Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-08-08


ridge Democracy Of Hamilton County a
declaration of political principles that, al
though they might be a severe trial to the
Northern Democratic stomach, which has al
ways been in-aweak state on account of its
early abolition diet, would at least be direct,
unequivocal and consistent with themselves.
They had been cut loose from the corpse Of
popular sovereignty to which the Democracy
had been tied for the last eight years, and no
pent-up Utica of principles contracted their
platform powers. This expectation might
reasonably have been increased by the Sc
lection as Chairman of the Committee on
Resolutions, of gentleman who processes
habit of original thought, and who has some
time failed to find sufficient principle and
consistency in any political party TO sat
isfy his rigid requirements. In fact the
platform begins by denouncing the Doug
las faction as "seeking to prevent the
adoption of that whole truth which has
in the progress Of discussion been arrived
at and it is exceedingly generous in its
charges of trickery and insincerity on all
other parties. The platform is also interest
ing, as containing the principles which con-
verted the author of it from an anti-slavery
purist, who found the Republican party un-
faithful to that principle, to the support of a
candidate and party which holds slave
code for the Territories, to be ''the adoption
of that whole truth which has been reached
in the progress of discussion" For these
reasons, although the world is disguised with
platform literature, 1t may be worth while to
examine this latest effort, which pretends to
have arrived at original truth.
The preamble declares that anti-slavery
laws are discrimination against the citizens
of the slave States, and destructive to the
equality of the States. 1t is also declared in
a resolution, that
"The provision of the Constitution which
provides that full faith shall be given to the
records of the several States, clearly implies
that the relations of the inhabitants of the
States to each other before migrating into a
Territory, continue all over the Territory of
the United States"
We are not going TO deny these PROPOSE
tions, but the constitutional provision is for
States. If it continues the relations of the
inhabitants to each other outside their boun-
daries it does in all the States as well as Ter
ritories. Nobody will dispute that: but here
this "adoption" of the whole truth
runs against the exception "Until it
(these relations) conflicts with laws
passed by sovereign authority" Thus, with
the exception, the resolution actually makes
the constitutional provision to be, that full
faith and credit shall be given to the records
of the several States, until the provision con
ficts with laws passed by sovereign authority
that is, the Constitution is the supreme law
of the land until 1t comes in conflict with
laws passed by the States. Such platform
literature may do for an after-dinner Conven-
ton at Carthage.
A pleasing feature of the platform is, that
it begins by attributing all the evils of our
nation to making slavery the only question
of the day, and then loses itself in the fog OF
the slavery question, from which ii never
emerges. It does not even give us any of the
sauce of the Homestead Law, or Pacific Rail-
road, with which the other platforms are
seasoned.
One resolution declares obedience to the
decisions of the Courts, and acquiescence in
the bred Scott decision, and concludes: "But
we do not subscribe to the slavish doctrine
which--using the language of Jefferson
considers the Judges of the Supreme Court
the ultimate arbiter of all constitutional
questions, and which would place us under
the despotism of an oligarchy." This, if it
means any thing, means obedience to the
Supreme Court, so far as it has decided, and
protests against being bound by its decisions
in future. '.t,H Hr. .lt
This would be pretty near right if the sub
mission to the pastwere stricken out, leaving
only the protest for the future. The Su-
preme Court has declared the United States
Bank and the Sedition Law constitutional
These decisions are law and constitution
now. Does the Carthage Platform-make
mean submission TO them? Not bit of it
He means submission to such az suit him
but he says another thing. n .rts II
Then he acquiesces in the Dred Scott de
cisiou. Why is il that a man who undertake
TO make political platform, invariably come
ont accomplished for thimble-rigger Wha
is the Dred Scott decision? 1t is as indefinit
as popular sovereignty, which Buchanan
JEFF. Davis, Breckinridge, Yancey, Dougla
and the Carthage platform all affirm. No tw
political factions agree on what the Dire
Scott decision is. 1t is our Delphie Oracle7
our political Apocalypse. The Presider
says that it makes every Territory as much
slave State as Georgia is. Lawyers say thf
the ouly question before the Court, an
therefore the only one it could decide, wi
that Dred Scott being a negro, was therefor
the descendant Of slave ancestors therefor
could not be citizen Of the United State
and therefore could not bring suit in OF
Courts. Is this what the Reemelin pla
form adopts 1t is q momentous questic
for political convention TO act on, whs
a Court has settled I'll But every bod
North and South, knows that even to this e.
tent the decision is totally false; it
false historically, because negroes were cit
zens in nearly all the States before the ool
stItution, and constitutional provision mat
them citizens of the United States false, b
cause ancestry has nothing to do with righ
to citizenship; If it had the descendants
Captain Smith in Virginia could not be cit
zens, false, because native-born person
whom the States make citizens, are citiseI
- H.. .Ir.1 I. ..a. -.