New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-08-05
THE ONLY PEACE COMMISSION.

We congratulate Mtssrs. Edward Everett,
Mllard Fillmore, Reycrdy johnson, Martin Van
Buren,, Thomas Ewing, Franklin Pierce, and
James Guthrie, on the refusal of the House Of
Representative TO adopt the resolve offered by
.he Hon. Mr.. Cox Of Ohio appointing them "a
CCmmisa.oners, TO agree, "a conjunction with GER
tain Southern Commissioners, upon " such amend
ments OF the Constitution as shall as'uage all
- grievances" We suppose the honorable dough
face who drafted this resolution meant TO say
al Southern grievance, for men of this stamp
cannot be persuaded that the free people of the
North have suffered anything at the hands Of the
slayeholdcrs: but We must take his language as
the telegraph furnishes it to us. We should be
willing 20 60 a considerable distance to see
Messrs Everett & Go, framing constitutional
provision which would " assuGgc the grievances
Of Mr.. Barnwcll Rhctt Of :. c. on the one
hand and of Mr. Wendell Philips Of Massa-
ctusetts on the other; of Mr.. Frederick Douglass
and Of the Maryland gentleman who has claimed
Mr.. Douglass as his slave; or even Of Mr..
Jefferson DAVIS, the champion OF the right OF re.
cession, and Mr.. Everett himself who has per-
fcct'y demonstrated that 10 such right exists or
can exist. without self-dcstruction The expert
ment has been tried on n much smaller scale, aud
though il had q temporary success, 1t met with
a miserable failure in 1860, as Mr.. Cox doubt
less remembers TO bis sorrow. We refer now to
the ingenious attempts made at Baltimore and
Cincinnati, in 1852 and 1856, by that eminent
carpenter. Mr.. b. r. lalett, to construct p0lit-
ical platform on which the Democratic party
could permanently stand. a greater than Mr.
IInllett would be required for this new labor of
Hercules. If Mr.. Van Buren, was in the prime
of lle and could spare Us twenty years for this
service, We should Think it not improbable that
hi remarkable power of using language to dis
guise thought might be made available, and pos
sbly successful; but with six associates he would
certainly fail.
Mr.. Cox's notion, however, il, as we before
hinted not 10 assuagc an complaints, but only
sayebOlling complaints. YET bis commission is
badly constituted, even for this purpose. James
Guthrie aud Reycrdy Johnson would probably be
willing to afford all the guarantees asked for re-
latiye to Slavery, in the States and Territories,
but they would certainly object to any recognition
Of the secession dogma, to which they arc as
strongly opposed as anybody else; and Mr.. Fill
more and Mr.. Everett, we are confident, after
hsir recent experiences of Southern gratitude
would demur TO any new Notifications of the
institution of Slavery We respectfully suggest
tbat to carry out Mr.. Cox's plans, recon.
struction Of his committee is necessary. We
nominate Mr. Ben. Wood 10 take the place Of
Mr.. Fillmore Mr. Nallandgham instead of Mr..
Ewing; Mr.. Gushing instead of Mr.. Everett;
Mr. Henry May, or Mr.. Marshal Kane, in
stead of Mr.. johnson; Mr. Breckenridge
instead Of Mr.. Guthrie. Aud the line Of ex-
Presidents having been broken BY the exclusion
of Mr. Fillmore, We think it would be safe to
appoint Mr. John Tyler, in place Of Mr. Van
Bureu. Mr. Pierce, we have no doubt, would
aqree to anything the Shareholders might ask; so
his name may well stand. With these changes,
commission might be made up which would ait
tremendously in Louisville or any where else.
But though the result of its labors would doubt
less be satisfactory to Mr.. Jefferson Davis and
the Cotton Coniederacy, we feel less confidence
in its ability TO frame a Constitution which
should be acceptable 10 such men as Mr.. Sum
ner and Mr. Gddings. Probably TIE TRIBUNE
would be compelled to crlticise IT, and we would
not guarantee the assent Of the Northern Legs
latures aud people We all know tina. the ia
nous Virginia Conference came 10 nothing; and
even Mr.. Corwin's amendment sticks by the way,
in the Free States, though, the invalid lady
said Of one of the Boston daily newspapers, alt
would not hurt 1y."
II Mr.. Co1's proposition were not very dead,
we should take occasion to cTiticise he terms in
which it is couchcd. We don't think 10 is quite
true that the eontending parties have "a con-
mon ancestry history, prosperity, glory, gov
crnment and Union There are many points
of difference between Southern and Northern
history; and the prosperity Of the North has an
entirely different basis from that Of the South.
One is founded on free labor, education, ciyiliza-
ton; the other on Slavery, ignorance and barba-
risni. We object, also, to the declaration that
tic two sections are "now unhappiy engaged in
" laceratng their common country IL is quite
true that Northern armies upon Southern soil,
and that Virginia is In certain sense ihcerated
by the eontenliDg hos.s. Bat that the war Is
strictly defensive one, or our part, the whole
country knows. Mr.. Cox himself admits that
u fine seeding States are guilty OF brenhing the
" National Union and resisting the Lawful au'
.'thority." If they get "laeeraied IN the course
e this gagisious attempt they only get their Ju't
deserts. and tLuIe is no more CAL Tor sympa1b!