Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1848-12-02
SHOWING THEIR HAND.


guardian of the CAss Democracy Of Wis
consin, comes out since the election, and al
leges that the defeat of their nominee for
the Presidency, is to be attributed to the at
tempt made by their party to court the Free
Soil fallacy. The Democrat thinks that
CAss was right in taking sides with the
South against prohibiting extension of sla-
very, aud that his friends ought to have pre-
scented him and urged his support upon that
ground. That "impracticaJle abstraction"
has ruined CAss, in the Democrats opinion.
We call upon freemen of all parties in Wis
consin, to witness this bare-faced avowal of
the doctrines of slavery agandis,n, W hich
the leaders of Northern Locofocracy cher
lished in their hearts, and hypocrttically con-
cealed, solely through fear that their rank
and file would desert to the free broad stan-
dard of the Wings, upborne by the united
will of our party, that the footstep of Slave
ry shall never wiher another inch of free
soil against the consent of Congress.
! But hear what the Democrat says:--
owe believe as we believe in our own
existence, that had the Democracy taken an
honest and consistent course during the re-
cent CANVASS, we should not now be called
upon to mourn the defeat of the party in
many counties, 1t not IN the State, aud per-
haps ~ the nation. tlinid, temporiZlng
policy has ruined us-c0w ardice, If not
treachery, has betrayed us. When the ques-
ton Of slavery wasIhrown into this contest
--a question made up MI of passion and
prejudice-our party through the North, in
stead of placing itself firmly upon the old
Democratic platform OF State rights and
strict construction, which has horne us tr-
umphantIy through every storm, basely
truckled 10 this newborn spirit Of ,lisorgal-
ization. They threw down ths constitution
al barriers which confined the fountain, and
IN attempting 10 dam the torrent with straws,
have been borne down by the swelling cur
rent. Our noble old chief saw in the Con-
stitull0n no power given To Congress to leg
isate upon this subject. The Democratic
party, up To the present time, have resisted
with united strength every luttudinal con
sIruetIon of that sacred instrument, aud why
has our standard bearer been deserted at this
crissf Because short-sIghted, time serving
politicians hoped 10 cheat the people of their
suflrages 10y temporizlng with their preJudi-
ces but the disguise was too fliinsy and
the fraud too eyidcnt-they lost by manage
ment what might have been secured by can
dor. The dispute was thus Honest De-
mocracy diseiaimed the Uiimoi Prouiso as
not coming ,ciihil The province ofthe Cons
titufion, and as OF no practical importance
IN lis application, as the freedom of the
IA la "a htph "a nrnnnzs.l m upnfv
it, was already secured by the existing laws
of those territories. Sectional prejudice
saw in il only barrier to the extension of
slavery, and sought To enquire no farther.
Party managers attempted 10 combine the
two by decepton--lnstead cf combating
prejudice with reason, which would easily
overcome II, they abandoned the democratic
ground, and acting upon the very common
error OF politicians that "all is fair in poll
tics,n offered To the Proviso men the bald
hope that our candidate tcas NOT honest ia
has drolced opinions, and toouid, after hac-
ing secured The poie Of The South bu has
public professions, yield himself ,ciHing
instrument 20 the prgudices Of The North.
Thus has wholesome argument been ruled
out of the contest, and the honest Proviso
men, who might have been convinced of err
ror by reason, have very properly rejected
Ioverturcs which only promised parlicipa-
ton IN fraud. The result is, that in every
county where Democrats have yielded the
principle, the Proviso men have carried the
numbers and everywhere Democracy has
been successful only Just in proportion to
their adherence tn democratic principle.
Here n portion only of the party stood by
the old platform, aud it is the only thing thar
has saved the country to Cass and Butler.
We hope our politicians will learn wisdom
by experience, AID not again waive princi-
pies which among this people combine all
the elements of success, to mere temporary
expediency."