'MM
JVo. 33.
HALIFAX, JV. 0. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1324.
TtfL J.
o)1! o ) S SCCR
THE "FREE PRESS,"
?y George Howard,
Is published every Friday, at
THREE DOLLARS per year,
(onsistins of 52 numbers, and in the
same proportion for a shorter pe
riod. Subscribers at liberty to dis
continue at any time, on paying ar
rearages. Advertisements inserted at fifty
rents per square, or less, for the
first insertion, and twenty-five cents
each continuance.
Letters addressed to the Editor
m ust b e p oat pa id.
ForP 'residential JZIeciws.
CRAWFORD TICKET.
Economy and Free Trade against
Prodigality and the Tariff.
John Paxton, of Rutherford. '
Meshack Franklin, Surry.
Robert Williamson, Lincoln.
James Legrand, Montgomery.
Abraham Philips, Rockingham.
Alexander Gray, Randolph.
Benj. H. Covington, Richmond.
Thomas Rufnn, Orange.
Nathaniel Jones, Wake.
John Hall, Warren.
George Outlaw, sen. Her tic
Charles E. Johnson, Chowan.
Tho's W. Blackledgc, Beaufort.
John Owen, Bladen.
Wm. lilackledge, sen. Lenoir.
PEOPLE'S TICKET.
Tor Gen. Andrew Jackson as Pre
sident. Gen. Vine Allen, of Craven.
.Tosiah Crudup, Esq. Wake.
James Mebane, Esq. Orange.
(Jen. Ed. B.Dudley, Aew Hanover.
Gen. Wm. A. Blount, Beaufort.
Walter F. Leake, Esq. Richmond.
Dr. Wm. Martin, Pasquotank.
Gen. Peter Forney, Lincoln.
William Drew, Esq. Halifax.
Col.W. B. Lockhart,Aorzawz;pn.
John Giles, Esq. Rowan.
Gen. Mont fort Stokes, Wilkes.
Augustin H. Shepherd, Stokes.
John M. Morehead, Esq. Guilford,
Col. Robert Love, Haywood.
COMMUmVA TIOJVS.
FOU THE FREE TRESS.
Mr. Howard:
Among' the extraordinary
productions which have been
called into existence by the
Presidential controversy, Jesse
Benton's pamphlet is certainly
entitled to a rank pre-eminently
conspicuous. - Yes, sir, o?ic of
"the intelligent and honest men
of Tennessee," despight the pis
tol, the dagger, and "apparent
martyrdom," has declared at
this late hour, that Gen. JACK
SON "is unfit by temper, talent
and disposition," for the exalted
station which awaits him. It is
not surprising that a personal
enemy, a man who has frequent
ly attempted the life of Gen. J.
should resort to such a desper
ate measure to defeat his "pro
jected elevation;" but 1 hat those
Jlaming jflrros, who some
few months past were so feel
ingly alive to the reputation of
uar public men, should now
give currency to this ivondcr
ful production, is assuredlymat
ter of asonishment. But, say
they, this is& different case.
Mark the difference: A man
vho had been Governor of a
State, Senator in Congress, and
then held the appointment of
Minister to Mexico,, charged a
cabinet counsellor, the Head of
the Treasury Department, with
malfeasance in office: the speci
fications were to lie substantia
ted or refuted by public docu
ments, the judges were the Na
tional Representation in Con
gress assembled, and the charges
vere exhibited six or eiht
months previous to the election,
,n i: . . ' 1
unuiuui" auincient time tor am
ple justification or condemna
tion. iov the reverse: a man
unknown to fame, save as the
brother ol a Senator,has congre
gated in a mighty mass all that
history, tradition, report, sur
mise, and we may add envy and
malice, can array against the
pretensions of Gen. Jackson;
nay even the misconduct of his
connexions, his friends, and his
partizans, are paraded against
him these, on the eve of the
election, are circulated with ea
ger avidity by '-'intelligent and
honest men," some hundreds of
miles from the scene of action,
where the parties are unknown,
and time is not allowed for re
futation. But it will not avnih
"the people know the truth they j
win uo right;" the lame ot Gen. ;
Jackson is interwoven in the
history of our country, and his
upright administration of our
government will doubtless en
title him to the appellation of
"first in peace," as his past ser
vices have already secured to
him those of "first in war, and
first in the hearts of his coun
trymen." Fellow-citizens,
read this miraculous statement,
for nothing short of a miracle
could have so suddenly display
ed those hidden imperfections
in Gen. Jackson with which
this "disgusting detail" a
bounds: read it, and learn this
flattering truth even from Jesse
Benton, that "Gen. Jackson is
not to be shook by weak and
malignant efforts of private ene
mies." To the enemies of Gen.
J. I will remark, that amidst
the vetfstt-antieipations of cer
tain defeat they can console
themselves with the reflection
that should we "by the appear
ance oi another Caesar in the
history of Republics, require
yet another Urutus to wind up
the scene," they need not des
pair while JcsscBenton breathes.
Z.
FOR TIIL- ri'.HE rUESS.
Mr. Howard:
No man in this country was
ever so maliciously or perseve
ringlypersecutcd as Mr.CK AW
FORD has been; the combined
influence of men who fill exalted
stations, their deep intrigue, in
connection with the low villany
of unprincipled slanderers,
threatened him with destruction,
but he, conscious of his inno
cence, anxiously solicited an in
vestigation of the charges of
maladministration in the affairs
of the Treasury. Three times
he was tried on the same char
ges, and as many times honora
bly and satisfactorily acquitted;
he thereby has gained superior
greatness of character, by pass
ing the ordeal of three of the
most rigid scrutinies on the
same subject, each time exhorted
by malevolent slander to more
exact and close investigation.
It might before this have been
a mere probable case, in com
mon with other men, as to his
integrity; but now it is proven
to the world, beyond the possi
bility of a doubt, that he is one
of the most honest men and
faithful public servants in the
world, all the malice of his ene
mies now recoil on their own
heads, while he shines in the
blaze of the unsullied glory of
his greatness; these envious and
vicious . ofiice-hunters pushed ,
their efforts to blast his well-!
earned reputation so fast that)
the explosion took place too
soon to succeed; they have, hap
pily for him, placed him on the
ground of unparalleled honesty.
In all this studied slander of his
character, he says not a re
proachful Word of his base per
secutors, leaving them to quiet
their own guilty consciences in
the best way they could. They
availed themselves of the period
of his affliction to make their
most desperate attack, this evin
ces the un worthiness of every
candidate engaged in it, for the
high office to which they aspire;
there is so much want of sensi
bility, and generous svmnathet-
ic philanthropy, that they can
not in safety be trusted with the
high destinies of a nation of
treemen; they hoped this cir
cumstance would secure success
to them; their unfeeling cruelty
has been most happily detected
and ably exposed to the world
by committees of the Congress
of the United States. If he
wished to avail himself of de
traction, here he is furnished
with tne means of success.
But detraction is too corrupt an
employment lor his great mind
to engage in; he is aware that
letraction is the employment of
little and corrupt minds only;
he had nothing to gain by it
for his greatness was already
sufficiently established in the
splendor ot the utilities oi his
public life, and that the fame
predicated on detraction from
other men's characters rested on
a rotten and sinking foundation.
But his competitors would wil
lingly be in office by even the
corruptions of slander, rather
than not be in office at all; which
evinces their own conscious
want of qualifications and merit
to entitle them to the office at
which they so eagerly grasp.
Aware oi their inferiority, con
trasted with Mr. Crawford,
their only hope was in detract
ing from the high dignity of his
character; thus hopelessly cir
cumstanccd, they had recourse
to the base and ungentlemanly
employment of detraction hich
to every observing and honest
mind is the most conclusive evi
dence of the entire unworthi
ness of the office after which
they so mightily hunt. Beside
the superior talent and trans
cendant integrity of Mr. Craw
ford, his frankness of character
and plain republican manners,
recommend him to every man
that really loves truth and un
derstands the simplicity of the
constitution, of man and all na
ture; these features in his cha
racter are so immediately op
posed to that reserved stiffness
which some of the other candi
dates abound so much in, that
compared with him they are in
the estimation of sober common
sense eclipsed by his familiar a
greeable intelligence, both in
public and private: such a man
only, is the proper person to
preside over a republican na
tion: for a man after the people
have conferred on him the high
est office they can bestow, the
privilege of having the honor of
presiding over them, to hold
himself aloof is ungrateful and
dangerous to the freedom of
the people, and immediately
tends to jeopardize their rights
and liberty,
Mr. Crawford, the southern
candidate opnosed to mnnnfiie-
turing monopolies, is the candi
date which North-Carolina is
bound to support, if she is at all
controlled by her interest or lo
cal situation, and more particu-!
larly so, as the Bill of Rights, a
member of her Constitution,
says: Art. 23. "perpetuities and
monopolies are contrary to the
genius of a free state, and ought
not to be allowed." She is
therefore Opposed to all monop
olies. The 43d Article of her
Constitution says: "the legisla
ture shall regulate entails in such
a manner as to prevent perpetui
ties." The true interest of this
state and this nation imperious-i
ly calls for his election at the
present cloudy political crisis,
whether he is elected or not:
That the same good old repub
lican administration of Jefler-
son and Madison, may be hand
ed to future generations unadul
terated, that the beauty of de
mocracy may invariably in all
future ages be manifested by the
people's governing themselves,
lie is opposed to those monopo
lies which the good people of
North-Carolina deplore as ca
lamities, and have guarded a
gainst in their Constitution.
As to his being a tariff man, it
is a mere farce, as all his reports
on that subject sufficiently show:
It is true he recommended, for
the purpose of replenishing the
Treasury, and preventing a re
currence to direct taxes, an in
crease of duty on some import
ed articles that could bear it the
best, without any intention to
exclude them from the country
to create monopolies, which in
' stead of increasing the revenue
would diminish the receipts in
to the treasury, and thereby
destroy the very principle for
which he recommended the in
crease of duty. If this was not
the fact we should not find Jef
ferson and Madison his patrons
lor the presidency. . Their
names rouse the recollection of
their administrations, and we
naturally7 hope to see them act-
jed over again in the administra
tion of our third Jefferson, W.
11. f-RAWFOKD.
He has been very justly de
nominated the National Candi
date, inasmuch as he frankly
and politely withdrew, at the
first election of the present in
cumbent, though their votes of
nomination were nearly equal.
We think he is also justly de
nominated the; National Candi
date by being duly nominated
by the members of Congress in
the good old republican way,
that has given us lor our Presi
dent Jefferson and Madison, un
der whose administrations the
nation has greatly prospered, to
the astonishment of the world.
And why a caucus nomination
should just now become so much
more offensive than it has here
tofore been, we think no man
of common sense can on ration
al principles say. We are aware
that these office-hunters have
endeavored to impose the idea
on the public mind that "the
people" are opposed to Mr.
Crawford because he has been
nominated in caucus in the or
dinary way. But when the peo
ple have decided that they dis
approve of such nomination,
these invidious men wilhbe suf
ficiently in time, if they then
annoonce to the world that the 1
people are opposed to the nom
ination. The truth is. tW w
only an electioneering trick, the
object ot which is to inveigle
the people to say thus; that they
may get into office and power.
they have dared to say this for
the people. We are at a loss to
know how they will ever clear
tnemselves iroin the reflection
of presumption, or the want of
candor, the people will not
thank them for dictating to them
what they must say. The in
sinuation at Oncn thrnn-e iUn
- j Uil.
door of suspicion wide nnPn.
and exposes the motives of the
men, and also shows how little
they think of the opinion or de
cision of the people. If
will take these liberties while
they are office-hunting, if they
should get the office how will
they treat the opinion of the
people then? Answer, with
contempt. The people see al
ready that they are designing
men, for what authority did the
people ever give them to say
this thing? They elected Jeffer
son, Madison and Monroe in
precisely the same way with
the greatest promptitude: nor.
have they ever given the small
est evidence of their dissatisfac
tion; nor will .we ever believe
they disapprove of the ordinary
course of concentrating the re-
publican strength of the nation
to check the corruptions of fac
tion, until they shall determine
so by vote, for we think it ex,
tremely ungenerous to think
otherwise of the people who
have uniformlyacted in this way.
As to the unconstitutionality
of Caucussing, we are of opin
ion that these men should have
been the last to object on that
ground, inasmuch as they know
the whole of their political ma
noeuvring has been conducted
by caucusing, and that princi
pally clandestinely too. But,
forsooth, now it is unconstitu
tional, is reiterated in caucus
time after time. We arc appri
sed of the fact, that the Consti
tution of the United States does
not enjoin the practice of cau
cusing, we are also aware that the
people have retained to them
selves the right of caucusing as
much as they please; see theSth
article of the Amendment of the
Constitution of theU. S, which
says: "The enumeration in the
Constitution of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by
the people." The right of the
people to assemble together, to
deliberate and resolve has not
yet been voted away by them
to any institution deriving its
existence and pewer from them;
indeed they cannot vote this a
way without making a swift ap
proximation to monarchy. The
Members of Congress are a part
of the people, and have all rights
in common with them, and have
retained to themselves the un
alienable right to assemble in.
gether aud entering into reso
lutions on any subject not pro
hibited by the Constitution.
I hey are particularly to do so
to arrest the progress of faction.
so destructive to the peace and
happiness of the community.
beside it is in opposition to the
Declaration ot independence
made by our fathers, which was
sustained at the expense of their
blood and wealth, and we will
suffer as much and make as ma
ny sacrifices to "retain.:' as they