The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1860-08-22
The Imnudence of Douglasism.

When sQuatterlSm shall be forgotten ana the path by
which the adherents of Douglas seek short cut to
ree-soii shall be obterated characteristic of the
leader and his folowers-of Douglas and the Douglas
es--wil be still remembered political curiosity.
Never has character been marked with such mpudence
his; has the ruling trait of political chief so
infected his subordinates by its contagion. From
Douglas they appear to have absorbed mpudence as an
epidemic disease.
The audacious unrcined, brazen impudence of Doug
las began show Itself conspicuously in his un
called for and undemocratc opposition to bill for the
admission of Kansas slaveholding state; the fact
that his southern botte-hoders applaud his oppo-
>ton and denounce the Lecompton bill, shows how
deeply they are dyed in the mpudence which coors all
The speeches of their commander.
The bitter, relentless, persevering attack Of the
squatter chief upon the administration new exhi
bition of mpudence In tue senate on his journeys or
in the social circle the selfish, int-heaIted mpu-
dence was manifested by him. He appeared to act all
the time as if he conceived himself constitute the
major part of the democratic party,-a5 if he was
freed from all the bonds of its tenets but empowered
to iuterlopate doctrine into its creed at will He
put the robes of autocracy the outset OF the cur
rent administration and he has never laid them aside
The next grand exhibition OF impudence was his
attempt in his campaign against Lincoln in Illinois, to
give the democratic platform an Interpretation con
rary that which received as sound by nlne-tenths
Of all democrats. It the impudence of the dema-
gogue which gave uterance to that swindng subtertuge
eyading the DEGREES Of the supreme court of nultyng
the constitution and rendering nugatory the common
rights of all in the common territories. How much
nober and more manly would he appear If he had
never consented to cater the low instincts of an
abolitionist mob!
His claim for majority in territory the right OF
absolute control and for the territory Itself the same
sovereign powers that State exercises, a combi-
nation of arrogance audacty and impudence worthy
of Danton or Murat.
But what establishes Douglas claim to the champion
ship of all impudent men is the manner III which he
has pursued the presidency and the brazen erontery
with which he has thrust forward his candidacy on all
occasions in or of the senate He has turned his
official vocation into the intrigue of the mere politician
and consented TO wriggle and gamble for that great
office in the most undignifed and unstatesmanllke
manner Never before in the history Of republic
has public given his whole time to the pursuit OF
the presidency in violation to the precepts of that
modesty which becomes men who remember that all
their power comes from the people.
The Dorr letter. in which Douglas dictated the sole
platform on which he would consent to run, was an
mpudent document His dispatches and instructions
to his adherents at Charleston full of impudence
1t is wonder that the gamesers in his train should
become impregnated with his audacous impudence
nor that they should make such display of it tC
drive all honest men away from their company. I'm
pudence adopted the united rule-impudence defeated
the majority platform-impudence clung TO Douglas
out did itself in excluding the true representative:
Of democracy from the Baltimore convention and ad
mting instead of them office-huntng squad Of
spurious and impudent substitutes
Coming nearer home, we find the same impudence
audacity and disregard for principle pervading the
Douglas faction in this State. 1t an impudent
thing to call State convention at Donaldsonville
done by men who do not need nnocuadon of mpudence
from Douglas but who have that vice in the natural
way" The pretence, that body Of men, representing
no parish in the State properly, without delegate
spectator or proxy from more than half the parishes
consisting, of majority who never voted democratic
tickethad the right tOasend delegates to the national
convention of the democratic party, is the very cap
sheaf of impudence.
We need, therefore, be astonished at nothing the
Dougllsites may say do throughout the impudent
raid they attempting to against the true demo
cratic party Those who will advocate in the south
squattersm and make upon the great principle Of
State equality, morally fit for almost anything. We
certainly shall not look to them for many displays o
good manners or correct taste.
TAlexandria Democrat.