ItimoiS • ^ SURVEY LETTER Oif* THE HON. J. REYNOLDSOF ILLINOIS^ TO HIS CONSTITUENTS., CITY OP WASHINGTON, JUNE, 1840. / WASKIN^VTON: ^INT^2 AT TH& QLOBB OFFICE. ' 184a ■i ?:?5. * -■ LETTER OF THE HON. J BEYNOLDS OP ILUNOfS ni TO MY CONSTITUENTS. This session of Congress is likely to be so much protracted beyond the usual time of adjournment, that I fear I shall not soon have the pleasure to see, you, and render to you an .account of my pubhc conduct. On this consideration, I deem it my duty to correspond with you frankly and freely on all im- portant measures that come before Congress. It is well known to you, that two parties exist in Congress as well as ihoughout the Union. These parties are firm and stable m their political doc- trines, and at the same time are based on very dif- ferent principles. They are both very decided and firm in carrying out ihe principles and the mea- sures on which each party is founded. The paity in opposition to Democratic principles, in and out of Congress, have presented to Congress two very im- portant measures, to which I am utterly opposed. One is, to circumscribe, or repeal the na- turalization laws, and thereby to deprive foreign- ers of the benefits and blessings of our free Go- Ternment. The other is to preclude the Govern- ment officers from exercising their privileges like other citizens in matters relating to elections. These measures seem to me to be extremely important, so that I consider it to be my duty to present them to you for your consideration. You will readily brins; to your recollection, that the "alien and sedition" laws of 1798, enacted un- der the Administration of John Adams by the Federal party, formed much of the basis of the po- litical contest of that day between the two parties. The investigation and arguments against these laws are recorded in the Virginia and Kentucky re- solutions of 1798 and '99, and in Mr. Madison's report. They aflbrd us the great landmarks of the paities of that day, and which, in my judg- ment, have been substantially revived in the two measures above men.ioned. In order that I may not be mistaken in these matters, and to submit the whole for your judg- ment and consideration, I v.fiU present lo you the "alien and sedition laws" of 1793, and some of the petitions and bills of the present day, so that you will be the better able to judge on them correctly, and see that the measures are substantially the same. "AN ACT CONCERNING ALIENS, "^nd ht it enacted, 4c. That it shall be lawful for the Pre- sident of the United States, at any time durin; the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as lie shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of theJCnited States, or shall have re*v: sfinable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonabi ' or secret machinations against the Government thereof, to part out of the territory of the United States, within such.i tax as shall be expressed in such older; which order shallbe ' served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leav' ing the same at his usual abode, and relumed to the officeDi the Secretary of State, by the marshal, or other person.c whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within tfie United Slates after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained su„h license, shall not have con- formed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United" States. "Approved, .Tune 25, 1798.'' (In force for two years.) Second section of the Sediti»n law of 1798: "And be it further enacted, That if any person shall write, print, utter, or publish, or shall cause or procure to be writtenv printed, uttered, or published, or shall, knowingly and willing ly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering, or publishing, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings, against the Government of the United States, or either House of the Con- gress of the United States, or the President of the United Stated, with intent to defame the said Government, or either House of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them, or either of theni, into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against, them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the good peo- ple of the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United Slates; or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, for op- posing or resisting anv law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the Constitution of the United States; or to resist, oppose, or defeat, any such law or act; or to aid, encourage, or abet, any hostile designs of any foreign nation against the United States, their people, or Go- verntneat, then such person, being thereof convicted before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years. "Approved, July 14, 1793?' (To be in force until the 3d March, 1801.) Petition from Illinois, presented to the House of Representatives on the 6th of February, 1840, by the honorable Mr. Sluart, Representative m Con- gress from Illinois, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary: "To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives or the United Stales of America in Congress asambled: "FELLOw-CrrizENs: The petitioa of the undersigned citizentf of the United States, and of the State of Illinois, respectfully shows theirbelief, that time has fulfilled the object had in vi.ew by our fathers at the period of adopting the Constitution, when they gave the Consresa the powei of passing laws for the natu- ralization of foreigners; and your petitioners also show their be- lief, that the farther admission of foreigners to a participation in the political rights of native Americans, would be hurtful U> the interest of our country, ami if continued will, sooner or later, prove destructive to our Republican institutions. Yeur petitioners, therefore, ask the attention of your honorable body to the various petitions for a repeal of the naturalizaliou law^ which have been formerly presented to your honorable body; and they farther ask your honorable body to repeal entirely the laws which now exist in regard to the naluraliiation »f foreigners. . . . o. .^ m. Cepy of the bill presented m the Senate by Mr. Crittenden: A BILL to prevent the interposition of certain Federal oflkers in elections. To tlie end that the great powers given to the officers of the Fe- deral GovernmcDt, and other persons employed in its service, may not be used for the influencing o( elections, which ought to be tree and incorrupt — Be it enacted by the Senate and Houan of Representatives vfthe United States of America in Congress assembled, Thai from and after the fiis"t day ol April, in the year one thousand «ight hundred and ihiiivninc, no marshal or deputy marshal, no postmaster or deputy postmaster, no receiver or resistor o; a Jand office, or any of their deputies or clerks, no surveyor gene- ral of the public lands, or any of his deputies or assistants, no collector, surveyor, naval officer, weigher, gauger, appraiser, or other officer or person whatsoever concerned or en.ploycd in the charging, collectin?, levying, or manaaing the cu.stoms, or any branch or pan thereof, no engineer, officer, or agent employed or concerned in the execution or superintendence of any of the public works, shall, by word, message, or writing, or in any other manner whatsoever, endeavor to persuade any elector to give, or dissuade any elector frnnr giving, his vote for the choice of any person to be elector of President and Vice President of these United Stales, or for the cheice of any person to be a Sena tor or Representative in the Congress of the said United States, or for the choice of any person to be Governor or Lieutenant Governor ofany State, or of any person to ')e a Representative or member in the Legislative Department of any State of this ilTnion, or for the choice ofany person to serve in any public office established by the law of any of said States; norshall any such officer or person intermeddle in any of the elections above mentioned, or use any means with intent to influence or control thesame, otherwise than by giving his own vote; and every person ofiending therein shall forfeit the sum of five hun- dred dollars; one inoieiy thereof to the informer, and the other Mioiety thereof to the United States aforesaid, to be recovered, with costs of suit, by any person that shall sue for the sairie, by action of debt, bill, or plaint in any of the district or circuit courts of the TInited States; and every person convicted, on any atich su't, of the said otfence, shall thereby become disabled and incapable o/ ever bearing or executing any office or place of trust whatsoever under the said United States. I will lay before you the first section of the fol- lowing' bill, pre.'^ented in ihe House of Representa- tives by Mr. Bell, which contains the subject I wish to present to you. A BILL to secure the freedom of elections, and to provide more eflectually for the taithlul administration of Executive patronage. '^^Be ite7iactedhy the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress oji- aembled, That from and after the first day of July next, no offi- cer, agent, or contractor, nr other person holding any office or emplovment of trust or profit underthe Constitution and laviTS of the United States, shall, by the contribution of money or other valuable thing, or by the use of the franking privilege, or the abuse ofany other oflicial privilege or function, orby threats and menaces, or in any other manner, inti'rmeddle with the electiotf of any member or members of either House of Con gress, of of the President or Vice President of the United States, or of the Governoror other oliirer ofany State, or ofany mem T)er orineii»bers of the Legislature ofany Slate; and every such officer or o;her person otlending therein, shall he held to be guilty of a high misdemeanor; and, iipon conviction in any court of ihe United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall pa? a ''"e not e.xceeding one thousand dollars; Provided, That nothing iierein contained shall be so ccnsinied as to interfere with the 1 isht of suflr.ige, as secured by the Constitution: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall so operate as to prevent the President, or the head of any Department who is vested by law with 'he power of appointing inferior officers, from removing from office, at any time, any incumbent who the President or lire head of a Department, as the case may t)e. shall be .satisfied has intermeddled in any election. State or Fe- tablishirg aSenate and Pre.«idenf for life, (he appo ntment by the General Governmeni of the Governors of the States, and a veto on State laws. These facts are stated not to disturb the ashes of the illustrious dead, but to enable you, my constitU' ents, to judge for yourselves on the merit of those two great contending parties. Many of ihe leaders of this party had been the most active and efficient in achieving our Revolution: and for this we honor and respect them. For their political opinioni we also entertain a becoming respect: but at the same time are satisfied, they were in a most egregious error. This was not at all surprising:. The most wise and best men might have been mistaken at that day. There was ho practical form of free Government before them for a model, and they had been for many years experiencing and observing the system and forms of the British Government. It was na- tural for them, without the light of experience t'^ guide ihem, to adopt much of the principles of that Government. Now it is different. At this day, to adopt the policy of the British Government, is sin- ning with experience, light, and knowledge, before your eyes= These two acts, the alien and sedition laws, more than any other, gave rise to that celebrated political contest, which resulted in this election of Thomas Jefferson and the over throw of the Federal party. On the downfall of this party, was raised the Demo- cratic church, which has, since its first erection, withstood the shocks of all its enemies, and I hope will "flourish in immortal youth." It requires not a philosopher, or a divine, or even a lawyer, to see at once that the two measures in regard to the aliens . are substamially the same. In one case, the Pre- sident could order any "suspected" alien out of the country. In the other, case in the petition, aliens are su.spectcd in the fi.rst instance, and are not per- mitted to come into the country. One case, to drive off— the other, not to let come, must substantially be the same policy. In botli, ii was war and death to aliens. These resolutions of Virginia and Kentucky, and Mr. Madifon's report against the "Alien and Sedi- tion"' laws, bad not alone the sanction of the very sreat and wise men who presented them to the pub- lic, but they were also approved by the Legisla- tures of Virsinia and Kentucky, and afterwards by a majorify likewise of the American people. This last dicision was one of no ordinary cha- racter. The American people throughout the Union had the subject of the "Alien and Sedition" laws before them in discussion for a long time in the canvass for the Presidency; and after a fair and impartial trial, the decision was solemnly pro- nounced by a large majority of the people, that the principles on which these acts were founded were not only unconstitutional, but also that they were calculated to ruin and prostrate our free institu- tions, and introduce a monarchy. This .signal defeat and condemnation of the Federjil pariv, did not change the sentiments of the party. This fact is incontroveriibly established by the general and deep rotted hatred which th« leaders of the party eniertain at this time towards Mr. Jefferson and the Republican party of that day. . The abovementioned petition has to it about two hundred and fifty-six signers, and seems to have been lorwarded from Chicago, in the Slate of Ilh- nois, lo Mr. Sluart, in this city. Il is now in pos- session of the Committee on ihe Judiciary. I have presented more particularly this petition to you, as I was truly astonished that the doctrines of the old Alien law were abont to be revived in the State of Illinois; and I have no doubi you will be as much surprised as I am, to see the efforts making throus,hout the Union to levive this con- demned policy. The above petition is not Ihe only one presented to Congress during this and the former 5es>ions, on the subject of the- naioralizaiion laws. There arc so many prtsentf^d from different parts of the Union, that it seems !o be a concerted attack on foreigners, and a settled determination to circum- scribe, or prevent entirely, the future naturalization of aliens. This opinion is slrenjjihened by the course of policy observed in the two great Stales of New York and Pennsylvania. The last General As- sembly of the Slate of New York, when it wa>; under the domination of th« Federal party, enacted a registration law for the city of New Yurk. This act imposes on the people ol that city more trouble and more labor than is required in any other sec- tion of the State, to enable them to exercise the r privilege of voting. The sane p licy was adopted by Governor Ritner and party, when they were in power in the State ot Pennsylvania, iu regard to the city of Philadelphia. The Democratic party, under the administiaiion of Governor Porter, re- pealed the registration law,-;, and the State is once more free Irom this Federal yoke of bondage. These laws, requiring reaititiatinn before a free man can exerci>e his sovereign privilege of voting. seems not only unjuf t and opp.es?ive, but likewise unconstitutional. It is contrary to the spirit of our institutions to make this invidious disimclion be- tween cne sec'.ion of the same State and another, and that, too, to punish foreiiiuers, who are legally naturalized. If the Legislature has this power, they can make a property qualification, or any ether they please, so that a foreigner, or a poor man, may be entirely excluded from voting. Societies are formed in many of the cities in Ihe Union expressly for the purpose of obtaining from Congress the repeal of all the natrualizaticn laws. and in future to prevent foreigners from partici- pating in our free institutions. I have before me an address of a committee of upwards of one hundred names, which is made to "the citizen^ of Louisiana and the inhabitan s ol the United States.'' This is from the "Louisiana Native American Association." I wdl lay before you a few exlrac;s from this address, to exhibit to you the temper and leelings o( thai society: "In ancient times a Roman citizen was a title of honor,, and a passport thioughoui Ihe world; hut it our naiural'zaiion laws and their concomitants con- tinue mucn longer, the name of an Ainencin citi- zen will become a by-wo;d — a .•^corn — a hissing, and a reproach throughout ail the niiions of the earth." In ihe «ame page, 18, the commillee say: "We will now conclude thisadnre>.s by iieclarina it as our solemn and unalterable deieimioaiion never to abandon this great and holy cauie — never to suspend our effort5, antil the naturalization laws are repealed." "T e present Executive of the Slate of New York, Governor Seward, in his inaugural message, says: 'There is another roource which is ours, neither by inheritance nor by purchase, nor by vio- lence nor by fraud. It is ihe labor, ihe incalcula- ble labor of the Europ°an States.' The truth o£ ths sta'ement every native American is proud to admit; it i--, indeed, by their labor, and by that only, that foieisners render any service to the United States; and it is the duty, as it is the just preroga • live of the American people, Vo confine them ta this, their only proper vocation in our country."' It is startling to a patriot to see such '•eniiments seriou>ly and solemnly promulgated from a whole "association" of men. It is founded on the old Federal doctrine of "g'^nilemen and simple men" — one class to work, and the others to enjoy it. The sentiment of ihe Whis Governor of New York is ipized upon by the address as a delicious morsel. It is much worse than the alien la^v — there is something noble in that, in ccmparisom with thi5 sentiment. Under the alien act, if the Pi evident Jid not ihink it right to retain a foreigner, he could, order him out of the country. This provision would retain fore gners amongst us, to work for ws Ike ca'tle or negroes, which the ad'lress says is ■'their only proper vocation in th'? country.'* Is this the sentiment of liberty and free !om1 or is this the glorious senlim.»nt, that "all ni'n are borm free and equal," which we find in the Declaration of Independence? These suggestion*' ate left for your decision. I would .isk my conf lituenls if this be not a kind of holy war against foreigners. In the 19th page of the same work, the committee are piepdringfor death or vicory. They say: "If America has reared temples and al'ars to li- berty, and she requires victims, we are prepared for the| acrifice." This reminds me of the story of the musquito on ihe sterri of a steamboat go ng up the Missis- sippi — it said, "Lord ! how I make his boat go." I will close the«e exTdc's with the following: "Their united voice must and will be heard, and responded to by Congress — we must and will be protected from foreign influence by a cessation of indi^cr'miucte immigration and naturalization of fo- reigners." From these extracts we can readily see the ten\- per of this society — they breathe vengeance and. slaughter against a!:ens. Judging from the expressions of ihis address — from the ac's of the States o( Pennsylvania and New York, and from the various petiiio.os present- ed to Congress, we are forced to believe that a. party throughout the Union are determined to re- ;iea! all nUarafza-ion laws, and preclude any fur- ther einigrat on of foreigners to our c nintry. To a't-.'r and change this policy, which has done, so mu'jh 20od to the country in every respect, ia my opinion, i: to sirilte a deadly blow at our pros- pp'iy itself. No country on the globe ha.s equalled in the "^amc lane the rapid incroase of pnpulj. inn, the prosperity and happiness of the people, which have been exp.^iienced in the United Stales since its independence. This unparalleled advance of the Govemment on the great bcale ot nations was increased and insured in no small degree by the wise and patriotic laws naturalizing foreigaers. A great portion of the territory forming the United Slates, which ex- tends across the" continent from the Atlantic to to the Pac fie ocean, and from the Gulf of Mexico, far beyond the sources of the Misassippi, would re- main for ages a wilderness-, wit.iout inhabitants, was it not for the great immigration of hardy and enterprising foreigners. In comparison t;-. the an- tiquity of the nations of Europe were all ' new comers" in the United States. We are of recent growth ourselves. It is a short time m relation «o the long existence of other nations since the first pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and it is short indeed as to other nations, since we de- clared our independence. Would it not be cruel to exclude a Frenchman from the enjoyment ol the same liberty and independence, which his nation so signally assisted us in obtainin? m the Revolu- tion'? Could we deny the descendants of L'^fayette a place among usi The same may be said of al- most of all the nations of Europe; fur most them assisted us in our Revolution with either men or money. Who could reconcile it to his con- science to exclude from our country an Emmett, who had witneesed the flower of his own country- men fall, not a few, but in masses in, their noble struggle for freedom; and he himsfli', on account ot bis free principles, was foiced to become an exile. Under these circumstances, who would deny Em- mett a resting place in our land? The same may be said of thousands and thou- sands of other emigrants from Europe, that fled from the tyranny and oppre^^sicrn of the old world to seek liberty and freedim in the new. Ii would be extremely unwise, and injurious to ms, to exclude the prudent, laborious, and patri- otic Germans, and others of the same honest cast aad deportment, fiom our borders. Moreover, it ■would be unjust and oppressive to retain them m our own country, tax their property, make them work on roads, &c. and then not permit thom to enjoy all the blessings of a free Government. Some of these emigrants may annoy the exqui- site sensibilities of the long haired dandir's in our large cities; but the foreigners will soon find it to their advantage to retire back in the country, and there make good farmers or mechanics. This country presents to man the only free Go- vernment on earth; and one party are making at- tempts to prevent those that are ground to the du?.t by the tyranny and oppression of other Govern- ments, from enjoying the blessings of our "free in- stitutions." It does seem to me that our indepen- dence and Government were not exclusively esta- blished for those that were in it at the time, but that it was created, under the guidance of the great Architect of Nations, for the oppressed ot all climes and countries, who would conform to our laws and institutions; and, in "the full tide of suc- cessful experiment," and in the days of mental and other improvements in tie condition of maii, one party in the United States is disposed, by rigid en- actments of laws, to exclude from our borders all foreigaers, no matter how intelligent, how honest, or how much oppressed they may be. The intelli- gent and generous people of the United States will never consent to .such illiberal policy. For my own part, I would much raher shorten than pr«- loDg the lime in which to naturalize foreigners. 1 will therefore support the bill which is now before the House of Repie^entatives, to reduce the time, with proper guards, to two years. Permit me, before I close this branch of the sub- ject to lay before you the 9 h resolution, adopted in the late Democratic convention at Baliiraore. This expression of the sentiments of the Demo- cratic party, throughout the Union, will be found m the proceedings of the convention of the bth May, and is honorable to the hearts and heads of the party that will continue this wise and venerable creed of the Democratic church of '98: "9 Resolced, That the liberal principles embodied by Jetter son m the Declaration of Indep.adence ^"d ^^""'""ffj^^Vs^ Con^^titution, whuh make ourd the land of ''be"), and ihc asy lum of ihe oppressed of every nat on, have ever been cardmaV nrinciples in the. Democrauc faiih; and every attempt w abdge -he present privilege of becoming .^"'^^"^V."!"'^,'^^ owne?s of soi among u^, ought to be resisted, with the sarne siTirii which «werc the alien and sedition laws from our statute ^^°^'' THE SEDITION ACT. On ''ivine thete two mea^ures, the bills recently introduced to Congress, and the "sedition law," a fair and equitable comparison, the ConsUtution is, in my opinion, more pa'pably violated by ihe.e bills, than by the "sedition" act itself. One bill states, "or person intermeddle in any of the elections above mentioned, or use any means with inten to influence or control the same." The other holds this lan^rua.'^e, "or in anv other manner inlermea- dle with the dections of," &c. Those expressions most manifestly show that no officer was to speak or write any thin- in relation to an election. Ihis is much worse than the sedition law; that only pro- hibited falsehood from being published; this prohr- bits the truth as well as well as falsehood Ac- cording to the provisions in these bills, all Federal officers were disfranchised, and their righ's and pri- vileges as Americpin citizens were torn from them- I conceive it neither gives man more or les, rights as a citizen, to appoint hi.n an officer under the United States Government. He is still an Ame- rican citizen, which is, in my opinion, nature s no- ^' TlTe^Constitution of the United States contains this most essential and wise provison m the Qrst article of the amendments: that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ot reli- gion, or prohibiting the f.ee exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech orot the pres?, &c. It woidd seem to me, .hat all mankind would come to the same conclusion at once on ih.s sub- iect. that the provisions contained in these Diiis were palpable infractions of the (institution. Iwillintroduc-toyou s.me J'^^acts from the Virginia resolutions of '98, and from Mr Mad - son^s report, that establish .he unc.n>t,tut,onality of the Alien and Sedition ^^^\^:''^ ^^'"^Zf Z^. demn, m an em nent degree, their kindred mea sures recently introduced into Con-ress. Extract from the VirginU resnhu.ons, draxcn by Mr. "That the General Assembly doth Particularly protest against t)Owerno where delegated to the Federal Government, and -which, by uniting Legialativeand Judicial powers lo those of Ex- ecutive, Bubverta the general principles ol' free Government, as -well as »he partitular organization and positive provisions ef the Federal Constitution; and ihe other of which acts exercises In like manner a power not delegated by the Constitution; but, on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto— a power which, more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is levelled against the right of freely examining public cliaraclers and ineasures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed the only elfectual guardian of every other right." If the "sedition " act of 1798 ought to "produce tiniversal alaim " at that day, what ought the saoie measures, contained in these bills, " produce " at /this day, when our rights are much better under- Moodl The conclusion must be " universal alarm." t3ne bill was introduced into the Senate, and the other Into the House, at two different sessions of Congress, with some slight alieraiions. These moves in both Houses ot Congress, show a de- termined and systematic plan of operation to carry this favorite measure, and to deprive one class of our citizens of their rights of speech and of the press, while the other measure, the repeal of the naturalization law, would exclude < the further admission of all classes of foreigners from our coun- Iry. Mr. Madison, in his report on the Virginia reso- lutions, speaking of the act of raiificatiou of the Constitution of the United IStates by the convention of Virginia, uses this strong language: "There is an express and solemn declaration by the conven- limi ef the State, that they ratify the Constitution in the sense, thatfno righi of any denomination can be cancelled, bridged, -restrained, or modified, by the Government of the Uimed States, or any part of it, except in those instances in which power is given by the Constitution, and in the sense paiticuiarly; that among other essential rights, the liberty of conscience and free- dom of the press cannot be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or inoditied by any authority of the United States." It is evident, from this view of the Constitution, that no person, let him be officer or not, can be, by an act of Congress, denied the use of the press or of speech. These recent measures are also most evident'y wrong in princip'e, as well as they are unconstitu- tional. It would be unnatural and unjust to re- strain an officer,more than another individual, from defending himself when he is attacked. Self-de- fence is \he first law of nature. No law ought to be made to abridge or cancel this light. In what situation would a Federal officer be placed, sup- posing him to be a candidate, and aiiacked? Right or,wrong, he must be silent, or be would incur the penalty of the law, if these bills had passed. We then would see, what I never have seen, a dumb 4;andida'e. I can see nothing in an officer so crimi- nal in discussing the affairs of his country like other persons. State officers might as well be pre- vented as Federal. Who ever heard of a State or Federal officer having a padlock to his mouth? The honor of the invention is due to the Federal party of '98. There are more office seekers than office holders. If this advantage were given to .he outs, together with their superior numbers, it would be death to the ins, if they were not permitted to defend themselves. The "alien and sedition" laws were enacted by the Federal party when they were in power. The object of the party by the sedition law, was to re- strain the people from operating on them a^^ ^^^ Government. Now it is reversed. The Opposi- tion party are in the minority, and by their move- ments are seeking to restrain the officers of the Government from exercising 'heir privilpges in the elections. Change of situa'.ion has made it neces- sary to change the legisl.ition also. Now thej wish to restrain the officers, and in former times they restrained the people. The general object seems lo be the same — to establish the principles of the "alien and sedition" laws, and on these princi- ples to raise themselves into pawer on the ruins of Democracy. It is just to state that not all the member,"? of the Opposition party sustained in the House the bill which was rejected on the 20th May last; and it is albo proper to stale that not one cf the Democratic party voted for it. It is for you to say if these prin- ciples of the "alien and sedition law," whose qui- etus was administered to it in 1800, is now again to be revived, and made the basis of the new Har- rison administration of the Government. Are fo- reigners to be excluded, and Federal officers gagsred^ And for what? Is it to establish the old Federal doctiines of the "alien and sedition law?" The "sedition law," during the present session of Congress, received by both Houses of Congress another public condemnation, in the case of the heirs of the Hon. Matthew Lyon, deceased. A bill passed Congress refunding to the heirs $1,060 96 cents, with interest since 1799, for a fine imposed on Mr. Lyon for a breach ef the "sedition law." Thus it i« that this odious gag law is yet held in ut- ter contempt by the Congress of the American people. The Opposition party, besidps attempting to pre- vent ihe officers of the General Government from meddling in elections, charge the whole Democratic party as "the office holdets' party, "the spoils par- ty," etc. These charges they d'sreg.ird them- selves, when they are in power. When Governor Ritner and party came into power in Pennsylvania, the Dsmocrais were dismissed from office without ceremony. They were forced into the ranks of pri- vate citizens with a vengeance. The same course was pursued in the State of New York. I will lay before you an article from the Albany Argus, to show that the Opposition par- ty in that S^tte have no dislike to the "spoils," when they have the power to obtain them. Prom the Albany Argus of May 20. THE "SPOILS PARTY." This v/as the soubriquet ap[)lied to the Demscratic party by the present dominant Federal party in this State; and always accompanied by an expression of marked horror at the alleged doctrine of the " spoils." This was before their accession to power; and if they were to be believed, nothing could be more detestable, in their opinion, than the practice of the Democratic party to appoint a majority of their friends (it was by no means universal) to office. If the practice were detestable, what shall we think of the hypocrisy and insincerity which declaim against it, as eucb, and yet, the moment the power is within their grasp, adopt it, to an extent far exceeding the practice of auy paity in this country. Let us judge, by practical tests, who are emphatically the "spoils" party. Every Democrat within the reach of the Federal axe has been struck from office. Not a man has been spared The removals and appointments, of party ftiends exclusively, have been pushed to an extent unknown in the history of parties here or elsewhere. And this by a pany professing the utmost disinle- restednesa of object, and a profound abhorreace of the "epoila ' of office ! •TTi-Within little more than a year the Feberal party of thtsStaie underthe direction of tht- Albany .lnnto, hnve re- maved ;,nd"pP''i''ied =*EVEN HUNUUED AND SIXTY-ONE CIVIL OFFICERS, viz:— County Juilges 48 Com. of Liians Ml Suirogates Flour inspectors inspectors ofsoleleither Commissioners of deeds Blasters in Cliancery Examiners m do Supreme Court Coin. Inspectors of Lu mber do pot and pearl aslies do green hitles, &i;. do S;ate prison do salt Superhitend'ts on sail works Assistant State sealer Canal Comniissioners Canal appraisers flank directors .Notaries Public 88 Ins. of beef and pork Ju.stice of Peace Measurers o; Grain C'ullera of Staves Weigher?' of merchandize Ilealih officer