St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-05-12
Troubles of the Democracy.

The integrity and ascendenCy of the Dem
ocratic party can only be maintained by an en-
plich and ane9,apocoi recognition Of the .f""d1men
tai principles Of popular sovereignty and non-iHeI-
rention By Congress tcth ldre,y in lie TERRITORIES
as well as in the States, as it was explained
and understood in the great contests of 1904
and 1866
The above is extracted from letter
recently written by Mr.. Douglas apollo
giving for not aiding personally in
the Connecticut canvass. The dcclara'
ton, however, is intended to have a
general application, and Senator Doug
las, with the great mass of the North
ern Democrats, will insist upon the
adoption of this principle by the
Charleston convention. The first thing
which that body may expect to en-
counter will be a resolution reaffirm-
ing this doctrine explicitly and une-
quivocally." How will it be met ?
Unless all existing indications of the
temper of the Southern Democracy
are deceptive, it will be rejected per-
emptorily and decisively.
In and out of Congress, the doctrine
by which Senator Douglas has deter
mined to stand or fall has been re-
peatedly repudiated by the leading
men of the South. Not only Carolina
and Mississippi, but Georgia and Vir-
ginia, demand the intervention of Con-
gress to protect slave property in the
Territories against territorial law. In
one of the last Senatorial debates OF
the last session, Mr.. Mason, of Wiz,
ginia, affirmed this position of the
South with characteristic supercilious.
ness and energy. He declared to Mr..
Douglas, on the floor of the Senate,
that the party which should go before
the South with the doctrine of popu-
lar sovereignty, and Of the right OF
the Territories to exclude slavery
would fail to carry "not only single
State, but a single rotc, from Mason <
Dixon's line to the Gulf of Mexico"
With all allowance made for the rhe,
torical eXaggcration, this statement
of the Virginia Senator substantially
cmbodies the proclaimed determine.
tion of the Southern Democracy. II
these determinations are to govern
the Southern delegations in the Charles.
ton convention, it is not easy to see
how that convention can possibly
make up platform on which any
Northern Democrat would dare to
take his stand before a Northern con.
stituency
The people of the North have al,
ways been inclined to assert the right
and the duty of Congess to legislate
against slavery in the Territories. Tn,
der existing circumstances, however,
they are mainly willing to acquiesce
in the principle of popular sovereign,
ty, and to leave the people of the Ter,
ritories to decide for themselves wheth
er slavery shall be admitted or ex
cluded. But as for asserting to Con
gressional Legislation in faror Of slave
ry in the Territories, they will never
do it under any conceivable circum
stances; nor dare the democracy in
any section Of any Northern State,
avow itself in favor of such action.
1t is probable, therefore, that the
Charleston convention, if held, will
only diride the party. The twothirds
rule will render it extremely difficult
to select a candidate, and the disa,
greemcnt upon tie principle of Con
gressional intervention will render it
| impossible to agree upon platform.
There will be a split, and probably
two candidates. A strong effort will
be made, and is even now in progress,
to avoid the rupture by nominating
Mr.. Guthrie, or some candidate OF
similar position, not identified with
either section. But the hostility of
sentiment has already gone too far to
render such compromise feasible.
The issue has been made, and the fate
of the most prominent Democratic
leaders in both sections, depends upon
its decision.
IL as aeediess to sag that such a rupture
piV gre an easy rictory 10 The Repubti-
cans. Even if the American and old
Wing parties should refuse TO co-ope-
rate with them, as they did in 1856,
they could not weaken them sufficient
ly to prevent their having very deci-
ded plurality in every Northern State