Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1858-01-21

l
the eighth of January, at Tammany Hall,
New York
RICHMOND, Va. Dec. 80, 1857
| GENTLEMEN-I have the honor to ac
knowledge the invitation of the Society of
Tammany to attend their celebration of the
forty-third anniversary of the battle of New
Orleans, the evening of the 7th day of Jan
uary next. l regret that l cannot be with
you in person, but l tender to you my
warmest sympathy in the sentiments and
objects Of your celebration. | trust that
your venerable order will always uphold
the Federal constitution, with which you
proudly claim to be cotemporarlcs; that
you will strive to revive and perpetuate the
spirit of the Revolutionary fathers, who
you boast were your founders; and that you
will now, more than ever, national as op-
posed to sectional feelings-a strict con-
struction of the constitution. as opposed TO
all compromises of its provisions-true de-
mocracracy in its republican form, as op-
posed to the licentiousness of mobs or mere
majorities enacting their own higher law,
and the liberties of the people against all
power, delegated or undelegated, upon
earth. To these ends you may well COM
memorate the victory of New Orleans. Its
hero was guided by law and bound BY du-
ty,' when he took the responsibility to save
city then, afterwards to save a country
from foe more formidable than foreign
bayenets. He gave us the motto The
Union must be preserved, and | hope that
his great authority still remains potent to
stamp it upon every heart and upon every
banner in the whole country. To preserve
it we must steadily adhere to the demo-
cratic faith and platform; We must stand by
you in standing by James Buchanan as the
people stood by Andrew Jackson. He
had to contend with the money power, and
subdued it by the Samson of Democracy.
We now have to meet the black demon of
the "higher law" and the sAme Samson
survives in visor to fight for the chosen peo-
pie. God forbid that the Samson of dem
ocracy shall al last be Samson Agonistes,
shorn and blinded, to become a destroyer.
Almost every other people and every other
party, except the American democracy.
have had their "brid ges of asses" but |
do pray that we may not be such asses our
selves as to make bridge of slavery, or
of any other subject, for us to stall at in a
career and progress Of national greatness
And yet, gentlemen, there are great ma
ny Kans asses in our country, and they are
not hall as stubborn asses as the can. asses
A driver can get along after manner, with
an ass that can, but th' cruelest goad will
Lot prevail with the asses who can't
They are the stubbornest of all, and are
sure to stall just in the way and at the very
place of most danger. They bray a poliIi-
cal religion and religious politics. The
best whip which ever touched these asses
exactly in the raw. was James Buchanan's
Conestoga thong, laid right on upon forty
fanatical preachers call in row." AS to
your other motto, civil and religious lib
srty," ours was saved by the Virginia de-
mocracy in 1855. We struck the dark
lantern out of the hands of the ineffabe
Sam, and none now are found SO poor as to
"hurrah" for him.
We therefore, have some right to say to
you on other topics that all common sense
and justice require is. that we let each 9TH
er's property and peace and political privi-
leges alone. ard attend to the conservation
of our own interests respectively at home.
When We happen TO meet in the common
Territories, to make new homes and neigh
borhoods there, all we have to do is to res
pect each others equal rights. If we are
southern shareholders don't let our proper
ty be invaded or taken away from us; don't
allow any power to prevent us from settling
upon common lands, or don't drive US
away from the settlements we have made
upon domain purchased or won by COM
mon treasure ard united valor. On the
other hand. if you prefer that slavery shall
not be incorporated in the new body poll
tic Of which you are to become members,
We promise you that it shall not be impos-
ed upon you. with our consent, either by
force or by fraud. We propose to go to-
gether to the polls as equals; justly res
pscting each others rights, and there de-
termine, by legal votes, what shall be the
law in the case. If property be establish
ed in one form or another, it shall be res
pected; and if forbidden in any other form,
it shall not in that form exist in that COM
munity. Now has this just. fair and equal
course been observed in Kansas? l fear
lessly say that it has not been Observed
Force and fraud both, on both sides, have
been attempted, and have to shameful ex-
tent prevailed. And it is the great voca
ton Of democracy to put down both fraud
and force in this and in all other cases.
How! The case divides itself into two cat
egories--the one de jure in the Territories,
as between the convention and tba naonla =
and the other dc .facto in the country at
large, as between Congress and the Terri
tory. In the frs: in Kansas there was an
"enabling ststufe." If the Kansas Ne
braska act did not enable the people to hold
convention, or to make laws for their ow.-
self government, it had v;r,uo :, ;,.,
all, Th. Y ~.