There is another evil which attends these frequent elections of the chief magistrate—­namely, the enormous patronage at his disposal, and the mass of jobbery and corruption to which the exercise of it almost invariably leads.  Besides the appointment of nearly ever military, naval, civil, judicial, and revenue-collecting official—­some of these subject, it is true to the approval of the Senate—­Mr. Justice Story remarks, that with regard to inferior offices “his patronage probably includes ninety-nine out of every hundred of the lucrative offices of the government.”  His great rival in patronage is the Postmaster-General, who has power to appoint and remove all deputy-postmasters, which, as the number of post-offices is 22,688, amounts to something considerable.

This power was doubtless intended for the public good, and in order that incompetent or inefficient persons should be removed.  To the honour of Washington, it is recorded that during his eight years’ Presidency only nine removals took place.  To President Jackson they are indebted, as I have before remarked, for the introduction of the present corrupt system.  According to Justice Story, on his entering office he removed 233 employes; since then, the snowball has been steadily increasing till the present moment; it has now reached an amount which it would require Mr. Babbage’s machine to calculate.  Who can doubt that such vast patronage, has far more influence in the selection of a President, than any personal qualification for the high and important post?  Nothing could prove more clearly that such influences are paramount to all others than the last election.  There were eight candidates on the democratic side, of whom General Pierce was not one; all the eight had their special friends, and each party was loth to lose the chance of patronage which their friend’s election might reasonably lead them to hope for.  Thus they fought so vigorously that there was no chance of any one having the requisite number of votes, i.e., a majority of the whole number polled.

The Convention being deputed by the different States to select from the candidates already in the field, how do they get out of the difficulty at the eleventh hour?  They take upon themselves to nominate a candidate for the Presidential chair, who was not fettered by any particular followers, and from whom all parties hoped they would receive some share of the loaves and fishes as a reward for their support.  The electors endorsed the new selection of the Convention, and General Pierce, lately commanding a brigade in the Mexican war, was elected by a most astounding majority.  Scarcely any President was ever elected with such all-but unanimity, and the Press was equally undivided in its praises.  Every paper I read, in every place I passed through, was full of the most unbounded eulogy.  But mark the change a few months made.  Before the end of the year, one-half of that Press, which had bespattered him with such fulsome