The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1848-08-23
VAN buren, AND SLAVERY.

LORENZO Dow, with sarcasm as bitter as il
was quaint, and which would have been pro-
fame In another man, once defined death-bed
repentance 10 be burning out the candle of life
in the service Of the devil and blowing the
snuff in the Lords face. OF this character is
the new love of freedom with which Martin
Van Buren, finds himself suddenly anima ted
He is man who has passed his whole life in
the service of slavery; so that he has given the
strength OF. his manhood aud all the force of
his character; and now, when he has been ov-
erwheimingly defeated by the people in one
canvass, and ANONYMOUSLY rejected BY his
own party in the next, when he has neither
station MOI influence, nothing which he can
sacrifice, nothing which he can risk, he comes
forward as the champion of freedom? He
brings the weapons which he has battered and
broken In the warfare of slavers, and which
ne has no longer the strength to use with effect
and hangs them up in the temple Of liberty
We are called upon 10 admire his maguanimi-
ty, to praise his independence in bursting
from the shackles of party which refused to
have anything TO do with him four years ago.
And more than this, the tried and consistent
friends OF freedom, the men who have struggled
through failure and Obloquy in the cause, are
expected to abandon ALL other organiza ton,
and to arrange themselves under the banner Of
this new recruit who has just deserted from
the other side, or rather whom the other side
has driven away.
In every station to which Mr.. Van Buren,
has been elevated by the popular suffrage, OF
has raised himself by successful intrigue, he
has been the fast friend of slavery. AS a leg
islator, as an ambassador, as an executive, he
has always been true to this one cause. Change
full upon everything else, upon which both sides
OF every other great question, this has been the
sole consistency of his political life. As Vice
President he gave the casting vote for that in
famous law authorizing the mails to be viola
ted and the freedom OF the press outraged by
the destruction Of any matter which might be
found in them offensive 10 slavery; as Secreta-
ry of State he directed our minister at Madrid
to warn the Court Of Spain against "the bane-
full spirit of emancipation which was i'm dan
ger of extending to the Island of Cuba; as Pres
ldent he fastened in his inaugural address to
give assurance of his adhesion TO the cause of
slavery, pledge which he fully redeemed in
his efforts against the Liberation of the Amist-
ad negroes, and in the whole force and direc-
ton of the executive influence. His gratuit-
Gus pledge that he would veto any bill for the
abolition of slavery in the District of Colum-
bia, is still on record. unrecanted and in full
force. He is nominated for the Presidency
suject to that pledge. He is still the s:North-
ern man with Southern principles aud in his
letter 10 the Utica Convention he reiterat es
some OF his most offensive and ultra slavery
opinions, and declares that he::has not reason
10 change them. Now, when such man is
put forward as the representative of the party
CT freedom, II seems TO us that nothing more
Inconsistent can be found even in his own po-