The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-10-25
The COmproInise-The Democratic Press
and the Wing Party.

| wing party, and that the quiet oi the country
depends on restoring to office party which
extends the right-hand of fellowship to the VAN
BURENs, CHASE, GIDDINGs, SUMNER, and
PRESTON KING, on one extreme, and to RHETT,
QUITMAN, BococK, TURNEY, and JEFFERSON
DAVIS on the other, as il may suit the locality
and the common purpose of these "bilter end
ers" to wage relentless war of opposition
against the present conservative administration,
is certainly the climax of political impudence.
| How preposterous to claim that party radi-
cal in its very nature, embracing all the ultra.
lsms OF the day. and agtatlng. In the name of
| progressive Democracy, every new-tangled the
DRY which promises TO furnish political capital that
may pander to the popular whim of the moment,
can be relied on to maintain any SETTLEMENT of
dangerous questions as final. 1t 10 to argue that
partisan demagogucs will commit suicide who
have all along preserved their political existence
chiefly by unsettiing every thing SETTLED, and ri
diculing the idea that precedents or judicial deci-
sons are of any weight against the higher laioism
once proclaimed ex-cathedra, that sworn officer
Of the Government is ''to consrue the Constitution
as he understands it."
| The solemn endorsement by large body Of this
latter sentiment, which sets up the opinion of
igdipidual against the law of the land as declared
by the highest tribunal known to the Constitution,
has been the parent of that spirit of
and opposition, under the preext of conscience, to
the Fugitive Slave law, that has caused SO much
trouble and excitement in the country. 1t is to
the miserable ntrgues Of certain party politicians
in reference to the right of petition, and the Aher
ton resolutions, gotten up to make capital for Mr.
VAN buren,, may BIO traced the first introduction
Of the slavery question formidable element into
our national politics since the Missouri compromise
How fuel has been furnished to that element by
| 4 IL
party none will now deny, and the terrible recoil
produced by the Justification of their promises the
South on this subject so many of the
leaders OF the southern wing of that party to wish
themselves out of Union whose balance they have
forever settled against their section by the pol
icy they advocated. The far-seeing sagacity of Mr..
CALHOUN anticipated this result, and hence his oppo.
sition to the Mexican war; and impartial history
will faithfully fix the responsibility of the slavery
agitation on the party that set in moton-the
causes which produced it. Vain is it then
for the Abdiel OF the Union, whose editor, too,
stood with the consprators at Nashville,
70 try to appropriate to the authors of all the
mischief the credit that belongs to the Statesman
whose counsels in 1874 they deridcd, but to whom
the whole country invountarily looked the mo-
nent there any danger. And yet, to make
little party capital for Presidential election, the
get up Cuba annexation fever, and holding out
to the South the idea that this is the project by
which their lost balance of power ia to be regained
regardless of the consequences that may follow from
arousing again the demon of slavery agitation
beautiful party, certainly, to sustain the SETTLE.
TENT of these exciting topics made by the Adjust
Inent measures.
slight review of the present position of parties
will show the allacy of the favorite theory of the
Union, that the Democracy of the North rallied
against Wing agitation on the Compromise mea.
sures, and that the South have only to unite on the
platform OF the same party.
In the first place it may be remarked, that this
constant harping ON the words 'North" and
'South" by The organ of the pseudo Democracy at
Washington, ever since it tuned its pipes, i'll the
days of the Magician, to the note of "thc Northern
with Southern principles for the purpose OF
cheating the country, has done as much to foster
sectional jealousy, the fountain of sectional parties
any other curse, by propagaung the idea that
there is real difference Of interest between citi
aens of different parts of the Union. 1t is dan
gerous game, for mere party SUCCESS to represent
half the people of one section Of the Union az
hostile to another section; for, should such q sys-
TEN Of tactics unite the whole South to party
the North, that party could not long sustain
itself at home against the charge of acting
against the interest of its section. The
moment party lines ccnse to be drawn in com.
mon through all the States of the Union, the
great safeguard against geographical party divl-
keions is broken down; yet this to be the
\pecial object for which the central organ Of De-
hocracy at Washington has abored, and perhaps
it has induced some fanatics to believe that it was
telling the truth To this constant course Of mis-
representation of the true sentiments of large
masses of people may be attributed Justly the late
outrage on the laws in Pennsylvania, perpetratcd
under the false idea, industriously propagated
by the leaders of a certain party, that the other
party would sustain such violations of law and
order.
Again, the Union has acted ASH opposition to the
Compromise by large portion of its own party at
the South TO be passed over under the soft
name of "natonal acquiescence,' as the Richmond
Enquirer has it., while silence on the part of a
Wing convention at the North--the best plan often
of stopping agitation by casing to talk of the sub
Ject agitated-was to be construed evincing
settled purpose of reopening the agitation The
Wing State Convention of PENNsYLvANIA, which
passed resolution expressly endorsing the Com
promise measures a whole, is violently assailed
because it laid the table resolution approving
specially of one of them; while similar action on
the part of the New York Democratic State Con
vention, which nominated it's ticket under the die
tation of john VAN buren,, the prince of abolition
coalitions, is excused, on the grounds of expedien-
CIV. The Ohio Wing Convention ia arraigned by
the same consistent print declaring that the Com
promise did not pass by party vote, and, there.
fore, liberation of opinion should be allowed among
Wings in reference to it, the very thing the De-
nocracy of the South, and particularly of Virginia
arc insisting upon, utterly refusing, in their
party action, TO submit to any such new test
and yet the Union, while condemning the Ohio
Wings in this matter, warmly advocates the
reelection of the Virginia Congressional dele
cation that voted against the Compromise. How
an editor, who is willing 10 act with those
who maintain the abstract right of SECESSION, can
find fault with his opponents for doing the same
thing in reference to those who maintain the alb
stract right of DISCUSSION, laid down in the AL
bany Wing platform, can only be explained, per-
haps, by the hair splitting logic of Brutus or
Cassus the old Richmond junto. But people Of
plain common sense cannot but see that the Union
will defend its position by the rule, "whose OK is