YOUNG AMERICA'S POSITION ON THE SPOILS. [From the Washington Republic.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 775, 5 January 1853, Page 3

YOUNG AMERICA'S POSITION ON THE SPOILS. [From the Washington Republic.]

The April number of the Democratic Rezicut has just reached us. It is quite »s abusive as its immediate predecessors, and will, do doubt, just at this moment, be universally read with interest, his embellished w ith a s.eil engraved

portrait of Young Americi, as represented in the person of Hoo. F. C. Marshall, of California. The topics ireated are Progressive Democracy and Old Fogy Retrogrades; the late Cuban State Trials ; Japan ; the Roman Republic — Cass and Cass, Jr. ; the Press ; Federal Politicians ; and the Nomination. The honorable Senator from Michigan, and our Chargd at Rome seem to be the. selected victims for the present month. They are savagely tomahawked. The motive which impels Yonng America in its war upon Old Fogydom is fully explained in the article on the nomination. It is extremely natUTal ; but the avowal of it will tend to make Fogydom die bard. The rationale of the matter is simply this : — The old Fogies are too much embarrassed by the accumulation of unredeemed promises. They have given away every thing too many times over. They have created too many Hens and mortgages on the public places and the public moneys in favour of the older generations of men, who are regarded as of small account in the coming struggle of the Democracy. This view is so clearly and strikingly expanded in the following extracts from the Review, that we cannot but recommend them to the attentive consideration of our readers as embracing the whole philosophy of Young America's position : — "But the worst effect of this fogydom is, that without principle upon which to base its actions, without progressive ideas to popularise and allure support, it has necessarily been forced, that it might effect its merely personal ends, to make use of subterfuges, of corruption, and of schemes, in utter antagonism to Democracy, and disastrous to the progress and character of our country. Fogydom has been compelled to subsist for years on promises ; to pledge 'itself to this and that rival, to this and that local demagogue ; to take off its hat to the small wire puller of the little village, and dole out its conditional notes of the lip for " situations' and support. There is not a petty claqueur, or grocery orator, or waid, leader of Democratic influence, who cannot produce from his breast fob, carefully treasured for the coming day, which is never to come, promises and pledges from one or other of the old fogies, and often from half a dozen rivals together. , These imbeciles, after a series of defeats, having lived on political tick for nigh twenty years, are precisely in the condition of an idle and imaginative huckster of other people's wares, who has protested bills out in every direction, bills again and again protested, which, in the hope of deriving at some future day some small income for himself, he is now perfectly willing to renew again and to increase to any amount. It would take four democratic administrations under the complete direction of 'General Cass to enable him to pay the promi«es mih which for years be has flooded the country and imposed upon bit friends. Nor is he worse off than the rest of the fogy family. That all, or even a decent composition of the creditors can be paid anything is hopeless. But yet all are on the hook, all are at his service, and each hopes be ii to bt the unfortunate wight who is to be Cass Postmaster of One- House Corner, or Buch Inspector of the port of Shallow-creek. The game & we*]». It does more : running in political debt lengtheni the lease of the pretender incumbent. Tbe services rendered twenty years back are the -better |ud more urgent because they were given twenty years back. The lengthened trust proves confidence and loyalty — democratic loyalty to the person of the debtor — and the lengthened interest, especially if renewed by other services, increases tbe principal claim of the office-seeker. These country and city fogies will fight now for the man they backed at such- a time because — chivalrous feeling ! — they gave that original service long ago on a promise which has never been fulfilled, but vjuch may yet be. " Thus eacn fogy candidate has gone for years on years, from election to election, from office to office, with a continually increasing army of hungry, local fogies at his back ; who, poor devils ! for tbeir very lives, must support brea to >the last, that their own past services may be rewarded at the monetary expense, which is trivial, and political degradation, whicb is abominable, of the country and of the party ; and each old fogy candidate now comes up in this new era of '52, with no principle, no genius, no capacity to see tbe point of his nose, but with a whole crowd of superannuated wire-pullers, fragments of forgotten contests, freshly-hired servitors of today, and old creditors of 20 years back, eager to be saddled on the conntry and on the progress of mankind. Young America, the Yonng Democracy of the present world, is called on to turn its back on its destiny, fix up and fence in the United States as a huge asylum for the indigent and the imbecile, and the veteran toadies of a past era, and employ its genius and its industry in spoon-feeding them, and in paying the/political debts of those whom tbeir own generation regarded as incompetent even in youth, and who never could have attained even the political importance of being a candidate save by the naEedest and tbe most barefaced schemes of the most prodigal corruption. It remains to be seen whether this young Democracy will employ itself thus for another half century in paying the protested bills of a dead and indigent generation. Success in such an undertaking would be highly praiseworthy and charitable withal. But it cannot succeed, and, what is more, if it could, it won't pay. Two hundred trillions in charity, in alms, to political paupers, to men no longer fit to do anything, or earn a cent, politically, is rather too much. No party, no nation, were democratic principle and the national honour thrown utterly •tide, could subsist, could endure, uuder a burden so huge, and yet so 'flat, stale, and unprofitable,' as this vast police and spy organisation of old periooal hacks and public harpies. If that is to be the whole duty of man in this generation, to spoon feed the old fogies of the last, say so, gentlemen. Let us know what you, leaders of fogydom want in the way of money and patronage, . for as to principle or progress, you are careless as to that. Let the people be fully informed whether or not each fogy candidate is prepared to - force topiboots, old born-headed walking canes, and pig-tail queues into every office, department, mission, consulate, and clerkship. Let us know cbt aweeping sum total estimate of plunder, that with a sponge we may wipe the whole thing out, and have done with it. Item for '52— To old fogy beggars, two hundred millions in catb, and the rule of the country for four years — for four years ! — (hear the aged vendor) — and pickings — in charity, to please them and get their blessing ! Marry, come up ; there is an entry for our political cash-book. It won't pay. It will not do !"