The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1862-06-20
Then and Now.

In the year eighteen hundred and for
ty eight the status of the so-called Dem
ocratic party, was measured by its affinity
with, and sympathy for, The colored pop
ulation Of our country. During that
year and the years that Immediately pre-
ced.d it, the record of the party shows
conclusively that if there were slavery agi-
tators in tie country, they we're confined
to the limits of the Democratic party
They had the ascendency in our State
Legislature, and as a sequence we find
their actions were all on the side of free
dom. Thus, the "Black Laws" SO
called, which had been blot upon the
escutcheon of Ohio for years, was re-
pealed. When, in l849, the election of
United States Senator, was occupying the
attention of the Legislature, one of the
leading Democratic papers of the State
ur ed the claims of Salmon P. Chase
upon the support of the members of that
party in the Legislature, from high free
soil stanapoink Among other things
said BY this paper in advocating the claims
of Mr.. Chase, was this, "Mr. Chase is
known Democratic F'eesoiler.' An
other organ of the Democratic school,
when the election of Mr. Chase was
enunciatel, went off in a grandiloquent
burst of joy at his success, because it was
construed into triumph of the Anti sla-
very Resolution which had been incorpo-
rated in the platform Of the party, and
delivered to the faithful by the 9th of Jan
uary convention of 184s, the year previ-
GUS to the election of Salmon P. Chase
to the United States Senate by the neser
changing, always the same, Democratic
party, That resolution is couched in the
following language. We give it as we
ind in the paper from which we take it,
Ter 6utin, ct Aliteratim, ct punctuatim:]
"Resoived. That the people of Ohio,
now, as they ever have done, look upon
the institution of slavery in any part of
the nation as an evil, and unfavorable to
the full development of the spirit and
practical benefits of free institutions, and
that entertaining these sentiments, they
will at all times, feel it to be their duty
to use ALL POWER clearly given by the
terms of the National compact, E%- to
MITIGATE and finally to ERADICATE
the evil"
1t will be seen that this resolution dep
recates the existence of slavery ssin any
PART OF THE NATION, as an evil" and that
they felt it to be duty to use all power
~ to MITIGATE, and FINALLY to
ERADICATE the 'eyil'''
Such was the status of the party then,
such was the proclamation of the Demo-
cratic press in relation to slavery, and
such was the Freesoil tendency of that
party who claim now to be the only true
Union party. But how is it now ? The
platform of principles is essentially pro-
slavery. Its strong sympathies are reach
ing out to the slave power, and could they
exercise the power the chains of slavery
would be forever forged upon the class of
people for whom ten years ago they were
shedding crockodile tears. And yet,
with such record, their leaders have
the brazen affrontery to declare that the
Democratic party has, always, since it's Or
ganization been consistent in its deliver
apces, apd that there has been no. change
IN its primitive organization. Such clap
trap tricks have had their effect upon the
masses. But old Proteus nevers chang
ed as often. or had the ability of making
such sudden transitions as the modern
Democratic party.