Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-07-09

/ Glide around my wakefu pillow,
| With their praise or mild reproof
AS listen to the murmur
| Of the soft rain on the roof.
| Edward Bates of Missouri.
| This distinguished Whig made speech recently
in Palmyra, Missouri, the political topics Of the
day. The st. Louis Intelligencer contains the fol-
| lowing report of his remarks:
To use Mr.. Bates own language on the occa-
| sion, there were "many Americans or Know-Noth-
| ings, some Democrats, and small sprinkling of
old-line Wings present to hear him. He spoke
three hours, and commanded the attention of his
| audience the entire time. His exoo5urc of incon-
sistencies and errors of the Democratic party was
able and complete. He devoted a large portion of
/ his speech to that branch Of his subject. He de-
clared his high personal respect for r.Buchanan,
| but said in substance that Mr.. Buchanan stood
| committed to platform of denominations, and that
no man could support Mr.. Buchanan without en-
dorsing those abominatiops. On this branch of the
subject, Mr.. Bates spoke substantially as follows :
Mr.. Buchanan's friends say he is wise statesman,
| conservative man, true friend to the Union.
Who is this wise state7man and conservative man
| He is the same Mr.. Buchanan, who was Secretary
of State under President Polk, when the admins
traton first declared that our title to the whole Of
Oregon, to 81 40, was clear and unquestionable
that all diplomatic means had failed, and that we
| must fight for it; ard then, in few weeks by ne
gotiation, fell down to 40 degs. thus negotiating
again, after diplomacy was exhausted and war in
evitabe; and thus abandoning nearly five degrees
of latitude on the Pacific coast, for clear and
unqressionable title to which, the administration
| was, just before, ready to 60 to war.
The same Mr.. Buchanan who lately, while our
Minister to England held the notorious Ostend
Congress, with Mr.. Soule, our Minister to Spain,
and Mr.. Mason our Minister to France and made
thai famous declaration Gas degrading to our own
country as insulting to Spain,) that the United
States cannot be independent without the posses
| sion of Cuba. The same Mr. Buchsuan who, in
recent letter to Mr.. Sidell, made merit of the
strenuous zeal with which he had labored to ex-
| tend the Missouri Compromise line westward, all
the way to the Pacific, but now concurs with those
| new-light politicians who have lately discovered
that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
| and void from the beginning.
! And what is the platform on which he stands
and which he is bound to carry out, if elected?
| 1t consists OF many enormities, against most of
which all Wings have been contending these many
years They cannot all be enumerated now, but
may be brought into view at another time. For
the present let two of its p'anks suffice:
| !. Congress has no power to commence and
carry on general system of internal improve
ments." This has been construed and carried out
| in practice, by Mr.. Buchanans party. President
/ Pierce has recently vetoed the bill to open and
improve the moath of the Mississippi, and the bill
| to deepen the channel through the Flats of Lake
| st. Clair, and the bill to improve the navigation
of st. Marys river, the only outlet to Lake Supe-
rior and the Cincinnati Convention, in the same
| spirit in which they nominated Mr. Buchanan, en-
dorsed and vouched for Mr.. Pierce and his admin
| stration. .s
| 2. The Monroe doctrine, az interpreted and car
ried cut in particulars, by the Cincinnati Conven-
ton, which boldly asserts the right of this country
| to control and dominate the Central American
Isthmus and the Gulf of Mexico, and consequently
all the adjacent countries and islands. This pre-
| posterous greediness of Democratic ambition has
hardly the merit of originality; 1t took its rise in
our famous Ministerial Congress, and is but the
| complement of the Ostend declaration, made by
the moderate aud conservative Mr.. Buchanan, that
the United States cannot be independent without
/ the possession of Cuba. And yet we must all, it
| seems, espouse Mr.. Buchanans cause, or incur the
| penalty of being classed with those who are op-
| posed to the Union.
| We cannot now take Mr.. Buchanan an indi
vidual, as wise statesman, a conservative man,
a true friend of the Union" We cannot join in
the feeling prevalent at the Cincinnati Convention
as declared by the St. Louis Democrat "D--n the
platform, so we get the right sort Of man |" Mr.
Buchanan has himself precluded all that. He de-
| clares his position In his answer to the keystone
Club, which waited on him at his own abode, to
compliment him on his nomination "Gentlemcn, y
said he, "two weeks since would have made you
a longer speech, but now have been placed upon
platform of which heartily approve, and, being
the representative of the great Democratic party
and not simply James Buchanan, I must square
my conduct according to that platform, and insert
no ns~ plank. nor take one from It,"
As an individual then, he is sunk, absorbed, lost
in the Cincinnati platform; and in espousing has
cause, we do ecessarily and unavoidably espouse
that platform; and in laboring to accomplish his
election, we do necessarily and unavoidably labor
to maintain that PLATFORM and TO carry il into prac
tical execution. The logic is perfect and defiant,
and there is no escape from the conclusion.
4 And now, l ask, lin sorrowful view of the
wreck Of parties and the dereliction Of principles
all around me,) is there sound conservative
Wbg in the nation, who can support that plat
form? To waive for the present all other objec-
tons, is there Whig who can deliberately, and
|, upon the pretence of principle, put beyond the
pale of governmental protection the twenty thou
sand miles Of navigation in the Mississippi and its
branches, the two thousand miles of lake coast
and the Pacific railroadS Is there Whig who i.
willing to rush his country into imminent peril O
war with the greatest naval power Of the world BY