Elector

“ Cowen's nomination was procured by fraud, it cannot be called a nomination; and may be departed from with impunity." It turning out on investigation, that his nomination was a perfectly fair one, and his pretended resignation founded on the grossest duplicity;—whether it was conditional or absolute, whether it was personal or general, it is void, and unworthy the name of a resignation. Eternal justice disavows it; Political justice disowns it; and common sense condemns the perversion. ”

“ The majesty of the people is truly a monstrous Deity in the eye of venal and sell-created consequence. It is merely for repeating some of the sentiments expressed at these meetings, that the editor of the Journal is assailed as the arch-disturber of our political repose.
The Citizen, in one place storms furiously at the allegation, that the Albany committee had advised them to remove their press. That committee was appointed to inquire into the difficulties which agitated the republican family in this county, and devise if possible the means of removing them. ”

“ No scheme was left untried, no pretence neglected, no argument overlooked, no path unexplored to entrap, to drive, to persuade and to lead the convention contrary to their old established practice, to nominate Mr. Young a third time as a candidate. Still despairing of success, Thompson and his associates (I trust in God but few of them) change their ground and become the black and unmanly assassins of individual character. The story of the pretended fraud attempted by Mr. Palmer, Mr. Bunce and others, was administered in profusion, and crammed down with epithets ”

“ He is remarkably alert to detect a fraud where there is none, but is willing to take any thing upon tick which accommodates his good friend the Citizen. He certifies that he could not be deceived by the poor stories of Palmer and Bunce;—But believing the public to be greater numbsculls than himself, imagines that he can trick them into a belief, that the gentlemen who composed the northern delegation (among whom are many of the most respectable names in the county) are the mere creatures of another's will. ”

“ Thus are the most shameful arts employed to destroy his confidence in those friends, and induce in him a reluctance under all the circumstances (as the first judge expresses it) against being a candidate—You thus see their rotten certificate made the foundation for the rise—progress and result of that meeting. Thus does the charge of DUPLICITY, FRAUD and FALSEHOOD recoil upon the heads of those arch-certifiers, or the men employed in obtaining and giving currency to their shameful communication. ”

“ I boldly and solemnly appeal to that convention whether they or the most of them were not individually called upon, by Thompson or some of those acting under him, and urged to support Mr. Young upon part or all of the pretences above mentioned. In order to render assurance doubly sure, these strong and noisy opposers of fraud, these high minded and honest politicians discover another circumstance of which they quickly avail themselves. One of the towns had neglected to choose a committee. ”

“ It is still more remarkable so far forth as the charge of fraud is concerned, with what logical precision the Citizen pursues his inquiry.—One is naturally led to expect from his positive rant, nothing short of point blank demonstration at least, that the fraud, (which if there was any originated with Mr. Young's colleagues) had produced the desired effect. That the attempt to cheat the people out of this mammoth legislator,—this sine qua non to their political salvation, should have at least produced some influence with the men upon whom it was exerted. ”

“ The nomination of Mr. Young, by a meeting thus packed for the purpose, by a few of his friends, was not only void for that reason, but it had its origin in the same duplicity, and was therefore equally void with every thing founded upon it.
Were Young's colleagues correctly informed, as to the manner their conversations were spoken of? or were they deceived by Kasson and Thompson when they called for their certificates at Albany? If the latter, they had near one year before giving their second certificate, to correct the error. Why have they always shrunk from investigation? ”

“ By a new species of logic adopted by the author of the Book, a man is accounted honorable and virtuous by the square foot of carcase. Ergo, "a little man" in stature, comprehends all that is hypocritical and wicked. The great man, James Merrill, who is the subject of this note, by the above rule is of course, the most honorable, best informed and religious man of the whole group, who embellish the fair pages of that "book." It is proper that the public should know a little of his debut and denoument as a political character. ”

“ But faint indeed is the hope of a reformation in that man who violates all honor, truth and decency. Who but the author [8] of that book would charge the Milton committee, of being the tools of "fraud and management?" Who but him would affix the charge of "miscreants" to the republicans of Galway, Milton, Greenfield, Saratoga, Malta and Ballston? Who but him would have the unblushing effrontery to publish, "that the general committee in nominating Mr. Cowen, instead of Mr. Young, committed an OUTRAGE on the feelings and wishes of their constituents?" [see page 8. of that pamphlet.] ”

“ Where they "believe that their miserable bodies must take eternal refuge in the grave, and the last puff of their nostrils will send their souls to annihilation, they laugh at the solemnity of an oath and tell you that the grave into which they sink as a log, forms an intrenchment against the throne of God, and the vengeance of exasperated justice!" ”

“ That I should be authorised to apply an epithet more severe than that of frail and feeble, I take it upon me to prove in the first place by the certificate itself, compared with one which the same men issued last spring: And in the next place by a plain statement of facts, given under the solemnity of an oath, leaving it at present for atheists and blasphemers, (for I am sure none others will) to ascribe greater moral certainty to a certificate carrying on the face of it miserable evasion, than to a history sanctioned by an appeal to the Christians God. ”

“ The certificate of Peters, Stewart and How, shew the miserable shifts to which the Citizen and his friends were driven in order to bear themselves out in their conduct. They are perhaps excusable so long as they keep to the question of construction; but when they tax the zeal of their friends with certificates and declarations so far beyond what they themselves are willing to say—nay, which actually contradict the certificates and declarations that precede them, one is almost induced to overlook the difficulties of their defence, and to suspect the moral honesty—not of these men ”

“ No matter of what misrepresentations they are the authors of—No matter how basely and shamefully they have belied and slandered their neighbors—No matter of what deception, hypocrisy and intrigue, they are guilty—No matter how long they have conspired against the rights and privileges of the people—No matter how unbecoming, gross and absurd their conduct may have been; if an independent Editor, in vindicating the rights of the people, and those of his own, questions the propriety of their conduct ”

“ Altho' no man more sincerely rejoices in the charitable donations of the people of Saratoga, for the relief of our brethren at Sacket's Harbor, than the writer of these remarks, yet he cannot avoid joining in the general disgust at the vanity of Judge Child, in trying to elicit public applause for himself. ”

“ After balloting and before the votes were canvassed, they unanimously resolve, that the lawyer having the greatest number of votes shall be considered the candidate, and the other rejected. After canvassing and finding that Mr. Cowen had two votes more than Mr. Young, it was again unanimously resolved that he be considered the candidate.
This arrogance and presumption in the delegates of the people, was not tamely to be endured by the court party; and these high-minded advocates of Republican purity immediately cast about for the means of correcting the evil. ”

“ The judge cannot bear to hide his charming light under a bushel. Instead of not suffering one hand to know what the other is doing, he is not content with its being published in a book, but advertises his charity in a newspaper as a man would one of his stray cattle. From his liberal conduct to the Editor of the Journal and others, he is perhaps excusable in calling his charity about him as soon as possible, even if he offers a considerable reward for it in the next advertisement which he puts into his darling paper. ”

“ Bunce does not pretend to vie in purity of dialect with the certificate of Mr. Elias Benedict. Suppose we also admit that he cannot hold competition with Roe as a profound linguist—with Mr. Thompson in fairness, high mindedness, openness and candor—nor with Mr. Linnendoll in belleslettres—and that he would not make so good a dancing master as Mr James Merrill [6] and leave the public to judge whether coming short of these qualifications, he can be any way tolerable in his person or polished in his conversation. ”

“ Thus the world are at length after a lapse of ages, furnished with an easy recipe for a resignation—a sort of panacea to correct all the sores of the body politic and produce a "speedy composure of the public mind" "Tereatis Risum Amici;" and call no one a political quack playing off his whimsical nostrums upon the people, whose mental repose lies so near his heart. If the meeting are told that they shall be responsible if they act on a declaration thus limited, keep it out of view as much as possible, or say as the citizen does, p. ”

“ Young came by a greater number of votes than Mr. Cowen;—and no doubt is left on this subject when on calculating from the returns, you perceive that the votes for Mr. Young and Mr. Cowen in the aggregate exceed by a great number the whole votes for any other candidate on either side, and that one of the federal candidates received a less number of votes than the others. This would of itself shew as far as the subject is susceptible of proof, a bargain between some of Mr. Young's friends and some of the federalists. ”

“ The Citizen cannot produce even one poor certificate from any one of the county convention, that they were deceived or misled—neither Mr. Deake nor judge Child were of the committee, and if they had been, they are both so good as to tell us they were not gulled in that instance at least. John R. Mott, one of the delegation from the town of Saratoga, according to his own certificate had gone to New-York and sent Mr Olmstead who, with Mr. Cowen's consent (for it must have been by his consent that he acted as a substitute) sat in convention, and voted for Mr. ”

“ I, Gideon Goodrich, late of the town of Milton, in the county of Saratoga, do hereby certify to my fellow-citizens; that on the first day of election of 1815 in said town, where I then resided, at St. John's Inn, where the polls of election were that day held, in a conversation on the subject of supporting Samuel Young, contrary to the general nomination; Archy Kasson, a leading friend of Young admitted in presence of a number of persons, that he had said that he had rather have three federalists go to the legislature from this county with Young, than not to have Young elected. ”

“ Bunce as a faithful centinel, will remain firm at his post. What though a gang of office-holders should "in the mild spirit of Christian humility" (see page 7 of the book) fulminate their maledictions against him; the people will not be frightened into submission, nor the editor from his duty.
But the Editor of the Journal has abused some of us, say they—Does the truth abuse them? does the exposition of the foulest combination that ever disgraced this or any other county, constitute abuse? Is there such terrible majesty surrounding an office? ”

“ Young, as well as afterwards by letter to judge Child.
Thus does the charge of duplicity, made against Mr. Cowen, resolve itself into a base attempt to fix upon him, what so snugly suits the shoulders of others. It seems he finally bestows that justice upon a political adversary, which the baseness and treachery of his colleagues and pretended friends had withheld. Am I acting the part of an accuser towards those men? No. They have accused themselves. Why are they again before the public? ”

“ Cowen at this time at least, had no reason to doubt the truth of what Young's colleagues had asserted. He also mentioned it to James Mott, who was spoken of as a substitute in the event of his brother's absence. It seems he also conversed freely with these men on the subject of his having consented to be considered a candidate, and (so James Mott says) examined the probability of his success, by calculating the favorable state of the delegation. But it seems that communications to these leaky gentlemen on the subject of candidates are not to be made under any circumstances with impunity ”