Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 1).djvu/293

Rh people believe that the administration of John Quincy Adams, one of the purest and most conscientious this Republic has ever had, was really a sink of iniquity, and an abomination in the sight of all just men; and that, if such a dreadful event as the reëlection of Adams should happen, it would inevitably be the end of liberty and republican institutions in America. Such a calamity could be prevented only by the election of the “old hero,” who, having once been “cheated out of the presidency by bargain and corruption,” was now “justly entitled to the office.”

On the other hand, the friends of the administration were not entirely idle. The President did not, indeed, give them any encouragement in the way of opening places for them. While being constantly accused of employing the power and patronage of the government to corrupt public opinion, and to dragoon the people into “acquiescence,” John Quincy Adams kept the even tenor of his way. The public service was full of his enemies, but he did not remove one of them. Even when well persuaded that McLean, the Postmaster-General, had been intriguing against him and using the patronage of his department in the interest of the opposition, and Clay with other members of the Cabinet urged McLean's dismissal, the President refused, because he thought the Post Office Department was on the whole well conducted. That he did not exclude his friends from place, was perhaps all that could be truthfully said. The