The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1855-12-22
RAVENNA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER o. 1855.

NIT the most outrageous spolistions upoi
our commerce.. @
In 1914 they got up the traitOrous Hart
ford Convention, the object OF which was eli
ther to force the General Government int
a dsgraceful peace or else to form sepa
rate confederacy of the New Engl ant
States. Among the resolutions passed by
the Hartford Convention was one that none
but American-born citizens ought to be eli.
gible too flee, and also that no more slave
States should be admitted into the Union
Here was promulgated the germs of those
principles that distinguish the opposition
in our day. -i'L' .l p
During the war the leading opponents Of
the Democratic party took the side Of Great
Britain, and deemed it unbecoming a moral
and Christian people to rejoice over the vic
tories of the American arms. 80 ..
In 1920 they, headed by Rufus King, were
at the bottom of the Missouri agitation a.
bout slaveryi which threatened the over
throw Of the Government It was through
their acts, according to the. testimony Of
Thomas Jefferson, that the North was frs
arrayed against the South in the halls of
Congress, upon the negro question, which,
it was supposed, had been settled by the
Constitution, "a .-.-.. s.e.
In 1928 they opposed the election Of An
drew Jackson as President, because he was
a "military chieftain,' and declared that
rather than have such President, il would be
preferable to have t'war, pestil4nce and
famine.'' COS ,'.@.t'
In 1882 the opposition to the Democracy
allied itself with the rotten, corrupt United
States Bank, which had become dangerous
by its vast montyed power, to the liberties
of the people. They said the country could
never get along without a United States
Bank, and would be ruined if the monster,
under the control of Nicholas Biddle, was
crushed. When The Bank insulted and
bade defiance to the President and the rep.
resentatives of the people in Congress, the
leading opponents of the Democracy stanch-
ly justified it. They were in favor of vast
system of internal improvements being un-
dertaken by the Government, which would
have increased the expenditures hundrds of
millions of dollars--m ade the administra-
ton of Washington all-powerful--sapped
the foundations of public morality and vir-
tue--rolled up great national debt and en-
tirely destroyed the republican simplicity Of
our institutions. ,. o
In 1887 they were against the policy Of
the Government keeping its money in ma
tional coin under its own control, and de-
clared that it never could succeed. . e~-
In 1898, in several oil the States. they
got up crusade against the Freemasonss
and professed holy horror of all secret So
cietics, even those that were not connected
with politics, and tried to put them down by
law. ''
In 1886, forgetting their assertion that
military Presidents were 30 dangerous, they
nominated one--an experiment which they
repeated in 1910, 1848 and 1862; in the two
latter instances going to the regular army
after them,. and choosing men who had had
no experience as civilians. s..If ,.tr.-,,al
In l840 they elected q President By the
"hard cider" excitement, and, in SO doing.
opened the floodgates of Drunkenness and
intemperance throughout the land.
In 1912, under pretense of protecting
American industry" they passed high tar
if. the effect of which was to make the
whole country pay tribute to and be taxed
for the benefit of few hundred manufacto-
rirs in New England and Pennsylvania.
In 1914 they opposed the annexation ofI
Texas to the Union
In 1886 they opposed the Mexican war
and took the side of the enemy during the
whole contest, with few honorable excep-
tions When peace was made they declar-
ed that our territorial acquisitions, including
California, New Mexico and Utah "were
not worth dollar''--an evidence of short
almost unparalleled in history.
In 1850 they very generally refused to
follow their great leaders, Clay and Web
ster, who favored a peaceful and fair adjust
tnent of the slavery question, to keep open
which menaced the integrity Of the Union.
In 1854 they opposed the Nebraska Bill,
which carried out the principle Of the ad-
justment Of 1850, and repealed the odious
and unconstitutional Missouri restriction
upon popular sovereignty.
Tn 1854 they also organized themselves
into secret political society, and made waf
upon the fundamental principles of civil and
liberty. The ends of that organi-
cation were narrow, aristocratical and bigot-.
ed while its manner Of proce dure was as
hateful and anti-American as could possibly
be conceived. Through its instrumentai-
ty they endeavored to destroy freedom of
conscience, particularly unite Church and
State, and divide our people Into warring
sects and nationalities. B s1uae,a
AT present they are busily engaged or
ganizing parties upon q sectional basis--to
array the North against the South, the free
States against the slave-the necessary re-.
suit of which is, If consumated, to break up
the Union. During this period they have
IL o:r sxeI.ro s...sys x....,. X "a L..-:. =.