The Daily Union

Justice to James K. Polk.

The question was once asked, Who is James K. Polk? The answer has been given by one of the most brilliant administrations which has ever adorned the annals of any nation. There is nothing superior to it in our own history, not even excepting the administration of the Father of his Country, or that of the Author of the Declaration of American Independence. We know this is high praise, but not higher than he deserves. Mr. Polk has conducted this administration in the midst of the most important questions of domestic policy, which he has so essentially contributed to settle—after a foreign war which has crowned our arms with unfading laurels, and has extended our empire to the Pacific—after adjusting one of the most serious controversies we ever had with the strongest power in the world; and he has conducted that administration in the face of the most reckless opposition that has ever prevailed in this country, and amid many of the distractions of his own party, most of whom have not stood up as firmly by him as he had the strongest reasons to expect. That administration has passed, leaving its good works to speak for him. May we be permitted to say, now that even the voice of adulation cannot soothe the ear of power, that we have been behind the curtain for nearly these four years—that we have witnessed his sleepless labors, (and a more working cabinet has never been seen;) that we have watched the evolutions of his policy with an interest as great as any man's; that, with the republican chart in our hand, we have watched the course of the vessel amid the stormy billows; that we have seen that strong common sense, which is the first element of a statesman; we have seen the firmness which has carried out the best convictions of his own strong mind: we have witnessed his superiority to all corruption, to all intrigues, to all undue influences; we have seen him assailed, menaced, tried as few men have ever been tried; we have seen the disinterestedness with which he abandoned all prospects of re-election—the grace with which he has just retired from power; and we are happy to find the general sentiment coming forward to do him the justice which he deserves. The question, Who is James K. Polk? is therefore answered in the prosperity and glory of his country—in his ability, honesty, his fidelity to the constitution, and now in the respect which is attending him to his own hearth-stone. No man's sun has ever set with more splendor; and this we dare to say in spite of faction—in spite of the calumny which spares no victim—in spite of the ignorance which is fast giving way to a just appreciation of the man and his measures. The democratic press is coming out with its sincere tributes to the retiring President. We shall lay many specimens of its spirit before our readers. Let the following suffice for the present:

From the Harrisburg Democratic Union, March 3.

The Retiring Administration.—This day the eventful administration of James K. Polk retires peacefully, gracefully, and honorably from power; and when the party passions of the day are hushed, its history will form one of the brightest pages of our country's annals. The life of James K. Polk has truly been one of labor, turmoil, and anxiety; but in every position he has occupied, the records of the country attest his great ability and statesmanship. When chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House, he maintained the rights of his country in every controversy that arose, with such energy and talent as proved him to be equal to any station. When chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, he met the whole bank phalanx hand to hand in the discussions which brought forth as great talent as ever has been displayed in the American Congress, and on no occasion was he driven from the impregnable positions that he occupied in defence of the rights of the people. As Speaker of the House of Representatives during the most stormy period of our country's history he presided with a firmness, dignity, and grace which commanded the admiration even of his political enemies.

As President of the United States, in connexion with the giant intellects that he called to his aid, he has contributed as much to the honor and glory of his country as any man that has preceded him since the days of the Father of his Country. The first act of his administration was the annexation of a giant young sister republic that will one day be among the most populous and powerful States of the Union. The Mexican republic commencing a war upon us, the President, as commander-in-chief of the army and navy, with the aid of such heroes as Gens. Taylor, Scott, Worth, Patterson, Cadwallader, Shields, Kearny, and hosts of others, prosecuted the war in such manner as has firmly established the energy, power, and resources of our people in the eyes of all the nations of the earth, elevated the character of the nation abroad and at home, and acquired for the United States new territories on the Pacific, glittering with gold and possessing maritime advantages which will make this one of the most powerful commercial nations in the known world. Whilst this has been done in regard to our foreign policy, all the great domestic questions of the day have been settled in such manner as to leave our political opponents scarcely a duty to perform, except to hold steady the helm, and keep the good old republican ship of State in the track. The great dividing questions of the bank, the tariff, the distribution of the public lands, and the independent treasury, seem to be settled in principle, leaving but a very slight difference of opinion in regard to some of the details, if we are to believe the leaders of the party just coming into power. Peace has been restored with all nations; treaties made with almost every government, civilized and semi-barbarian, where such treaties were necessary; and we can now sit down for the next half a century, cultivating the arts of peace, extending the power and resources of our country, building up a commerce which will eclipse that of all Europe, and enjoying a state of prosperity such as the world has never before witnessed.

This brief tribute we make to a setting and not a rising sun. May that rising sun, brilliant and dazzling as it is now looming up in the horizon, set with equal splendor, is our most ardent and sincere wish.