Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-05-07
POINTS or UNITY.

we stated few days ago that while the cleo
ton was pending in the great State Of New York
no journal was more decided than the Daily Times
10 affirming that the success of the Democratic
ticket would be defeat of the Union cause, but
that recently the editor Of that paper had avowed
on the hastings and in the columns of the journal
he conducts, his confidence in the steadfast oy-
atty Of the great mass of the Democratic party,
while according to them the same right of indie
pendent judgment which is exercised by all other
free born Americans
We assure our versatile contemporary that we
intended no disrespect to it by thus instancing a
change in its tone, nor did we seek to find in this
change the mark of political inconsistency, to the
allegation of which, where circumstances alter
cases, we are as Indifferent as the Times can pos
sibly be We are therefore quite ready to accept
the explanation Of our contemporary when he says
that "the lntelligenccr will find in the changed
circumstances of the country and the Democratic
party complete justification for the change in our
tone concerning them"
La justice to the Times we add its observations
In defence of its original impeachment of the De-
mccracy and of its recent declarations of confidence
in their loyalty 1t says
In the fall of 1862 the Democracy of this State took
attitude OF hny disguised hostility to the prosecution
OF the war against the rebellion. They nominated for
Governor an eminent and able statesman who had publicly
taken the ground-acted upon by Mr. Buchanan during
the closing months Of his Presdency-that successful
coercion noud De quite revolutionary success
and the whole tone and of his speeches. and
that OF his prominent supporters down the very eve Of
the election was IN harmony with this damaging and dis
legal sentiment Mr. Van Buren,. his abest popular advo
cate took the ground that instead of prosecuting the
to the complete humiliation Of the rebel military power
we ought to offer terms of peace after the capture Of
Richmond and, if they rejected allow the Southern
the Democratic party in this State. The whole aim of
that party was to popular verdict against the
Administration and to bring the to speedy end
at the cost of q separation Of the Union.
We did insist that the triumph of the party on such
basis would be virtually defeat Of the Union cause,
and we did every thing in our power to prevent such
suit We have nothing to retrsc and nothing regret
in the course we then pursued and the justice Of udg
ment in the matter was indicated by the result
We supposed that this was the state of the case
when the Times felt called, during the last autumn,
to deplore the success Of Gov. Seymour as de-
feat of the Union cause" but, this being so, we
could not precisely understand how Mr.. Raymond
could say, as he has recently said in the columns
of his paper, that he chad never doubted that the
great body Of the Democratic party for preserv-
ing the Union and crushing the rebellion"
We suspect he did doubt them last fall, or that
he allowed his political apprehensons at that pc
riod to do injustice to what he now believes the
substantial loyalty of the great of citizens
without distinction of party. We cited his testi-
mony to this fact, not because it was at all neces-
sary to establish its truth, and still less for the
purpose of making small point in the way of
personal criticism, but mainly because we gladly
avail ourselves Of every opportunity to indicate
the points of concord and agreement among loyal
citizens, at time when SO many others seek to
narrow the bounds Of catholic devotion to the
national cause by claiming fer party what is due
only to the whole country.