For a commentary on the American Constitution, I must refer you to her past history and present prosperity. Not that I impute her advancement altogether to her constitution. No nation was ever blest by nature and fortune with such rich materials of national prosperity; and bad, indeed, must have been the Government, and despicable the population, which had not flourished under such advantages.

But her advancement in wealth and prosperity has been too uniform to be ascribed to accident. Prosperous gales, and favourable currents, have certainly increased her velocity; but for her steady progress ever since the Revolution, she is mainly indebted to the admirable internal machinery, which propels her in her course.

That the framers of the constitution have not succeeded in preventing the occasional exercise, on the part of the general Government, of undue influence in the affairs of the individual States, is evident from a document, which lies before me, in a New York newspaper, of last month. It is a message from De Witt Clinton, the Governor of the State of New York, to the Legislature of the State, complaining of the interference of the officers of Government, to prevent his election. I will make a few extracts

from it.*

With the high rank of Governor Clinton, as a scholar and statesman, and with his indefatigable and successful efforts to pro

* "That many of the officers of the United States have for a number of years acted very improperly, by interfering in the elections of this State, must be known to every man in the community who has had an opportunity for information, and whose mind is not steeled by prejudice against the admission of truth. It is well known, that in this State, the National administration has for some years selected, in almost every case of any importance, its officers in opposition to the State administration; and this undoubtedly operates as an encouragement to organized and disciplined hostility. It is a virtual instruction to its officers to oppose; and it is an invitation to all who are desirous of the patronage of the general Government, to embark in the opposition. The interference of the officers of the general Government in state politics, in 1798, was, at that period, a subject of general and well-founded complaint. In the interval between my first election and entrance into office, I took the liberty of apprising Mr. Monroe, the President of the United States, of the obtrusive intermeddling of the officers of the general Government in our state politics, and of my earnest hope that, under his administration, this system, so justly and so generally reprobated, would be no longer tolerated. In discharging this duty to the Republic, I entertained every wish to promote the most amicable relations between the General and State Administration; and I can truly declare, that no act of hostility has been, in any shape, manifested or encouraged, on the part of the authorities of this State.

"The documents which I have now the honour to transmit to you, do not extend beyond the last general election, and the agitations preceding and accompanying it. At the very period when the officers of the United States, who have behaved so reprehensibly, ought to have conducted themselves with the greatest delicacy; when a legislature was to be

mote the interests of the State of New York, you are well acquainted.

The message was accompanied with an immense mass of documents and certificates, to substantiate the charges it contained.

chosen that was to appoint the electors of President; and when the second officer of the United States was a candidate for the office of Governor, all the influence of their offices was put in requisition, and brought into activity. Although deprived of the right of being chosen, yet, if in the exercise of the right of choosing, they are permitted, by the power of office, to influence elections, what security have the people for a pure Legislature-for an independent Congress, or for an incorrupt College of electors.

"The Navy-yard is situate in Brooklyn, King's county, and contains about 40 acres. Large sums of money have been expended there in building and repairing ships of war, and an extensive establishment is maintained in that place. The documents, herewith transmitted, will show, that under the principal direction of Mr. Decatur, the naval store-keeper, the blacksmiths, caulkers, carpenters, labourers, and other persons in the public employ at the Navy-yard, were brought up to vote; that he was assisted in his operations by other officers of that establishment; and that improper attempts were made, in a variety of shapes, to operate on the electors. The whole presents a scene of undue influence and extraneous intrusion, revolting to every friend of Republican Govern

ment.

"The patronage of the Custom-house in New York is immense. There are no printed documents which disclose the number and compensation of the officers employed in that establishment. I can, therefore, only state, as a matter of estimate, that the patronage of that establishment approximates to 200,000 dollars annually. The surveyor of the port, Mr. Joseph G. Swift, has the immediate direction of the

Were such disputes to become common, they might sow the seeds of civil discord, and prove fatal to the very existence of the Confederation.

inspectors and other subordinate officers of the Customs; and although he has not the power of displacement, yet they are in such a state of dependance, that their personal comfort must directly, and their official existence indirectly, depend on his volition. In order that there might be no doubt of his determination to interfere in the State election, he reported, as a member of a committee to a public meeting in King's county, the resolution marked N. When the situation, connection, and political principles of this officer of the United States are considered, there can be no doubt, but that he had previously ascertained the sense of his political superior, and that he was instructed to act accordingly. In pursuance of this example, the two inspectors of the customs at Staten Island, interfered in the most improper manner in the election.

"The law, regulating the compensation of the inspectors of the customs, authorizes the allowance of three dollars a day, for the days that they are actually employed. These documents prove, that seven of those officers were employed in electioneering; and I presume it will not be denied, that each individual received three dollars a day from the public treasury when so engaged.

"The conduct of the Judge of the United States of the northern district of this State, is daily before the eyes of the legislature. The marshals have acted in coincidence with the general current of extraneous influence; and in their selections of deputies to take the census, they have, as far as I can learn, studiously excluded all those applicants that were friendly to the State administration. The conduct of Mr. Robert Tillotson, one of the dictrict attornies, and nephew of the President of the United States, is glanced at in the paper marked X.; and that of Mr. Jacob Sutherland, the other district attorney, and nephew of the Secretary of the Navy,

It is a common idea in England, that the perpetuity of the Union is already endangered by its extent. I am not disposed to think that its present magnitude need excite any appre

is mentioned in the paper marked Y. There are three newspapers employed by the Government for publishing the laws of the Union, in this State; and these consisted of the Argus, National Advocate, and Ontario Messenger, until within a few weeks, when the business was taken from the last paper, and committed to the Times, in Batavia, a gazette of recent date, of comparatively limited circulation, and hostile to the State administration.

"There are, I believe, 674 Postmasters in this State; and I should estimate the aggregate patronage of the department, in the State at large, at 100,000 dollars annually. During the able and impartial administration of the predecessor of the present Postmaster-General, these offices were conferred without any reference to State politics. Attempts have been made, at different times, to cause the removal of Postmasters, friendly to the State administration, and I am sorry to say, that in several instances they have succeeded.

"It is, I conceive, impossible to resist the unfavourable conclusions which must be drawn from the body of testimony now submitted to you, making full allowances for exaggeration or error, for the influence of prejudice, and the operation of improper motives. And admitting that a considerable portion of the allegations may be successfully refuted, yet still there will remain a sufficient number of strong and established facts, to prove a concert of exertions on the part of the officers of the national Government; in the Navy-yard, the Customhouse, the General Post-office, and in the Judicial, and some other institutions of that Government operating in our local elections and which demonstrates the existence of an organized and disciplined corps, and the obtrusion of extraneous