The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1843-08-17
August II, 184a.
For the Voice of Freedom.
WING AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES.
How

formation Of the Liberty Party, there wei
bultwo political parties in the US. the VIII
ard Democratic and that these, regardless
of sectional limits or institutional bounds
ries, extended over the length and breadth
the land. Even now, among all parties, nc
excepting the Liberty, we hea: The new OF
ganization spoken ofas the THRU party, there
by implying, if not directly asserting, tina
Two parties only existed before. The cor
rectness of this opinion | beg leave to ques
ton, and offer some of my reasons for so do
ing.
The position which | shall attempt to sus
tain, in as few words as possible is this:-
that neither The Wing party, nor The Demo
cratic party, as such, extend one inch beyond
Mason and Dixon's line that the moment
you cross that line, separating the free and
slave States, you then tread the soil Cf THE
SLAVERY PARTY of these United States
Whether my position is correct, | leave for
others to determine, after presenting my rea-
sons in support Ct it.
What is a political party? | take it to be
an association Of a portion Of the people mp.
on common ground, for the purpose OF carry
ing out what are believed TO be great para
mount political principles or measures. 1t
is The paramount importance given by the
party 10 their principles or measures, which
connects and constitutes it a distinct party.
And the true character of a party is determ-
med, rot by The principles which it pro-
JsSSeS, but by those which, it in fact HOLDS
as its paramount principles, and TO which
all other conf citing political principles
must Weld.
For example, so long as the Liberty Par
" make opposition 10 Slacery their para
mount principle, they are an ami slavery
party. Bot let that same party substitute,
for their anti-slavery principle, the Bank or
Tariff question, or any other whatever, and
the moment they do this, they cease to be
an anti slavery rarly, whatever name they
assume, or whatever principles profess
They thus make their anti-sldVery principle
not paramount TO all other, but secondary,
and consequently lose the character Of an
anti slavery party.
The same rule applies with equal certain
ty TO Individuals. Take for instance Judge
Mattocks, the present Wing candidate for
Governor. He is declared by some to be an
aboltionist-o'h the deny his right 10 this
aPpellati0n. How are we to determine this
question ? Simply by ascertaining the prio:
ciples, (not which he protesses) but which
he makes paramount in Icing Gcti0n.-
And since MIR. Maltocks has told the elec;
tors Of Vermont Gin a letter to Mr.. HoIcomb,
published in the last Voice, provided Hen
ry Clay should be nominated for The Presi;
dency by the National Convention" and
provided the wings are united, and there
should be "a moral certainty of e~lecting a
democratic candidate il Clay was moi" that
he "shouId choose the lesser" moral 'evil,
and vole for Clay" no one will hesitate a
moment to declare Mr.. Mattocks NOT AN ABB:
Why g.? Because his opposition
TO Loco Focoism, and his adherence 10 tue
Wing Party, (Which is but one and the same
is stronger Than his attachment 10
anti-slavery principles, and is the paramount
principle Of his political action. ! would
call him not an o6otiti0uist on the same
principle that would believe a man nat q
who persists in serving the Devil
rather than serving I'd. And there is no
more of the old "g0od lord and good Devil"
service in matters of abolition, than IN reiI:
giJn. He that is not for US Is against US
and he that garhere(h not with US. scattereth
abr0 3D." eye cannot serve God and man
mon"
Now apply the same test to the people Of
The slave States, and see TO what party they
What do they make the paramount
principle, the sine qua non OF all their polll:
ical action ? Slavery .SLaeeryH SLAVERY J.!
Can any living mortal point 10 an act, show:
ing that they do not prefer slavery "above
their chiefest joy"? No! When did they
ever sacrifice The interests Of slavery to any
other object, moral, religious or political
In slavery "they live and move aud
hare their being y they cherish it as the aP:
pie Of their eye. Upon its bloody altar have
their political aud religious teachers already
laid their religion, their country, their Bible
and their Bibles God. And yet we are
aravely told by meu of sane minds ia other
%res2ecs, thai Whiggery and Democracy
(Which have been fighting each other ill,
like the Kilkenny cats, there is nothing lett OF
either, bat the loaves and fishes, the bone OF
their contention,) are objects 10 the esllma: