Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-05-29
Want Of Principle in the Black Rspubh'

meetings, at their State and county COnven'
tons throughout the Union, they adopted
resolutions condcmnatory Of the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, and solcmnly pledged
themselves not to cease the agitation of the
slavery question until Congress consented to
restore it. Their speakers everywhere before
the people took open and bold ground against
the " Nebraska swindlc," as they then termed
it. They swore eternal hostility sgninst the
extension of slavery. said it was Incompatible
with the genius Of our institutions, an outrage
to admit any more slave States, and that
slavery should henccforth be forever confined
within its present limits. Free territory.
free speech, and Fremont" was their rallying
cry. For Douglas the author and defender
of the obnoxious Bill, they entertained and
expressed the most bitter, unrelenting, demo-
niacal hatred; at all their fanatical gatherings
denounced him in unmeasured terms. Nc
opprObous cpithct was too vile to apply
to him--nO SANDER too base to circulate
against him: he was pronounced :" traitor, "
Judas IScariOt,"a Benedict Arnold )" a
disgrace to his Northern homc,' and wei
coined to his Chicago home with the music of
mutllcd drums and the tOllng Of the city bells.
His cffigy was exhibited on the public square
and committed to the flames hy Blck lie. ub-
licans, and when he attempted to vinlicatc
himself before his constituents, his voice was
drowned in the imprccationS and gr"anS Of
Black Republican leaders and their followers.
They never alluded to him in other than the
most sncering, insulting manner and three
thousand New England clcrgymcn. Of the
Black Republican persuasion" invoked the
vengeance of heaven OIL his head for his agency
in the passage Of the kansas-NcLra>ka Act
Now these same hypOcritical, " sanctimoni
Gus hounds, are deifying the very man they
would have crucilicd n few short months ago.
Now they are the ardent, concentrations sup
portcrs of an act they but lately pronounced
unconstitutional and Infamous! Now 'pop-
ular sovereignty" is the only true religion and
meets their cordial Endorsement.
Equally remarkable is their inconsistency
with regard to the question Of slavery. They
have not only repudatcd their late platform,
but if we are to judge by their votes they are
rather favorable to the extension Of slavery.
They have changed front and deserted their
colors. The Republican party has surrender
cd. Its Shibbocth Of no more slave States,
has been abandoned, and every Republican
member in Congress has affirmed tho oppo
site doctrine, that the recognition Of s'"reTy
IL lis ConstitnfiOm cOhstit"tcs no rea~on .Jor
rctmSing tie GdmisstOn Ctd ner .St0t". Every
Republican member has voted to admit
.St0re suite, provided the people Of the pro-
posed State so desired In other words, the
Republican party has ANONYMOUSLY abandon
cd its own platform and adopted the Demo-
cratic platform-that a new State has right
to come into the Union with or without
slavery, as it may decide for ITSELF and that
Congress has no right to exclude it because
it may prefer slavery. The Democratic doc
trinc of non-interycntion has pacificd the
country in respect to that dangerous agitation,
anil has become, even by the consent Of its
enemies, inauguratcd as the settled policy of
the future" But are the Republicans sincere
in their professions: Can party that is
constantly changing its platform, with no
fixed principles, of purely sectional charac.
ter, be trusted: Assuredly not. To-day it
may adopt, tomorrow reject the same meas
urc. The Republicans have discovered that
the doctrines of the Democratic party are pop.
ular, that it is useless TO war against them,
the people are satisfied and will sustain them
and hence they are forced to support what
they have in vain denounced and tried to de-
feat. To be successful, to obtain place and
power, they must trim their sails to the pop
ular breeze. and float with the current, not
against it and however inconsistent their
conduct may appear, it is in exact keeping
with their professions. Sincere in nothing but
their anxiety to obtain Office, they would EN-.
brace any faction or doctrine that promised
them success. They are MS bitterly hostile
to Douglas. to the principles of the Kansas
Nebraska Act now as ever, but they find it
polite to dssemblc, to smother their opposi-
ton, until something favorable presents itself,
then they will again appear in their true
colors. Since their organization they have
exhibited want Of principle which should
induce all rejecting, intelligent men to place
no confidence in their professions reliance
in their promises.