The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-05-06
THE MANIFESTO.

the sake of quiet is spreading; concord :,
sought through discord the politicians WI,
pirate most glibly Of Cancellation and brotbe,I,
love, show their sincerity and tact by rous;na
into fierce activity slumbering differences %
opinion, and by forcing issues calculated -
develop the natural antagonism of sections
The latest effort of Importance to ppt do,ru
agitation, and hold up the Union, is the Mani
festo of the eleven seceders from the Wb;o
caucus, addressed 70 the Wings of the United
States, In explanation and justification of their
course. The letter-writers forestalled them.
their whole case was submitted by telegram
to the Public before their address was concoct
ed. 1t presents no fact not already known 70
the People, no argument with which they are
not familiar. Its authors doubtless were under
the impression that posterity would regard it
as we now regard the Declaration of indie
pendence; but it is already on its way to the
limbo of vanities, to take its place with the
famous Southern Address of the last Congress
and the proceedings of the Nashville COnyen.
ton.
The sum and substance of it is: that Mr.
Marshall of Kentucky and Mr.. Gentry of Ten.
nessee with few other equally discreet and
patriotic men, not finding enough to employ
their great faculties in the work of legislation
to which they had been elected by the People,
undertook to frame a creed for their party,
and to prescribe to upwards of million of in
dependent voters the terms issues, and nomi-
nations on which they should act together
That this creed emitting all notice of cues
tons concerning the Tariff, the Independent
Treasury Public Lands, River and Harbor I'm
provements, Governmental Expenditures and
Reform, or any other question of general in
terest embraced but single article-the final
ty of a series of measures the only practical
one of which is, a most detestable law for
slave-catching: That the attempt to establish
this broad and enlightened creed for the Wing
party, was made in caucus of Wings at
which were present only sixty-seyen members
forty-fve from the free, and TWENTY-FIVE from
the slave States-"a meager majority" as the
address says "of the Representatives claimed
as Wings in the Congress of the United States
and that it was defeated on point of order by
vote of forty-six TO twenty-five eight of the
Southern men voting with the majority, seven
of the Northern men with the minority That
disappointed in this attempt to induce the Wing
members of Congress, or rather "a meager
majority of MEMBERS" to fix the creed of
National Wing Convention, over which they
had no other authority than that of determin
ing the time and place of its meeting they re-
tired in disgust, and they now ask the iudg
ment of the Wings of the United States upon
their acts
This is the subtance of the Manifesto we
cannot find room for its commonpaces Eleven
names are subscribed to it, as follows:
W. Brooke, Mississippi; Jackson Morton
Florida John Moore, Louisiana; Humphrey
Marshall, Kentucky; M. p Gentry, TenneS-
see; c. H. Williams, Tennessee; 4. c. Cabel
Florida; David Outlaw, North Carolina; J.
Aristide Landry, Louisiana james F StrOther
Virginia
concur fully in the statement of facts, as
I. L. CLINGMAN, North Carolina.
Certainly, not formidable array. The
platform on which these eleven gentlemen I'M
dertook to place the party, is defined in the
resolution of Mr.. Marshall, their leader, as fol-
lows:
"Whereas the determination of the time and
place for holding National Wing Convention
has been referred to the Wings of Congress,
the Wing members of the Senate and House of
Representatives having assembled in Conyen-
ton with the explicit understanding that they
regard the series of acts known as the adjust
ment measures as forming in their mutual de-
pendence and connection system of cOmpro-
mise the most concilatory and the best for the
entire country that could be obtained from
conflicting sectional interests and opinions
and that, therefore, they ought to be adhered
to and carried into faithful execution. as a final
settlement in principle and substance, of the
dangerous and exciting subjects which they
embrace and to unite on this basis as we'll as
upon the long-established principles of the
Wing party, do hereby recommend the -
day of -, and the city of -, as the time
and place for holding the National Wing Con-
vention for the choice of Wing candidates for
the Presidency and Vice Presidency, respective
y"
These eleven patriotic men do not, however,
confne their efforts to the Wing party. They
seem disposed to take the Democratic party
also under their care They insist that both
shall adopt the platform of Mr.. Humphrey
Marshall, under pain of being denounced as
outcasts from the fellowship of good and honest
men.
"Should both of the great political parties
fail to shape future party organization upon
the enlarged and fair principle to which we
invited the Wing meeting at the Capitol on the
Goth instant there remains but one other re-
sort The People will demand such an organi-
zation, at the expense of existing parties and
it will triumph over both or, misled by politi-
cal leaders, whose personal ambition rises
above their love of country, the People will be
come involved in canvass conducted by can
ddates whose parasites will pander to sectional
preiudices, and will seek political preierment
BY arousing sectional passions
We presume the Wing and Democratic Com
mittees will take the subject into serious con
sideration, and avail themselves of the profound
wisdom of Mr.. Humphrey Marshall and his
associates.
Meantime, the conduct of this gentleman
and his friends is the subject of contradictory
comment by the Wing press AT the North
it is condemned. The Washington Infelhgsn-
Ger, with its accustomed prudence abstains
from the expression of any opinion concerning
it, and the Republic, which, since its coalition
with the Union to obtain the printing of Con-
gree, has been unusually discreet hopes that all
will yet be right The Baltimore Patriot is I'M
willing to take sides in the controversy but the
Baltimore american, and SapGnnaA (Ga) Re