The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-06-29

These, | believe, are Mr.. LincoIns opn-
lions upon the matter of slavery in the Ter
ritories, and | concur in them. They gare
no new inventions, made to suit the exigen-
cies OF the hour, but have come down TO US
as the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution have, sanctioned by the vener-
able authority of the wise and good men
who established our institutions. They are
conformabe to law, principle and wise poll
CIV, and their utility is proven in practice by
the as yet -unbroken current of our political
history. They will prevail, not only be-
cause they are ight in themselves, but also
because great and still growing majority
of the people believe them to be right, and
the sooner they are allowed to prevail in
peace and harmony, the better for all con-
cerned, as well those who are against them
as those who are for tbem.
| am aware that small partizans, in their
little warfare against opposing leaders, do
sometimes assail them by til trick of tear
ing from their contexts some particu-
lar Objectionable phrases penned, perhaps,
in the hurry of composition, or spoken in
the heat of oral debate, and holding them
up to the public as the leading doctrines of
the person assailed, and drawing from them
their own uncharitable differences. That line
of attack betrays little mind conscious of its
weakness, for the falsity of its logic is not
more apparent than the injustice of its de-
sign. No public man can stand that ordeal,
and, however willing men may be to see 1t
applied to their adversaries, all finca from
the tortare when applied to themselves. In
fact, the man who never said foolish
thing, will hardly be able to prove that he
ever said many wise ones.
consider Mr.. Lincoln a sound, safe, ma
tional man. II could not be sectional if
ne tried. His birth, his education, his hab-
its of life, and his geographical position,
compel him to be national. All his feelings
and interests are identified with the great
valley of the Mississippi rear whose centre
he has spent his whole life That valley is
not a section, but, conspicuousy, the body
of the nation, and, large as it is, 1t is not
capable of being divided into sections, for
the great river cannot be divided. 1t is one
and indivisible, and the North and the South
are alike necessary to its comfort and pros
perity. Its people, too, IN all their inter-
ests and affections, are as broad and gener-
al as the regions they inhabit. They are
emigrants, a mixed multitude, coming from
every State in the Union, and from most
countries in Europe; they are unwilling,
therefore, to submit TO any one petty local
standard. They love the nation as a whole
and they love all its parts for they are bound
to them all, not only by u feeling of COM
mon interest and mutual dependence, but
also by the recollections of childhood and
youth, by blood and friendship, and by all
those social and domestic charities which
sweeten life, and make this world worth liv-
ing in. The Valley is beginning to feel its
power, and will soon be strong enough to
dictate the law of the land. Whenever that
state of things shall come to pass, it will be
most fortunate for the nation to find the
powers of government lodged in the hands
Of men whose habits of thought, whose
position and surrounding circumstances con-
strain them to use those powers for general
and not sectional ends. ..
give my opinion freely in favor of Mr..
Lincoln, and hope that, for the good of
the whole country, he may be elected. But
it is not my intention to take any active part
in the canvass. For many years past l
have had little to do with public affairs, and
have aspired to no political office; and now,
in view Of the mad excitement which con-
vulses the country, and the general disrup-
ton and disorder of parties and the ee-
ments which compose them, | am more
lIlttu ever doSuIttl Illdt, iOL LIc3 pcISOudlIS,
there is no political future, and | accept the
condition with cheerful satisfaction. Still
| cannot discharge myself from the lifelong
duty to watch the conduct of meE in pow
er, and to resist, so far as a mere private
man may, the fearful progress of official
corruption, which, for several years past,
has sadly married and defiled the fair fabric
of our Government.
If Mr. Lincoln should be elected, coming
in us a new man at the head of II young
party never before in power, he may render
great service to his country, which no
Democrat could render. He can march
straight forward in the discharge of his
high duties, guided only by his own good
Judgment and honest purposes, without any
necessity to temporize with established
abuses, to wink at the delinquencies of old
party friends or to unlearn aHd discard the
bad official habits that have grown up under
the misgovernment of his Democratic pre-
decessors. In short, he can be an honest
and bold retormer on easier and cheaper
terms than any Democratic President can
be, for, in proceeding in the good work of
cleansing and purifying the administrative
departments, he will have no occasion to
expose the vices, assail the interests, or
thwart the ambition of his political friends.
Begging your pardon for the length of
this letter, I remain with great respect,
-FOUR friend and obedient servant,