Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1855-05-09
For the Journal.
LOCOFOCO PROSELYTISM.

an enlightened patriotism, and commend them
selves, with irresistible strength, to the people.
/ They are not novel dogmas, as ephemeral as
| worthless; they not empty dreams of phil
osophy; they not specious theories of uni
versal brotherhood, or of such democracy as
was preached by Anacharsis Clcotz, and Marat.
The principles of the American party have
their foundation in the great ideas of selfpre-
servation and self-government.
The principles of the locofoco party-if
those may be called principles which exist up
! on an utter want of priaciple-are rapIne, the
lust of aggrandizement, devotion to our for
eign population, trucking subservience TO
| Southern interests, and spoilS. In support Of
such noble ends, the leaders of the party are
ready to sanction any means, even the most
atrocious and revolving. To promote their
! views the country is forever distracted by in
| ternal dissensions, and threatened with the
msercs OF foreign war. The nlscreants who
| constitute the locofoco sanhedrim are eternal
| ly tampering with the Constitution, and set
ting at defiance all morality and all law, in the
| hope Of discovering some plausible device, to
| engage for the moment, the sympathies of the
| people. Let the scene be too transparent to
dclude even the weakest. they shift the odium,
with unblushing effrontery, upon their oppo-
nents let it for space succeed, all opposi-
tion to it is denounced traitorous, and sub
versive of the constitution.
Thus they preach, and thus they practice.
Every now and then, the people unmask their
vilainy, and drive them with indignant cries
| from the high places they have disgraced but
the lust of office, and the ingenuity of unscrr-
pulous demagogucisnl, soon bring hack the
broken phalanx in very decent order of battle.
The science of ,chipping-in is well understood
in their camp.
Within the last two years the locofoco lead
crs have ventured several audacious moves
These have failed of success. The great DEM
ocratic party has, like the distinguished Mr..
Soule. been retired from Office, although in his
case, the retirement was voluntary. Govern
ors, Legislators, senators and representatives.
in Congress, et id onIRe geEuy, who profess the
locofoco creGo. are few and far between. Nor
is this all. The propect is threatening as
the retrospect. Even the strongho!ds of the
South arc wavering. In Virginia, Mr. Wise,
the renegade Whig, has at last discovered that
SAM is ubiquitous. The untiring vigilance OF
Americans will no more sleep in the South,
than it has slept in the North, and il is not pre-
sumptuous to prophcsy that, with the single
exception of South Carolina,-se abandon
her, as hopelessly locofoco,--every Southern
and Western State will give in their adhesion
TO the principles, and their support TO the Or
ganization of the great American party.
Just now, it is amusing TO observe the }ctics
of the locofoco organs. The shock Of defeat
has been sudden and so paralyzing, thu the
bear-leaders have scarcely yet had tim to
mould their antagonism into a cons. ant
shape, and to give the proper cue to the t7'',
to use a scotticism, OF which they are I'll
mouth-piece. The natural consequence
that multitude of plans, strange variety d
crude, inconsistent, experimental tricks are
resorted to. The vocabulary of Billingsgate
has been exhausted in opprobrious dec|ama-
tions. The resources of rhetoric (of the high
.faiu'in style seem inadequate to express the
devotion of the locofocos to the Constitution.
and their terror, lest the X. n. conspiracy
should undermine that palladium of our liber-
ties. The language of gentle reproach, exhor-
tations of the pathetic kind, breathing ssmore
of sorrow than Of anger are the medium by
which it is hoped to WOO back to the benefcent
arms Of Democracy, those children of the faith
who have gone over TO the enemy. And
stranger than all, seductive as sthe voice of
the charmer, charm he never so wisely is the
tone of respectful consideration employed
towards those members Of the old Whig party |
who have as yet declined to unite with the
American organization.
This last performance is rather too bare-fa-
ced. The insolence of such sympathy-of
aspirations to brotherhood in misfortune, rises |
even above the ordinary pitch of locofoco eff |
frontery. We can scarcely credit it. even |
while we hold the proofs before our eyes To |
see the consistent, unfaItering, INSCRIPTIONS, |
malignant calumniatCrs ever since the com |
mencement of their political existence. in the |
attitude of fawning adulators of the Whigs |
is almost enough to make us, sdoubt truth |
to be liar"
Do these sagacious journalists and orators |
imagine that few soft words. batch of in |
genious compliments, profuse application Of |
what Sam Slick calls .ssoft sawder - can atone |
for the slanders and the injuries of a Thirty
Years War; Do they fancy that the wings. |
who have always resisted locofoco dominion
who have always denounced locofoco partisans
and torn the veil from their criminal designs. |
in the midst of locofoco triumphs, and under
the frown OF locofoco power,-wil noac, when
their enemy is routed s'horse, foot, and dra-
yhen the 1yeoporS which l,o,-a bo,.,,o