Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-03-08
Chr aaiIp Sp9.



mat the late American Council
..-Ros,ou virtually Endorsed the mountainous
= r;llmore and Donelson, we but give the
s,...., convictions of our own minds, after a
-.-osol examination Of the resolutions there
.ad And we have get to find the hrss
rpTsop. who, after his careful attention was
called to the precise phraseology OF the reso-
,,t;ous. did not come to the same conclusion
.h,t we have, however differently he might
have Thought before. But we ask no one to
.aort our conclusions. We wish every one
~ read. to consider, and to Judge then ior
h;mseH whether they do, openly and man
fully rspudiate the fugitive slave law ticket
whether they are not jesuitical resolutions,
c.-eFu,lv nrepared for the purpose Of whee-
ding snti.slavery greenies into its support.
The resolution, it is agreed on all hands,
assents to the support of the ticket on two
conditions. Let us see, precisely, what those
.ond;t;ons are. The second resolution is as
follows:
Resolre5. That the American party IN Mas
sachusetts will not support the nomination
of Millard Fillmore and Andrew jackson
Donelson until assured that they DO nearby
endorse our american principles, ana VIII o! %
true to the American party, and that they VIZ
stand by and uindicate the Jast f.yHs re
fyeeD,en of the North as nell IN the IeTT'to-
.;es ~ t5e states. under all the principles and
provisions Of the Constitution OF the onA'eu
States.
Here. we find the FIRST condition to be, that
the nominees do "endOrse our American
principles, and will be true to the Amer
lean party" They might as well have asked
pledge that they viii sleep at night when
they can no longer keep awake, and wake IN
the morning when they can sleep no longer
To ask such assurance as this, of men who
have, three times, by solemn oath, endorsed
those principles, and three times s,corn tidell-
ty to the party, seems little better than childs'
play. Of course, Fillmore and Donelson Will
not have the slightest objection to it. BY
american principles, they will understand,
and rightly too, in this connection, the prin-
ciples which distinguish that party from all
others-the exclusion of all citizens of foreign
birth from the right of suffrage, and from any
participation in the public Offices of emolu-
ment or trust. To that condition they will,
of course, readily assent, because they are al
ready pre- pledged to it.
The other condition is, ''that they will stand
by and vindicate the just rights of the free
men of the North, as well in the Territorie:
as in the States, under all the principles and
provisions of the Constitution Of the United
States Well, what is there in this, tina
any one supposes that Fillmore or Donelson
or any other pro- slavery bunker, woulC
object to : Should they be elected to the Off
ces to which they are nominated, their oath
of office would bind them to be true to tbs
Constitution, and that fidelity includes th'
vindieation Of the rights of the North as wei
in the Territories as in the States. Stepher
A. Douglas, Atchison, or Stringfellow woulC
give such pledge. Frank Pierce, while
signing the Nebraska bill, or even while dis
patching his orders to suppress the free Stat,
=---------4 :. T----~- --~>ia A. = Miilarf
Fillmore would have done it, when, as Vice
President, he presided in the Senate, ant
furnished to Hangman Foote list OF such o
Gen. Taylor's nominees for Office, as enter
tanned Anti Slavery sentiments, in order tina
the pro-slavery Senate might reject them; or
later, when, as President, he used all his in
influence to procure the passage of the Fugi-
tive Slave Law, and, when passed, approved
and signed it. Why, then, should he not dc
it nows
The fact is, that this pledge is unmeaning,
and does not amount to anything, because.
chameleon like, it takes its hue from the per-
son to whom it is applied. The North and
the South, the Shareholders and their dough
faces, as well as the anti Slavery and Free
State men, all profess to be ready to protect
the whole people in all the just rights of free
men, under all the principles and provisions Of
the Constitution. But the question then
arises, what those rights are. The anti Slav-
cry and Free State men construe them to be
protection of life, liberty, and property, while
the Sonth and the doughfaces construe them
to be the right of slayeholding, with all its ac-
cessories. The North say that freedom is the
thing pre- eminently guaranteed by the Consti-
tuition, while the South and the doughfaces
say that it is slavery. A pledge, then, to sus-
tain all constitutional rights, is no pledge in
favor of freedom, if given ty Atchison, Fill
more, Stringfellow, Pierce, or Donelson, and
is one that neither of them would object to
give, even when acting up to their most ultra
antecedents in favor Of slavery.
We say, then, that the action of the Coun-
Gil is a virtual ratification Of the nomination,
because the annexed conditions are such as
the nominees, even if determined to follow
in the exact footsteps of Franklin Pierce,
would not hesitate to give. We believe that
those VINO prepared the resolutions so under
stood it, If they had intended to repudiate
the nomination, they would have done it in
honest, straight forward terms, such as any
one would understand, and such as would
have admitted of neither equiyoeation or eva.
sion.
Among the passengers on board the miss
ing steamer Pacific, is A. X. Carter, ESQ, Of
Newark, N. j., well known to number Of
our citizens as a worthy, excellent, and hon