The true Democrat., 1855-09-18
Letter from Robert w. Johnson

YOUR letter of the 10th ult., in ,itinc me to address the democracy in mas meeting at Camden on the 18th of July, now acknowledge. Its very late arrival pre- yious to the day fixed for your meeting, ren dered it impossible that l could attend, conss tently with other imperative engagements.
 The hattering allusions ma.e to my owl humble career, in the service of the State gi rise my own heart to the most greatful feel ing, and lead me 10 assure you that regard tht public approval as the only lasting and estna ble reward of life, which all men who have tested it. pronounce to be far from satisfactory if not unhappy
 The American or know nothing party tc which you allude, has sprung into existence and attained importance in this State since ou last elections. The exertions of its partizan have been unparalleled in that period, and acknowledge the obligation you expect at Tn, hands as a public man, and as one having haC superior opportunities for information, and req sons through which 10 arrive at a sound ude ment upon its objects and it's worth, to declar, the position l occupy, and some at least of tho reasons which govern me.
 The unnatural efforts now making by this party, the insidi0us and sacrilegous means avalled ot without scIuple, and the rapid ad- vances made by It, so long and so studlously concealed, imperatively require that those who condemn and oppose 1t, should rally together and declare themselves i'll the most pubic and unequiyocal manner. It is aparty more lnsdl- Ous in its movements, more selfish ill its ob- iects. sacrilegious in its obligations, and dan- gerous in its tendency to public peace to pri- vate and social relations, to free government, and to the continued maintenance and preservation of the constitutional rights of the south, than l had believed it possible for the genius of man to invent and reduce to practice. >
 The know nothing party, whether north or south, is the old whig party enveloped in other forms and shrouded in secrecy. There were but three great parties in the country, to wit: the democratic, the whig and the freesoil par ties. The democratic party still exists, and the whig party as notoyiously extinct.
 What have become of our fellow citizens of the whig party? They have not joined the de- mocratic party: if they had done So, the cleo tiol at the north which have resulted in the defeat of the Kansas Nebraska democrats, and in giving to the freesoilers the control of the House of Representatives of the next Congress would have shown a widely different result- They have not joined the democrats at the south; if they had, there would have been no contest in the recent elections in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Texas.
 In all those States, the democratic party (with the exception of few disappointed am- bilious embttered renegades,) being composed of the same we'll known public men, and of the same voters, has presented her regularly mo- minated ticket for candidates for office. On the other hand in neither of those States was there whig ticket presented or ever proposed. The know nothings and the democratic party in all recent elections, have been the two great rival parties in the south. The know nothing party has been led by the old whig leaders, and supported by the same old rank and file of the whig party, with rare exceptions. This will not be denied by any honest honorable intelli- gent man. Some there may be who are igno. rant of these facts, but there are none who as pire to the position and distinction of leading that party or any other party, who do not know them
 The democratic party has not changed it's principles. The know nothing party is con- posed of whgs, and governed by the same old leaders, and we have never heard that they, in- diyidually or collectively, have abandoned thei whig principles but only that they have add ed to their creed few additional and yet more odious tenets, warning upon the rights of con- science, prescribing the naturalzed citizen, ex- citing religious persecution, and mlngllng in strife and bitterness our religion and politics. In view of these facts we must conclude that those who have abandoned the democratic par ty, have abandoned also its principles; Qor they constitute at best but pitiful squad in the know nothing party and cannot hope to rule the wings and that they have either been de- ceived and mised to do so by plausible repre- sentations or that they have sold out their prin- ciples with full knowledge of the facts, and have been governed in so doing by ambitious hopes, plausible promises of promotion to public ho- nors, past political discontent, and embittered dsappontments, personal to themselves.
 Of the class who have been deceived, when they shall have seen plainly the tendency and direction of this new party, we may confident ly expect c aoittdra1Oal and we daily see tex emplifed in the published lists declaring their repudiation of the know nothing party. But of the well informed, well read political rene- gade, no one expects return to the democratic party; and as the act of abandonment denotes the politically dishonest man, of unscrupulous ambition, revengeful feelings, overriding his principles and his patriotism no one could wish the return of such, since none could regard it as sincere and trustworthy None could anti cpate aught from it but discord, disorganiza. ton, intrigue and party disaster The loss of
  actual cause for rejoicing with every sound and rational man. In the language of the Hon. A. B. Greenwood, our able and faithful repre- sentative from the first district:
 It cannot be denied that the order is con- posed of men who have always been hostile to the democratic party; in fact it is the old whig party (with some honorable exceptlons) band ed together under new name, aided by few deluded democrats, and those who have been disappointed office-seekers and are ready to join any organization that may perchance place them in power. If the order IS successful in electing President in 1856, ;'nd those office loving gen. try should again be disappointed in their aspi- ratons, they are ready to join any other new party that may spring up, with the smallest hope of success. The country is in no dan ger from such political adventurers."
 It is the attempt of this new party to delude the southern people into the belief that they are the true southern party, and that as such they are national, and that they have strength at the north to aid them in sustaining the con stitutional rights of the south, that the demo- cratic party at the north is thoroughly abolition izeA This representation is bold, reckless and shameless falsehood, and those who originate 1t know it to be such, and those who repeat it are in the same shameless category, or are so ignorant or the every day facts or our polltlcai history as to be deserving of no notice The well informed politician who will assert it in- spires me with pity and disgust. Senator Benjamine of Louisiana an honora- ble man but an intoIerant sohig, and bitter foe of democracy, declares in his recent address, that he repudiates the know nothing party, and says:
 " In the debate which occurred in the Senate of the United States on the Nebraska bill. the mortifying conviction was forced on my mind that the whig national party was no more.- The great party, to which it had been my pride to belong, which under the lead of Clay and Webster had long struggled with varying for tunes for the power of conducting public af- fairs on principles which honestly believe to be best calculated to promote the welfare of the people, had perished with its chieftains.