the speech of our office loving Senator, yet we judge from the •embar:.assing attitude in which he stood to the contending forces that his effort must have been just about as explicit, & as much to the point, as that of the aspiring gentleman above .alluded to. In sub- serviency to the administration, he was compellerl to say somethin{! in its defence, yet it appears that he could not approYe the ,·c>ry measure which he rof:e apparentl.r to defend; and cithl'r in fear of the Hank, or in remembrance of its clemency, he conic! not f!O entirely agni11~t the very institution which he was clri,·cn by :-ycophnnl·y to oppose mid de- nounce. • In such n situation, what betll•r could he clo thnn to s1wak fointly against the removnl of the cleposites, & fierl'ely for those who

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