Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-11-13

operating against the Republicans in the re-
cent contest against DoUGLAs in Illinois, with
damaging effect, throughout the whole contest.
The most prominent of them it states as fol-
lows: .-, ....4..,t ~.--...- ---
! !. When Douglas came home to enter upon
the canvass, ne found the organization of the
Democratic party in the control of his friends,
J and, with very few dissentients, the whole
party, which i'll 1866 had poled 1O5 900 votes
in the State, warmly enlisted in his support.
The Republican, who in 1856 had po.ed &c.
600 votes, began the canvass under circum
stances, as we shall presently show, Of "a most
/ discouraging character, some of which were
well calculated to operate to their dsadvan-
tage in contending for the $1,000 votes which
were cast for Fillmore in 1856. In point Of
3 numbers, therefore, as well as in an old and
deficient organization, the Republicans COM
isnenced the canvass with the odds largely
against them.
g. The apportionment for members of the
Legislature was just as strongly against the
Republican party, and in Mr. Douglas favor
Our apportionment law is based upon the CEN
sus of 1890, and was framed by Democrat
ic Legislature, with special reference to the
stronghods of the party in the middle and
Southern portions of the State. Since then
the population of Illinois has increased much
more rapidly in the Northern (Republican)
half than in the Southern; and the advantage
accruing to Mr.. Douglas by reason of these
two facts is equivalent to three Senators and
nine members of the HOuse-an advantage
too formidable to be overcome under any Ordi-
nary circumstances, and quite sufficient, un-
der any condition of things, to dampen the ar
dor and weaken the resolution of party that
has to contend against it.
B. There was another fact which hold to
the advantages of Mr.. Douglas. Among those
who do not discriminate between the qualities
requisite for bold, dashing party leader, and
those which characterize genuine statesman
and this class constitutes large proper
ton Of the people-he has long enjoyed the
reputation of being great man. There are
men in Illinois who doubtless believe Mr..
Douglas to be the equal Of any of the Illus
triOus statesmen which our country has pro-
duced. This impression has made him friends
among those who have no political affnities
with him; and with all who are thus impress
sed with his ability as statesman, his sue
ces Or defeat involved the question of State
pride. For the last half dozen years there
has probably not been a time when MAORI
ty of the people of Illinois would not have
had there been no matter of principle in the
way of it. On the Lccompton question he
took course which, so far as that subject
was concerned, removed the principle obiec-
ton in the minds of his opponents against
yielding him then. support, while it, at the same
time, lost him scarcely any Of his party
| friends
4. In Pennsylvania, New York, New Jer-
sey, Ohio, Indiana, and the other States in
which our political brethren have achieved
their late signal victories, the issue was against
the Administration upon the Lecompton ques-
ton, and the Republican party fought shoul |
der to shoulder with anti-Lecompton Demo |
Gratis throughout the struggle In this State |
the position of Mr.. Douglas on that question |
precluded the Republican party from all the
advantages of such an issue. They had to
make the fight against him upon his general
record, which was bad enough to have swamp
ed a dozen politicians under ordinary circum
stances if equally divided among them but
in the contest all his past sins were Overshad- |
owed by the struggle which he made upon
the Lecompton question last winter. He |
and this, in the apprehension of multitudes of
voters, was the only matter to be considered.
While condemning every act of his political
|
him their support because the last was in ac
cordancc with the principles of the party with |
which they have always been Identified
Thus, while in other States the Republican |
party have made LecOmptOn and the Ad |
mnistration the chief issues of the canvass,
and have been strengthened by the accession |
of Anti-Lccompton Democrats, i'll Illinois the |
Republican party could make no such issue, |
and instead of receiving the aid of Anti-Le |
compton Democrats, they were forced to fight |
| them They had either to accept MIR. Doug
las with all his political sins upon him, and |
with the full knowledge, that if reelected t.
the Senate, his subserviency to the fillibuS
ters and slave-extensOnists of the South |
would be more marked than ever, the conduct |
in the canvass with all these circumstances |
against them.
5. In consequence of these peculiarities of
the case, the fight partook greatly of the char
acter of personal one against Mr.. Douglas |
as a man, rather than against Objectionable |
principles of which he was the exponent He |
claimed that he was before the people of Hi |
nois for vindication of his course on the Lc- |
compton questiOn-that that was the only |
issue upon which he was to be tried. The |
Republican party, in common with his own in |
this State, approved of his course on that |
| question while doubling the purity of the mo-
tive which led him to adopt it and hence,
although opposing him for reasons based upon
his political theories and his general political
action, they were forced to occupy position
which gave them the appearance of being ac
tuated by hatred of the man, rather than by
the deep and honest detestation in which
they held his principles While such was the
fact with respect to the Republican party, Mr..
Douglas was most vindicatively pursued by
the Administration. The friends of Mr.. Bu-
chanan fought him upon the Lecompton issue
thus enabling him to keep that question all
the while prominent in the canvass, and Civ |
ING him the further advantage of charging an |
alliance between them and the Republican |
party Notwithstanding the Administration |
Democrats opposed him solely on the ground
of his having co-Operated with the Republican
party in opposition to his own, still, the fact |
that both they and the Republicans desired
his defeat, though for reasons Of precisely an
Opposite character. was constantly prepared
by himself and friends as conclusive proof Of
such an alliance; and as the course Of the
| Administration towards him was deemed one |
of relentless persecution. By insisting that |
such an alliance existed he cOntrived to make |
many believe that his Republican opponents |
were actuatcd by the same petty malice and |
indicative hostility towards him personally. |
1t is our honest conviction that If the Admin-
istration had supported instead of opposing
him, the Republicans would have carried the |
Legislature by decided majority.
6. Another fact, and one, perhaps, which
damaged the Republican party more than any
other, was the attitude in which Mr. Douglas
stood towards Mr. Orittenden, the represent
ative man of the old Wing party ana Mr.
Seward, the exponent of the more radical Por-
ton of the Republican party. In the Le-
comnton E str,,g~le he lovingly consorted with
these p gentlemen They were in his most
sacret acr ecounsels. He hung upon their elo-
onent lips as they hurled denunciations at the
Administration and & the: , reGprocated d1 the the
compliment most heartily when he entered the