Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1856-01-24
The Northern Demool acy and the South

We hope the reader will not tire of our effort
to demonstrate the falsi,y and perniciousness u
the representation, so pertinaciousy made D.
the Democratic leaders of the Southern States
that the Democracy of the North are the naiurn
allies and sincere friends Of the South. Thai
repre- sentaton has been persisted in until there IL
no mistakng the fact that il has worked its way
into the mind. and faith of majority Of ourpeo
pie. We,on the contrary.are convinced that the
Democracy Of the North are thoroughly imbued
with a sentiment and creed on the subject Of
slavery. las indefensible in principle. and ms
dangerous in practice as the Wilmot Pro,iso.'
and have already presented proof enough of
this 10 leave no doubt o its truth in the mind of
any unparalleled man
But We have still more proof and ihe imper
lance of the matter which relates fnrbids that
IL should be withheld We have confidence in
the disposition of the Southern people apart from
the politoians,to consider and act upon lin ques
tions growing out of their relations with the
North. without reference to their bearing on
parties. and we are therefore earnestly soliciious
that they should know tho iruih,,he whole truth
and nothing bu, the truth.
how far the Democratic policy of acquiring terri
tory has furnished the chieffael on which the
slavery excitement has fed will we enter il
70 consideration of the extent to which demo
cratic encouragement to immigration has sup
piled the popular and political power to the free
states TO hector over aoa insult the South. II
is enough for US to regard sectional contests ~
existing facts. facts full otthreat and danger To
the existence Of the government and the peace
of its citizens.
The principal subject of dispute between the
North and the South. of late years, has been as
TO the power Of Congress to prohibit slavery in
the territories-a doctrine embodied in the eele-
brated resolution of Democratic member from
Pennsylvania. and commonly known as the VII
mot Proviso. Unhappy for the South. the
strength of its argument, and the force of its po-
sition, this doctrine received the sanction If
Southern Democratic President, in Mr.. Folks
signature of the Oregon bill. to which tho Provi-
so was gratuitously attached, and for the pur
pose, as Mr.. Benton has declared, of asserting
the naked, unqualified aud absolute right of Con.
gress to legislate on the subject"
When this doctrine was first asserted in Con
gress. it received almost universal acceptance
with the North-but the earnest and resolute re-
monstrance of the Sou,h--ihe spirit ofdetermn
ed and unyielding hostility which was every
where displayed in the slave States, and which it
was evident would resist if need be, even unto
blood. caused the North to pause, and finally
brought about that great CHANGE" which Mr..
Cass declared wps going on in the public mind"
his own as we'll as others. The North was driv.
en- from its ground by the stern and solid move
m ent Of Southern sentiment itrecedea and
seemed TO abandon the contest - seemed we say,
for the real object of the Proviso that of making
free States of the territories, was never abandon
ed.
The North changed its tactics; il tried ruse
on the South; it gave up the Wilmot Proviso,
and invented Squatter Sovereignty. ceased to
insist on the exercise of the power by Congress,
but maintained that in the creation of Terri.
torial Governments, the power passed from Con
gress into the hands Of the Territorial Legsla
lures, and might be exercised by then q, dscre.
ton. Disguised under the name of Popular
Sovereignty, this was a most artfu ruse--but il
did not deceive the South To the thinking
men OF t0dt sPCIloU IL was U-PvluPnt nrOpO-
sition, that if Congress did not possess the pow
er, il could not confer it upon the Territorial
Legislatures. Non Diet qui non habet. More
over, they foresaw that with the habits aud insti-
tutions of the two sections. it would inevitably
result that adventures from the North would be
the 6rst to seize upon every new territory open
ed for settlement; that they would Immediately
knock up a Legislature. and proceed at once to
exclude the South by enaoting perpetual inter
dict against the establishment of slavery.
When this deep and cunning strategy was
proposed, we were about entering into the Pres
idential contest of l846. The Democracy OF
Virginia assembled in convention in Richmond
and solemnly resolved that they would. "unde
no political necessity" support for the Presiden
cy a candidate who believed in the right Of
Territorial Legislature to pass laws prohibitin.
slavery. They truly proclaimed that the asser
ton OF such right was as charlottesville in the
DRY, and as dangerous in practice, as the Will
mot Proviso"- and Mr.. Calhoun the great South
ern leader, denounced it as "ths most mon strou.
doctrine ever advanced by an American states
man."
Without entering further into the history and
progress Of the movement We wish to TESTIFY thi,
standardized fidelity of the Northern Democra
cy to Southern interests, which is so vauntngl,
proclaimed by the Democratic politicians of thu
South. We have heretofore shown that Mr.
Richardson. of Illinois, who is brought forwar,
a. . candidate for the Speakership of the Hous
of Representives, on the ground it may presum
ed, that he is the least obnoxious Northern Dem
ocrat in the Body-holds this doctrine Wehav
referred to the responses which were made b.
Northern members, during the present session
to the interrogatories of Mr.. Cox. Of Kentucky