The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1860-07-03
THE CONVENTION.

In part of our issue last week. we made brief
statement of the action of the Conventions at Bati
more, declaring our intention to support Breckin-
ridge and Lane, and promising fuller explanation
of matters this week In place of detailed state
ment of our own, we copy and endorse the follow
ing article from the Wilmington Journal, whose
Editor was present at Baltimore:
In April last, the Democratic National COnven-
ton met in the city of Charleston. Its ranks were
full From the Atlantic to the Pacific from the
Saint Lawrence to the Rio Grande, no State was
unrepresented, hardly seat vacant. OF the
six hundred and six delegates present, a compact
body representing between one hundred and TWEEN
tv and one hundred and thirty electoral votes went
for douglas or nobody" and for Douglas and has
Interpretation of the Cincinnati platform, or not
at all. BY adroit management this minority OF
the Convention obtained control of its organization
and were able to appear with clear majority OF
voting strength, although out numbered on the
floor of the house This was done by the opera
ton of the rule that each delegate should vote
separately, unless where the Convention of his
State haG otherwise directed provided; but that
where such Convention had so directed or provl-
did the vote of each State should be cast as a
unit The effect of this adroit maneuvre was that
in er,ry State where there was anti Douglas MI
nority the voice Of such minority was suppressed,
while, in Gerry State where there was Douglas
minority, such minority allowed to poll its full
strength. In New York the voice of fourteen
electoral votes was suppressed. In North Caro-
lima and Virginia, even the one or two votes that
the Douglas men could rally had its full hearing.
The ten Douglas votes of Pennsylvania were coun-
ted, although minority The five anti-Dougas
votes of Indiana were suppressed, although bear
ing large proportion to the Indiana delegation
the ten Douglas votes did to the Pennsylvania
delegation.
This was the position of things at Charleston.
1t shows the adroitness and unscrupuousness of the
Douglas managers-it does not prove, as asserted
by Douglas and his supporters, that he or his plat
form ever received b0cd tf1e endorsement at the
hands of the Charleston Convention Tricks of
this kind neither make indicate public opinion.
As the first week of the Charleston Convention
on it began to be apparent that the fictitious
power thus obtained was to be used with the ut
most rigor, and when Monday of the second
week the crisis did arrive, it not until the
Southern delegates had exhausted every conceiv-
able effort to obtain such concession the
question of platform essential to their own
honor and due the rights and interests of their
sectiOn--Such concessions too as the managers for
Judge Douglas might easily and fairly have gran
ted-such concession as they ought to have granted
and wonid have granted had their object been
harmony, or had they not considered the rights
and interests of the Democratic party altogether
secondary to the promotion Of that gentleman
And we take occasion here to say that although
the delegates from North Carolina were not origin
ally Douglas men, yet they went to Charleston
without any pledge, and generally without any
serious committal against him. On any reasona-
BILE and fair platform were prepared to 90 for
Judge Douglas at any moment when our vote
might have suficed to nominate him. But his
wIrc-workers at Charleston would cOncede nothing,
and when use the word "cOncede" wish it
distinctly understood that no one asked for or
wished for anything in addition to or in advance
of the Cincinnati platform. With that the whole
South was and is perfectly satisfied. The object
of the Southern and other constitutional delegates
simply to obtain such a recognition of the true
intent and meaning Of that platform as would pre-
vent future difficulties and demonstrations. And
many Of us were willing for harmony's sake to be
satisfied with lower standard of construction than
we had originally insisted upon. But no proposal
would be listened to by the Douglas managers
Let us here remark, that all along we had the
highest respect for the character and past services
of Judge Douglas, but that we could not accent
MIN with the Cincinnati; platform unexplained,
because, to do so, would be to accept and endorse
his Interpretation of it, to which we could not con-
sent. There may have been those who made war
upon Judge Douglas To that war; one way or
the other, North Carolina was no party. We may
have regretted the unfriendly relations existing
ucIWeen the PRESIDENT ana Judge Douglas, or be-
tween the friends of the President and those of
the Senator from Illinois. We are not the apollo
gists OF the President nor are we the defamers of
Judge Douglas. We think the Democratic party
and Its principles matters of far greater moment
than either of these gentlemen or than one hun
dred OF them; yea, FIVE hundred, or any other
number We think that the rights of the masses
OF great party-the dominant party in Union
OF thlrty-three States containing thirty millions of
people, are become cheap enough when one man
can say-such and such are rnv notions, and IN
less the Convention agrees to these notions will
not consent to be nominated, and then his friends
come into Convention to work all tricks deter.
mined to swerve the principles and sacrifice the
rights of the party to this mon When this
became apparent there did arise for the FIRST tima
strong anti-Douglas feelings at the South. as re-
sentng this detation on the part Of Judge Douo
las friends, with whose movement it was impossi-
Ole not to connect that gentleman himself
NOT even when eight of her Southern sisters left
neT at Charleston-left the Convention there
uiu North Carolina cease her efforts at reconcilia
uoI-cease TO labor for harmony. She conferred
Win the remaining Southern States-with the
secedlng states, and with what were supposed to
Te the more conservative Northern States, with
new the view OF arriving at and agreeing upon some
oasis on which all could stand, and upon which
the seeding delegations could return to their places