The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-11-25
THE TRUE FUNCTIONS OF AN OPPO.
SITiON PARTY.

From tie Time.
The decentralization produced in the Democratic
party by the recent victories at the polls is so
great, that many Of its members propose throwing
down their arms aud coming over to the Repub-
lican camp; or, at all events, dessting hereafter
from all criticism Of any kind upon the Govern
ment or its policy. We confess, much as We
would value unanimity, VIC do not desire to see
, Il brought about In this way.
We think an opposition is almost as necessary
in Constitutional State as an Administration;
and the fault we have found wi h the Democrats
was rot that they constituted an opposition, bat
that that opposition was Of the kind Il was We
DO not believe that as long as human nature re-
mains what tt is, any body Of men can safely be
! trusted with power, and at the same time
shielded from all criticism upon their manner of
using IL. LtbeIty cannot De preserved, nor
economy OF efficiency secured, without the eNer-
Il cise OF a somewhat suspicious vigilance on the
part Of some portion Of the public.
IL Wts not, therefore, merely because they
found fault, that the Democrats brought thcn-
selves 70 ruin and confusion, but because they
did nothing else but find fault; not because they
were in opposition, but because they opposed
everything the Government did or proposed 20
do-gOOd, bad, and Indifferent. Opposition OF
this Llnc Is what Is termed iaCtiOus and when
carried on in time Of war, inurgs % the benefit
!. not Of the country, hut of the public enemy.
- To call perlonul abuse of the President, open
mitigation 70 armed resistance 10 the laws, the
circulation Of ISLANDERS against tho army anl L 8
oihcers, the distortion of all news, the misrCprc-
scntation Of every act of the Administration the
constant encouragement Of all euistments the
shgmatzing before the country the lawful cXer-
else OF his prerogatiyo by the President such as
the dismissal OF general whom he deemed
incompetent, rs an outrageous and uniuetihible
act the steady and vigorous justification of
the conduct Of men who were in arms for the de-
suuotion of the GOyernmont-to call all these
things acts OF legitimate constitutional opposition
IS an insult to common sense; aud il is from
these things, and not trem criticism, that we hope
Democrats will now refrain, for they have so far
had no result except to encourage the enemy,
and degrade the nation in the eyes Of foreigners,
and paralyze its efforts TO put down the Re-
bellon.
Then many of the doctrines they have put for
ward have been dangerous TO Constitutional
Government, and have been recognized as such
by the country ut large. Their constant assertion
that General Mcclellan had right to the COM
maRd Of the army, and that President Lincoln
had no right TO remove him. no matter what
opinion lie entertained of his capacity or conduct,
was most mOustrOus and revolutionary doctrine,
which, If it bad received any COuntcnanCe from
the country, would certainly have been the first
step towards elcyatng the military above the
civil authority raising the army above
the law.
OF the same character has been the assertion
that the United States could not act directly on
persons in raising an army for their own defense
but must resort 10 the Old Confederate plan of
calling on the States for contributions OF men.
The acknowledgment of such a rule as this
would, of course, have reduced the Union at
once TO mere parchment and insured its down
tall at no very distant dav.
II they will give up these yagaries now, give
up the violence Of language by which they have
disgraced themselves and the country, and con.
fine themselves to honest and calm criticism of
the conduct of the Government, while fairly re-
CogniZng the war as lawful and necessary they
will constitute n real Opposition, whose services
to the country may be very valuable. But to
secure any influence, they mus. first satisfy the
public that they really seek the same patriotic
ends that we do, though by different means
That is the characteristic ofa Constitutional Op-
position; the characteristic of faction is that it
tries to defeat the ends by every means whatever,
even the destruction of the Government itself.