Mr. Calhoun concludes his Exposition by bringing forward his remedy for the frightful evils which he had conjured up.  That remedy, of course, was nullification.  The State of South Carolina, after giving due warning, must declare the protective acts “null and void” in the State of South Carolina after a certain date; and then, unless Congress repealed them in time, refuse obedience to them.  Whether this should be done by the Legislature or by a convention called for the purpose, Mr. Calhoun would not say; but he evidently preferred a convention.  He advised, however, that nothing be done hastily; that time should be afforded to the dominant majority for further reflection.  Delay, he remarked, was the more to be recommended, because of

“the great political revolution which will displace from power, on the 4th of March next, those who have acquired authority by setting the will of the people at defiance, and which will bring in an eminent citizen, distinguished for his services to his country and his justice and patriotism”;

under whom, it was hoped, there would be “a complete restoration, of the pure principles of our government.”  This passage Mr. Calhoun could write after witnessing the manoeuvres of Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Eaton!  If the friends of Mr. Adams had set the will of the people at defiance on the tariff question, what had the supporters of General Jackson done?  In truth, this menace of nullification was the second string to the bow of the Vice-President.  It was not yet ascertained which was going to possess and use General Jackson,—­the placid and flexible Van Buren, or the headstrong, short-sighted, and uncomfortable Calhoun.  Nullification, as he used daily to declare, was a “reserved power.”

At the time of General Jackson’s inauguration, it would have puzzled an acute politician to decide which of the two aspirants had the best chance of succeeding the General.  The President seemed equally well affected toward both.  One was Secretary of State, the other Vice-President.  Van Buren, inheriting the political tactics of Burr, was lord paramount in the great State of New York, and Calhoun was all-powerful in his own State and very influential in all the region of cotton and rice.  In the Cabinet Calhoun had two friends, and one tried and devoted ally (Ingham), while Van Buren could only boast of Major Eaton, Secretary of War; and the tie that bound them together was political far more than personal.  In the public mind, Calhoun towered above his rival, for he had been longer in the national councils, had held offices that drew upon him the attention of the whole country, and had formerly been distinguished as an orator.  If any one had been rash enough in 1829 to intimate to Mr. Calhoun that Martin Van Buren stood before the country on a par with himself, he would have pitied the ignorance of that rash man.