The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1863-02-25
Facts Of Political History.

Those Democrats who supported Mr.. Doug
las for the Presidency in 1860, are accustomed
TO assert, with great emphasis and positive
ness, two propositions which, taken together,
indicate disingenuous spirit, and DISPOSE
ton to censure the Republicans for declining
to accept compromise, to secure peace with
their enemies, which they themselves had re-
fused, to prevent an open rupture with their
friends. 1t is asserted by the gentlemen al
luded to that, had there been no rupture in the
Charleston Convention the democratic party
would have been triumphant, and peace would
not have been disturbed by the red hot thun-
derbolts of war. This is one proposition.
The other is this: that the Republican mem
bers Of Congress trifled with the peace of the
country, aud invited war-and are therefore
to be held responsible for it and its dire conse-
quences-by their refusal to accept the COM
they-the Douglas Democrats - would not
keep the peace with their political friends at
Charleston, by accepting the platform pro-
posed 10 them, they blame the Republicans
for refusing to accept the Crittenden PROPOSE
ton, at the demand of their political oppon-
ents.
Now II is very easy to show that it was the
sane principle, precisely, which the Douglas men
would not allow to be incorporated into par
ty platform, basing their refusal on principle,
which they would have Republican Congress
incorporate into the national constitution
The break in the Charleston convention came
because the friends of Douglas would not
allow the platform to embrace the following
proposition:
cit is the duty of the Federal government, in
al its departments to protect, when necessary,
the rights Of persons and property in the terri
tories, and wherever else its constitutional au-
thority extends. g."
The Douglas members of the Charleston
Convention resisted the doctrine here sought
to be Incorporated into the party creed, on the
ground that 1t was In conflict with the rights
of the people; that it sought to contest the
will and the action of the people in matter
in relation to which their will should be SOW
ereign. Now the Crittenden compromise,
which the Douglas men were willing to have
incorporated, not into aparty platform but in
to the national constitution, contained the
same offensive feature. 1t proposed to over
ride the will of the people, and to compel the
territorial governmental do acts that nineteen
twenteths of the people of the territories
might be opposed to. Here is the lanuage:
''In all the territories south of SO. 80 slavery
of the African race is recognized as existing and
shall not be interfered with by Congress, but
shall be protected by all the departments Of the
territorial government during its continuance -
Such are some of the facts of recent polti-
cal history; and they show, either that the
Douglas men were not honest at Charleston,
and that their pretended reverence for the will
OF the people--for popular soyereignty"-was
mere sham, or that they were less scrupu-
lous about the doctrines of our common con-
stitution than concerning the structure of q
mere party platform. In either case, we are
willing to part company with them on this
matter, and adopt the Republican doctine rs
enunciated in the Chicago platform, that
1.-THE States have the right, exclusively, to or
der and control their domestic institutions &C
cording TO their own judgement; and the terri.
tories are, by the Constitution and common law
free territory; and when necessary 10 secure to
persons in the territr ries their constitutional
right to liberty, legislation to that end should
be provided"