The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-12-18
AI,cI AT JudsS Douglas.

n
Most at our readers doubtless are already
aware that, at n caucus of the democratic
members of the T. S. Senate, held on Friday
evening of last week, it was determined to
displacs Judge Douglas from the chairman
shin OF the committee on Territories in the
Senate, and that in the Senate on Monday,
this decree eff King Caucus was ratlfed anu
carried out. Of;he 50 democratic memoels
of the Senate, but 81 were present at 'h's
caucus. and Of these "a, seven voted ssaihst
Tho nroscrin,ion These seven are sad to
have been Green, johnson, Brown OIL MISS
Clingman, Shields, Stuart, and Biglsr.-
Toombs and Hammond, it is also stated left |
the caucus in disgust before the vote Was
taken. The discuscussion il the caucus was
protracted and angry, while the opponents
of Judge Douglas made no concealment of
the fact that their action was had at the
Presidents bidding.
The motive for this piece Of petty proscrip-
ton is easily inferred from the fact that John
Sldell was the generalessimo Of the move
nsnt, and Jesse d. Bright the lieutenant
1t had its foundation, therefore, on nothing
more elevated than petty spite, and that
low jealousy which prompts all men OF small
calber and impudent pretensien to seek the
degradation to their own level of those who
ere infinitely above them. And such being
the only real motive, OF course nothing is
more clear than that it will utterly fail Of
it. object AS the Journal Of Commerce
. t'y remarks, eff the President and his
frisnds desire to promote the political pros
pets Of Senator Douglas in the future they
cid hardly have taken more efficient
II, ans of Doing so than that adopted by the
senate Caucus" Nothing makes friends
ira man faster than persecution, During
t,s Presidency of Gen. Jackson, democrat
j. Senate attempted in similar manner to
degrade Mr. Van Buren,, by rejecting his
= animation 10 the London Mission. The
result was the election of Nr. Van Buren, to
the Presidency.
The resu; will be the same in this case.
L ,e plea on which the majority efthe Sen
- caucus attempt to Justify this rroscript-
Il, is, that Judge Douglas has ceased to be
ind on the question OF slavery in the ter
I;ories 1t is alleged that he maintains the
doctrine that the people Of the territories
have the power to admit or exclude slavery,
while the true democratic doctrine is that,
as the constitution carries slavery into the
territories, it protects it there; and if the
territories refuse to pass laws for its protec-
ton, Congress must pass such laws. While
We deny that, in this plea, the fasition o!
Judge Douglas is truly stated, we aiss deny
that the new dogma here presented OF
constitutional or congressional Protcr-
ton Of slavery is democratic doctrine
Judge Douglas does not hold that the pee
pc Of the territories can pass laws either to
q limit or exclude slavery, Ee more than tina,
they can pass laws to exclude horses mules
or other property from the territories; bu
he does hold that slaves are no mere sacred
and are protected TO more by the constitu
ton as property in the territories, than hor
ses and mules arc ; and that il Congress car
protect one species of property it can al
other species,-which would amount to :
total abandonment Of the doctrine Of Popu
lar sovereignty upon which tie present ad
ministration was elected and to which tn
here But if, indeed, we are to understan,
by this attempt to degrade Mr.. Douglas
that the democratic party in the L. ). Sen
ate propose formally to abandon the doctrin
Of popular sovereignty as hitherto maintain
ed by Mr.. Douglas, and to substitute tn
old republican dogma Of congressional IN
torvention under the new name of 6 protec
ton" then truly was it high time to rea
him out of the party, and the reading Gu
process will not need to stop there. Tn
classic anecdote, related by the Milwaukee
Kt,cs, then becomes appropriate enough
1t is related of Diognes, the philosopher
that, being upon the barren and inhospita
Bic island Of Sinope. he offended the inhabi
tants by his eccentricities, who summoned
a council (coucus y and condemned him tt
1oave Sinope. On being informed Of this
sentence, Diognes replied, and condemn
you to live in Sinope." Whether this repl.
Of the philosopher may or may not be ap
Propriately adopted by Senator Douglas
.'let time and chance determine"