Des Arc citizen., 1860-09-12
LETTER FROM WEST POINT.
Wrsr Po1Nr, Sept. l, 1860

gentleman rom your town, Odpl. J. O' MORRILL,. As this gentleman, am in- formed, is a very nigh relative of yours, l shall of course be careful in this commu- nication, to speak of his effort in such terms as will not wound your sensibilities by too much hattery or commendatiQn. Mir. Morril had no apology to offer 10 the people of West Point for appearing be- fore them at that lime. He had only avail ed himself of his privilege as free citi- zen to express his views upon national politics, freely and without reserve. He adverted to the alarming fact that there was now large and powerful sectional party in the South, whose aim was 10 mo- nopolize the offices of the Government and remodel the federal courts, so as more effecluaIly to carry out their scheme of subverling the constitutional rights of the South. This party was evidently the em- bodyment of the old Federal doctrines, promulgated by Hamilton, and reduced to practice by John Adams in the "Alien and Sedilion Laws," when a man was subject to be fined five dollars for cursing the Presidents dog Instead of dying Gef,,.,.i:..:..s spirit of Federalism had in- creased in power, and having sectonalized and united the majority of Northern States, now menaced the integrity of the Union by the election of a Black Republican President. Hitherto the advances of this foe of Southern institutions had been met and successfully repeIled by the impreg- nable ranks of the Democratic parry Still this danger was presented, and still the necessity existed for a firm united re- sistance of the Democracy to this the com. mon foe of all.
 But of late, there had, unfortunately arisen differences among the prominent leaders of he party upon the slavery ques- tion-diferences which were wholly ire concilable and admitted of no compromise. In this emergency the Democracy had arisen and cast of the contaminating in- fluence of Douglas squatter sovereignty, and appealed to the patriotism of the mas preferring even to suffer defeat upon a correct principle, than to triumph by ig. noring our rights and affiiating with our avowed enemies, But MT. Merrill had no fears for the result The Democratic party were reinvigorated and purified by the delection of Van Buren in 184S, and so they would be by the apostacy of the archtrailor. Stephen A. Douglas, in 1860. The speaker then proceeded to dissect the political record of Douglas, showing him up in very unenviable light. Hav- ing sufficiently excoriated this renegade from the Democracy, he next took up the case of Bell SG Everett, the other oppo- nents of the party in the South, and ven- tilated the record of these gentlemen one an open and avowed Abolitionist, liv- ing way down in Massachusetts, in the blaekest. corner of Black Republicanism- and the other, though living in the South, yet stained with the damning sin of hav- ing voted for, or rather having profered to vote for and actually favoring the A bo- Iition of slavery in the District of Coum- bia. The speaker adverted 10 the charge of disunion which bad been so vrulently heaped upon the heads of those Demo. crats who were supporting Breckinridge- quoting the language of the gifted Ken iuc1ian-'instead of dissolvlng the Unlon, we intend 10 strengthen and lengthen it." He here ridculed in very forcible man. ner, the charge which MT. Cypert had lately promulgated in speech in this place that, there was a secret party ex- sting in Arkansas for the avowed purpose of dissoiving the Union, and that the lea lers of the Democratic party in this State are members of this party" &c. West Point would become famous as being the place in which this great discovery was first made known, and that gentleman would obtain wide spread notoriety, and lis name would go down to posterity, as having revealed all the secrets of a for nidabe secret society which never had any existence, except in his own distempered imagination. MT. Merrill continued his emarks for an hour and closed in man. Ter highly satisfactory to all As I ob- eryed at6rst, this gentleman may be some lin to you, Mir. Editor, and consequently
 shall pass no eulogy upon his effort, hough it is deserving all commen1ation. l f you see him shortly, tell him that it is he opinion of this correspondent that he ught to stir round among the people. A CIV more such speeches for Breckinridge l D this county, and we would roll up a | arge majority for him in November.- We'll, we'll do that any how. Our Bell S Everett men have been sorely exercised bout their Belleverett" pole After ivers fatiguing marches spent in rum- ging swamps, bayous and lagoons, they [ last came upon one which they thought you'd represent Bell" and getting ano- ler which they intended to splice on top , represent the "Legeret" portion they itched thereto divers horned beasts and aued these "Beleverett" emblems upon " land in front of our city. When, To , their modification and horror, upon pre- airing their pole, they found it crooked as le tortuous track of snake; rotten at le heart and wndshaky at the butt !-- hey threw away the unsightly thing in isgust and are now securing the woods yer to get Bell pole that shall have the ssential requisites of strength and solidi- '. Qualities which do not believe any them possess. At first was at loss
 account for the selection of crooked