New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-06-11
WING AND DEMOCRATIC AsCENDEN-
CY-PRRSIDENTIAL STUNNING.


CY-PRESIDENTIAL STUNNING.
The Political readers of our last issue
will have been interested in the report
therein given of the Democratic Ratifica-
ton Meeting at Washington, with the
speeches there made by Messrs. CAss,
HoUsToN, DOUGLAS and LANE, late COM
petitors for the Baltimore Presidential
nomination. We hope, at least, that those
speeches have been generally and carefully
read for we wish to invoke a judgment
on the sufficiency or inadequacy OF the
reasons therein suggested for the overthrow
of Wing ascendancy and the defeat OF
Wing policy in the conduct of our Nation
al affairs.
The men who here arraign that policy,
be it noted, are the foremost leaders and
champions of the Democratic host-not
made so by our assertion, but by the de-
Eberate votes of the chosen representatives
of the party. More than two-thirds OF the
votes of the whole Convention were cast
for them in the course of its ballotings
If, then, any reasons exist for divesting the
Wings of so much power as they now pos
sess in the direction of our Government
and handing it over to their rivals the
speeches of these gentlemen can hardly fail
to develop them. Let us see:
Gen. CAss praises the Baltimore nomi-
nees, confidently predicts their election,
and solicits an overwhelming majority {;
"for," says he, "the stronger we stand in
public opinion, the greater will be our
power to do good, and to render our
principles stable and efficient" But
what good does he propose that the Demo-
Gratis shall do which the Wings have omit
ted? We can discover none. He indi-
Gates none. He talks of " the great issues
(which constitute the difference between
'the Wing and Democratic parties" but
what they are, nobody would suspect from
his speech. If the Wings have done any
wrong, he does not point it out; if the
Democrats propose any change in our Ma
tional policy, he does not let us know
what it is. And, as to rendering our
principles stabIc," what is needed is not an
augmentation of numbers but adequate
firmness and integrity on behalf of those
who profess to uphold them. There was
a time when Gen. Cass avowed himself in
favor of the Wilmot Proviso and COM
planned that John Davis deprived him of a
chance to vote for it; but his principles
not being stable he has fallen clear
away from them,
Gen. Houston had nothing to say about
principles or measures, and said it. All
his speech amounted to was that Texas
would give the largest proportionate ma
jority for Pierce and King of any State in
the Union. We suspect that is the fact ;
but our Five Points will give them larger
proportionate majority still. The philoso-
ply of this coincidence we leave to Gen.
Houston.
Senator DOUGLAS followed, and made
more forcible speech. He went the whole
hog for the Baltimore Platform, especially
its Slave-hunting aspects, accusing the
Wing party of "arraying one section
against another, father against son, son
against father" &c. &c. His allusion
here is to the struggle for the Wilmot Pro-
viso, which had no more vehement sup.
porter than the late Democratic Represent
ative John Wentworth) from his own Dis
trict in Illinois, with Preston King, John
A. Dix, and scores beside of the regular
Democratic supporters of Pierce and
King. Such men as j. Q. Adams, Clay,
Webster, Crittenden, Clayton, Seward,
&C., the Little Giant considers utterly
incapable of administering this Govern
ment'-which is just what the National
Convention of his own party thought Of
him. And, though he talked a column,
he indicated no distinctive principle
held by the Wings as wrong, but follow
ed the bent of his genius in dealing out
mere rant and fustian. Look" exclaimed
the Giant, sat the Galphinism, Gardiner
ism, and other sums distracted from the
Treasury Yes, Sir; look at them and
especially at the Double Mileage swindle
whereby you and your brother Senators
the worse half of them) conveyed Forty
thousand Dollars from the Treasury into
your own pockets, yourself and Sam Hous-
ton taking two of the biggest hauls. We
zealously opposed and condemned the nav