, 1860-03-13
3aress NTrihtla1e

4aress Gtihl141e.
TUESDAY, MARCEL u, 1860:
THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC MEAS
{ -. URE.
Tile late intelligence from tue eoas' {" al
r;c, If \ moro than ordinary actF'. .,r in III,
Slave trade, and Of the pEessr. &c thcro of a.
unusually large nunoor. Of American vessel
osterSib,y enga:e2 in the Palm on trndc, bu
really following the internal. traffic in humal
beings, is significant Of what nay be expected
in tho event Of another National triumph Of tht
Deuocsa.icparty. It's the practice Of that party
10 deny Slavery especially in the Free statel
that ttey desire the re-opcning Of tho Afii
can sl2vo tEaae; 1t WIZ fhnh also, i
1852 to deny that it was their intention to dis
turb any Of the compromises on the Slavery
question; but in 1854 they repealed the Mis-
aouri Compromise, the most important Of all
No fact is better known to the initiated thar
thai. Tie repeal Of the laws declaring the AZ
ricau slave tradeto be piracy, has long been q
settled purpose Of the leaders Of the Democratic
party. They regard those laws as a stigma
uoou tho honor Of the Slayo- States, az a h,1-
initiating rebuke before the world, and they
are growing moro and moro 7est;rc under the
odium thus impliedly fastened upon them. To
announce their purpose openly now would in-
evitabiy insure their defeat just as the an
nouncament Of their intention to repeal the
Missouri Compromise would have secured
their defeat in lhe contest Of 1859. But the
pu.poss is just ns fixed, and just as certain to
be executed in case Of Democratic triumph
in November next, as though it were pro-
claimed from every Democratic honsetop and
incorporated into the resolutions Of every
Democratic assemblago in the land.
Each aggression Of the Slave States has
been preceded by systematic course Of Dem
ocratic education preparatory to its execution.
TWAS the labor Of years to bring the party to
the work Of breaking down tho Missouri Com
pact. How long it has taken and how zeal
ously the task has been prosecuted, Of prepar-
ing Tho Democratic party for. the Dsed Scott
dogma! And now that the party hns been SO
thoroughly dcmoralizcd and welded to slavery
as to make these two measures tests Of Demo-
cratic orthodoxy, is it reasonable to suppose
tia: the process Of education will be stopped
precisely at the point where it is most needed,
a7d where I'LL that has preceded will be meas
!:rably thrown away unless the advance step
is nadc and the African slave trade rcopened?
What is gained By having made slavery the
common law Of I'll our territorial possessions,
unless chance is offered for an abundant sup
ply Of the raw material? No, the process Of
Democratic education has not been stopped,
end it will not be SO long as that party is suf-
fered to retain the possession Of the Federal
Administration.
How this process Of decentralization is main
1ainca, it can hardly be necessary to point out,
60 patent is it 10 the observation Of every one.
The trainers Of our institutions, without ex-
ccption. held Slavery to he moral, social and
political wrong. They SO believed themselves,
and so they taught others to believe; and they
looked forward to its gradual and peaceful ab-
clifton by the action Of the States directly in
tcrestcd in it. They always spoke Of it as in
compatible with our free institutions, With tha:
recognition Of human rights on which they
wero based, and as destined to q temporary
existence. Washington was never moro i'm.
pres.ive, Jefferson never more clear, 1osciblo
and convincing Patrick Henry never more fer.
lid and eloquent than when declaring the
rroo5fulness Of Slavery, and proclaiming that
God, with all his awful attributes, waged IN
unceasins warfare against it. But com.
pare t7o ntteranccs Of these men with
those Of modern Democrats upon che
same subject Southern Democratic
leaders ass1,mo that slavery is 4 bcnefcent in-
stitutiop, favorable to free institutions and
calculated to protn:tc tie happiness Of both
races. T!4cy plant themselves upon the ground
that it is right; aud they hare leavcncd the
entire Democratic party Of the South with
their sentiments. Northern Democratic lead
ers do not 80 quito so far; but their teaching
is 1nucl, moro miscbicyous. When men arc
persuaded that n thing is right, it requires no
deadening Of conscience to induce others to
support that thing, But it is otherwise when
they nrc told that they must not stop 10 in.
quire whether il is right or wrocg, but sup
por: it anyhow. This is what Northern Dem
ocratic leaders do. Mr.. Douglas says: ~
do NJ, care whether slavery IS voted up OF
voted down." And the great work Of his life
has been to demosa.izc Democrats to the extent
requisite 10 embrace this sentiment Thus the
leaders Of the party, both atthe South and tho
North, are gradually but surely undermining
all opposition to the reorening Of the African
slave trade: and nothing can be surer than
their success unless the federal government is
rescued from their control.
Blu. the work Of decentralization is not con
Gued TO thcse leaders alone. They have nu
rne7ous and efficient allies. The whole newa
paper press Of tho south-both seculal
and rcligious-aud q large part 0
it at tho North, are their willing echoes
and the federal government is invoked
md where ,hat !niis the mob is callet
in, to prevent The circulation Of newspaper.
in the Slave States which treat Of slavery al
the fathers Of the Republic treated it. Book
also aro written by learned and acute men i,
vindcation Of the Patriarchal institution. TIL
pulpit all through the South is prostituted i
the work Of presenting slavery as IN institu
.ion ordained Of God and possessed Of Bibl
sanction; and even at tho North We hay
reverend diyincs who proclaim to their congrc
cations that ."S'a7ery is not sinful per &C.,
but that opposition to it is most henous ol
fence against God and detrimental to a pur
religion. In all Of the border Slave States "
witness the expulsion Of preachers and thci
congregations for holding that slavery is not
divine institution; and present indies
lions seem to warrant the belief thu
before the close Of 1860, nowhere in all th
S,u.h will any other than a pro-slavery 50:
pei he tolerated. Legislatures are refusing t
grant charters for educational institution
without htipula:ips that they shall becom
nurseries Of pro-slavery sentiments. Thu.