Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-10-16

would equally govern the world had it never been
written in books. The Law of Nature is established
by the Supreme Ruler of the Heavens and the
Earth You may abrogate all your Treaties with
foreign Powers, but the Law of Nature will still
remain You may, indeed, deny, eyade, or abuse
the authority Of the Law of Nations. We have, in
our own day, seen it so, when, in the confidence
OF irresistible naval strength, single Power of Eu-
rope asserted claim to the dominion of the Seas
and we have seen the freedom of the Seas recognised
by the same Power which still the greatest naval
Power on earth. The Democratic party might,
when IN power undertake to withdraw this People
from the pale Of the Law of Nations and we have
no reason to doubt that they will do 50, should the
purposes ayowed by them, which we are now re-
viewing, be crowned with success 1t is happiness
to know that they will undertake what they cannot
accomplish.
Ihe project of Intervention alone, put in practice
IN the sense in which it is advocated by the "pro
gressive" organs, would 90 far to effect that object
The federation OF FJastieism in the spirit in which
it is upheld in speech and in print would 20 further
still to place this Government in the predicament of
an outlaw from the family of Nations. But the
momentary assertion of both these doctrines would
but produce an Immediate reaction in the public
mind Of this People which would not fail to hurl
its authors from the seats Of power.
Such will be the consequence of Democratic sue
cess in the pending National Election, should they
follow out the plan Of conduct to which their lead
ing men have since the Baltimore Convention, and
even since the adjournment Of Congress, repeatedly
pledged themselves and exhorted their party. They
claim to be enabled by the concentration of power in
their hands through the election of their candidate
for President, to cast off all regard to the Law of
Nations to dictate law not to the Peoples Of Europe
merely, but throughout the world /" by interposing
whenever hostile drum is rolled or hostile can
non fired; to assert for this Government supreme
authority over seas which are equally free to all
other nations as to us to seize and annex all con-
tlguous or adjacent territories or islands which
tempt the cupidity of the party in power; to coun-
tenance private predatory expeditions from our
waters against the possessions of friendly nations
though forbidden not only by every principle of
National and Moral law, but expressly forbidden by
solemn enactments on own statute books; and to
exert all the National force to rescue such expedi-
tons, when successfully repealed by their intended
victims, from the consequences of their discontinue
To this catalogue of meditated follies and crimes
nothing need be added to establish for this country
the character Of of the most reprobae and awless
of civilized nations, instead of that which has been
won for it, under preceding Administrations, and
especially under the fundamentally Democratic Ad-
ministrations of JEFFERSON and JACKSON for jus
friendly Powers, and above all things, for scru-
pulous observance of the Law of Nations.
Reverence of Law has ever hitherto been cha
racteristic of this People. When and wherever
they had no other law to guide them, they have re-
spected and obeyed the law of Christianity When
the colonies became States, the People obeyed their
laws Whom by tho Constitution Of the United
States this Government was established, its autho
rity recognised and respected from the first day
of its Inauguration. The LAW OF NATIONS, by
that Constitution, recognised as obligatory upon
this Government, the power being conferred BY il
upon Congress to define and punish offences
against that law.
With what respect and good faith the Law of
Nations has been observed by our early Presidents,
and indeed by all successive Chief Magistrates,
we have already shown and that it has been re-
spected with no less good faith and honor by the
present Administration than it was by that Of
WASHINGTON himself, all our reader scan bear tes-
tmony This credit no candid man can deny to
President FILLMORE and his Counsellors, or to the
Wing party From the evidence placed before our
readers in our preceding numbers, we have seen
that the Democratic party has made this respect for
National Law the most prominent of the {" tissues"
between its candidates and those of the Wings for
the highest political trusts in the Government
The Democracy, as represented by its public or
gans, derides and vilifes the Law of Nations, and
plainly announces its intention to trample it under
foot whenever it stands in the way of their pern-
cious designs of Intervention, annexation" con-
quest, and subjugation
The Democracy goes still further 1t justi6es
disobedience to the Laws of our own country which
ordain the punishment Of crimes against National
Law; applauds the crime, and assails with base
ephets the President of the United States for the
part he has taken in executing that law, which
if he had not done he would have violated the
Oath of Office by which he is sworn to "take care
that the laws be faithfully executed"
The Democratic organs and orators do not stop
here. They ridicule and revile, in every way they
dare, the judicial execution of the law which i'm.
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