Quasqueton guardian. (Quasqueton, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1856-1858, 1857-07-25
IN A Rad DILEMMA.

instrument; and must be met with par
tizan hostility. So, without waiting to
post themselves as to the facts, to look at
the votes, and examine the instrument,
they set up howl of opposition. As
negro slavery is the object of their pro-
foundest solictude and regard, it is not
surprising that their broadsides have
nearly all the time fallen short of the
Constitution, and centred on the codicil.
The absurdity of warning upon the codi-
Gil, when its defeat was conceded, on all
hands, as inevitable, has tlength forced
them to desisti in measure, TO save them
selves from ridicule. But, they have
been even more unfortunate in their at
tacks upon the Constitution itself The
rank and file refuse to follow their lead
A large proportion of the democratic
journals refuse to join in the crusade
Johnston, Hall, Coolbaugh, the State
Journal, the ablest leaders of the party,
come out strongly and unequivocally for
the New Constitution, and those who
have looked to them for counsel, follow
their old leaders, rather than give heed
to such rattle brains as the editors of the
Burlington Gazette, Dubuque Express
and Crescent. The latter, in essaying to
bring the instrument into discredit. at
tackled the Bill of Rights. About the
time their shafts had fairly sped from
the bow, it is discovered that the " right
of trial by jury" DC, against which
they are warning, is provided for in the
Constitutions of Virginia, Kentucky,
New York, Massachusetts, New Hamp-
shire, and five or six other States, in pre-
cisely the phraseolgy used in the New
Constitution of Iowa What fix, this,
for those who regard Virginia as the
very temple of Democracy, and her in
stitutions as models for slavery -propa-
eating Administration
The next onslaught is on the Banking.
feature of the new Constitution. This is
even more unfortunate than the first
movement, for it is discovered that all
the democrats in the Convention save
tour, voted for it
Then objection is made to the rule of
compensation provided 70. -.Aan,Le-s of
the Legislature, &c. Here again it is
found that the Democratic votes in the
Convention were given almost unan-
mously for this very clause.
1t will not do TO give it up so; so
with equal recklessness and ignorance of
the facts, the article on State Debts is
assailed, The same unanimous vote of
the Democratic members of the Conven-
ton, draws that charge from partizan
pop-guns. Besides, il is found to be a
cardinal feature of the Democracy of 9TH
er States, to discourage the entailment of
large debts on towns and counties which
is the feature complained of in the new
Iowa instrument.
As a last resort, the article on Educa-
ton and School Lands is aasailed with
withering satire, as providing for third
Legislative Department. This is even
more unfortunate than the previous as
saults, for it is found that the article not
only received the Democratic vote in the
Convention, but was brought forward as
the favorite measure of that old veteran
Democrat, Judge HALL, the leader of the
Democracy in the Convention. The
Judge is perfectly rabid on "acool; :"
judge his surprise, then, to find that he
is charged with conspiring, in the arti-
Gle aforesaid, for the admission of the
blacks into our common schools Look
out for broadside, one of these DAYS,
against his falsifers, which will make
them think the comet is about. What
makes this last attack even more unfortu-
nate, is the fact that the very sentence
in the article which is supposed to en-
body such heresy, is found verJatina, in
nearly all the State Constitutions of the
North.
By this time, the discomftted assail-
ants of the new Constitution, feel the ne
cessity of making precipitate retreat to
their original starting point, the "codi-
cil," or appendage." But resting
place cannot be found even there for il
is found that the Iowa Convention, in
submitting this question of suffrage, has
done nothing more orless than was done
by Convention in Michigan. which was
Overwhelmingly Democratic.
Ii must be seen, by this time, that the
assailants of the new Constitution are in
a bad dilemma, and are destined TO re-
ceive rebuke from the rejecting men
of both parties, which will make them
shiver at the bare mention of new Con-
stitutions, the rest of their natural lives.