New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-04-30
WISE on NATIONAL POLITICS.


Governor Wise, after a silence unusually pro-
tracted for him, is again before the public in a
political letter This letter, though bearing upon
subject which is commonly supposed to occupy
good deal of the Governor medtations, to w.t. the
next Presidency, is uncOmmonly short Tor the
writer But it has the usual characteristic OF Gov
ernor Wises letters Mixed up with the buncombe
which composes its chief staple, it let's drop some
pregnant confessions awe were strong says the
Governor, speaking Of the South, "on the moral
ground of equality. We relinquished that in at
tempting to assume more than equality and We
lost all character for justice. We were wise once
sin demanding no more than our due, and we have
"been foolish since and Of late in trying to de-
"priye others of their due" This is COM
pact and accurate summary of tho course OF the
shareholders during the last quarter of century.
During all that time their efforts have been devoted
to assuming "mOre than equality" They have
sspired to rule our party organizations by the mere
force of threats, assumptions, and dicaton, and in
doing so have completely annihated two OF them,
to wit, the Old Wing party and the American party,
SO called, and are now fast bringing the Democratic
phTty 10 lne same iHoiO S""s "ho
single department Of the Federal Government over
which they have not claimed and obtained an
undue control vastly to its loss of character and
the damage of its Administration.
Beginning with the Presidency, to what depths
have they not brought it down-sinking from Polk
TO Pierce, and from Pierce to Buchanan In the
legislative department their chief employment has
been-not merely of late, but for twenty-five years
past-that of depriving, or attempting to deprive,
Others of their due" They began with attempt
ing to suppress the right of petition. Taking ad-
vantage of the eager competition of Northern
politicians for Southern votes they proceeded to
forfeit all character for justice by the enactment of
the Fugitive Slave law and the repeal of the Mis-
our Prohibition. Not content to stop there, they
60 now step further, and maintain that not only
has Congress no power, and the population on the
spot no power to prevent the introduction OF Slave
~ into any of the Territories of the United States
but further, that Congress is bound 70 protect It
wherever il is once introduced. Even in the States
themselves they claim at least the right of passing
through with their slaves point hich, if carried,
would only lead to new pretensiOns of night OF
permanent residence. They have also converted
the judicial department Of the Government into an
instrument of aggression upon both the rights and
feelings of the North Transforming the Supreme
Court into the mere echo Of their sectional and
class pretensions, while tie circuit and district
courts have been degraded into conveniences for
savecatchng.
For while, as long there was nobody but
politicians TO deal with, this policy succeeded re-
markaby we'll and Mr.. Wise himself was an active
participant in il. But the enactment first of the
Fugitive Slave law, and then of the kansas-Ne-
braska BILL brought the shareholders into direct
conflict with the masses of the Northern people;
and the case OF Kansas has pretty clearly demon
strated as the Governor says in his letter, that in
the game Of snatch as snatch can" the thin,
saveholding merely agricultural population of The
South, in competition with the commercial, trad
ing, Frse-Soil population Of the North, are much
in the predcament of 1Esop's cock, who undertook
to frighten the horse out Of his own stable by
threatening 10 stamp of his toes. But though
the tlunder thus committed, to give it no worse
name, is freely acknowledged, what the Governor
would do about it is not quite 30 plain. He
confines himself TO denouncing what has been done
or proposed by others, protesting sn equal
antipathy to " the authors Of Kansa+NebrssAa
:" bills" to the " Free-Soism Of Badger amend
" msnts," to the effects of repeating lays estab-
fishing and protecting SLAYER! in the Territories,
to the false protection Of non-interventiou," to
" Lccompton policy" TO the compromises OF
{" English bills" to " the wickedness of force and
" fraud" and TO the folly Of mnonty's attempting
to bear down majority. The South, be declares,
needs protection from the treachery of her own
sons" and the folly of Der sincere friends-protec
ton which be means TO try to give, but in what
particular shape does no, appear.
But it is not merely, nor even principally, as to
this matter Of Slavery that the South needs pro-
lection, and that Mr. Wise is ready to giyet- The
South, he apprehends, u in danger from Mr. Bu-
chsnsn, not less than from Aboitonists and ultra