The register. (Monroe, La.) 185?-1861, 1860-05-17
Douglas and his Partisans.

In our remarks hitherto, we have been careful
to avoid everything of an offensive nature in
speaking of the great anti-Lecompton Senator
from Illinois. Indeed we had no disposition
whatever to attack the man either in biz pri
vate or public character. We even went &c
far as to suggest that the bitter personal as
saults made upon him by some of our leading
contemporaries were certainly unscemIy, ant
might become exceedingly embarrassing. VIZ
remembered Judge Douglas services to the De
mocratic party we called to mind the fact
that on two former occasions, when bis name
threatened disaster to the party, that name was
promptly withdrawn; and we hoped-tremb
lingy and with little confidence, it ia true, still
we hoped-that when the crisis came he would
once more act the patriots part, and remove
the cause Of dissension and disaster. But we
have been disappointed not very widely, bu
miserably disappointed. Judge Douglas ha.
been weighed in the balances and found want
ing. With sel6shness as dcspicable as it il
narrow, he gave directions which inevitably
led to serious difficulty in the Convention
Self-aggrandisement was evidently his only
motive. For personal elevation and the sue.
cess of individual views, he was willing to i'm
peril the integrity Of the great National party
and at the same time to endanger the we'll
being and perpetuity Of the Union of these
States. He has thus shown himself factionis
of the lowest type-a disunionist of the mos
ignoble species. He has nothing in common
with the disunionists Of the South however. He
docs not appear before us nobly demanding the
constitutional rights Of bis section, and willing,
for those rights, to sacrifice every other inter-
est but mcanly, selnshly, impiously prepared
to forget every consideration, to barter every
interest-cven the dearest Of our race,-to VIC
late every sanctity and obligation Of humanity
and all for the petty success, all for the tenn
porory triumph, all for the brief aggrandise-
ment of STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS
We have no language to express our letesta-
ton of the man who, in his grovelling ambi-
ton, is capable of such atrocious guilt; who, in
the mad dream Of power and long-indulged
desire for place, could thus sink every other
consideration. But what shall be said Of the
mehlal 1actlon who, at the nod and beck of this
self-sceking master, would sectionaize the De-
mocratlc party and ignore or override some of
her principal traditions and unwrittcn laws ?
We can scarcely trust ourselves to speak of
them, lest We should violate the rules which
have ever governed the columns of this paper
They have insultcd the whole South by their
frce-soil platform; they have laid down prin-
ciplcs subversive of all equality Of right among
the States; they have ignored the compromises
and repudiatcd the guarantees of the Constitu-
ton. OF them and Of their leader we have this
to say: They are enemies of the South, and
we brand it upon them they are traitors to
the Democratic party, and we brand it upon
them; they are traitors to the Constitution and
the Union, and we brand it upon them. We
have written this article more in sorrow than
n anger.