Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-05-25
Political.

The ablest, clearest, and most co,o;,,
speech yet made against Mr.. Douglas >' b;s
doctrine and position, was delivered hn NJ a's
Benjamin in the Senate ON TUESDAY !,
was free from all violence, and therefore ths
more effective. Every proposition was fa;r '
ly stated, fortified by fact, and worked r..
common conclusion, which put Mr.. Douol..
IN open rebellion to his party, and in d,rse'
antagonlsm to the principles he had hereto'
fore svowed lie announced one extraord;
nary fact, which, though well known bef,ra
had never been frankly admitted.
Both wings of the Democracy agreed in
caucus of the Senate in 1857 that each shon,d
maintain its particular theory before tho
public-one side sustaining Squatter Soyer.
eighty, and the other, protection TO slavery
in the Territories, but pledging themseIye,
to abide by the decision OF the Supreme
Court, whatever it might be-
| This IS the manner in which the people
North and South-have been deceived inn,
the support of the Democracy, by promuIoa
ting doctrines adapted to both, and vet has.
| tile to each other
MIR. Benjamin proved by the record what
question they agreed to submit to the Court
and how it had been decided, reading from
the opinion of Justice fancy 10 sustain his
| argument lie said that up to 1857, he had
always regarded Mr.. Douglas as one of those
| Democrats North, who were entitled 70 tho
favor and affection of the South, and he had
SO commended him to the people Of Louisi,
| ana. Since then, he had wandered of, and
no longer deserved the confidence which had
been reposed in him, and was separated from
the South forever.
In reviewing the positions of Messrs. Lin.
coin and Douglas in the Illinois canvass, h.
said the former had consistently and man.
fully maintained the principle which he had
then asserted, and was rewarded by his pres
ent distinction while Mr.. Douglas had de.
| serted his, and has been abandoned In this
connection be admitted that, after careful
examination of Mr.. Lncoln's speeches, b.
was constrained to regard him as far more
conservative than he had been represented
| TO be.
One of the most effective points of this
speech was a comparison of extracts from
Mr.. Lincoln's speeches with citations from
Douglas article in Harper's Magazine, to de-
monstrate that the latter had used the argu.
ments and language of the former TO vnd-
Gates his own position and justify himself
with the South.
Nothing so effective has been witnessed
for long time, and Mr.. Douglass presence
was alone wanting to make it overwhelming.
Mr. Pugh replied sharply saying that
MIR. Douglass friends would stand by him
at Baltimore till the 4th of March next, if
necessary, and that the Southern delegates
who seeded had ne right to return. This
and other demonstrations render Mr.. Dou-
glas' nomination at Baltimore almost impos-
sible, or valueless if accomplished by bogus
delegates from the South. Virginia, Ken
lucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and the
States which did secede. can never accept
him inthe presence Of this opposition, and
his recent declaration against the compro-
mise resolution they proposed; while those
who withdrew will run Southern candi-
date if he be forced by any combination.