The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1860-12-06
For the Republican

from the Cassapolis Democrat of Nov
20, 1860.
ASensible View of Our Difficulties.
The Springfield Mass Republicans
the leading republican paper of thai
state, has taken strong grounds in ia.
vor of the repeal of the northern per.
sonal liberty bills. 1t says of these
bills, they are "wrong" and "unconsti-
tutional in spirit" othey are ; if con.
sentative republicans in Michigan take
the same view of the matter, let them
instruct their members of the legisla.
ture, soon to assemble at Lansing, to
repeal them so far as Michigan is con-
cerned, and they will deserve the
thanks of all good men. IF the Iegisla-
ture of 1861, should do this, it will
have accomplished more for Michigan
than all the republican Legislatures
which have preceded it-and yet it
would be nothing more than simple
act of justice to the South.
1t is not my practice to pay much
attention to the gassy and foxy articles
of that paper, but think that / can
discover some hidden mischief in the
above article. The editor of that pa
per appears to have great desire that
the conservative Republicans of Mich
igan should instruct the Legislature OF
our State to repeal the personal liberty
|
bills which are found in our Statute
Books. Now zoe call this country a
land of liberty, but if you wipe out all
personal liberty in order to please the
Cassapolis Democrat, is there any lib
erty left of which any civilized people
can boast, would it not take us back
into the dark ages, and sink us into
heathenish barbarity and despotism?
1t has been the boast and glory of
the people of this happy Columbia, that
it is a land of Liberty! Now l should
like to know what kind of liberty the
Democrat man proposes to let us have,
if he deprives US of personal liberty, for
even the liberty of preparing printed
pastors to paste over the names of re-
publicans, on the election tickets, and
thus defraud many voters out of the
just rights of the elective franchise, is
a personal liberty, and was used freely
at the recent election in this County
by the Democratic party, and thus de-
ceived many voters; and inasmueh as
they have used this unjustifable liberty
quite freely, it is ungenerous to try to
prohibit other people from using liber-
ties which are just and right. And
with regard to the personal liberty bills
of Michigan, I have no hesitation in
pronouncing them just, right, pure and
good.
But there appears to be deep laid
desi On in desiring the Republicans to
repeal the personal liberty bills I; have
no doubt but that the repeal of those
laws would make split'in the Repub-
lican party, for every Republican in
the Legislature who voted for such a re-
peal would be Immediately read out of
the party-and that is what the Demo-
crat man wants, for the only hope
which they now have of ever getting
into power again, is the possibility
that there can be some device or other,
or devide and destract the present
Republican party. And they appear
to be disposed to use all manner of
trickery to accomplish their end.
The personal liberty bills which the
Democrat man wants repealed, merely
secure to the inhabitants of Michigan,
the privilege of the writ of Habeas
Corpus, and the right of trial by Jury,
and these privileges are guaranteed to
us by the Constitution of Michigan
which was framed by the Democratic
party; but as the Democrat party has
changed its principles since the forma-
ton of the Constitution, they now wish
republicans to disgrace themselves by
repeating certain laws which were
made in accordance with the provi-
sions of said Constitution. We were
not looking for such absurd movements
to be made by a defunct party. 1t was
natural for us to expect that, after such
an overwhelming defeat that they
would have died in peace as they did
in 1910 without struggle or groan,
but in that we are disappointed, for, al
though they are, to all human appear
ance forever down yet instead of
dying like men, they lie on their backs
and kick like madmen. They appear
to have had forebodings before the
election that Honest Old Abe would
be elected, and therefore they had
panic already prepared for the occasion.
South Carolina was to rebel and threat
en- to go out of the Union; Virginia
and other Southern States were to sus-
pend payment, and the North was to
raise ahue and cry of hard times, and
then CHARGE the whole of If to the cleo