The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-01-02

successes, Its Loyal League societies, o
any confidence that the country have i,
its capacity or its sintegr,ty, that its successe
last Octo:er and November are attribute
BILE to. Yet they they did carry the Octo
Der and November elections, and it is N.Y.
our business to fnd out 1hy they Carried
them.
Perhaps the strongest, if no ., the only
reason why the Democratic party has sur.
vived all other parties, and DESTROYED then,
all, WY it ha. endured essentially the
same for more than sixty years. is to be
'ound in the fact that in one vital respect
1t differs from all other parties that ever
existed. Historians tell you that you never
can convince party that it has commit
ted an error, and of what other than the
Democratic party is not that maxim true g.?
and the consequence has been that all
other parties have been destroyed by the
errors they have committed The Demo-
cratic party has committed errors and has
been defeated repeatedly in Consequence
Of thena; but 1t has never been DESTROYED:
on the contrary It has seemed to acquire
new strength from every defeat Towhat
is this distinction between It and all other
parties to be attributed? am confident
that the most perspecaciouE analysis thai.
tory, traditions and principles ofthat party,
will result in showing tha, it is to its con.
staHt capacity and willingness to perca,ye
and rectify its errors, that its vitality and
its endurance to the present time is owing
] shall ferbear 10 point ou; tina. one year
ago, foresaw the error into which the
Democratic party were about to fall and
made vigorous effort to pr-veat it-that
the unfortunate consequences | f3rcsaw
and pointed out were fully realized and
that the action taken by the Democratic
members OF congress on yesterday (in ref
erence to the day on which | am writing
this article is step towards the rectiica
tion Of the error committed IN the winter
and early summer Of the present year.-
The State of Illinois occupied such posi-
ton one year ago, that the authentic ac;ioa
Of the Democratic party Of that state
would have been .ieci.ive'of the power or
that party n every state OF the Union -
They were atfgonted. iryitatel. and enra->
ell, ct the base. ungrstefu! slandc-or- ard
malicious conduct OF the administration
selves its lnbecili;y in the conduct of the
war. and its vicor in trampIing under foot
all the saf-guarjs Of individual and po!ili-
cal liberty, and under the influence ofthese
Justly excited p:ss sors. SUFFERED these pas
-;crs - oe ;,I-,r couu--iI---. and ti.--e .v,,o
sklfuliy awaited themselves ot them, to be
their leaders The result was what was
foreseen--thc party was every where de-
fea.cd
In this state. in June, the party sensible
of the error they had committed in the
winter 'ooH .----.-rr. To ra,ify il by call
ing a eoaJeu;ien At SsrinstTeIu cyi---I
Richardsen 1as there. NJ. James C. Allen,
SIR, William J t.!,-s. JUICE ITsTris. Che
TeA.ber from the Quincy r:istric;J were
there-n.thaps there were not four other
gon:,sment there, who possessed in any
higher degree than those four gentlemen,
the confidence OF the Democracy Of Illinois
explored the sentiments eff the ranl. and
Ht telfiers lfe ss ait;,c1hlntjsn informed 'nysef
o. the four gentlemen named. and am
confident the assertion. 3 true, IN point OF
fact, th,t these four gentlemen, and rire
ter:hs OF the con-eation were opposed to
the error embedded in the twenty third
resolution o! that convention. But that
resolution was neverlheles. PASSED. And
tia. the error committed the winter be-
fore, instead OF heirS rectifed ns was IN
tended, was mi ade consummate. After that
there Va. nothing left for the democratic
party to do but 10 lie aowI. and submit 70
the defeat tha. awaited them in October
aud November.
If the facts bave stated are we'll found
ed, the Democracy Of Illinois did not
really commit tho error OF sentiment EN-
braced in the 23d resolution but for all
the purposes 0: the then ensuing cam
pagn they were estonred from denying
that they had committed it, and the vigol
of The Republicans by both malice and
ambition, made the estoppel perfectly ef'
fec,iye But the position Of the l'emoo
racy is different from what it would have
been if they had really, by their senti
u,ents sanctioned the error OF the 20
resolution, because, what they are now Il
recover themselves from, is not the crrc
| embraced in that resolution, for that iHe,
sentiments have sactioned, but the unsai
| and dangerous, leadership, under which
| contrary to their own convictions. the
| wore ted into ap authentic sanction oil H.
The facts in regard to OHIO ware tn
saue Mr.. Vailandigham did MT repre-
sent the Democratic opinions OF shat state
it WA. avowed. by perhaps the most dis
tinruished gentleman who took the stun
in favor of his election, that he did no:
and that syowal probably Obtained NJ
yallandieham some thousands of vote
that he would not have otherwise received
lie wa. nominated solely ts vindicate
principle; and every man in the Unite
Statee know. what that principle was :
II was an error, undoubtedly, toattsmp.
vindicate a right principle by wrong m"a"
and in the case Of Ohio. as In that OF Ill
ncis the error to be repaired is not one
opinion. really committed, but ono
; Judgment in the means employed to "a
hold the c 1rrect opinions really entertain
r al The error committed in Illinois WI
~. n.r.,t of the error committed
, | ~. 4 hath fooefhpr we're Elorc tua