Worcester daily spy., 1860-10-20
LETTERS FROM wARRINGToN.-N 2.

My Dear Sri proceed to consider Mr..
Tbayer's relations to the republican party,
whose nomination for congress he tried to OBJ
tain, and whose support he is now seeking.
Mr.. Thayer says in his first Worcester speech
of this year =
"What understand by party featy is this
that man should vote for candidate whom
the party presents that he should stand upon
the platform of his party and that he should
act in accordance with the principles of the
platform of his party. Now, fellow citizens, if
| am not able to show that l have done that,
then ] am willing to confess that / have acted
outside Of the lines OF the republican party
Let me say here that do not regard this
matter of party fealty as one Of paramount
Importance Upon questions not enumerated
in the platform of the party, every one of its
representatives has a right to act as he pleases
The question of the admission of new state,
like Oregon, the constitution of which imposes
disabilities upon colored people, is one of this
sort and l am not aware that any man has
ever proposed to make that party test. ] can
understand how man might refuse to sustain
a representative who had voted for or against
the admission of such a state, but he has no
right to go beyond the platform, in making
party test. To do so would in certain con-
tingency, read Mr.. Lincoln out of the party,
and in another contingency, Mr.. Seward-and
so on. But l think the anti slavery men of
every district of Massachusetts have right to
require that the minimum of anti-savery which
its candidates shall have shall be equal to that
contained in the Chicago platform. hope a
large majority Of the republicans of the ninth
district would prefer a man who should insist
upon the repeal OF the fugitive slave act, the
abolition Of slavery in the District of Column
bia, the prohibition of the inter state slave
trade, to one who should be content with the
principles of the Chicago platform and if one
of their representatives should vote against
these antrslayery measures, | trust they
would, without seeking cut any new party
tests, exchange him for better man /; tor |
take it, any district in Massachusetts has a
right to change its representative, with Or with.
out reason assigned, and the representative has
no right TO complain OF persecution" or to
charge that new tests have been set up. Even
| if Mr. Thayer had voted ,Cith his party and
maintained its doctrines, | do not understand
that he has any lease for life, or for another
term of two years, Of his congressional seat
He did not hesitate to stump the district, TO
defeat Col. De Witt, who had never strayed
hall so wide from the anti slavery principles of
his district as Mr.. Thayer; what shall prevent
the people, who dismissed Mr. DE Witt from
also coming to the opinion that Mr. Ihayer
had served them long enough
Now here is one plank OF the Chicago plat
| form:
| "Resolved, That the normal condition of all the
territory OF the United States is that of freedom;
that our republican fathers, when they had abol-
ished slavery III all national territory, ordained
that person should be deprived of life liberty or
property, without due process OF law, il becomes our
duty, by legislation, whenever such is necessary,
maintain this provision of the constitution against
all attempts to violate it and deny the authority
of congress, of territorial Legislature, of any
Individuals to give legal existence slavery i'll any
territory of the United States"
Ii will be observed 1st, that the example
of our republican fathers, who 'aboiSied slave
ry in all our national territory" is cited as a
precedent tor our action ID that the duty of
the people "by Legislation" to maintain the
guarantees Of freedom is expressly affirmed; !;
and 3D., that the authority OF the people of any
territory to establish slavery is expressly de-
med.
Now | understand Mr. Thayer to traverse
as the lawyers say, each one OF these points of
doctrine -
First, instead Of thinking the example of
the fathers who abolished slavery by law"
worth following, he maintains that the ordi-
nance of 1887 was productive of no good what
ever. He says in his second Worcester speech
that sit is everywhere claimed, but nowhere
proved, that that ordinance gave Illinois to
free labor that sit was free labor that pro-
duced that glorious result, and all the honor
should be given to the citizens of Indiana and
Illinois, and not to politicians at Washington" +"
BY uttering and publishing this stuff, Mr.
Thayer shows that he has not only borrowed
his principles but his arguments from Doug
las, and the democrats, and pro.slavery men,
over and over again has this matter been dis.
cussed in other senate between Douglas and
Fitch and other western democrats on one side
and Trumbull and the western republicans ON
the other. never supposed that any repuJi.
can had been convinced by the arguments of
Douglas & Co. If free labor kept slavery out
of Illinois, why don'tit keep it out of Missou-
ri? If free labor kept it out Of Ohio, why
don't it ont of Kentucky? Can Thayer or
Douglas tell us 1t is only forty years since
Missouri was newly settled region; why didn't
''tree labor" which has such preeminent
power, crush out slavery there as soon it show
ed its head There must have been a time
when tile number Of slaves was insignificant in
South Carolina. Why did't free labor"
which existed there as soon as the first settler
went there, take care OF ilsplfi Nay more
how happens il that slave exists upon the