The mountain Democrat., 1863-02-21
Wh.t Weuld DeuElas Have Done ,

Ths question is frequently asked
Would Douglas have sustained the
Presidents emancipation proclamation ?
We unhesitatingly answer, he would not
On this point there can be no diversity o
OpiHioO. He was uncOmpromisingly op
posed to AbOliti0nism: he believed, ,as did
the trainers of our Consultation, that thi:
twas . white mans Government, ruled
by white men, and intended for the benefit
Of white men and their poSterity forever
he early, earnestly and Persistently de.
nounced the "higher law" doctrine, and
warned his cOuntrymen that the triumph
Of AboIitionism would result disaStrously.
In his last letter from Washington to his
friends in Illinois, he declared that, for
"partisan reasons" many Republican
Senators were anxious to dissolve the
Union. They want to control the Gov
ernmcnt and pcrpetuate the supremacy Of
'h-;- Partyi tbj7 they tDoE they cannot
do il the Union be restored. By getting
rid os the Southern States "they would
have a majority IN tue senate, and with
a majority of the Senate they could defeat
the will of the people. He knew the trea-
sonable purposes OF the Abolition Senators
and the party they represented; he knew
that they hated and feared the Southern
people, and had determined, when in
power, to make war upon their domestic
institutions; he knew, and SO stated in
the letter above referred to, that " for
partisan reasons they wero anxious to
dissolve the Union, if it could be done
without holding them responsible before
the peoples" he knew that they desired
and had secretly worked for Northern
Confederacy, and, knowing this, he would
not have sanctioned policy that, if car
ried out, must render restoration Of the
Union impossible.
We have still further and more convin-
cling evidence to prove that he would have
condemned the emancipation proclama
tion. In his speeches and letters be FIRE.
quently stated that he would not to crate
any infraction Of the Constitution, nor
approve Of any interference with the do.
mcstic institutions of the States. Even
the supporters Of the proclamation admit
that it is unconstitutional and interfercs
with the domestic institutions Of the
States. Its brilliant author confeSses that
he had no right to issue it as President,
but insists that as Commander.in.C Chief
Of the army and navy he had the man.
ifest absurdity of this position is pccu,
liarly Lincolnian. A few weeks before
his death, in a speech delivered before the
Illinois Legislature, at Springfield, Mr..
Douglas said:
al will say to you now, with all frank
ness and in all sincerity, that will never
sanction nor acquiesce in any warfare
whatever, upon the constitutional rights
or domestic institutions Of the people of
the Southern States. (Applause) On
the contrary, if there was an attempt to
invade those rights, to stir up servile in
surrection among their people, | would
rush to their rescue, and interfere with
whatever of strength | might possess, to
defend them from such calamity"
The above extract settles the question.
Its language is explicit, emphatic, unmiS
taxable. 1t leaves no room for doubt or
bubble. The proclamation is dcclara-
ton Of war against "the constitutional
rights and domestic institutions of the
Southern States" and were Douglas liv-
ing he "would rush to their rescue and
defend them from" its impending calami.
ties. Douglas Democrats" " who profess
to be guided by his teachings, must,to be
consistent, strenuously oppose the procla,
nation and the party which indorses it,
-~S~
Successful MISSION Greeley is the
acknow lodged head of the Republican
party. He dictates the policy of the Ad-
ministration, and Abraham, the magnif
cent, blindly follows his dictation. In
spite Of the dictates Of prudence, Of rea-
son and Of justice, in disregard of the
teachings and admonitions Of statesmen.
he forced the President to issue the enan.
cipation proclamation. Gideon j. Tucker,
Of New York, in a recent letter, says:
"In the spring of 1871, on commencing
the publication Of the New York Tribune,
Mr.. Greeley announced his purpo$1 To be-
to educate a generation at the North to
hate the slave.holding South In 1861,
twenty years after, that education had
been completed; the party Cf hate came
into power and the present gigantic war
begun"
Has not Greeley been eminen.ly sue.
cessful? Has he not fulfilled his terrible
mission! Has he not educated the North
to hate the South? For years he and
his party have declared that they would
have mo union with slave holders, and
now. having the power, they exutingly
announce that the Union shall not be re-
stored MS our fathers made it. And the
disloyal leaders of this diSloyal party have
the impudence to boast of their patriot
isml Is it not time for the people to re-
buke these traitors and their followers
and advocates 2M;s