The New York Herald Newspaper, April 24, 1853, Page 2

= INTERESTING POLITICAL HISTORY. @he Presidents and their Cabinets. INTRIGUES OF POLITICIANS. ‘The formation of a new administration, by the | appointment of the cabinet, or great officers of state, ie always an interesting period of political history. Inthe Hwraaxp of the 10th March, soon after the | formation of President Pierce's cabinet, we gave full | Meta of the names of members of cabinets under the | ‘various administrations of our national government, | from that of General Washington, in 1789, to the | present time. We also noticed the circumstances | which caused the difficulties in the cabinets of | Washington and John Adams, and the impressions which the persoval character and qualifications of | the svecessive Presidents made upon the government | ‘and officers of the country during the period of their administrations. It will, we think, be interesting to give some account of the formation and dissolu- tion of cabinets, and the intrigues of politicians con- | neoted therewith. | Passsing over the administrations of Jefferson, | Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams— ander which, with a few exceptions in the case of | Madison, the cabinet members generally eeincided | im feeling with the respective Presidents, and co- | eperated with them—as possessing few points of jp- terest at this time, we come to the memorable ad- | ministration of Andrew Jackson, which commenced | im March, 1829, and continued through a period of | eight years. Jackson, who may be called the “ last | of the cocked hats,” was also the last President who | was re-elected. Great expectations were formed that a brilliant | and talented cabinet would be selected by General | Jackson, after his triumphant electioa, by a large popular majority, over Mr. Adams—and some disap- ointment was expressed that he had failed to choose the strongest men from among the leaders of the party which had elevated him to the Presidency. In consequence of the death of De Witt Clin- ton, a few months previous to the, election of President, in 1528, it was generally con- ceeded that Martin Van Buren, who succceeded Mr. Clinton as Governor of New York, and on whom | the Jackson party united in this State, occupied the most prominent position of any of the democratic Jeaders for a seat in the cabinet. He was, therefore, made Secretary of State. As to the Treasury Depart- ment, much difference of opinion prevailed, and va- rious candidates for Secretary were recommended to the President. Jackson himself preferred the late | Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, (after- | wards Judge of the United States Supreme Court,) and on his way from Tennessee to Washington in- | vited Baldwin to accompany him, with the assur- | ance of his being placed at the head of the Treasury. But there was at that time in Pennsylvania a power- fal clique of democratic leaders who were devoted © the interests of Vice President Calhoun, and not originally Jackson men. A large proportion of ‘the Pennsylvania delegation in Congress were of this | Calhoun clique and determined to prevent the appoint- | ment of Baldwin, who was an original friend of Gen. Jackson. They therefore brought forward, as their | eboice for Secretary ef the Treasury, Samuel D. | Ingham, one of their own clique, and a member of Congress from Bucks county. As thirteen of the twenty Jackson members of Congress from Pennsyl- | vania were in favor of the appointment of Mr. Ing- ‘ham, and represented to the President that he was the choice of Pennsylvania, Gen. Jackson reluc- tantly gave up his own choice, and appointed Mr. Ingham. A few months afterwards he placed his friend Baldwin on the bench of the Supreme Court. For Secretary of War, Gen. Jackson selected Ma- jor Jobn H. Eaton, who at that time was one of the United States Senators from Tennessee, and had held @ seat in that body for more than ten years. He was the particular friend and biographer of Gen. Jackson. When invited by the President to become a member of the cabinet, he desired to be excused, and only gave up his objections at the pressing solicitations of Jackson. Mr. Desha, a member of Congress from Tennessee, in a letter to Duff Green, pub Tished in the summer of 1531, says:—‘" I was one of General Jackson's original, warm, personal, and political friends, who have been denounced for no other reason, as I believe, but that T could not say Major Eaton was one of the greatest men in the | nation, and that Mrs. Paton was a slandered woman. Iwas in the city when it was ramored that Major | Eaton would be appointed in the cabinet, (a few days before the Genera! was inangurated.) I waited on the President, and gave him my opinion, honest- ly, that it would be an unfortunate appointment ; that I could see disappoin nd mortification ia | the countenances of his fi that the country expected him to select is cabinet of the first talent in the nat Major Eaton was not | one of that description. The President's answer | was, that Mr. Eaton was talented man, and that | he was well informed that it would be a very popu- | lar appointment in New York and Pennsylvania.” John Branch, of North Carolina, was selected by | the President a4 Secretary of the Navy. He was one ef the United States Senators from his native State, and it seems he was partly indebted | to the influence of Major Eaton for his appointment to the Navy Department. In an address to the pub- | lic, in September, 1531, published after the dissolu- | tion of the cabinet, Major Eaton says:— Mr. Branch | and myself were born and reared in t 1e same county | of North Carolina, educated at the same college, and | had been associates and friends in early and ad- vanced life. 1 solicited his appointment as a mem- ber of the cabinet, and at the President's request informed him of the selection. He made no objec- tion—not the least, save on the score of a modest distrust of his competeney, and expressed at the time much gratitude towards the President, and ex- | hibited mach good feeling towards myself.” William T. Barry, of Kentucky, who was appointed Postmaster General, was a zealous friend of General | Jaekson, and had made « strong run for Governor of Kentacky, at the August election, in 1828, although | tmpucecssful. Major Eaton says: Mr. Barry was | appointed, from the confidence reposed in him by | the President, derived from his personal knowledge of his worth and merits. Between Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Barry, and myself, the most cordial friendship has always subsisted ; nothing has ever arisen to inter- rupt in the least our friendly relations.” The same gentleman further remarks :—‘ I met all the members of the cabinet as friends, personal and political, to whom was assigned the highest destiny, by harmony of feeling among themselves, of giving unity of design and vigor of action to the ad- ministration of General Jackson. In the same light, Tam sure, did he consider us. In the singleness of his heart and the ardor of his patriotism, he suspected not that there was amongst us any ot by our cordial support to enable h ashe had done in the field, ‘to fill the m ire of his country’s glory.’ Far otherwise were the feelings of Mesers. Ingham, Branch, and Berrie John McPherson Berrien, whom Gen. Jackson ap- pointed Attorney General, was one of the United Btates Senators from Georgia. He had been unani- mously elected to the Senate in Novy. 1824, by the friends of Mr. Crawford, who were predominant in the Legislature of Georgia. He was, therefore, sup- posed to be a Crawford man, of the same school Mr. Van Buren; but when in the cabinet, seems to have indicated a preference for Mr. Caihoun over Mr. Van Buren, as the successor of General Jackson, although he says he endeavored to inculcate the propriety of abstaining from all agitation of that question, Major Eaton says—~ “With Mr. Berrien I had been on terms of intimacy, and supposing him to be a man of talents and honor. was pleased that he was selected. The President requested me to confer with him in relation to his geceptance. At that time we were in habits of the kindest intercourse. He seemed highly flattered by this manifestation of the President's confidence, and offered no objection to an acceptance, except luti | ington. | within the vortex of his influence. | sent mating # possible interference with his private business.” Mr. Berrien, in am address to the public, says: “The annunciation of the names of the intended cabinet seemed to me to present an insuperable bar to my acceptance of the office which was tendered tome. I thonght I foresaw clearly the evils which have too obviously resulted from the selection. A gentleman, high in the confidencesof the President, whom he consulted, expressed his decided eonviction, founded on a long and intimate knowledge of the President's character, that he would himself speedily see and correct the evil. I yielded to those sugges- tions, and took my seat in the cabinet.” Mr. Berrien was the only member of this cabinet who turned whig after ita rupture. He became an influential leader of the opposition to Jackson and Van Buren, and was elected to the U.S. Senate by the whig Le- gislature of Georgia, im 1840. There is no evidence that Mr. Van Buren had any hand in the formation of the cabinet. He had been elected Governor of New York in November, 1828, and after the Ist of January, 1829, remained at Al- | bany to fulfil the duties of Governor for a brief pe- riod, before he resigned that office, on the 12th of March. Itshould be remarked, that the Jackson party of 1828, which had elected Gen. Jackson Presi- dent and Mr. Calhoun Vice President, was composed of heterogeneous materials; namely, of the original supporters of Jackson in 1824, of the friends of Cal- houn, of those who had supported Crawford, and a few of those who had gone for Clay, but now pre- ferred Jackson to Adams; also, of the dissatisfied Adams and Clay men, who deserted the administra- ticn, for the support of Jackson, in 1828. It was necessary, for the purpose of harmony and concilia- | tion, to select the members of the cabinet and other principal public officers from the different sections of the party. Accordingly, in the cabinet, the Craw- ford men were represented by Van Buren and Ber- rien, the original Jackson men by Eaton and Barry, and the Calhoun men by Ingham and Branch. It soon became evident that the cabinet was divided thus:—Mesers. Ingham, Branch and Berrien as the friends of Vice President Caihoun, and Messrs. Van Buren, Eaton, and Barry as his opponents. It was, however, the general public impression that the in- fluence of Mr. Calhoun was preponderant at Wash- His friend, Gen. Duff Green, who was then public printer and editor of the Telegraph, the government organ, was the constazt adviser of the President, whose early appointments of individuals to public office were considered decidedly adverse to the wiches and interests of Van Buren, and favorable to those of Calhoun. The star of the Vice President was deemed to be in the ascendant; and it was ge- nerally believed that the influence of the President would be exerted to promote his elevation to the Pre- sidency upon his own retirement, which was then un- derstood would take place at the end of the term of four years—Gen. Jackson having, during the Presi- dential canvass, expressed himself in favor of the one term principle, and adverse to a re-election of President. Public expectation, with regard to Mr. Calhoun’s prospects, was,not, however, destined te be realized. While the patronage of the executive was so di- rected publicly to strengthen Mr. Calhoun’s party, by placing many of his friends in important posts, the ground on which he stood was crumbling beneath | bim, and measures were in train to create a breach between him and the President. To Mr. Calhoun, | as a more early and efficient supporter, the Presi- dent had given a greater share of confidence, and manifested a warmer feeling, than he had originally | bestowed upon the Secrerary of State, Mr. Van Buren. In this particular the Secretary labored under a disadvantage; but circumstances soon ena- bled him to obtain a great superiority of influence over the mind of the President. Major Baton in- forms us that, “the moment Mr. Van Buren was appointed Secretary of State, jealousy and fear arose, and then the desire was to place around the President as many of Mr. Cal- houn’s friends as possible, to counteract the apprehended and dreaded influence, a part of which I most gratuitously was supposed to be. Devoted as I was said to be to Gen, Jackson and the success of his administration, my appointment was calculated rather to thwart than to promote their ulterior de- signs. It was deemed necessary to prevent it ; but if that could not be effected, then adequate means were to be resorted to to get me out of the way: Months had rolled away, and as yet-the President had never seen and corrected the evil, as was ex- pected. Mr. Van Buren, it was feared, had gained, | and was gaining so fast upon my esteem, that serious | apprehensions were entertained that I should fall In addition, it was imagined, or rather feared, that General Jackson might consent to a re-election, and reasons were dis- cerned why Van Buren would desire it as a matter of | interest to him, and how, through my influence, the matter might succeed, and the claims of Mr. Cal- houn be deferred, his prospects injured, and he be driven into retirement. The malign influence must be removed, and to accomplish it, I was to retire, not only from the cabinet, but from Washington. The Secretary of War was not qualified for the duties of the War Department, yet he might be sent to repre- is country at one of the most important courts of Europe. [Gen. Green had proposed, it was said, that Major Eaton should accept the mission to Rus sia, as an honorable exchange for the War Depart- ment.] He (the Secretary) and his family were not fit and good society for the families of such pure honorables as Ingham, Branch, and Berrien, and yet | they were to be considered ‘good society’ enough | for one of the first and most powerful monarchies of Evrope.” Major Eaton had,in January, 1829, married the widow of Mr. Timberlake, a purser in the navy. This lady's maiden name was O Neal, of a family re- ¢ in Washington city. Although an elegant end fascinating woman, the ladies of the most fashionable society of Washington, on account of | some supposed irregularities, before she was the wife of Timberlake, had refused to admit Mrs. Eaton as a member of their social circle. Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, gnd Mrs. Berrien, in confor- mity to what was deemed the public opinion of fe- male society in Washington, refused to associate with Mrs. Eaton, or to visit her, or invite her to their parties. Major Eaton, in his statement before re- ferred to, says:—‘I never complained of any one for not associating with me or my family. To see my house filled with unwilling or reluctant visiters, constrained to call by the command of power, could | never be desired by me. Happily, I was never de- | pendent on such authority for friends, associates and | visiters. Always, when my doors were open, at | arge parties and at social calls, I met friends who | evinced, by their frank and open demeanor, that they came of their own volition, and not through hope of reward or fear of punishment. It is true I did not meet some of my colleagues, or their families, nor some of their associates of the same political stamp, but I met ladies and gentlemen qnite as respectable and equally as agreeable. If, asis true, I and my family were not invited to the houses of Messrs: Ingham, Branch and Berrien, so neither were they invited to mine, and in this we were equal; and neither, as I conceived, had a right to compla’ As President Jackson warmly sympathized in the feelings and resentment of the Secretary of War in the matters affecting the domestic relations of the latter, which we have referred to, the Secretaries of the Treasury and Navy, and Attorney General, as the objects of that resentment, gradually lost his con- fidence, which was transferred to the Secretary of State, whose course, both in public and private, had so completely harmonized with the wishes of himself and his friends. Being a widower, Mr. Van Buren was not bound to take any part in the controversy respecting the domestic relations of the Secretary of War, and, of course, kept aloof from it. Mr. Branch, in his statement, however, remarks— Mr. Van Buren had become latterly the, almost sole confidant and adviser of the President. How he obtained this in. finence might be a subject of curious and entertain iry; bet I shall not purse it. I may add however, that amongst the means employed wer the most devoted and assiduous attention to Mrs. Eaton, and unceasing efforts to bring herinto notice, especially with the families of foreign ministers.” Mr. Branch also says:—‘From the moment of Major Eaton’s appointment, Geueral Jackson began to use his utmost efforts to bring Mre. Eaton into public favor and distinction. He frequently spoke | of the neglect Mrs. Katon received when she attempted to appear at public places. | He did not fail to intimate that it would | bea most acceptable service rendered him if the members of his cabinet would aid in promoting this object. I felt greatly embarrassed by such appeals to myself. It was impossible for me to comply with his wishes on this point. In any other matter in which I could, with a proper respect for myself and the feelings of my family, have complied with an in- timation of this desire, no one would have done so more cheerfully than myself. By way of diverting his mind, I several times spoke of the difficulty he would experience in attempting to regulate the inter- course of the ladies; that they were, in matters of that kind, uncontrollable and omnipotent; that he would find less difficulty in fighting over again the battle of New Orleans. Finally, when the President found that his efforts to introduce Mrs. Eaton into sosiety proved abortive, he became every day less commu- nicative, and more formal in his hospitalities, until there could be no doubt that, as to myself, an un- friendly influence had obtained an aacendancy in hia private councils.” iz The difficulties in the cabinet continued for about two years, when, on the 20th of April, 1831, the pub” lic was astonished by the information, promulgated through the official journal at Washington, that the members of the cabinet had resigned, and the moat lively curiosity was manifested to learn the causes of this unexpected movement. The letters of the seve ral members of the cabinet were published; but they served rather to inflame than to gratify the public feeling. The Secretary of War, Mr. Baton, first re signed, without assigning any reason, on the 7th o April, and he was followed by the Secretary of State, Mr. Van Buren, on the 11th of April, who assigned as a reason, that circumstances beyond his control had presented him before the public as a candidate for the succession to the Presidency, and that the in- jurious effects necessarily resulting from a cabinet minister's holding that relation to the country, had left him only the alternative of retiring from the ad- ministration, or of submitting to a self-disfranchise- ment hardly reconcileable with propriety or self- respect. This was considered a curious reason, as Mr. Vas Buren bad not been formally nominated as a candidnee, sad men’s thoughts had scarcely wan- dered beyond the election of 1832, to that of 1836. Mesers. Ingham and Branch, having each received intimations of a wish on the part of the President that they chould resign, as heads of the Treasury and Navy Departments, their resignations were forthwith made, and accepted by the President, in formal letters, expressive of his satisfaction with their official conduct, and stating his motive for requiring their resignation. This was, to use his own words, that having concluded to accept the resignations of the Secretaries of State and of War, he had come to the conviction that he must entirely renew his cabinet. “Its members had been invited by me,;"’ he remark- ed, ‘‘to the stations they occupied. It had come together in great harmony, and asa unit. Under the circumstances in which I found myself, I could not but perceive the propriety of jselecting a cabinet composed of entirely new materials, as being calcu- lated, in this respect at least, to command public con- fidence, and satisfy public opinion.” The intimation of his intention to reorganize his cabinet was also considered to extend to the Attor- ney General, Mr. Berrien, who was then on a visit to Georgia. His resignation was accordingly tendered and accepted, upon his return to the seat of govern- ment, on the 15th of June. The cabinet had been partially reorganized, about a month previous, by the appointment of the Secretaries of State and of the avy. The arrangements, however, were not fually completed until after the resignation of the Attorney General, it being arranged that the Postmaster General, Mr. Barry, who had not apparently been connecteg with the difficulties in the cabinet, should remain in office. He accordingly continued a mem- ber of the cabinet until 1835, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Amos Kendall. Mr. Barry was at the same time appointed Minister to Spain, and died in England, in August, 1835. Inthe meantime, a misunderstanding had occurred between the President and Vice-President, which continued to inerease until it ended in an open rup- | ture. The quarrel originated in the view taken by | Mr. Calhoun, in 1819, when Secretary of War, of the conduct of General Jackson during the Semi nole campaign. In the discussions which took place | in Mr. Monroe's cabinet, Mr. Calhoun proposed that a court of inquiry should be held on General Jack- | son’s conduct, inasmuch as he had transcended his orders. Mr. Crawford, then Secretary of the Trea- sury, also advocated a course which would have been a censure on General Jackson. The Secretary of State, Mr. Adams, vindicated the course of the General, who was also sustained by President Monroe, and all proceedings against him were re- linquished, government determining to justify his conduct in the military operations referred to. Tm May, 1530, a letter from Mr. Crawford to Mr. Forsyth was placed in the hands of General Jack- son by the agency of a particular friend of Mr. Van | Buren, then at Washington, accusing Mr. Calhoun of having proposed a censure upon him for his con- duct in the Seminole campaign above mentioned. This letter was transmitted to Vice-President Cal- houn by the President, with an intimation that is was so contrary to his impressions of the course he had supposed Mr. Calhoun to have pursued | as to require some explanation. Mr. Calhoun re- plied, and showed, by referring to the correspon- dence between General Jackson and the government, in 1818, that he had a right to conclude that the General knew Mr. Calhoun’s opinion to be that he had transcended his orders, and that his vindica- tion had then been placed on other and distinct grounds. Mr. Calhoun then proceeded to inguire into the motives which had led, at this late period, toarenewal of this discussion, and avowed his be- lief that it had originated in a desire to detract from his influence with the President, and thus to destroy his political standing with the friends of the admin. inistration. A long and protracted correspondence ensued, in which Mr. Crawford, and several of his confidential friends, took part; and, although Mr. Van Buren disclaimed all knowledge of the prelimi- nary movements which had led to this disclosure and correspondence, still the respective claims of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Van Buren upon the succession to General Jackson, and the political relations of the agents who appeared as the prime movers in this affair, produced a general impression, particu- larly among the friends of Calhoun, that its sole object was to create a breach between the President and Vice President, with the view of destroying tue prospects of the latter as a rival candidate for the Presidency. If such was the object, it was effected by the correspondence between Gen. Jackson and Mr. Calhoun; and, in February, 1531, it was pub- lished by the latter, with an address to the people of the United States, stating the painful cireum- stanees and reluctance under which he came before the public. “The origin,” he says, ‘goes far back beyond the | date of the present correspondence, and had for its object, not the advantage of Gen. Jackson, but my pol'tical destruction, with motives which I leave you (the public) to interpret. The enmity of Mr. Craw- ford to me, growing out of political controversies long since passed, afforded a ready and powerful in- strument by which to operate; and it was early directed against me, with the view of placing Gen. Jackson and myself in our present relations. | With vhat motive, in the midst of the severe | political straggle which ended in elevating | him to the Prosidential chair, and in which I took a part so early and decidedly in his favor, a correspondence was opened at Nash- ville, unknown to, and unexpected by me, in Decem er, 1827, which commenced that chain of artfa operations that has terminated by involving General Jackson and myself in the present correspondence. A copy of the letter which opened this operation has been placed in my possession. It was written by Mr. Crawford to Alfred Balch, Esq., of Nashville, and is dated 14th December, 1827. The movement thus commenced did not terminate with this letter. It was followed by other attacks from the same and other quarters, some of which are indicated in the correspondence. I remained ignorant and unsuspi- cious of these secret movements against me, until the spring of 1828, when vague rumors reached me; but I treated them with silent neglect, relying confidently for protection on the friendly relations which had so long existed between General Jackson and myself, and the uniform and decided course which I had taken in his favor, in the political struggle then pending.” The publication of this correspondence a few days before the close of the term of the Twenty-first Congress, in March, 1831, ‘was one of the causes which hastened the dissolu- tion of the cabinet immediately afterwards, namely, in April, 1831. From that time there was a com- plete rupture between the President and Vice Presi- dent and their respective friends, and Mr. Calhoun and his supporters acted afterwards in opposition to the administration of Gen. Jackson. In October, 1831, Mr. Calhoun published a reply to some parts of Major Eaton’s address to the public. Alluding to the course of Mrs. Calhoun, in refusing to visit Mrs. Eaton, the Vice President remarks, that he told his wite that ‘‘he approved of her decision, though,” he says, “I foresaw the difficulties in which it would probably involve me; but that I viewed the question involved as paramount to all political con- siderations, and was prepared to meet the conse- quences, as to myself, be they what theymight. The road to favor and patronage lay directly before me, could I have been base enough to tread it. The in. timate relation between General Jackson and Major Eaton was well known, as well as the interest that the former took in Mrs. Eaton’s case; but as degraded asI would have felt myself, had I sought favorin that direction, I would not have considered the infamy less had we adopted the course we did from any other motive than a high and a saered regard to duty. It was not, in fact, a question of the exclusion of one already admitted into society, but the admis sion of one already excluded. It is equally beyond the scope of ‘power, or influence, to exclude the vir- tuous and unsuspected female from society, as expe- rience has found it to raise the suspected to that ele- vation.” ‘General Jackson never consulted me as to the formation of his cabinet. He was even then, as it now appears, alienated from me, by means which have been explained on a former occasion.” The movement on the part of Mr. Van Buren, in promoting and advising a dissolution of the cabinet, proved a judicious and fortunate one for his own in- terests, and for the future tranquillity of Gen. Jack- son in administering the government. He was appointed Minister to England by the President, but recalled, on account of being rejected by the Senate by the casting vote of Vice President Calhoun. This circumstance aided his nomination and election to the Vice Presidency, from whence his transference to the Presidency, by the election of 1836, was easily effected. Asa further measure to insure the prostration of Mr. Calhoun, and ruin his prospects for the Prosi- dency, it was resolved by his opponents, soon after the accession of Gen. Jackson, to induce the latter to consent toa re-election. Accordingly, as early as December, 1829, the New York Courier and En- quirer—thena Jackson paper—intimated that the re election of Gen. Jackson was desirable, and ventured to suggest that Mr. Van Buren mightbe a candidate, provided he declined. In March, 1830, tie same paper said: “ We repeat that Gen. Jackson, and he only, will be the candidate of the republican party for the next Presidency.” The proprictor of the New Yor« Herap, Mr. Bennett, then one of the editors of the Courier and Enquirer, was among the earliest political writers, at the time, who urged this course. Gen. Jackson was nominated for re-election by the democratic members of the Peansylvanis Legislature, on the 31st March, 1830, which course was soon followed in New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Alabama, and Lllinois—all of which nominations took place before the dissolution of the cabinet and the previous publication of Mr. Cal- houn’s correspondence with Gen. Jackson. ‘The new cabinet, which was not completely organ ized until late in the summer of 1531, was conatituted as follows: —Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, Secre- tary of State; Louis McLane, of Delaware, Secre- trary of the Treasury; Lewis Cass, of Michigan, Secretary of War; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampehire, Secretary of the Navy; Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, Attorney-General. This cabinet, the members of which were all friendly to Mr. Van Buren, was not only superior to that which preceded it, but might fairly compare with most of those of previous administrations; and its character furnished strong testimony of the tribute paid to public opinion, in the selection of his advis- ers, by a President of great personal popularity. During General Jackson's second term there were several changes in the cabinet, as follows :—Mr. Liy- ingston resigned as Secretary of State, on being ap- pointed Minister to France, in 1833 ; and Louis Me- Lane was transferred to the State Department from that of the Treasury; he resigned in 1834, and John Forsyth, of Georgia, was appointed in his place. William J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, in placeof Mr. McLane,in 1833; but in consequence of refasing to remove the public deposits from the United States Bank, he was removed by General Jackson, and Roger B. Taney (Attorney-General) appointed to succeed him; and the Senate, not confirming Mr. Taney, Levi Woodbury was transferred from the Navy to the Treasury Department, in 1834. Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, succeeded Mr. Wood- bury in the Navy Department, and Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, was appointed Attorney General in; ceof Mr. Taney. Amos Kendall was appointed Postmaster General, in place of Mr. Barry, appointed Minister to Spain, in 1835. In these different changes in the cabinet, the utmost harmony was kept uf between the President and members, except in the case of Mr. Duane. John H. Baton was appointed Minister to Spain, by Gen. Jackson, in 1836, On Mr. Van Buren’s accession to the Presidency, he continued in the cabinet Messrs. Forsyth, Wood- bury, Dickerson, Kendall and Butler, and appointed Joel R. Poinsett Secretary of War, in place of General Cass, who was sent to France as minister. Great unanimity prevailed in this cabinet; but sun- dry changes took place after a time, in consequence of resignations, viz: James K. Paulding, of New York, appointed Secretary of the Navy, in place of Mr. Dickerson, in 1838; John M. Niles, of Connec- ticut, Postmaster Generad, in place of Mr. Kendall, in 1840; Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, Attorney General, in place of Mr. Butler, in 1838. Mr. Grun. dy resigned in Jan. 1840, and was succeeded by Henry D. Gilpin of Pennsylvania. The cabinet appointed by Gen. Harrison, on his accession to the Presidency, in March, 1841, was composed of the following prominent whigs, viz.: — Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, of Mas.; Treasury, Thomas Ewing, of Ohio; War, John Bell, of Tennessee; Navy, George E. Badger, of North Carolina; Postmaster General, Francis Granger, of New York; Attorney General, John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky. ‘This cabinet was retained in office by John Tyler, when he succeeded to the Presidency, on the death of Harrison, in April, 1441. Althou,i by this act of Mr. Tyler, and the sentiments contained in the address which he issued to the people, the whig par- ty generally felt that the new President would co- operate with the majority of Congress in carrying cut the views and desires of those by whom he had been elected, there were some who liad long known Mr. Tyler, who thought otierwise, The whigs among this class of observers appre: hended that he would carry with him into the Presidency his peculiar notions of a strict construction of the constitution, imbibed in the Virginia sehool of involving prine- ples which, if carried eut, would prove repugnant to the views of public policy entertained by the whig party, and defeat measures which they deemed ne- cessary to restore the prosperity of the country. Among the measures considered indispensable by the whigs, on coming into power, in 1841, was the incorporation of a National Bank, and on that sub- ject, it is well known Mr. Tyler and his cabinet came into collision. The New York Henaxp was among the first of the journals which attempted to enlighten the public mind with regard to the real state of the case, and of the political principles of John Tyler. The late Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Kennedy, who was a member of the Congress which passed the bank bills, wrote a small work called “Defence of the Whigs,” in which he attributes great influence to the Henaxp and its then correspondent at Washington, in consequence of the accuracy of the information obtained, and the policy and views of the executive shadowed forth in our correspon- dence and editorials. President Tyler having returned with his vetoes, two successive bills to charter a national bank, which had been passed by Congress, and the whig leaders becoming satisfied that harmony and co- operation with the President were impossible, all the members of the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Webster, resigned on the 11th of September. It was understood that Mr. Webster remained in the cabi- net for the purpose of completing the negotiations with Great Britain, then in progress, respecting the Northeast boundary. He also observed, in a letter dated 13th September, to the editors of the National Intelligencer: ‘Lest any misapprehension should ex- ist as to the reasons which have led me to differ from the coursepursued by my late colleagues, I wish to say that I remain, first, because I have seen no sufficient reason for the dissolution of the late cabinet by the voluntary act of ite own members. Notwithstrnding what has passed, I have confidence that the President will co-operate with the Legis- lature in overcoming all difficulties,” &c. Mr. Webster remained in the cabinet over two years, and resigned in May, 1843. It was expected by some that the President would select the mem- bers of his new cabinet from the ranks of the demo- cratic party, but he promptly made his appoint- ments of the following distinguished whigs and con- servatives, viz. :—Walter Forward, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury; John McLean, of Ohio, Secretary of War; Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy; Charles A. Wickliffe, of | Kentucky, Postmaster General; Hugh 8. Legare, of | South Carolina, Attorney General. These nominations were all confirmed by the Senate. Judge McLean declining the office, John C. Spencer, of New York, ‘was appointed to take charge of the War Department. Thus the new cabinet was formed in a more satisfac- tory manner to the public than had been anticipated by the whigs, while the hopes of the democrats were somewhat dampened. Various changes took place in the cabinet during the administration of John Tyler, in consequence of deaths and resignations, without having any im- portant influence on the politics of the country. Hugh 8. Legare succeeded Mr. Webster as Secretary of State, in May, and died June 20, 1843; Abel P, Upshur succeeded Mr. Legare “and died February 25. 1844; John C. Calhoun was appointed March 6, 1844, and greatly contributed to the annexation of Texas. John C. Spencer was transferred to the Treasury De- partment on the resignation of Mr. Forward, in March, 1843, and having resigned in June, 1844, was succeeded by George M. Bibb, of Kentucky. James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, was appointed to succeed Mr. Spencer in the War Department, but being re- jected by the Senate, was succeeded by William Wilkins, of the same State. David Henshaw, of Massachusetts, appointed Secretary of the Navy, waa rejected by the Senate, and succeeded by Thomas W. Gilmer, who was killed on board the steamer Princeton, as was also Mr. Upshur, on the 25th of February, 1344. He was succeeded by John Y. Mason, of Virginia. John Nelson, of Maryland, succeeded Mr. Legare as Attorney General. These successive cabinet changes under Tyler had very little influence on Congress or the country; but it is not to be denied that the foreign relations of the United States were ably managed during this ad- ministration. ‘The cabinet appointed by President Polk was | composed as follows:—James Buchanan, Secretary of State; Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Trea- enry; William L, Marcy, Secretary of War; George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy; Cave Johnson, Postmaster General; John Y. Mason, Attorney Gene- ral. This proved a strong cabinet, and managed the affairs of the country and foreign relations, including the Mexican war, with ability. Mr. Bancroft re- signed in September, 1846, and was appointed Minis- ter to England. John Y. Mason succeeded him, and Nathan Clifford was appointed Attorney General, and, on being appointed Commissioner to Mexico, was succeeded by Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, in the cabinet. Mr. Polk, it is well known, was greatly indebted to the late Sidas Wright and his pelitical friends for his election, which depended upon the electoral yotes of the State of New York; but their wishes were disregarded in the formation of the cabinet. The President having informed Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Wright that he had come to the con- clusion that, either the State or the Treasury Department should be committed to the charge of a citizen of the State of New York; there- upon the ex-President and Governor Wright recommended Benjamin F. Butler for Secretary of State, or A. C. Flagg for Secretary of the Treasury. The President, however, tendered the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury to Governor Wright himself; but he was so situated that, even if he had desived the office, he could not honorably accept it. He had repeatedly pledged himself that, if elected Governor, he would not accept any office under the national government. Mr. Polk then tendered to Mr. Butler the office of Secretary at War, but he de- clined, as the duties to be performed by that officer would lead him so far from the line of his profession as a lawyer, that the attempt to resume, easfully, its practice, would be utterly hopeless. About the time of this correspondence, the friends of Mr. Marcy prepared a letter to the President, signed, a8 was alleged, by a majority of the demo cratic members of the Legislature, requesting that in case a New Yorker should be called to the cabi- net, Mr. Marcy should be selected for that place. This recommendation was successful, and Mr. Marcy was appointed Secretary of War. The particular friends of Governor Wright, (the radicals and barn- burners,) regarded this selection with disfavor, and some feeling of resentment. Many of the friends of Mr. Marcy were openly opposed to the re-election of Mr. Wright as Governor, and it was well understood that the election of John Young, the whig candi- date, and the defeat of Governor Wright, in 1846, was owing to the votes of hunker friends of Mr. Marcy. The cabinet appointed by Gen. Taylor, consisting of John M. Clayton, William M. Meredith, George W. Crawford, William B. Preston, Thomas Ewing, Jacob Collamer, and Reverdy Johnson, was con- sidered respectable in point of talent, but proved a failure in practice, in consequence of their unpopular appointments to office, and their administration of affairs generally, without giving satisfaction to either political party. They went out of office on the death pf General Taylor, in July 1860, with the odor of unpopularity attached to them, and it was considered the part of wisdom in Mr. Fillmore, when he announced an entirely new cabinet, on his acccasion to the Presidency. The names were— Daniel Webster, Secretary of State; Thomas Corwin, Secretary of the Treasury; Charles M- Conrad, Secretary of War; Willlam A. Graham, Secretary of the Navy; Alexander H. yy. Stuart, Secretary of the Interior; Nathan K. Hall, Postmaster General; John J. Crittenden, Attorney General. The resignations have been, Wm. A. Gra- ham, in whose place John P. Kennedy was ap- pointed Secretary of the Navy, and Mr. Hall, a Postmaster General, was succeeded by Samuel Hubbard. Mr. Webster died in October last, and succeeded as Secretary of State, by Edward Evere cently appointed by President Pierce, and select from the various sections and interests of the d mocratic party, can hold together for any conside ble length of time. Should the President be ab to carry them with him throngh his term of offi he will be admitted to possess more tact, conciliato} and executive talents, than have been shown by eith of his predecessors in the Presidency. It remains to be seen whether the cabinet New Publications. The public documents which we have received not numerous, though of an important nature. Th include the report of Mr. David L. Seymour, from Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred su dry memorials of American citizens relative to req procal trade with the British Nort American co nies. With the nature of that report, our reade are already aware, as also with the speech of tl Hon. 8. R. Mallory, of Florida, on the Fisherid The other documents are connected with our o State affaira. The first in the list is the Tenth A| nual Report of the Managers of the State Lunat} Asylum; next, the act to provide for the incorpo: tion of Fire Insurance Companies; next, the Annu Report of the Canal Appraisers, which possesses p culiar interest at this time; and last, forming an aj pendage to the latter, the Annual Report of the 8 Engineer and Surveyor of the Canals of New Yor} for the year 1852. We have also received two society documenta, o of which possesses a class interest only, while ti other will enlist the attention of all real philanth piste. We allude to the Twenty-first Annual Repo} resented to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Socie' y its Board of Managers, and the account of ti transactions of the Central Relief Committee of tl Society of Friends, during the famine in Ireland, 1846 and 1847. Apropos to the subject of death, we will notice valuable work, wy Dr. Banning, on the Mechani Pathology and Treatment of Chronic Diseases, pul lished by Messrs. Wilson & Co., of Beekman stred It is well worthy of perusal, Mr. Ambler, of Broadway, has sent us two Int} works on Spiritual Philosophy, which are intendd to be followed by larger works. We respectful! direct the attention of the inmates of Utica Asylui to the fact. In the magazine line we have received the “Unita States Review,” ‘Putnam's Monthly,” “Brongon Quarterly Review,” ‘De Bow's Review,” and ti “Tilustrated Magazine of Art,” all of which characteristically excellent. “‘Minifie’s Mechanical Drawing Book for Belf-ti struction,” continues to exhibit progressive lesson and carries out satisfactorily the excellent plan fi proposed. Another capital work is the ‘New Syste of Musical Notation for the use of the Blind,” by M| Mahony, of the New York Institution for the Blin The plan consists in using the regular letters of tH alphabet instead of the notes themselves, and well a marthy, of the attention of the friends of th c d. The poetical works of ory, with a memoir of t¥ author, an elegant edition, have been sent to us Y G. P. Putnam & Co. Henry Carey Baird, of Philq delphia, is the publisher. Since the death of Wel ster, the demand for Gray’s poems has been quit} large. The new “Biblical Atlas and Scriptural Atla: with descriptive notices of the Tabernacle and th Temple,” has been published in a handsome volum ae American Sunday School Union, 146 Chesny street, Philadelphia. It is a valuable book of refe ence for bible students, The position which Mrs. Stowe has amongst one class, Miss Catherine Sinc'air bi to gain in another, by her novel of “Beatrice,” pul] lished by Dewitt & Davenport. “Uncle Tom’ waj essentially a gross exaggeration, entirely unrelieve| by those bye plots and plays of faney which rende: book interesting, but_in ‘Beatrice’ those faults a avoided. It isa work written in the same spirit 9 Michelet’s ‘Priests, Women and Families,” but e: hibit power and searching critieism which th French writer was not possessed of. When we co: sider the noise made in the world by Mrs. Stowe an| Miss Sinclair, we cannot help thinking that this if indeed, the ‘‘age of women,” and will hereafter catalogued after the “golden age” and the “ iro] age. oir. Peterson, of Philadelphia, has forwarded to u “Clara Moreland,” by Emerson Bennett, re-printe from the Saturday Evening Post, wherein it a’ tracted a great deal of notice, and was conside every way worthy of being published in the regula form, and illustrated. Among the reprinta of English works which w} have received are, ‘‘Fielding’s Life of Jonatha | Wild,” published by Stringer & Townsend, and work entitled, ‘The Coming Struggle among th Nations of the Earth,” published by Mr. John Mc fet. Ofthe character of the first we need not, courre, speak; and of the second we will merely ot} serve that it is a sort of prophecy regarding the pq litical events of the next fifteen years. Instead, ho’ ever, of auguring from astrology, the author take} the Bible for his horoscope. Corbyn, No. 603 Broadway, has issued his illus} trated edition of “La Favorita,” by Donizetti. 1} shonld be in the bands of all opera goer. Mr. W. Taylor, of Park place, has sent us Dougla. Jerrold’s new play of “St. Conti: and Mr. Cherry’ crama of the “Soldier's Daughter.” Of the first wi have already spoken in our theatrical notices, and the second is too well known and appreciated t¢ need criticism. The Southern Commercial Convention. Meurius, Tenn., February 1, 1853. Six —The Commercial Convention, held at Baltimord in Decemer last, having adjourned to meet at this ctt) on the first Mauday of June next, the citizens of Men h great zeal and unanimity, t pe from Baltimore ac other Southern cities; the establishment ef commercia relations with the valley of the Amazon, the importanc: of which has been so ably presented to public considera tion by Lieutenant Maury; the extension and eompletio: of a system of railroads from the Southern Atlantic cities to the Mississippi river; the great project ef a rail way from the Mississippi river to the Pacific coast; anc other matters of vital consequence to the South av West; will, doubtless, be renewed, with increased inter est, in the discussions of the June convention. We have been commissioned by our fellow citizens of Memphis to invite you to be present on that interesting cecasion, and to participate in the deliberations of the convention. It in needless for us to remind you that the time h arrived when » vigorous and united effort, on the pa the South and West, is required for the protection of their! interests and the developement of their resources and wer. We have great pleasure in tendering to you, on behalf of our fellow citizens, the hospitalities of the city and as surances of a cordial welcome, We have the honor to be, with great respect, your obe dient servants, J. P. PRYOR, Chairman. COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE. Wm. A. Booth. Jno. T. Trezevant, Leon Trousdale, A. Wright, F alker, ’ F. A. Owen. D. M. Currin, John Martin, James C. Jones, J.P. Caruthers, James Sewell, A. P. Merrill, Jas. Wickersham, H. G Smith, K. M. Yerger, ' A. M. Hopkins, James H. Otey, James L. Penn, ¥, P. Stanton,’ M, W. Lindsay, Sone ae Fair Pharisees Britain. at zone where deafening thunders roar, As fierce traditions of almighty Tore, : Where burning whirlwinds start the slothful air, And desolation reigns supremely bare; Where lonely palms, a gaunt and scattered band, As monuments to vegetation stand, And streamless hollows in the desert rest, Like undulations of a milkless breast; Where suns, which bring to other lands delight, Burn as they beam, and with their eplendor blight Where nature lies a prostrate feverish form, With ‘ntermittent ravings in the storm— In rcenes like these the colored earth, Draw their subsistence from their native dearth, And, lower than the beasts that prow! aroun Like slothful worms they drag along the groun Whilst trhah a dialect is all that can Distinguish them as of the species—man. Reclaimed from sloth and vilest degradation, ‘They're raised to servants in a foreign nation Fed, clothed and car’d for, by aster’s hand And happier far than in their native land; Strat to hunger, easier much their tark, ‘Than what of others wearing freedom’s mask. Ye tal ceful fair ones who deplore their lot— Ye British mothers on your island apot— Ye satin Pharisees who love to roam In search of evils plentiful at home— Leave to our care the fictious slaves of Stowe, And to the famished seamsti B Inapect the garret where the r And ask your starving sister what ‘Ask of your freeborn fellow-being why ‘The reddened lid sits heavy on her eye; Look at her poor white fingers, thin and long, ‘And think one moment of your poet’s song. Immortal Hood! his lines will tell you where You should bestow your philanthropic care, ‘The lines of him you left to starve in life, ‘Then compromised by pensioning his wife. BT. bs Tur Grave or Presipext TAYLoR—A corres: ponent of the New York Observer writes as follows on a subject which ought to be of national interest :—' To reach General Taylor's grave, you must wind through by- ways, and finally stop before a «mall enclosure on the top of a hill, in anopen field, surrounded by a rude stone wall; and just on the other side of the wall yon will nee a very plain vault, with a front of limestone rocks, roughly hewn, and an iron door, and that you will be told is the tomb of the once famous General Zachary Taylor, Presi dent of the United States of America. No Tmaonament has been erected to his memory !~his mamé has not even been inserited on hia yault!! In the centre of the small veyard there is a monument erected to the memory of is father, Col. Richard Taylor, a revolutionary soldier,”’