Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-03-24
SUCCESS AND DUTY.

Henry Clay said on certain occasion;-"I
had rather be right than be president" And
this declaration of Mr.. Clay is frequently
cited in proof of the nobleness of his charac-
ter If the sentiment expressed is commend
able, so must be its correlative,-"It is better
to be right than to carry presidential cleo
ton" 1t does not follow that to carry such an
election is not desirable thing. The meaning
is that the right should never be subordinated to
success; and the great reason for this mean
ing is that no defeat can be so disastrous as
victory won at the cost of our principles. Ar
dent schemers for Success at any rate, may
feel called upon to treat Mr.. Clay's language
as "the rhetoric of martyrdom;" but, the
mood which allows one to deal careiessly by
his principles, is likely to make him unjust to
any firm and downright expression of noble
purpose.
1t has been very fifty said that the republi
can party represents the principles, hopes, and
aspirations of free society, throughout the re-
public. 1t has been called into existence by
the attempt to nationalize the institution of
slavery. The democratic party has sunk so
low as to become the mere agent of tina. in
stitution, doing its work always, and seldom
doing anything else. The proceedings of
that party, such as its repeal of the Missouri
compromise restriction, its kansas work, its
scheme for a congressional slave code for the
territories, its threat of sedition law for the
free states, and its talk of reopening the Afri-
can slave trade, have startled right minded
men in every part of the country. They have
filed men with apprehension and alarm.
The result is this republican party, which is
just as sure to carry the country and take con-
troll of the government, as civilization is to tri-
umph over barbarsm. Its success, from the
first, has been only question of time
1t is the struggle of light against darkness,
civilization against barbarism, and such a
contest can have but one issue. Divine Prov
idence makes no provision for return of the
dark ages, because the law and movement of
both human and divine things do no allow such
a return to be possible. Therefore slavery
cannot succeed in its purpose, and the party
which has become its servie creature will dis.
appear. The most hostile influence the demo-
cratic party has to encounter is the general
belief that it will undertake any villainous
scheme which the slave interest may propose.
1t has lost character, and men fear it as they
fear pesti lence. The public opinion of it is
not regulated by its resolves and platforms;
and the general feeling towards it will be all
the same, whether it stand on the jefferson
any case, it is sure to do for slavery everything
in its power. Therefore, it must go down under
the irresistible pressure of reason and justice;
and the republican party will triumph and con-
troll the government for generation, unless it
shall prove itself unfit for such triumph.
In such contest as this, it is "better to be
right than to be president" because it is only
by means of large faith in the right, and a
urn adherence It, s..- haua the
presidency to any good purpose. And it is
satisfaction to know that there is prevalent in
the party consciousness that in seeking stan
dard bearer for the coming presidential CALL
paign, it will be bad policy to disregard our
representative men. If we carry the presi-
dental election, we shall feel nothing so much
as the need of having for president one of our
wisest, ablest, and truest men. The first re-
publican party won a sure and lasting triumph,
because the first president it elected was Thorn
as Jefferson, the man who was to "burn all the
bibles and destroy all the churches" With
an amiable, weak, incompetent, respectable"
man in his place, the new party would have
failed utterly. And, if, contrary to all the
signs, we should fail to carry this election, it
will appear that there is no serious defeat in
any result which does not weaken the party
and lessen its power in Congress.
If the republican party should treacherous-
ly give up this struggle to save free principles
and free society from the slave power, it would
go down and another organization would take
its place. This is now so well understood,
that there is no longer any talk among us of
nominating some opponent of our principles
in order to get the votes of those who regular.
ly BLACKBOARD and denounce "black republi-
cans" 1t is everywhere felt now that the man
who gets our nomination must stand on our
platform and this feeling is our best assurance
of success.