Prior to the elevation of Mr. Van Buren to the presidency, he had been long in public life, and had been honored with several offices in his native state and under the general government. His talents, learning, and experience, though not greater than those of many others of his countrymen, were generally allowed to be adequate to his station. He had not, indeed, like all his predecessors, been connected more or less with the scenes of the Revolution, for he was born in the concluding year of the war. But, in the swiftly revolving years, it was evident that the time must soon come, when others than the men of '76 would be called to the helm of government. New men, and those not of the Anglo-American stock, must participate, as agreeable to the will of our mixed community, in guiding the ship of state which the fathers launched forth on the sea of experiment. Such was the case in respect to Mr. Van Buren, and such must it be hereafter, so far as regards men of ante-revolutionary birth. Whether our future presidents will continue to be guided by the spirit and example of the sages and heroes of the Revolution, remains to be seen.
