The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-08-05
THE cRITeaNDEN COMPROMISE.

No "Demoeratie' speech is complete now
a-days without the devotion of considerable
share of the effort to make the impresson that
the war was caused by the refusal of the Re-
publicans TO accept the Crittenden Compro-
mise, and that this compromise was identical
with the old Missouri Compromise.
There was this great difference between the
Missouri and the Crittenden Compromise
The former prohibited slavery north of the
line 96 deg. 80 min. and gave it no guaran-
tees south of that line. The latter prohibit
ted slavery north of the old line, and estab-
Hshed it so, of that line, iubdteUer might be the
nil of the people in the Terri cries, in all the land
then held or that might be aequiredi Mr. CRIT
TENDEN was not the author of the PROPOSE
ton to enforce slavery in. all territory that we
might acquire south of So deg. 80 min., and
never insisted uponit as part of his measure.
Mr.. BREcKINRDGE interpolated that signif-
cant clause into the compromise, and gave
his support to that measure avowedly on the
condition that his clause should be retained
in ii. This was ilibustering scheme. It
was an effort to thrust the doctrine of the
Knights of the Golden Circle into the Const;-
tuition of the United States, and to drag the
whole country into the K. G. @. policy. The
next thing after the adoption of the Gritten-
den Compromise would have been to occupy
and possess Mexico, and then the West India
Islands, and then Central America, and, per-
haps, in due time, South America; and we
should have been carried into foreign wars,
and logically into the re-opening of the Afri-
can slave trade, by the flibusters, with the
purpose of making the shores and islands of
Gulf of Mexico the seat of gigantic slave
empire, of which the Northern States would
have been mere provinces. 1t was chiefly
conviction that these things were so, that led
us, at the time the CR1TTENDEE Compromise
was before Congress and the county. to op-
pose it strenuously We believe now that in
that opposition we were doing the country
good service.
The advocates of the CR1TTENDEN Com
promise tells us that it was fair measure
because it divided the territory between the
sections, giving the North the larger share
1t should not be forgotten that when this
compromise was proposed, it was fixed fact
that Kansas was free State, and that with or
without the action of Congress, all territory
north of SO deg. 80 min. was, and would re
main, free There was no dispute about this
No guarantee of the freedom of that terrific
= fry was required. That was settled. The
disputed territory was that south of the line
the whole of at and nothing else. All this
disputed territory lie CRITTENpEN Gompro-
mise gave to slavery. Practically, this was
exactly what the Northern Democrats refused
to put in the platform sought to be made IN
Charleston. So Mr. PUGH is now charging
the responsibility of the war upon those who
refused to support as an amendment of the
Constitution of the United States, that which
in respect to the territory in our possession, he
refused at Charleston, to accept as an amend
ment of the Cincinnati Platform. Eoes he
regard the Constitution of his country as less
sacred than the platform of his party !? If
not when and how was he subjugated Up
pom what argument, or pursuant to what
threat, did he yield the convictions of party
policy and duty to the country, that he stout
ly and defantly maintained in Charleston in
his famous debate with Mr.. YANcEY p Gin
cinaati ComnaerciaI