Providence Daily Advertiser

Jackson Caucus.—At the Jackson Convention, held in this town on the 11th, to nominate state officers, Wilkins Updike, Esq. made a speech. This is the same gentleman who in 1828 was nominated by a regular built Republican Convention, for Attorney General, but was defeated by the people happening to get up a ticket with the name of the present Attorney General substituted. Mr. Updike is a lawyer, but a tremendous friend of the farmers, if you will take his own word for it; so much so that he was the author of the Farmers' Pamphlet, and the Eight Millions pamphlet, in the former of which manufactures and the tariff were bitterly denounced. He was, not many years ago, a Federalist, till some difficulty with his present colleague, Mr. E. R. Potter, made him a flaming democrat. He afterwards became reconciled, and was a Crawford man, an Adams man, and finally a Jackson man, as his political patron happened to direct; in consideration of which Mr. P. suffered him to be elected to the General Assembly; but from recent symptoms it would appear that Mr. Updike is too independent to suit his colleague, who has given out several hints that he will leave him at home, if he is not more complying. We will say thus much for Mr. Updike, that there is no malice in his politics, and that at times, he really appears to have the public good at heart. He certainly exhibits an entire independence of Mr. Potter, in the House, and occasionally discovers a good deal of tact in his remarks. He sometimes says hard things of his opponents, but always good-naturedly, and as they do not carry weight enough to do any harm, nobody bears him any ill will. We never saw him so much off his guard, as in his speech at the Jackson Convention. His object seemed to be to run his head against every post that came in his way, and say all he could to hurt his own party. The design of this speech undoubtedly was to give the necessary hints to the Jackson runners, or conducting the approaching campaign.

The principal topic of the speech, was the repeal of the 27th section of the tax act, by which repeal the funds of religious and charitable corporations were left to be taxed, the same as other property. This act, Mr. U said, passed the House in the October session 1828, and the old senate (now nominated by the Republican Convention, with two exceptions,) postponed it till January session, in direct violation of the voice of their constituents, relying on the town of Providence (in which there was a million of this exempted property) to carry them through the election. The old senator from North Kingston was the very man who moved for this postponement, and he is put into this republican prox, as they call it. In January they were so disregardful of their duty, as to pass by the act of the House, and let it go over, so that it was lost. The people then turned them out for this thing, and put in the present senate, and now mark the difference. The House passed a new act, repealing the 27th section, in June session. It went up to this senate, and was ratified instanter!

[This is Mr. Updike's version of the affair, and he must either have wilfully misstated it, or his memory is not worth a straw. The facts are these: Mr. Hazard introduced a bill to repeal the 27th section, in June, 1828. It was a question of importance, changing a law that was as old as the state, the repeal of which affected all the literary, religious and charitable societies in the state. The House postponed it till October session, and it finally passed that body in January, 1829, after a great deal of debate. It should be remembered too, that the very men who now compose the House, and who were in the convention on the 13th inst. that nominated the old senate, by their vote, passed that very act. It was sent up to the old senate on the last day of the session, and was there very properly postponed for want of time to consider it. The motion to postpone was made by Hon. Nathan Brown, now the first senator named on the Jackson ticket, and was assented to by the Governor. In May, 1829, the subject was revived in the House, and a bill reported and passed, very materially modified from the former bill, inasmuch as it did not tax meeting houses, grave yards, &c. as the former bill did. What did this 'instanter' Jackson senate do, even with this modified bill? They postponed it till June, to take time to consider, though they had a whole day before them. In June they took it up, and spent a day in hearing the committee from the Friends' Seminary urge objections to the act. They then modified it a little, and concurred with the House. This is the true history of that matter; and moreover, it is well known that Hon. Nathan Brown was opposed from the beginning to the repeal of the 27th section. We always gave him credit for the independence he showed in that opinion, and doubt not that he maintains it still. Does Mr. Updike think the people of Rhode Island simpletons, that they can be influenced by such misrepresentations as this?]

After he had made this statement Mr. U. inquired whether the people were blind that they could not see as he did. He further stated that one of the old Senators, Mr. Watson, held a lot of this exempted ministerial land, leased for 999 years, at $20 a year; that Mr. Watson was never known to act against his own interest, and that therefore he would get this section re-enacted; and yet, in the next sentence, he added that Mr. Watson held a perpetual guarantee, that the lessors should pay the tax, in case the State should ever impose a tax on it.