The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-05-12

The Democratic Central Committee have
taken the initistory step for the Fall cam
psign, by calling the Democratic State Con
vention. The time determined upon is
Wednesday. the l7Ih day Of August The
representation Is the zane "a 10 the state
Couveu,iou Of 1857. Neither will be salts
factory to the party.
The time fixed is too late by quite .
month. No one acquainted with the TEN.
per Of the people. and with the character OF
the canvass which viii be forced upon the
Democracy by the Opposition, will endorse
the Judgment Of the Central Committee.
The Fall campaign, to he succa~ful one,
must be an active, thorough, bold campaign
carried on in the face and eyes OF the peo-
pie, and penetrating every portion Of the
State. The Fall election will be decided by
the judgments Of the people. Their right
judgments must be confirmed, and their
wrong judgments converted; and the
history Of politics shows that there is
but one way to accomplish this--by the
aid OF the stump canvass. by this
means alone, too, Is Il possible to arouse the
degree Of enthusiasm which Il will be found
necessary to excite in order to make the
State certainly Democratic. But how can
such o canvass be carried on in the short
period allowed by the Committee between
the Convention and the election The Com
mittee, 10 our Judgment, have entirely mis-
taken the field. The Territorial still hunt "
system, while II might have been well
adapted for Territorial politics, and even
for the first canvass under the State, is not
suited now either TO the numbers or the in
telligence Of the people.
We object, also, to the representation OF
the Convention. It was adopted, as We I'M
derstand, because il is the same with that
embraced in the call Of the first State Con-
vention, and because that gave apparent
satisfaction. But that was aequiesced in
not for the reason that il was right. but be-
cause the party was willing to overlook the
wrong involved in il, for the sake OF
success. The party in 1857 was thor
oughly alive with enthusiasm. The can
didates were selected in advance by the
concurrent expression Of oil sections and
interests. Some OF the candidates were nom
mated by reclamation, and oil without
serious contest. The convention carried out
the known wishes Of the party. and there
was, consequently, no one to complain OF the
mauiltst injustice Of the representation. But
il was none the less unjust. The Committee
allow representation from every county
There are sixty-eight counties IN tho State.
or these, fifty, or fity.one, nominally. at
least, are organized counties, and entitled to
representation in the Convention. The al
ance. seventeen or eighteen. are mere paper
counties, whose population, what little they
have, might each be represented by units.
Il Is nothing less than gross outrage upon
the Democracy Of the State to permit these
seventeen or eighteen delegates, representing
scarcely more voters, to sit in Convention
and by their voice, perhaps, to change en-
tirely its platform and nominees. An allow
ance of delegate to each organized county
not embraced in the list of the call, would
certainly have been granting the utmost
permissible liberality TO the sparsely settled
districts. Beyond this, premium is c'ercd
for frauds upon the party and it will be
strange il the opportunity presented is no,
taken advantage of by the tricksters Of the
party.
However, we trust there ~ vigor
enough in the body of the party to snccccd
even against the NANTES, blundcring OF its
Central Committee. And in that hope We
wait and pray.