The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-07-30


!, The nsost conepieoops quality Of Mr.. Senate
Douglas u Il, ustifinG snd unparalleled audscity
> Ina wonsn, II W6nlA Be called edrontery; In
common nan, impotence; in = soldier, heroi
yalor: bnk. IL 4 politician who has nei&her tn,
qualities Or woman % soldier, audacity Il II
D proper name bold, shameless snd reFsevering
. 1t IA not quality 70 be despised; for audacit.
has often won battle when skillswould hav,
loat il. Il imposes upon shallow men for talent
, upon brave men for courage, and upon timit
J men with the assumption of 1uccess. IL hns !
certain sort OK popularity With the multitude
who rather like mas, who. without the talen
!; 70 be general. yet boldly assumes 70 be I
teacher. There ID q sort Of claim upon the
smiles Of fortune, in one who has the impadence
! 70 ask her favor, without one earthly virtue 70
deserve H.
Mr.. Douglas developes bis OH talent with q
perfectly admirable perseverance. He has now
formed his programme for the performances NJ
Charleston, and it Ia attended with ell his usuaI
modesty and discretion. In the columns Of the
Cincinnati Enquirer, Gin recent elaborate arti-
ce, his heraids proclaim war upon ~ Admin
istration--defy the South ana assert in ad-
Il vance tho triumph Of the Douglas Democracy.
In his private calcuses IN New York, he claims
the lead OF the party, considers his nomination
certain, asserts success, and has the impudence
to tell his followers he can get the North west.
All this has . definite meaning, which h. =
a least emerged from the 0bscurily W which il
was long hid, and reveals to the public the plan
of the campaign. After the Lecompton affair,
there was much bling and cooling between
Douglas and the Administration; he almost
swallowed himself whole, but a. that was y thing
not quite possible, he did not succeed, and be
was obliged to leave Buchanan Illuminated but
unsuccessful. He next made his tour to the
South, and concillated . part Of the Democracy
there with unmeanng explanations OF his grand
panacea, Sqnatter Sovereignty. He WIS COM
PEELED 10 be satisfied with few crumbs, and re-
turned to the North to arrange . coup de ntain
This 10 nothing less than to carry the Charles
ton Convention. How Is that TO be done! IL
il not impossible. First, the Free States have
IBa)ority of the deegates, and in most OF these
the political machinery is in the hands OF the
Douglas men. In the next place, few scatter
ed Douglas delegates, to give coloring to the
affair, ars expected in the South; and lastly the
main instrument is to impose upon the timid OF
bis party, the idea that he alone can be success
full. Il is in this that his great talent, audacty,
il available. Certainly he never had more need
Of it. The obstacles seem almost insnperable.
The first great obstacle is the hostility of the
Administration, and as that is not 10 be got over
the Enquirer article takes ground that il is weak
| and powerless. Douglas is the great oracle OF
the North. Such weak things as the Constitu-
| ton, Qhe Presidents organ,) Bgler, (his right
band SENATOR Cook, (as Postmaster at Chica-
let ID omne gcnus-comprising the whole
Administration party, are nobodies froth and
scum, to be put aside by one move Of the hand
from the mighty Douglas.
There is much thunder and some little heat
lightning, in this proclamation from the clouds
but no storm worth fearing. Not only has
Douglas to fight the Administration, but be has
to brave nearly the whole South, and face
another body OF whom, perhaps, hs
has thought little Of In half the States voting
tof Buchanan there would have been no msiori.
ty without a large body Of old Wings. Such
was the case in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky
and Tennessee. No scheme OF politics can be |
more abhorrent TO these men than that OF
Douglas, for it presents no feature but that OF a
bare.faced demagogue.
The programme OF Douglas, then, is nothing |
more nor less than this: Having almost de
strnyed the Administration, he asks its help; |
having reduced the Democratic party to South |
ern party, he asks the South not to be South;
assuming Squatter Sovereignty, (the very anti
potes OF anything conservative,) be expects
conservatives to support him, and, in fine, hay-
ing opposed every element Of his party in sue
cession, he expects them all to combine to favor
his pIetensions. II this be the height of audac-
y
is, there is nothing in his assumption but as
sumption. His followers talk OF the cabinet
apprentice, about to be cabinet maker, and OF
the little giant about to achieve great events
This Was the cry OF his partisans in 1852, sue
ceeded by the nomination OF Pierce Is his
prestige any better now than thens Is he not
the main cause Of the events which have shat
tered and scattered his party? Let US see. The
Nebraska Kansas Act was emphatioaily the act
OF Douglas. 1t contained the clause repeating
the Missouri Compromise II contained the
oquatter Sovereignty principle, and this act was
deliberately prepared as a great measure ID
settle the slavery question and give peace TO Tie
country. What followed, the world Knows. A
series OF most unprecedented facts OF wrong |
ana vlolence--a civil commoton-nay, even a
evil war, continued agitation, the usurpation OF |
the government, the continuance OF the slavery ,
agitation with no prospect of its settlement.--
such are the fruits OF this one measure OF Mr..
Senator Douglas, and this is the prestige OF his
But, was his leadership any |
more successful? What was, and what is, the .
Democratic party OF The Norta? Let old DEM /
ocrats answer. In the sixteen free States of 4
1882, the Democratic party had majority in b
l64 electoral votes. In 1856, a
Lhe Democratic party had IN these States Hue
otates-giving 81 electoral votes. Lookin. 10 h
the Senate, we fld, when the Nebraska Ac. was r
passed, the Democratic party had twenty-One G
Senators from the free States to eleven Oppo- d
'ition. Now, that party has in the same States, n
even, to twenty five Republicans. Looking a b
title farther, the Democratic party has no ma
ority in any free States but Indiana and Cali II
crna. All this was the legitimate consequence r,
# the massachusetts Act, which overturned | Q,
I'D principles, and opened up the slavery ques- Al
ion TO continued agitation. Eve years nave a.
passed, and neither the President, the Supreme n
court, nor political parties, have been able to
onstrue the act, in any permanent way, or d.
onciliate the adverse elements which it called N
nto existence What then, is NJ. Douglas q
'restige but that o. failure. He failed to get r.
ne nomination OF his party, when that party ii
ou!d have given him a victorious result. He
aiied TO get anything but agitation and defeat,
rom what be supposed great peace measure
i his own. He fails to announce any system al
4 policy which may benefit the country or re-
orIn abuses. He is successful only in the mar y
ow fields OF State o. party controversy, where ie
he art and audacity OF demagogue is more
vailabie Than the talents of statesman. Y
III
tEn "a,