Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1857-01-22
The bad CharacteF of Black Re.
puDIicaniSnR.

ism, says the Washington Union, seem
to be wholly incapable of ~appreeiatin2
the truth thatit is just as impossible fol
a political party to be prosperous with
a bad name for integrity, frankness, and
honesty as it is for an individual to be
respected and influential who has ae-
quired a character for deception, dis
honesty and falsehood. The arts of de-
ception may have a temporary success.
bat, in the long run, the consequence
of exposure are sure to follow. Know
Nothingism seemed for a time to prom
Use fair; but there was one element in
its organization which would have de-
stroyed it events its principles had been
less obnoxious than they were. To get
the benefit of secrecy, it adopted a sys-
tenn of prevarication, of suppressing
truth and suggesting ~falsehood, which
was entirely inconsistent with a charae-
ter for honesty and frankness, and this
feature in its organization was incom-
patable with its permanent success
The black republican leaders ought to
have learned from their alliance with
know nothingism, and from the fatality
which followed it, that there is truth in
the old prorerb-" Honesty rs the best
policy" Their course, however, since
the presidential election, and for a short
time before, proves that they learned no
wisdom either from their association
with know nothingism o. from its fate.
The canvass of 1856 was opened, and
prosecuted for a time, with great bold
ness and apparent frankness by the Ere
mont champions. They did not pretend
to conceal that they looked to a triumph
as the first step towards the abolition of
slavery in the States, and they did not
shrink from a dissolution of the Union
as a probable consequence of their ulti-
mate success. Before the election came
on, however, they betrayed sthe white
featherH-they saw the deep Union=lov-
ing spirit of the country waking up and
the valiant leaders of Fremontism were
stricken with a panic. They hauled
down their disunion flag, and labored to
regain the confidence of the people by
loud professions Of devotion to the con-
stitution and the Union, and by reck-
less charges of disunion against demo-
Gratis who had exposed the dangers of a
republican triumph and warned the
country to avoid the impending peril of
disunion. The change of front was dis
astrous to the hopes of the Fremonters,
When the election was over President
Pierce fixed the attention of the nation
on the dangers which had just been
averted, by; referring in his message to
the necessary tendency to d~isunion of
the complete success of the principles of
the black republican organization. The
truths of the message cut deep into the
feelings Of the Fremont leaders. In
stead of boldly proclaiming their ulti-
mate objects and v~indicating the open.
and outspoken policy with which they
had signalized the opening of the presi-
dental canvass, they pleaded not guilty
to the arraignment, and sought to es-
cape from exposure by violent personal
denuneiations of the President, and by
a resort to the most contemplate pre-
quibbling, and special plead
ing in explanation of their wi public
declarations. The time had passed for
diverting public attention from the truth
by a resort to personal vituperation of
the President. There was no response
in the country to this system of abuse
and calumny. The public mind was
fixed upon the simple issue: Are not
the designs and objects of the black re-
publican leaders as now avowed wholly
inconsistent with the designs and OBJ
jects of the same leaders as deduced from
their ayowals during the canvass? That
was the Issue made up on the Presidents
message, and n o amount of personal de-
traction and malignant abuse, aided by
ingenious eyasions, artfful presentations,
and reckless falsehoods, could withdraw
the minds of the people from it. The
Judgment of the country, on the facts as
they have been presented in both hous-
es of Congress, could be no other than
that the black republican leaders were
either dishonest and insincere when the
presidential canvass opened, or that they
are dishonest and insineere now in re-
pudiating thelegitimate deductions from
their ayowals and declarations then
made. The character of BLACK republi-
canism has now been fixed with a want
of frankness, openness, directness, and
integrity, and no political party can long
survive with such reputation, There
are other evidences of bad character de-
veloped since the presidential election,
which will be noticed and exposed in
due time
@In the South Carolina House of
Representatives a bill was recently in