Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-05-21
70 .nvrRrrsrns,
THE TWO YEARS AMENDMENT AND THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY,


to perceive that the Republican press generally,
outside of Massachusetts, regret the adoption
of the Two Years Amendment. Indeed, most
of the Republican newspapers in that State, it
is said, deplore the result" 1t is true that the
Republican press outside of Massachusetts has
but one voice on this question. This Two
Years Amendments violation of the Repub-
lican platform which threatens the gravest po
itical consequences. One of the most promi-
nent, earnest, and influential Republicans in
the country says to us in private letter 81
fear the adoption in Massachusetts ofthat Two
Years Amendment defeats us in 1860" We
trust that the case is not so bad as
this for the party outside of the State
is unitedly against the measure and al
ways has been SO. The Amendment was
wrong in principle and wrong in policy
Its adoption may be annoying to the party
and its political consequences may be more or
less disastrous TO some of us here; but it can
hardly reach so far some earnest and saga
cious Republicans fear. Yet the success of
our Two Years Amendment has caused no
little excitement among our friends in various
parts of the country and, in some cases, this
excitement amounts almost to panic. We
will give our readers a few extracts from some
of the leading Republican papers. The ST.
Louis Democrat, after repelling the efforts of
pro-slayery Democrats to make the Republi-
can party responsible for the measure, speaks
of it as follows
"The action of that State SO far from in
e
siveness is entertained by the Republicans on.
ly shows that the broad liberal spirst of their
party have not sufficiently interpenetrated her
people. Massachusetts has imposed the suf-
frage restriction not because she is a Republi-
can State, but because she is not pure Re-
publican State. Her recent history is suffl-
GENTLY conclusive with regard to this affirma-
ton. In 1866 the Republican State ticket,
headed by Mr.. Rockwell was defeated, and
Henry J. Gardner, an unaduterated American,
was elected Governor Mr.. Banks, by dividing
the American vote in 1857, defeated Gardner
and the result of the election last year was
again the joint triumph of Republicans and
Americans. The statistics of the elections in
that State for the past five years demonstrate
that a majority of her citizens are Americans.
They partially cooperate with the Republican
party, but they have never lost their idiosyn-
craces. With the Republican party from New
York to Wisconsin protesting against the
adoption of the amendment, it requires much
partisan effrontary to accuse it Of completely
in the act"
We can assure the St. Louis Democrat that
the genuine know nothings constitute only
small majority of the voters in Massachusetts.
The Cincinnati Commercialsays
"This is, we believe the only instance in
which the doctrines of proscriptive know moth
inUiSm have hpen inpornoratnd into tbn Orra nic
law of q State. Il iss M exhibition of stupid
bigotry and virulent intolerance against which
every enlightened and liberal citizen must pro-
test, and which will be found as injurious to
the party responsible for it as it is unjust"
''The Commercial in another article, repre-
sents that Gov. Banks is specially responsible
for the amendment and says: 'it finishes this
gentleman's aspirations for the Presidency"
Our readers will recolect, in this connection,
how much has been done here in Massachusetts,
to injure Gov. Banks, by holding him up to
the world as the principal author and special
patron of the Two Years Amendment. Those
who did it, claimed to be his nearest political
friends, and were supposed to know the
exact state of the case. 1t is not surprising
that they have succeeded in their purpose
The following is from the Philadelphia North
American, paper which represents the more
conservative section of the party in Pennsyl-
vania, that section most likely to be affected
by know nothing sympathies
"The result of the vote on the amendment
in Massachusetts, though local and unimpor-
tant in itself, is likely to foment dissensons in
the Opposition ranks elsewhere, from the mar
row and bigoted principle of discrimination in.
volved among different classes af citizens, and
the protests made against it from the West,
and ether sections. 1t is Just such follies as
this that have always jeopardized success on
the very eve of its contamination, and no pre-.
tence of good reason can be assigned for step
which must at best lead to internal divisions,
and perhaps serious discords."
Pennsylvania is the State where, as we are
often told there is mighty force of know
nothingsm to be conciliatcd, and the North
American the paper which can tell us all
about it. Our readers may judge for them,
selves of the truth or falsehood of these repre-
sensations So far as the Republican party in
Pennsylvania is concerned, know nothingism
is so dead that its very dust was long ago
blown away and scattered to the four winds of
heaven. The. following is from the Detroit
Tribune:
Gone fact stands forth for the satisfaction of
that influential class of our fellow citizens at
whose political status this odious amendment
strikes, and that is this that every State in
the Union controlled by the Republicans eth
er by its press, its leading public men, or its
State Central Committees, has counseled Mas
sachusetts not to take this action, and protested
against it. The Republican party of the great
Northwest can be noeulated with no such
proscriptiye heresy. Michigan again washes
her hands Of it. She is for political equality
and. no proseriptve dogmas, as she has ever
BEEN"
Such expressions are universal. We have
extracts from the Milwaukee Free Democrat
the Chicago Press and Tribune, md many 9TH
err Republican papers. But we have quoted
enough to show how the success of the meas
ure here has affected our political friends in
other States. We may add, however, that
nowhere is the expression of feeling stronger
than in Illinois, where our friends have fierce
battle to fight, and where the political effects of
the measure are likely TO be felt most seriously
In published letter Of Hon. Il. B. Washburne
OF that State, he speaks as follows =
81 can find no language to express my alb
horrence of the action Of those Republicans in
the Massachusetts Legislature who passed the
law proposing the amendment to the Constitu-
tion OF that State, excluding the adopted cit
zens from the right Of suffrage for two years
and also the Republicans out of the Iegisla