Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-06-12
when tn. present oacles of the washington

when the present oracles of the Washington
Union assumed To interpret its principles
Did not the National Democracy all over the
| North and South demonstrate with the Cabinet in
/ 1858 for the much mder doctrine upon which it
acted in New York: That repentant Freesolers
converts of an hour-should be recognized as
| IN full communion with the party, and taken into
full confidence by the Executive, in the distrlbu-
ton of offices and in the reward public trusts
and honors' Was not the effect Of this policy so
to outrage the honorable sentiment of all the Ma
tional Democrats of the North who had labored
for the cause from principle, and not for the sake
of plumber, as TO drive them out of communion
with the Administration pets, and OF fellowship
with converted abolition eamp.followers, and
thus PROSTATE the Democratic cause in every
State, county, village, and hamlet Of the North
Read in the melancholy and universal overthrow
of the Democracy at the North, the sad results Of
placing the Freesoil place-hunter Oh the same
footing with the friends of Dickinson, Douglas,
Bancroft, and Cass.
Though taught by bitter experience the mad
ness OF the policy of receiving repentant Adolf
tionists and Freesoilers into Democratic conf
dence and fellowship, the Union newspaper now
advances step farther, and breaches the policy
OF ignoring the question of slavery altogether in
our national organization, toleraling the widest
| latitude OF opinion on this subject. Under this
| new rule, if Abolitonisls as violent as Wilson
and Gddings, do but declare for State rights and
the resolutions of '96 and '99, and profess to
hold inviolate the Constitution as they understand
it, they will be entitled, along with John Van
Buren, and VIM. j. Brown, to recognition as De-
mocrats, and held to be qualified for the highest
offices of honor, trust, and profit within the gift
OF the Democratic party!
| But we have no patience with doctrine like
| this. We shall not undertake to set forth pain
| fully and argumentatively the monstrous nature
| of this new canon of Democratic faith. To the
| South nothing could be more dangerous or repul-
| oi~o. .rt"ratfty as a poftcy! To be neutral on
the slave question at this crisis of public affairs
| is to be hostile to the South. Her case in the
Union is like that of the Saviour in Judea.
whatsoever is not with her is against her. There
is no halfway ground between the South and Abb
otionism-between the Constitution and its as
sailants. The one great question Of the Repub-
lie, absorbing all Others, testing the complexion
1 of parties, the integrity of the Constitution, the
inviolabity of the laws, and the continuance Of
the Union, is this slave question. To claim to
be national party, and yet to have no prinlnles
on this leading, absorbing, overshadowing ques-
ton of nationality, is mockery of political hon
| esty. To have no views nor principles on that
question, is to be destitute of all principles what
ever, save the principles of the loaves and fishes
/ Abolitlonism vaunts it's Higher Law and assals
the national Constitution with fendish blasphemy
and venom. The Democracy stands listlessy BY,
pluming itself on its nationality and pampering
the assaiants with office and plumber Neu-
traty like this is, if possible, worse than Adolf
tionism; and the South will have mono of it.
But where did the Union newspaper borrow
this new rule Of political liberation, under which
its Abolition and Frceso pets Of the Northern
| States, repentant as well unrepentant, may
| claim communion with the national Democracy
and be allowed to demonstrate their nationality by
voting the printing of the next Congress to the
| Union office. 1t was borrowed from Henry Will
son, an Abolitionist so violent and dabolical that
/ tha IL al
pusion from their Order. Here is an extract from
that Senator's letter to " Ellis of February 18Th
/ 1856:
:" 4th The American Organization in Massa-
chusetts does moi embrace the question Of slaver1l
among those for the regulation of which it was
formed
"The people of Massachusetts, have fixed opin-
ions, in which most of the members Of that or
ganization fully concur against the support or al
lowance of slavery by national legislation
And the Union is not the only plagiarist from
| Massachusetts and her senator, of this newly de-
vsed scheme oftoleraton. The New York Erca-
ing Post, one of the Oldest and ablest abolition
journals of the North, said, last March, of Cen
eral Sam Houston, of Texas:
'H is hard 10 name another icho has not SO The
roughly identified himself nth one party or the other,
in the late slavery controversies, 10 hare parted
NTH The advantage irhich in The present state Of The
country, belongs only 10 A NEUTRAL; to one who
| can do what the people wish done upon that or
any other subject, not only without reluctance,
| but cheerfully, and with conviction that it is
best. General Houston, we believe, has left the
| impression upon the country thai he occupies such
neutral position, and that he has no political
partialities prejudces which he could not cheer
fully subordinate to the wishes of the country. :
The North tciH require nothing more Of a
future candidate, regards the slavery question: for
the Presidency, than this ATTITUDE OF NEUTRAL
rTT; IL riH neuer again be content ,Ciih less
Some time subsequently,, recurring to this sub
/ ject the same idea was presented by the Evening
| Post, in an editorial, abiding TO Houston as
candidate for the Presidency, and specifying his
peculiar advantages:
"But the chief Recommendation of the General,
in our view is his announcement Of common sense
policy on The SiareTy question: pollen ,rhich is
truly naiionat-and The only one on ichich he people
Of This country, North and South can permanently
unite-ihe PotIcY OF ToLERAToN. No man is
more exempt from abolition afFnties than he; no
man befter represents, individually, The average
Southern notions Of the rghDilness Of slarery, as
irdS Shoirn in his late discourse in Boston, Nor is
he under the necessity Of clearing up his position
to satisfy either section. All the concessions that
he has made to the North, if concession it may be
called, is that under his administration, the Ex-
ecutive Department shall xbt be diverted from
its legitimate business, to serve the propagandsts
of slavery. A more striking illustration of the
| lberality Of the North, considering the agpres-
SONS which they have suffered, could not be pro-
duced, than the fact that they are content with
an implied assurance Of this kind
The policy comes from Massachusetts, and is
accepted and proclaimed by Henry Wilson, Sam
Houston, and the Washington Union. Such is
the maternity Of the infant creed and such arc
its sponsors.
We tell them, one and all, that the Democracy
Of the South and the ostracised National Democ-
racy Of the North, repudiate the project with
scorn and Indignation. II is vain for the Union
to quote the Baltimore resolutions, and TO appeal
TO the compromises Of 80, Of 30, and of so, as
sanctionng its new scheme of party tactics
Those papers embraced principles Of positive po-
litical action, and bound the contracting parties
TO dciiue warfare for catholic and national prnci-
Piles. The policy Of Wilson, Houston, and the
Union newspaper, would bind the members of
party to no positive effort against abolitionism,
to no active warfare for national principles; but
would indulge them in a cowardly neutrality un-
der all assault and danger from abolition aggres-
sion, and would bring Southern men into ipno-
minious contact and disgusting fellowship, in all
their political action, with the foes and traducers
oftheir country
he, - ~