Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1860-09-15
~After the meeting was adjourned,

. it was agreed that a discussion should
take place in the afternoon betwecl Col
Pond and Mr.. Robertson. The frme,
! in defense of Mr.. Douglas, his party and
doctrines; Mr. Robertson in reply.
Col. Pond opened the debate with
wonderful volubility and %glibness. Had
he spoken logically and with sequence,
it would have been almost impossible to
understand him, such is the rapidly of
his uttcrancc. But as one proposition
after the other, each fatty contrad;tinr
the preceding, fell from lis lips, we felt
oppressed as by some i..comprehensi1le
nightmare. The doctrine of Souatter
Sovereignty was enunciated distinctly
erough, and defended by Mr.. Pond by
the only distinctly Ineligible reason
} given in the whole speech. And what
do our readers suppose was this %invinci-
bic argument by which Col. Pond thinks
Mr.. Douglas dogma is impregnably de-
Tended? Why, in his words, because
the Constitution of the United States is
our slave, not our master: not only the
slave Of us all collectively, but Of each
individually. Although we were our
selves aware that a similar doctrine had
already been proclaimed by Mr.. Douglas
in his Springfield speech, where he de-
clared that the citizen of a Territory
"does not derive power from Congress,
for he has already derived it from God
Almighty" and that Mr.. Soule was re-
echoing the same ultra Revolutionary
principle. Yet it fell on the ears of the
hearers of Mr.. Pond like a knell, and all
recognized instantaneously the higher
Mao of Mr.. Seward.
1t is needless to say that the speech
of Mr.. Pond was completely demolished
by the reply of Col. Robertson. Mr..
Pond closed the debate, but proved ut
terIy unable to extricate himself from
the labyrinth of unreason, in which he
had involyedliimself from the beginning.
Er Substancc Of the remarks made
by Judge I. j. Cooley at the Democratic
meeting, held at the Court House on
Saturday, the sth September, 1860:
FELLow-C IrIzESs-I am told by almost
every n | meet, that l ought to make
a speech here to-day; and | suppose that
what is 50 generally believed must be
right. I therefore accept the invitation
which You have just made by apparently
universal a~cclamation, and will endeayor
to entertain you for a short time with a
few remarks relating to the position of
our political affairs, and the reasons
which induce me to vote for Breckin-
ridge and Lane. You all know that |
have been opposed to the Democratic
party for a long time-that l have al
ways sustained the Wing party; that !.
party that fought you so valiantly and
well, until it had to give way, inch by ,
inch, foot by foot, before your superior
numbers; and until it was finally driven !.
to the wall and was destroyed. 1t is now {
dead and buried.
After the downfall Of the Wing party i.
am the Know Nothing party. In Ell 7
1eavoring to meddle with that organiza- t
ton, | burnt my fingers somewhat; but L
can now say to you that l never did q
approve Of all the principles contained Q
n their platform. / was in favor of J
on an equal footing with native /
citizens, all such foreigners as II
we're duly n%aturalized and had become Y
Identified with the country by marriage t
ind otherwise. c
All these questions are now disposed i.
II, and the present position of parties Il Il
equires us to make a careful selection l
II the candidates for whom we shall s
asst our votes. The first great object 7
will be to defeat the candidate Of the $
A~boiitionists, Mr.. Lincoln. That, l think, ;
S certain, from present appearances. He t
:annot be elected by the people, and that a
s his only chance. But he will certainly 0
'e one of the three candidates who will |;
&c returned to the House of Representa-
ives, and the election will certainly de- u
olive on that body. For you are aware, T,
ellow-citizcns, that unless one of the Il
andidates before the people obtains a Il
majority of the Electors elected by the t.
'eople at the coming election, by the b
PROVISIONS Of the Constitution of the "
!nlted States, the three highest on the a
lst VIII be sent before the House of Re- b
'resentatives; and that the election will
'e made by that House, each State hay- a
nG one vote, the small as we'll as The Il