The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-06-07
NEW YORK HERALD TUESDAY, JUNE Z, 1859.

mo halfway Diplomatic house Of rast" The
Northern elections of the last twelve moeths
have shown, too. that il the democracy would
recover the indispensable Northern State or two
required to carry the Presidential election. the
party must fall back from that extreme Southefn
proslavery policy which has driven them out of
the North.
But can the party of the South afford to fill
back, with the opposition Of that sectioa threat
ening to mpplaut them at home as the
defenders of Southern rights on the
slavery issue? The question will be a
tough one for the Cha lesion Convention
to decide. To make the ma er worse, the deci
Eve balance of power which little over one
third of the Congressional ratio Of representation
in the Convention will command may be pos
scssed by the secesaonists of the South. la any
event they may possess sufficient power to defea.
the party in half the Southern States, should the
Charleston Convention fail to come up to their
demands. To save the South, therefore, the
Convention will probably be compelled not only
to repudiate Mr.. Douglas and his squatter
sovereignty platform, but to pronounce it the
duty of Congress to protect the institution of
slavery in the Territories.
Let this be done, and in 1860, on far more
extensive scale, we shall have bolt Of the
Northern democracy, after the fashion of the Van
Buren, Buffalo movement of 1S4S. And thus our
schedule Of four sectional parties instead of two
will be completed. Detached from the Southern
wing of the party, the democracy of the North
would be enabled to take more definite ground
against the extension of slavery than they have
hitherto been allowed to occupy; and at the same
time they might effect powerful coalition with
all the odds and ends of our Northern old line
wings and Americans, with whom the paramount
object is the defeat of W. II. Seward.
Thus, according to this division of parties into
four sectional organizations, while the Northern
democracy would perhaps recover ouehalf the
Northern States, the Southern opposition party
might recover FIVE or six Of the States of that
section. Of course, from an election with these
results before the people, the issue would be car
ried up to the House Of Representatives at Wash
ington, including the three highest candidates
for the Presidency. What then? From the uu
certain division of parties in that body we can
only answer that the result would be the sigoal
for new organization ofparties, somewhat after
the manner Of that reconstruction which followed
the election by the House of John Quincy Adams
after the indecisiye scrub race between Jackson,
Adams, Crawford and Clay, of 1924.
Who can undertake to say that this theory of
four sectional parties and sectional scrub race
in 1850 is but foolish programme of the imagi-
nations-afancy sketchs-an exaggerated picture
Of party troubles and sectional Issues, which can
never come to pass? AL that is wanted to COM
plete this programme Is the division of the
democracy into two sectional camps, as we
find the opposition forces already divided
And between the sectional dissolution and
the reunion Of the democracy at Charleston,
who can tell us which Of these two things will
happen? How are the Virginia and Penusyl-
vania democracy, the Mississippi and the Illinois
democracy, the Georgia and the New York de-
mocracy, to square up their accounts at Charles.
ton, with the implacable Southern fre-eaters
holding the balance of power? If the disorgan-
izng clques Of the party have broken it to pieces
in spite Of the fair, just and conciliatoyy policy
of Mr.. Buchanan's administration, upon what
platform can these broken fragments be re-
uniteds
In this view the wisdom of the lately repeated
declaration of Mr.. Buchanan that he will not be
among the gladiators of the Charleston Conven-
ton would be apparent, even if he were in the
prime of life.