The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-09-08
PARDON THE NURSE or SECOND OFFENCE.

ht' pouSlas violated last winter not only all the
laws of his party but all the comites and courtesies
OF political life lie not only abandoned his former
friends without word Of remonstrance or counsel,
but he assaled them in the spirit of the bitteres in
veetiye. Henot only deserted the democratic camp
but IN short day he found issuing bulletins
from the enemy's headquarters. At length it came
TO pass that there arose difference of opinion be-
tween Mr.. Douglass new allies and himself They
disagreed about the value of his services and
the rewards he should receive for his apos-
tacy. He modestly claimed the first rank and
the highest honors of the republican household.
They were quite determined to submit TO no
such degrading terms. They loved his treason,
but would not thus endow the traitor. Mean
while the democracy looked on with serene indiiier-
ence- IL was no new thing with them to mourn
over descrter Every great contest since the days
of Jefferson had evoked more or less Of that kind of
material. 1t had become feanre in American pol
tics, and it is suggestive fact that desertion is
sure to be confined to those whose restless ambition
leads them to imagine they have species of mort
gage or equitable lien on the popular mind Of the
country; at least this is in the democratic party
But, notwithstanding the detection of Mr.. Douglas,
we worried through the contest of the last session
and achieved great victory. Then the party, true
to its generous instincts, actually invited Mr. Doug
las to come back promising to forgive his short
comings and to charge it all to diseased political
weakness. There were those who said we were too
liberal No matter, the prevailing sentiment was on
the side Of mercy, and Mr.. Douglas was forgiven.
How well have subsequent events proven that
s.Pardon is still the nurse of second woe II
Mr.. Douglas mistook the magnanmity of his old
friends for approval of his late detection and straight
way set himself up as tho sovereign dictator of the
democratic party. a
1t may well be doubted if that charity which
would forgive political offence without beth re-
pentance and penance is not wholly misplaced.
Liberaty and magnanimity are high virtues, but all
experience has shown that when exercised upon
unworthy persons they produce the very evils
they were intended to remove. We hold to the
strictest enforcement of political justice, and that
any relaxation of its rules of accountability and pun
ishment is nothing less than license to commit q
| second offence.
1t is great relief TO people Of bad memory to be
reminded of the events of the past. In the case of
Mr.. Douglas the labor will not be heavy-so we pro-
pose to point him to affairs in Kansas twelve months
ago, where he found the grievances" which drove
him to condemn the democracy. Within one short
year, then, Mr.. Douglas has approved every pro-
ceeding of our friends in that Territory. lie dis
tncy endorsed the validity of the election of the
10Th of june and of course the September conven-
ton, which framed the Lecompton constitution.
n IF titIt-
ton to the Topckaites or republicans, and "to the
inhabitants of the Fejee Islands, equally prepos-
ferrous and absurd.
| Subsequently, after Mr.. Douglas had determined
| to abandon the democratic party, he adopted the
leading tenet of the republican creed that Congress
had the right to dictate to the people of Kansas
that they should submit any constitution they might
adopt for popular ratification or rejection. This
the first concession he was prepared to make to
the republicans by way of bolstering up their oppo
sition to the bred Scott decision. Having thus
| driven awedge into that decision we were quite
prepared for his next step at Frceport, where he
openly maintained that the people of the Territory
at any time, with thou sand or five thousand in
habitans, could create abolish slavery. In other
words Mr.. Douglas was prepared, in opposition to
the Judgment of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and of the settled principles of the demo
cratic party, to lnainta that any handful of PEG
| pie, organized under temporary territorial laws
should thereby become sovereign, Independent
State out Of the Unios,. The process by which he
reaches his conclusions is sufficiently novel. He adj
mits that the constitution contains no such grant o.
power to the people of the Territory but airms that
inasmuch as Congress conferred all Legislative an
thority upon them, therefore they may establish OF
prohibit slavery He declares at the same time chat
| the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, be
cause Congress itself, by that act, undertook to dc
directly what they had legal power only to do indi
rectly. 1t is plain that, by Mr.. Douglas logic, We
| have at least found new means of amending the
federal compact. When it is discovered that au
thority is wanting for direct congressional action
! the national Legislature has only to empower or
agent to do what is forbidden by the organic law
| and the remedy is complete. ~. tf
We trust there is good, wholesome lesson to b,
drawn from the conduct Of Mr.. Douglas. There is
but democratic party in the country. Its power
to be useful depends upon the absolute unity Of it
principles and the rigid integrity of its organization
When shall step aside, from motives of policy, t.
draw to its embrace discordant clements it viii have
introduced into its councils nothing but disease, de