Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-05-22
'T!ic Proapcct before lis.

W lueiI country, Llo peopie Iecl coiDueh mic
call Victor Emmanuel e1 ri gGlaHtunD1o.
TIic Proapcct before us.
That Inc party may be united ut Baltimore,
and its action harmonious On sound constitu.
tional principles, is the earnest wisi, Of its
members in all sections Of the country. We
hope that at Baltimore all disturbing questions
will be tremendously decided, the .perty again
united, and nominations made, which will nd,
dress themselves to the conservative masses OF
the country. Continued discord and division OF
the party will bc the defeat Of both sections,
the triumph Of their common enemy, tho dc,
strilction of the rights Of The !Snnth, and the
dissolution of the Union.
The attempt made at Charleston to rs.adopt
the Cincinnati platform without explanation
and interpretation, if persisted in at Baltimore,
will permanently divide the Democracy. II
the platform Of the Democratic party is not to
be uneqnivocal and urambiguous, certain and
without conflicting constructions, then thou
sa,ds Of honest Democrats will spurn the or.
gailization, and rally under q banner borne by
leaders in wllom they have confidence, and,
with n SIIllcn determination to protect their
rights, will prepare for the contingency that
demands an appeal 10 arms.
Party platforms were designed to declare
the principles by which the Constitution was
TO be construed, and to announce the measures
which, the party designed TO bring forward.
But If those principles arc declared TO he Of
one meaning al the North and another at the
South; If thost, measures arc conflicting in diff
fcrcnt sections; if the platform asserts protcc,
ton at tn. South and denies ii at The North;
if tic party declares at the South that the Con-
s"ti!ution recognizes the Shareholders right to
occupy the common territory, but at the North
makes that right contingent upon the
vii! and wishes Of the inhabitants Of the
Territory, then the people will denouncc
the party MS dishonest, and the platform q
cheat. The consequence Of which Will be
the defeat Of the National Democracy by the
Black Republicans, the success Of open and
avowcd enemies under .Abram Lincoln, the dis
chile OF Seward; q man who, without the Ia
lenrs OF hi, master, imbibos nl the prciudiccs
and fanaticism of his section; if not the author,
al least tic Western promulgator Of the sire
prcssible conflict the advocate Of tho negro's
right to sail the privileges and immunities Of
citizens Of the several States" This man, the
nominee oftlc Republican party, who obtained
a majority Of the popular vote Of Illinois in the
late canvass with Judge Douglas, will be elect.
cd President Of the United States, unless the
Baltimore Convention will yield the rights Of
the Southern States. and positively declare the
future rol.cy oil the Democratic party 10 be the
protection Of the shareholders in the enjoyment
OF their property in the Federal Territories,
prior 10 their legal organization as States. The
~clectioa o: Lincoln, while il will destroy the
rights Of the South, will most certainly disrupt
the Federal Union. His nomination argues q
more determined hostility to tho institution OF
slavery than would the nomination OF Seward.
The latter has talents and ambition which
might have operated to restrain his rrej JUDGES
hut The former, an i~llitcrate r~artizan, is with
out talents, without education, possessed only oil
his inyeteratc hatred Of slavery ard his openly
avowcd predictions for negro equality 10 re-
commend him to lis party. The contest was
between Seward and Lincoln, both ''irrepressi-
bic conflict" men. The selection between the
traitors was decided by the intensity of the
treason, and Lincoln, surprising Seward in the
bitterness If his prcjudiccs and IN the insanity
of his Eanaticism, won tic prize.
The success Of snai 4 r:rty, under such =
leader, would he Al. ...'HuraScment oil oil the
John Browns that now secretly await an OPP
nortunity u arcir.e The death of the pioneer
in the cause of which Lincoln Is to be pcrfcctcr
and fnishcT.
The hopes Of the country arc no~ conferred
in iEc five Northern StaleS-indiana, PcnnSyl-
yania, Ncw Jersey, California and Oregon-all
the rest are gone. Lincoln carried Illinois in
the late Senatorial canvass, and we presume
will again succeed in the next. The Southern
States. with California and Oregon, on q plat
form that protects Southern rights, are certain
and SURF Inr the Democratic nominees. Penn
~svlvnn;a, New Jersey and Indiana are true to
tho Constitutional rights Of the South, as an
inspcction Of the result in 1856 will show. In
1856, Indiana votcd-for Fremont, 9:4,5I5; for
Fillmore %, $50 total against Democratic par
ty JIG, 7Cl; for Mr.. Buchanan lls,GI0-a ma
iority Of /. 400 o"cr all parties-a plurality OF
24,295 over Black Republicanism.
PENNSYLVANIA votLd-(or Fremont 1850;
for Fillmore So. l1j; total against Democracy
800. $50; for Mr. Buchanan go, Tl0-maJorlt.y
over Onnosi,ion l.r2y: plurality over Republi-
canisln s3.200.
Glinois-rrcmonl 81, lS9; Fillmore 3T,4H;
total against Democracy 1913, Csc; Mr. Buchanan
1O5, 34S-majcrity against Democracy 2s,2s5.
The Democracy cat therefore have but little
hope Tor Illinois, even should Judge Douglas
be the nominee and get the united South
But it is now impossible to unite the South
upon Mr.. Douglas at this election. The dis
ruption at Charleston is too recent; the con-
~trovcrsy too cmbittered. The union Of the
party must be made on solnc other man, who
can and will stand upon the protection plat
form.
<rhc difference between ourselves and Ar.
Douglas is one purely Of principle; and If the
principle for which We contend is to be denied,
and that for which Mr.. Douglas contends is TO
be adopted, then by all means let Judge Douglas
be the nominee. 70 repudiate Douglas, and
supper, any Southern d~oughface upon the
Douglas platform, would be not only the worst
policy, but the grossest injustice. we nave