The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-08-04

| cipie OF opposition to the extension o
Slavery. Admit this. and yet we arc
better oft than Our opponents-for they
have no principles at ALL We defy on,
neighbor to point out to us one single
question of public policy upon which the
different wings of his party are united
and harmonious. Is it in regard to steal
ing or buying Cuba? The South is will
ing, but the North not generally dispos.
J ed. Is it in reference to tariff? Bu.
cHANAN and Pennsylvania. and New Eng
land democrats, advocate specific duties
CoBB, and the north and west generally,
favor ad ealorem duties while the South
pretty generally favors free trade. Is it
in reference to internal Improvements ?
Here there is diversity again-the south
generally opposing, the north favoring
with a qualification. Is it in regard to
the disposition of the public lands The
northern and western members are in
clined to adopt the plan of giving them
away to actual settlers, while the South
very generally insists upon their sale and
the distribution of the money among the
states. Is it favor of hard.money
currency? Look at Mr.. CoBD's thirty
or forty millions of treasury notes. Is
it an economical administration of the
government Ponder over the eighty
millions per annum which democratic
administration disburses. Is it opposi-
ton to fraud and corruption? Recollect
Secretary FLoYD's transactions in the sale
of Ft Smelling, and the purchase of VIII
let's Point, as well as J. BIS letter to
WENDELL, the public printer, directing
a portion of his profits to be given for
certain political purposes; also the re-
voking of a contract for machinery for
the purpose of granting it to MERRIcK
IL Son, in order that they might put a
sufficient number of men to work to re.
elect Mr.. FLORENCE TO Congress. These
and many other things of the same char
acter have been done by democratic ad-
misunderstanding SO grossly wrong
that they could extort from Mr.. TooMBs,
political partizan, the assertion that our
government was fast becoming the mos,
corrupt on the face of the globe. Is i,
the limitation of the powers of the Gen
eral Government Think of Demo
cratic administration asking that the war
making power be conferred upon it; Of
the party nrholding law that takes from
the citizen of State the right OF trla
-~'--.'-- r-~'-~-r'-- 6 49, H.
sas Nebraska bill, or the "great funda
mental doctrine Of Popular Sovereignty"
How many and diversified are the inter-
pretations given to this vital doctrine.
The President and the ms have one,
DOUGLAS and the oats at the north have
another, while nearly the whole South
have third. The first contend that
the people of territory cannot decide the
question of slavery previous to the peri
cd of forming constitution preparatory
to admission as state !; the second con-
tend that they may do SO at any time
during the territorial condition the third
assert that they have no alternative but
to protect slavery until they are admitted
as state. These different interpretations
are held by these different wings of this
harmonious party, with great tenacity,
and threaten 10 prove the rock upon
which the Charleston Convention will
split to pieces.
This is the party which is constantly
boasting of principle, and persstently
Haunting the lack Of it IN the faces of its
opponents and yet there is not one prac-
teal question of public policy upon
which this great party of principles are
united. Mr.. DOUGLAS himself showed
that harmony of sentiment was not re-
CURED of its leaders, and could not,
therefore, see the justice of reading him
out of the party for not going for Lee
compton. The men of the greatest in
huence now in the democratic ranks,
were but a few years ago Wing leaders,
and have given up none of their peculiar
views of public policy They stand with
the democracy of their several sections,
however, on the slavery question, and are
now considered good democrats, for that
question, in spite Of all pretences to the
contrary, is, and will be, until free labor
triumphs, the great dividing line between
parties. But even rs to this, the Democ-
racy have no principle to boast of, as we
have shown, and how friend HEDGES and
his Know Nothing partizan, can have the
effrontery to denounce Republicans for
lack of that article. we cannot conceive.
Will they explain
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