The Camden Weekly Journal

Benton and Calhoun.

The Richmond Examiner in a not very complimentary notice of Benton's book uses the following language:

One thing we must, however, say in favor of Benton, While he unscrupulously borrows and adorns his own conceited vain head, with the laurels and honors which were the legitimate property of his cotemporaries, he treats the living and the dead statesmen, who were his associates, with remarkable and unexpected kindness. He lavishes sugar plums upon the living, and scatters garlands of flowers over the graves of the dead in many instances where those familiar with his malignancy and envious nature, thought that he would have voided nothing but loathsome abuse and vitriolic billingsgate. But whilst this poor, fallen Lucifer of the Democratic party amiably showers encomiums and eulogies, where nothing but the odor of brimstone was expected, he cannot refrain from occasionally, ghost-like, sneakingly, quietly yet malignantly, desecrating the grave and assailing the memory of that pure and noble statesman, under whose keen intellectual scimetar and heavy, crushing battle axe, he so often fell bruised, maimed, and blinded with impotent rage. We, of course, mean Calhoun.

The hoary apostate does not tot verbis utter against that great man's memory a single word of open abuse—but by frequent innuendos, malicious hints, and occasional slight misrepresentations, he attempts slyly to blacken his course.

He does more than justice to Clay and Webster, but to the memory of the purest and noblest of the three great American statesmen he does anything but justice. Yet Calhoun alone, of all Benton's cotemporaries, never dealt in abuse and personalities when replying to his assaults. He invariably punished his insolence as calmly and dispassionately as a gentleman would chastise a blackguard. Hence Benton's hatred burns and glows as intensely as it did ten years ago. The contrast between Calhoun and himself, in the memory of the former being honored and worshipped with idolatrous veneration and affection, by the South, whilst the latter is loathed, execrated, and branded as a traitor, by his party and section, was too much even for the hypocrisy of Benton. Hence, although he sheds crocodile tears plenteously upon the graves of many of his old political and personal enemies, he tears off the mask of decent hypocrisy, when speaking of Mr. Calhoun, and goes to work like a hyena.