Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1861-01-22
Buchanan and Douglas.


From the Philadelphia Mercury pop. sev Der.t
James Buchanan manfully doing his du-
", and Stephen \. Douglas processing his
readiness TO abandon every principle for
the sake of quoting the roisy traitors OF
the South, IS the latest development of the
present crisis We must confess our as
constituent ut both thoS, manifestations
of a change of purpose If the hour of per
il. First, rs to the President His pre-
vious career had given u> bat little rea-
son to hope for vigor and decision of ac-
ton in behalf of the Union and the supre-
macy of the government lie seemed to
be completely owned by the secession con
spirator>. lie followed them to the extre-
NEST verge of the precipice of disunion
pleading their cause and permitting them
10 abuse official position To strengthen the
enemies of the Confederacy But on the
verge of being committed To- treason, he
paused; his eyes We're opened to the real
character and purposes Of the men by
whom he had been surrounded and led;
the thunders of popular indigua ion rolled
on the NhIte House; a sense ofpII~iotic du-
ty grew strong within him; he shook off
the traitors, took, Unionloying men into
his counSels. and proclaimed his determi-
nation to protect the public property and
enforce the laws ut all hazards His re
cent message to Congress upon the dan
gerous condition of our National affairs
breathes at once the most devoted patriot
ism and the utmost resolution to confront
rebellion with all the power at the com
mand of tn ePresident of the United States
Let bv-gones be by-gones. The past can
not be forgotten, but ample atoncment can
be made. The present attitude of James
Buchanan viii extort admiration. even
from the men who have most bitterly OPP
posed his Administration; and should he
continue as he has begun, 10 WELD the
Federal authority with 4 vigorous, deter
mined and patriotic arm, he Will return to
Nheatland laden with the grateful ack-
nowledgements of 4 nation he has saved
from dissolution
And then contemplate the extraordina-
ry change of front by Mr. Stephen A
Douglas Coercion was sound and elo-
rious doctrine to preach ut Norfolk Nir-
ginia, during the heat of the Presidential
campaign, but it is not polite or wise
when the hour for coercion has arrived
Popular Sovereignty was principle
which had TO be maintained though the
Democratic party was shattered into frag-
ments; but it must be abandoned the mo
ment the disuniouists renew at Washing
ton the game begun..at Charleston and CON
tinued at Baltimore If Mr. Douglas was
not prepared to adhere TO his principles in
the conflict which everybody anticipated
after the disruption of the Charleston Con
veution, why did he not then capitulate to
Gancey and support Breckenridge and
Lane? The Little Giant had much to
say during the canvass about the princi-
pie of Selt-goyernment being worth fight
in% for, even as our revolutionary fathers
fought for it And now, when the call to
the field is sounded, he asks parIev, and
hoists the white flag, signitying his ankle
ty to surrender, upon any terms the in
sur@ent slave code faction NAV see fit to
dictate. Our Indignation Mt this base be
trayai IS as thorough as was our devotion To
the cause of Mr.. Douglas and popular SOY
rei@ntv during the Presidential struggle
But the Illinois Senator counts without
his host, if he supposes he can persuade
the great army OF Democrats who support
cd him in November last to pass under the
yoke now, for the sake of peace. The
principle of sclf-gOvernment was baptiscd
in noble blood before Stephen y Douglas
came into the world. and it viii survive
long after he has inherited his five feet of
American soil As for coercion the
Government which has not the power and
the viii to enforce its laws against the
most formidable body Of rebels that may
unturl the flag Of resistance, Is not wor-
thy Of maintenance in any enlightened
land BY his opposition to coercion,
Mr. Douglas only demonstrates that he
never deserved-as we confess we thought
he did-to WELD the powers entrusted to
the President of this mighty republic.