Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1852-12-04
From the Nat. A. S. Standard.
Who Killed Cock Robin!


Why was General Scott dcfcatcdi This is
question that one hears mootcd everywhere in
conversation and discussed in all sorts Of news.
papers. The problem is solved in different ways
by different observers, according to the point of
view from which they look at il. Some think
that the country was afraid of trusting its intcg-
rity to one who was not swiftcr than Tclcgraphic
lightning in accepting the Compromises. Othcr
some think it was because of his very Compro
missing celebrity that ho lost the support of the
only part Of the country where he had any
strength. Some affirm that it was putting his
trust in Seward that has brought his calamity
| upon him while other some again aver that
| ScwarJism was no element in tho business, but
| tho Democrats were tired of Galphirism, and
| Dcnsonism, and Colinsism, and Lawism and
/ I1bosism, and were determined on making n
clean sweep Of tho whole political board
| These latter arc the nearest right. Not that
J We would accuse the Democrats of any insu-
! pcrable antipathy 10 any Of these isms in the
abstract; but they would, naturally, prefer
shat they should qualify proper nouns OF the
plundcr in tho wrong hands had, no doubt,
large share in tho catastrophe Of the bungling
party now accidentally in power The loavcs
and the fishes, though but five of the one and
two (and they smalD of the other, were quc5-
tioncss guilty Of share Of this result, but not
Of the uholc-for what are they among so
many?
The cause Of the Wing disappointment must
be looked for behind the mere thirst for "spoils."
But small portion of the hundred of thou.
sands OF voters expected that the change
would be Of any posunary advantage to them.
selves. The great multitudcs of men whose
votes decide the issue of these political battles
are swoycd by motives not strictly PERSONAL
IL is on this clcmcnt-this tcrtiUm quid-that
politicians out Of power must depend for help
that is to bring them in, anl those in power for
the support that is to keep them where they
arc. 1t was on this swaying mass of mind that
both parties relied for success. 1t was this that
elected Harrison and defeated Clay, which
chose Taylor and rejected Scott. The mischief
was that General Scott, in his cagcrnoss, and
As AiANHNri III bllNAl NONuIAlCC, ulu hot manage
to control it for their purpose. And why was
this so: Because they forgot that for a minor.
ity candidate Gas General Scott was, notwith- |
standing the accidental supremacy of the Wings, |
just now,) could become majority ono only |
by the conflict of Ideas. In the hope of sccur.
ing Slavcbolding help, they yielded the only
point about which an issue coalI be made
! hey made themselves as Democrats without
their names, their watchword or their diciplnc,
and thus suffered the battle to 60 by default
They virtually abandoned the whole game III
hope that the holders would hand them over
the stakes, because they had thrown up their
cards.
Now we apprchcnd that Mr.. Stewards plan
of the campaign was very different from this.
lie did not expect General Scott to be salutcd
Conqucror and dccrccd tho triumph in virtue
Of having surrundcred at discretion and sub
mittcd, nay, hastcned, to pass under the yoke
lie expected as hard fighting as General Scott |
himself had to pass through before he rode |
into the Great Square of Mexico. !
lie did not expect his hero to be carried to the
skies ION howcry beds of case" But he !
wished to establish basis of operations at Bal
rimore by means of which he might demolish |
the stTongholds of the enemy and finally sue
coed. This basis of operations we apprchend |
to have been the refusal Of the Baltimore Con-
vcntion to accept the Compromises as part of
the platform. THIS would have made a tnngi-
bic and visabc distiction between the Wings
and the Democrats and would have afforded an
excellent "Cry' to rally the North and West,
where all the hopes OF the Whg. Scott party
lay. Had he succeeded in doing this, he could
have gone into the campaign with a show of
principles and prctencc, at least, of spirit, and
there would have been a genuine fight about
something tangible. But having been out gem
cralled by the SHAREHOLDERS and deserted by the
trcacherous doughlaces of Massachusetts,, in
hopes of buying favors for Webster, and of
Northern States, there was nothing left to fight
about and there was nothing to choose between
except Big General, on the one hand, and
Little one, on the other
Mr. Seward is said to be great political
Manager, and we laro say he is. We do not
think it fair to judge OF his abilities in this by
this present failure The odls against which
he had to contend were tremendous, and his
men were raw recruits or unlieiplicd volunteers,
mostly, and he could not establish his basis of
operations. Tho enemy broke it broke it up
and left him nothing but an aimlcss, guerrilla
kind of warfare, which could hardly fail to end
in nothing, Seeing this, he wisely withdrew
from all direction of tho campaign, and, no
doubt, saw the end from the beginning. Could
he have restrained the pro-slaycry procliyity of
his chief, could he have procured for him an
independent nomination when he saw, ns he
must have done long before the Convention met,
what the result must be, and have run him