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Show . u· ae it appears to me, is con .. Buffalo, whose object, or wh?~e ~am o ..,i~~~~ I have mentioned; and that tained in one of those conslc era~IOIH! \ f lavery An object in which is, the prevention of the /unherl J~cre~:e ~nt~rely ~ncur with them, I am you and 1, gentlemen, so ,ar as t 13 go ' sure. are Whi :; National Whigs, Massachu~ Most of us who are here to-day d M ffi'eld Whigs [C!tars]; nnd if sells W~igs, ~ld <?olony dWIHg~,h~'~delp~~~ lwere entire!). satisfacto_ry to the the Whig nomanatJOn rna e at th of duty would be plam. people of Mas~ach.usetts and to.us, o~rr~~e Presidency made by the Whig But the nommatlon of a _ca~dldatc ~ fr t y to the Whigs of MassachuConvention at Ph~ladelplll~, IS n~Js~us.~~ o;o attempt to conceal the fact. sells; that is certam: and It wou . ~ I 't~s more manly and practical, to It is now more just and mor~ patnot~c, I I e and to deduce our own con .. take facts as they are, and tl~mgs as t leY ar , ' viction of duty from what exi~t~ bef~~~ ~~s._ the line of his own'profession, However respectable ant.l dl_stmgu~s.le mGen Taylor is a military man, 'Of howe\•er estimable as a pnvate hcltlfe~, no t;ainiug in civil affairs. H.e and a military man mer~ly. I[e ci=~l J::ture under the Consli_tution o! has has performed no functions 0 a d . k only by his brilliant acluevecountry. He has been known> an IS nown, ments at the head of an army. d I amana them are of opinion Now the Whigs of Ma~sachusetts, ~n to the arr::y for tl;e selection of a that it wa~ not wise, n?r dascreetil!~ tJnited States. It is the first instance candidate for the Prestdency of f "litary character has been pro· in oor hislory in which any man o mere mt posed for that high oflice. T 1 racter. but by far a grenter civil Gen. \Vashington was a great m~I~aryl c laouncil~ of his country from the character. He had been employe I-t \le de been in the Continental Conearliest dawn of the RevolutiOn. I e ;a for civil wisdom and judgment. gress he had established a great c lar~c ~r d a member of that Convention Afte; the war, as you k~ow~ he ~v~~~= Un~ted States; and it is one of the which formed the ~onstatutwn o id to him that by that assembly of good most honorable tnbutes ever pa reside o~·er their deliberations. And he and wise men he was selected to P I Constitution under which we live._ put his name first _and foremost,d tot ~~d· and at different periods of Ins President [-Jarnson w~s. bre a ~o ter,B t President Harrison, neverlife rendered important mahtary ser;:~:J·of h~s life, employed in civil, ~l~nn theless, was, for_ a much greater p , I e was either Go\'ernor of a I er~ i~ military service. For htw::;,t!r lie:~:e ~f Congress, or Minister abroad; ntory, member of one or t e . t the satisfaction of his country. . and discharged all these duties 0. If ' "thout a precedent or justificatton This cas~, th~refore, sta~ds b~i~~~~ _; 'i~ is for this reason, as 1 it~ag~ne, from any thwg tn our previous /I d" atisfied with this nonnnatton. that the Whigs of Massachusetts ee ISS erha s of less impore There may be others, there are oth~rs; ~h~yt~[se, i~ a w~ll~founded objectance and ~ore easi~y. to _be a~~wer\;ve p~evailed, and to h:n·c prevented tion ; an~ ~~ my opmton It ouo l~ to f history to see the dangerous tendenthis nommataon. I kn~\~ el~ou; lufarit cy of such resorts to m1htar} P P. Y· . I may now \'enture to say, But, if I may borrow a merc~nule express~~~ im~artiality with which I that there is another side to thls acco~mtd to consider of that. And propose to discharg~ f!lY duty to--d~~~ r:~ ~h~teGen. Taylor has been nomi~ in the first pla_ce, It IS to_ be cho7~' e. 'onformity with the usages of .the nated by a Whtg ConventiOn, o en m c 5 Whig party, and f:1irly nominated, so far as I know. It is to be considered, also, that he ii the only Whig before the people, as a candidate for the Presidency; and no citizen of the country, with any effect, can vote for any other Whig, let his preference:J be what they might or may. In the next place, it is proper to consider the personal character of Gen. Taylor, and his political opinions, relations and connections, so far as they ore known. Now, gentlemen, in advancing to a few observations on this part of the -ease, I wish every body to understand that I have no personal acquaintance whatever with Gen. Taylor. I never saw him but once, and that but for a few moments in the Senate. The sources of iuformation are open to you, as well as to me, from which I derive what I know of his -character and opinions. But I have endeavored to obtain access to those sources. I have endeavored to inform and instruct myself by communication with those who have lwown h1m in his profession as a soldier, in his associations as a man, in his conversations and opinions on political subjects; and I will tell you frankly what I think of him, according to the best lights which I have been able to obtnin. I need not say, that he is a skillful, brave and gallant soldier. That is admitted by all. With me, all that goes but very little way to make out the proper qualifications for President of the United States. But what is more important, I believe that he is an entirely honest and upright man. I believe that he is modest, clear-headed, of independent and manly character, possessing a mind trained by proper discipline and sclf:control. I believe that he is estimable and amiable in all the relations of private life. [ believe that he possesses a reputation for equity and fair judgment, which gives him an iufluence over those under his command, beyond what is conferred by the authority of station. I believe that he is a mau possessing the confidence and attachment of all who have been Hear him and know him. And I believe, that if elected President, he will do his best to relieve the country from present evils, and guard it against future dangers. So much for what I think of the personal character of Gen. Taylor. I will say, too, that so far as I have observed, his conduct since he has been a candidate for the office of President, has been irreproachable. I hear no intrigue imputed to him, no contumelious treatmeut of rivals. I do not find him making promises or holding out hopes to any men or any party. I do not find him putting forth any pretensions of his own, and therefore I think of him very much as he seems to think of himsell: that he is an honest man, of an independent mind and of upright intentions. And as to his qualifications for the Presidency, he has himself nothing to say about it. And now, friends and fellow townsmen, with respect to his political opinions and relations, I can say at once, that I believe him to be a Whig; I believe him to hold to the main doctrines of the Whig party. To think otherwise, would be to impute to him a degree of tergiversation ond fraudulent deception, of which I suppose him to be entirely incapable. Gentlemen, it is worth our while to consider in what manner General Taylor has become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. It would be a great mistal<e to suppose that he was made such merely !'Y the nomination of the Philadelphia. Couvention; for he had been nommated for the Presidency in a great many States, by varlous conventions and meetings of the people, a year before the Convention at Philadelphia assembled. 1. |