Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-12-22
,hs DenOcl attic party as holding out the only hope


to the conederacy And arc anxious to preserve il
unity. We have confidence in the Northern Deme
cracy. Thei, noble be,ring in the late Presidential
contest entities them t. our gratitude. We deuounct
the d.unonists, bscawe We can soc no necessity fo
disruption Of the eonfederacy yet, and trus
that We never may Such have been The
salient features charGterizing the course of the
tEnquirer' in contest which has induced gentle.
men to fear that We vs,ed from the old chart that
used to guide Such opinions do us Injustice
The "Epquirsr" is still true to the doctrines of its
earlier days. We cheri,h the Union, and mean tc
defend it as long the institutional rights of the
South are not encroschet upon. When ths sove
regny of the States daied, we would prove it by
secession.
RESIGNATION OF FROBERT j. WALKER.
Weapproprate muchof our space oday to al
elaborate letter from RGert j. Walker to the Secre
tarv of State, tendsrnghs resignation Of the Cover
noYhp of Kansas. twill be seen that his views il
regard to the e1pedency and propriey of accepting
the Lscompton Constitution, under the decision oi
the Convention, are decidedly in conflict with those
of the Administration. We are gratitied at Cover
Nor Walkers resignation, because we hope It will
conduce to that harmony in the Democratic party,
which at all times, and especially now is so much to
% desired; and also because, differing from the
President 80 widely, Al he does, on so important a
point and at uDctue 80 dangerous and delicate, he
coud not have held 90 to his office, without serious
embarrassment TO tie Administration, upon which
would probably haveievolved the disagreeable duty
of removing him fro, position which he bad been
almost importunsd to accept To review his
career in Kansas no, would be like discussing the
merits or demerits "a General after the decisive bat
tie has been lost or on. 1t would be attaching too
much Importance the man, and too little to the
cause. 1t would be n3stng with individualisTn, the
most momentous, rsnt and practical question,
which now engages u attention Of the county,
Robert j. Walker is rlonger on the stage. He has
plsved bis part in thKsnsas drama, and retired.-
The closing scene is It TO come. We trust it may
not be so exciting d alarming as those that have
preceded it.
Our own opinio:unequivocay expressed at an
early hour, aubsequt to the reception of the iDte
eence announcingthe decision of the Lecompton
Convention, is stiunchanged. And We were truly
grati6ed on readnI tn; Presidents message, TO OBJ
serve not a shado Indifference between our posi-
ton and that of tn Administration.
Governor Walkel.kes opposite ground. bis let
ter is digniied and .tempsred. His reasoning is
plausible, and sev4l of his points are presented
with much clearne and force. But, like Senator,
Douglas, he makese great paramount issue subor'
dnste to others thaave not been involved in the
contest.
WE invite the atetio of our readers to the fol-.
lowing consderat, ard ensible remarks, relative to
the present positia o6udge Dougas, which we
transfer from the Iscoi Ga.l Telegraph:
SEMTC DOUGLAS.
Some months so ven the opposition were so
| hitter and uneparg Dher attacks upon the Ad.
| minstration, and s,arsg under their taunts, some
even of it's politica frhds became distrustful end
seemed half incnd tGoin in the clamor, the Tele.
| prapb was one of mnDrints TO express HI undoubt
| ing confidence tharIr Buchanan would not falsify
| his own clear antecdts-would satisfy the South
and the world that b pod firmly and selfpoised on
| the great Corstitutirl platform Of equal riyhts,
where he was placeobthe Cincinnati Convention
where indeed, he haHays stood, and which was
but q doctrinal enbient of his own public career
as an American statetn. Mr. Buchanan, in truth,
ia built upon too LARD scale-hs mind is too com
| Urehpne,Ve-NlS phlHsIr 100 tApduslNc-Ul5 leel-
inps too genial and runal to permit him 10 become
the exponent or the irument of sectiOnasm. His
;nstincts are all apaj5t efrorniy 90 his actual
~ poceuents, and 1t wau unreasonable suppositlon
that the statesman ofNS years growth and mstu
rity of harmonious and ,sisIent character would do
| violence to either.
II il happily needlesaow to indicate the Presi
dent. No apology, eIplton or defence lie required.
vindictive opposition nshed, at leaft for while,
and all stand ready to nit that if the South had
taken ground against administration, abe would
have stood in her own ht and acted unjustly as
we'll as unwisely.
In the light of this exience Of the propriety Of
caution and forbearancn respect to members Of
our own political housed, and eminent statesmen
of long established chatter and tried reputation,
may We not be permtteo plead against too hasty
conclusions in regard the distinguished Senator
from Illinois, We are ped and disappointed with
his postion of hostility to Lecompton Constitution
and quasi hostility to administration. We do not
yet see or appreciate tkround he stands on, or
where he starts from to ae at his alleged conclu-
sions. But this we feel, espect to him, as We did
II to MIR. Buchanan-he ciot be false to his own
nature, and TO his own iracter. He would be az
much out of place in ifou atmosphere of free
| sosm as bird in a coat, ard the hopeful specu.
lations of the Tribune "a, about aid from him, are
we believe, utterly gro,r,es and futile.
At the came time, it 70. be observed that the po-
sition of public men il medmes shaped by eIter.
nal circumstances contn to their own inclination
or original purpose. Nn dstrust arises and is
sedulously fomented, aa clamor, angry, and to
some extent unreasonable raised against man
past services forgotten q lowering suspicion or
hement abuse meets hin, ,evsry furnishing by the
| injustice, he will do whxherwse he would not do,
or he is sometimes actty nisrepresented into po-
sitons he does not realScc1py. We plead there
| fore for forbearance frdthe Democratic press in
behalf of the gallant cfpiOn of Democracy and
the noDnterveDtion prine.
We will not permit oalves to doubt the fealty
of Mr.. Douglas TO the Iiocratic party. He thas
been too long tried and ct invaluable and trusly
leader. If he differs with, administration, it is not,
We believe, in spirit of Election 10 the Democra-
tic party or doctrine-it is in hostility to the Con-
stitutonal rights of the Sd. Iii is upon the broad
est popular interpretationthe principle of the Kan
sas act, Of which he feels prde Of authorship, and
would naturally be ltlePercritical in csrryipgit
! out
We trust the Southern nocratc prints will not
miejudge or condemn hipo hastily.