The Washington union., 1858-02-24
A WORD TO THE NORTHERN DEMOCRACY

upon the question Of slavery. The course Of the black
republican party at the North has been such as to be-
get the belief that her rights, in connexion with her
peculiar institution, not to be respected and
upheld From this party her people have long
ago ceased to look for anything like justice equi.
ty They have put their trust in the conservative
democracy Of the northern States and in the passage
Of the Nebraska bill felt they had received an earn.
est that this trust not misplaccd-that there
were good men and true in the free States, who,
whatever might be their opinions upon the abstract
question, the moral and social right wrong of
slavery, would defend and protect them in the enjoy.
ment of their constitutional rights on this and all
other subjects. The principle therein recognised
was, we were told by the enemies Of the bill, amere
abstraction, which could be of no real practical ad
vantage to the South Its friends stopped not to in
aure whether this was so or not. They knew it
was correct principle, and they simply asked that
it should be recognised and faithfully adhered TO-
1t was recognised, aud is now, for the first time,
sought to be enforced in the of Kansas Whilst,
we are glad to believe, very large majority of the
| northern democracy honestly in favor OF its
enforcement wo find, strangely enough, that some
Of those who were foremost and loudest in demand
ing its recognition are earnestly resisting the
first attempt at putting it into practical operation
Under these circumstances, can it, we ask, be sur
prisng that the South should attribute this opposi-
ton to the fact that the constitution under which
Kansas is asking to be made State recognises and
protects the institution of slavery, and especially
when she sees that no real objection, aside from this
feature in it, has been made to that constitution
Is it, in fact not perfectly natural that she should so
think? We profess to know something Of the scnti-
ment of the country this subject, and we think it
| il truly and correctly stated in tho following
tracts which we mako from able speech, delivered
in the House Of Representatives few days since,
by Gen. Atkins, of Tennessee;
nIhc northern democrats said hc) who have ntima-
ted their intention Of voting against this constitution
claim that they have not raised the issue OF slavery
alone that they are and ever have been, ready to
vote for the admission of Kansas, with or without sla
very whenever she presents herself having previously
voted upon and ratified by the popular will, her consti
tuition that there is wide difference between them and
the republican party that while they arc not controlled
in their action by reference to slavery at oil tho rcpnb
! cans, though every man. woman, and Child In Kansas
should desire that the institution lie tolerated would un-
hesatingly refuse her admission. though that refusal
should slough her off, it possible into an indepcnd
ent and foreign State This is refining too much for our
|
South IL is the apology which the hangman makes to
the doomed criminal when he adjusts the halter it
keeping the word Of promise to the but breaking It
to the hope.
1.-THE admission or rejection Of Kansas grows in in-
portancc and significance when realize the fact that
with large majority of those who opposed it and that
majority constitutes the larger moiey Of tho northern
people is settled determination not to admit
more slave States into this Union This sentiment is
growing at the North and the southern people should
<,f tIa Il{notu
senator contend that slavery il but abstraction
merely in Kansas an admission do not make but
il it were much tho stronger evidence that
do intend that another slave State shall enter
! the door of this confcderacy. II you will not admit
State because 1t has the abstraction Of slavery without
the institution practically by what sort OF logic are we
to conclude that you would vote to admit State that
clearly and unequivocay and practically in favor OF
slavery If you alarmed and flee Mt the approach
of shadows how expect you to stand when the
substance itself shall appear before you y
| We ask those northern democrats who, we
ceive have arrayed themselves in opposition to the
enforcement of the doctrine of non-intervention in
the case of Kansas, to ponder well before they act
we tell them, in all candor and Kindness that their
refusal to admit Kansas under the Lecompton consti-
tuition will create dstrust in the southern mind, and
probably ripen into conviction the suspicion, which
their course has already aroused, that there
is settled determination at the North not to admit
any more slave States into this Unon''--a convic-
| ton which the national democratic party could not
long survive and the consequences of which we
dare not contemplate
| We are accused by goodIy number of papers
with inconsistency and many other things which we
do not care to notice We would like to have it un-
derstood, that we intend to employ tho first moment
we can occupy with nothing else, in vindcating the
| Union against all such charges We shall not let
this work interfere with any other business whatev-
cr 1t is possible that the Union may not have been
absolutely consistent in all things Rather than con-
test this pont-as we have not time just now to write
a full history of the paperwe would much prefer to
acknowledge half dozen errors in the past We
count it worth notice if we find in these times
willing " to confess his faults" and, without claim
ing any particular merit to ourselves it s perfectly
legitimate to infer that lie who docs is in far bet
ter state Of mind than he who doggedly adheres to
errors even If he has the sanction Of precedent
Having examined The past, and received its lessons
| of experiences we prefer claim 70 merit for tho
Union wholly on the ground Of being right in the
present.
! KANSAS AFrArRs.-In another column will be found
an article which reproduce from the Herald of
Freedom, tho leading free-State paper Of the Terri