Alexandria Gazette

A Political Picture.

The Washington States, one of the most ably edited Democratic papers in the country, makes the following indictment against Mr. Buchanan:

"He found a redundant treasury—he squandered the surplus, and is now clamorous for an increase of taxation to supply an unaccountable deficiency. The necessities of the Government demand economy of expenditure; the estimates are hard upon a hundred million. The people were induced to anticipate a return to the simplicity and purity of early days; never did corruption exhibit such rank luxuriance of growth in every department of the public service. They were promised reform—they have an aggravation of abuse. They expected retrenchment—they are insulted by proposals for the most absurd and mischievous appropriations. Millions have been expended for the suppression of Mormonism, and the abomination flourishes with undiminished vigor and a more audacious ambition. Much profession of fidelity to State rights was indulged by the Administration, and its pledges are redeemed by protective tariffs and Pacific railroads. The country was instructed to rejoice over the renunciation of the right of search by Great Britain, and in the midst of the triumph, American ships are boarded in American waters and subjected to every species of indignity."
—Petersburg Intelligencer.