Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-09-11
Modern Democracy: where Is 1t and
What Is Itf

The Richmond Enquirer having expressed a
hope that at future if not at an early day.
the National Intelligencer might be found ar
rayed with it in the jealous support of the
Democratic party, that paper begs leave to
inquire what sort of democracy it is invited
to give its allegiance to. That inquiry is
couched in the following just and scathing
questions and reflections:
What, then, we ask is the democracy"
which our friends of the Enquirer would COM
mend to our adoption? In many of the South
ern Democratic journals we read much of
what are called Southern Rights Democrats"
as contradistinguished from National Demo-
Gratis" With the nice shades of difference
between these schools as with the broad line
of demarcatiOn that apparently divides them
in such irrecOnclable hostility, we are not as
thoroughly acquainted as we should deem
necessary before assuming TO pronounce upon
their respective claims to represent the pure
and unadultcrated principles of the original
party. five turn our attention to the North
ern States, we there find still more sorry
spectacle of unfraternal strife among brethren
once of the same political household. Divided
and subdivided into clans. which seem 10 have
little in common save the familiar and much
abused patrOnymic of the family, they present
the spectacle of administration Democrats"
and Observation-Disclosures Democrats" ale
compton Democrats and "Anti- LecOmpton
Democrats" Democrats who hold the Eng
lish conference bill'' to be a 'fnalityn against
the speedy admission of Kansas, and Demo-
Gratis who scorn the thought of respecting
that Compromise" Indeed. Northern De
mocracy in its permutations and combna-
TONS has come to demand for its descriptive
titles almost as many names as are commonly
attached to a Spanish lntanta; for have we
not "Aut-Lecompton-En glish-conference-bi
Democrats" and Democrats who were once
"Lecompton," but now unfortunately "Anti-
English-conference-bill? Time indeed would
fail us TO tell OF Democrats who are in favor
OF free trade and direct taxation; Democrats
in Louisiana who are in favor of both these
desiderata, but nevertheless think sugar enti-
tied to some protection; Democrats in Penn
sylvania who have no objection to Mr.. BoYCE's
report, as pointing the goal of Democratic
progress, but who ask that, in consideration
for such concession, the duty should be
raised on iron and made perpetual; Democrats
in Kentucky who think Mr.. CLAWS "Ameri-
can system was n uery m staken theory of
political economy, but who hold that tax
on imported hemp is highly expedient and
constitutional: Democrats in New England
(immoderate in their demands because mod
est in their numbers) who think that 1.-The
textile fabrics" should be treated with some
in Louisiana, iron in Pennsy lvania, and hemp
in Kentucky; but who still are willing To sac
rifice large per centage for the sake of char
mony" as that term is understood in Demo
cratic parlance. The intelligent reader will
easily comprehend on this head the theory of
Democratic unity in diversity, rs the same Is
capable of being inferred from these appa-
rently paradoxical propositions; il Is that
every Democrat may properly strive to pro-
cure protection for the products Of his own
State il only he will set bis face like a flint
against the protection of products peculiar to
every other State. And hence too, the secret
of the ingenious process by which they are
able to combine the advantages that result
from tn. advocacy of free trade ~ general and
protection hg particular.
And then, TOO, We have Democrats who
favor internal improvements. and Democrats
who denounce them Us unconstitutional; De-
mocrats who think the public lands should be
disposed of as speedily Us possible by gen
eral homestead bill, and Democrats who pro-
nounce this policy unwse and (not 20 put too
fine point on their phrase) ''demagoglcal
and agrarian;" Democrats who espOuse Mr..
Clay's plan of distribution" and Democrats
who denounce the scheme a rank political
heresy; Democrats who believe iu the gospel
Of filiibusterism, and Democrats who sustain
the neutrality laws; Democrats who advocate
the revival of the slave trade, aud Democrats
who vote it to be ''unwise. inexpedient. and
contrary to the settled policy of the contrary"
IT. turning from the noise and strife of
this political Babel, with its confusion Of
tongues, we direct our attention to the ''or-
gans, OF the party, we find them piping to ms
many Earring and discordant tunes rs there
are separate audiences whom 1t Is their tuac-
ton 10 please In Illinois and la most OF the
Northern States douglas Democracy has
its advocates as a more genuine article than
that we could point 10 nearer home, while In
South Carolina it is held by many little les,
than treason 10 look upon the former with
allowance. The Richmond Enquirer, we be
lieve, owns no inordinate attachments TO the
Lecompton Constitution or the Conference
bill" but. in the vocabulary of 1.-THE central
are recognised as the indispensable tests OF q
b,ta ,sde Democrats much SO ~ the United