The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-07-09
Charleston Convention.

. "nt appearances indicate serious disa gree
inents among the democracy at the Charles
ton Convention There is party ut the
South-not majority, but minority
sufficiently large TO control the vote Of
several Southern States,-who viii insist
| on declaration in the platform to be there
| adopted, in favor Of congressional legisla-
| ton for the protection Of slavery in the
| territories On the other hand the north
will strenuously and unanimously oppose
the insertion Of any such stipulation. That
such VIII unqucstionabiy be the position
Of the north, it is only necessary t. cite
the fact, that not single democratic north
crn paper has yet ventured an expression
! In favor of yielding this point, while three
States, that have already held their CON
! yentions and appointed delegates to
Charleston-Maine, Vermont, and Iowa
have unanimously passed the following
resolution (varyins, perhaps in terms, but
IN substance the same) on this subject:
| Rcsoircd, That we hold IL to be the duty
| OF the Democratic party steadfastly to adj
here to the principles embodied in the
! Compromise measures of 1850, and ratified
| by the people III the Presidential election
! OF 1882, aud rc-atfirmed i'll the Kansas Ne
braska act of 1854, which is founded on
| principles as ancient as free government
-! itself, and, i'll accordance with them, has
simply declared that the people of a Ter
ritory, like those OF Il State, shall decide
for themselves whether slavery shall or
shall not exist within their limits, and in
corporatcd into the Cincinnati platform of
lS56, and to resist all attempts to intcrpo-
! late into the creed vi the party such new
issues, and pledge ourselves to resist any
For a Congressional slave code for the Ter
ritories, or the doctrine that the Constitu-
ton OF the United States either establishes
or prohibits slavery III the Territories be
yond the power TO control il.
In view of this state of facts, we notice
that several influential democratic journals
are opposing the adoption OF any platform
at Charleston. " Let a good man be NOM
mated" says the Washington .States-one
of these papers, statesman of consist
ent antecedents, statesman of high pa
triotism and generous purpose; a statesman
sincere, straightforward, honest, firm, res
olute; in word, a statesman whose private
and public morals are beyond suspicion
or reproach, and dispose with the hunmcry
of a platform
The States argues the point with consid-
cradle force, and VIC subjoin the leading
portion Of Its article, although we are far
from favoring the adoption by the humor-
ing any such . hide and go seek policy.
The democracy have taken the open, man
ly course too long to fall back, at this late
day, upon the exploded and cxecrated
hard cider coon skin conceal your princi
pies electioneering system of ancient wing
gerry.
| Says tire .S:ates;
Let the Convention nominate such a
maitland such man it may nominate, if
it willard it may safely adjourn without
! the adoption of platform other than that
! Of THE CONSTITUTION AxD THE UNION The
Democracy has no other aim than to pre-
serve the one through q faithful admins
tration of the provisions of another The
system of platforms has been a mistake
from the beginning. Like all manifestos
Of the kind, they contain an immense
amount of patriotic surpiusa.c, which no
toriously means nothing more than is i'm
posed OH the President by the oath Of
office which he takes at the time Of his
inauguration, and by his obligations to his
political principles.
High sounding platforms have never Yet
exercised the slightest influence in shaping
the course Of an administration and for
the credit of the party they cannot be too
soon dispensed with Every prominent
politician, however plainly they may be
written, Will intcprct them according 10
his I understanding Of their stipulations.
prepared at Cincinnati There are those
who are quite confident IN the belief that
it never contemplated the recognition
even remotely, of the doctrine of squatter
sovereignty: and then there are those
who are equally confident that it meant
that the people of Territory should have
the ight of managing their own affairs as
they chose, utterly regardless Of the mum
Der of inhabitants.
The Democratic party, both in slave
holding ard rOn-slavehclding States, are
divided in each as to the extent OF the
power which Congress is entitled to exer-
else, and there IS not the slightest chance
that it can ever agree upon the subject
The majority is evidently in favor of Con
grcssional non-intervention, but still there
is respectable minority in favor of in
tervcntion whose opinions are not to be
despised.