Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1859-05-05

CoHSHcfatoh. In the aioInlon O pat
form for 1850. nothing that has aiied i'm
rendering Republicanism powerful and tri-
umphant must be ignored Not only that,
but IN the selection of standard bearers,
men must be chosen who are heartily ia
sympathy with its distinctive principlc,-
who are, in word, representatives, both
Z in their action and ideas. of those great
truths first enunciated in the Declaration of
Independence, and which arc essential to
tl,e permanent existence of free republican
government We DO not believe the Re-
publican party win accept Of any platform
or of any man that falls an iota short of
this cxaction. Nothing will be taken for
grantcd-nothiage trust There must
first be a distinctive declaration Of princi-
pies. and then an openly avowcd alhe-
renee and practical devotion TO them on the
! part Of whomsoever would be the Rcpub-
. lican standard bearers.
The coming contest is to bc one Of Prin-
ciplc rather than Of Policy--of principle
which is fundamental. and. therefore. ina
mutable and eternal. as distinguished from
! pulley. which is temporary ard which must
change with changing circumstances. The
old self-eynlent truths embodied In the
Declaration of Independence have again to
be discussed and enforced The war of
, l116 is to be fought over again in 1860,
with this difference. that instead Of the
contest being between Great Britain as the
representative of ,lcspofic power, and the
| American Colonies. AMI waycl on battle
fields, the Pro- Slavery Democracy now
stand opposed to the Declaration of Indc-
( pendence and the Republican party uphold
il, while the ballot-box will determine the
result. We may talk of policy hereafter.
but now We have to 10 with principle
The central AMI yitalizing truth of the
Declaration of Independence. as well as Of
tho Republican organization. is the natural
and inalicnablc right Of all men to "lifc.
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But tor that principle. written by the fin
ger of God upon the heart Of every human
being, the war of the Revolution would
not have been fought. the Republican par
tty would now have no existence. The
Pro-Slavery Democracy every where.
whether in the North or in the South, de-
ny this fundamental principle Of free gov
ernmcnt, and seek its practical overthrow
by the action of the federal government
In the slaveholling States the principle is
overrid,lcn by statutes and by courts. 1t
is the mission of the Republican party to-
stand by and sustain this great self-evident
truth, and to render il practical within the
sphere Of the powers Of the federal govern
ment. A National Republican is. there
fore, opposed to such a pcrversion Of the
powers of the federal government as would
make il in ally way responsible FOR the cx-
istcnce of Slavery within the States or for
its extension beyond the limits Of the
States in which it is established. A State
Republican is opposed to the establishment
Of Slavery within his own State. and in ia
vor Of its earliest practical removal by the
action Of the State if already established.
He can take no other grounl; for he holds
with the Declaration of Independence that
property in man is a violation of natural
law-an usurpation OF power tolerated
neither by right nor by Justice If he take
any other position, lac abandons the whole
ground Of controversy, for Slavery ia nat
urally aggressive, and. without the oppo-
sition which these principles insure. twill
go every where and perpetuate itself for all
time 10 como. Hence we say, the strug-
gle between the desPotic ilea and the prin-
cipIe Of natural right is TO lie fought over
again in 1850. The sntagoni.m is palpa-
bic, the struggle cannot be postponed.
And this brings ms TO another import
ant point. There have been three parties
in the field since the organization of the
Republican party. The first are for active
aggressive effort for the extension and per-
Pctuation Of Slavery; the second for ac-
tive and unceasing resistance to IL; whiIs
the third party is in favor Of passivc
state. which permits the first to GO on
with IFS aggression, and opposes all oppo-
sition to it. The last style themselves
conservatives" and it Is for the sake of
securing the corporation of this class Of
men that modification Of the Republican
platform is insisted upon in certain quar-
ters. But, as before said, a modification
Of the central and vitalizinS i,Iea Of Rcpub-
licanism IS equivalent 10 an utter abandon
mcnt Of the controversy. and would leave
Slavery not only free to hold all it now
has, but to secure all that remains. a
platform thus nodifcl would undoubteJ-
ly secure the support of the third party
the Conservatives@but IT would retain
only such Republicans as have a.lcrted the
organization for tlc sake of the spoils.
The remainder-those who are in the par
ty by reason Of its princirles--would or
ganizc anew, anl TINS we would still have
three parties in the field, with the chances