Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1864-09-20
The Principles and Purposes of the Chicago
Party

/
to get possession Of the government for the next
four years.
Whit do these politicians vantP
They say, in their platform Of principles, that
they want peace and Union. These are easy to
obtain. There will be no difficulty in the way
Of making peace with JEFF. Davis, and having
again union Of all the States, provided that
peace and union can be made on jeff Davis terms.
Peaceabe means "-provited the people of the
North are such sneaks as to give jeff Davis what
he asks-wiIl put an end to the war and bring
about union The South is ready now, and will
be ready any time to agree to Union with jeff.
DAVIS president; and it will make peace when such
a union is formed.
Is this the kind Of peace the Chcagotes want
| We believe it is For that Convention, how
ever disloyal and dishonest many if not most Of
ts delegates were was not composed Of fools.
They knew that an unmstakable war platform, an
undisgulsed war candidate, and declaration that
no terms could be offered to rebels but "uncon-
ditiona surrender" announced by their Conven.
lion, would have been greeted with immense en-
thusa.m, and would have been perfectly sure of
triumphant success in November. But there was
no war 10 the composition Of the Convention.
There was no desire or purpose in that body to
compel traitors to submit Internationally to the
| Constitution and laws Of the land. There was no
hatred Of jeff Davis and his confederates to be
expressed in resolutions or speeches. There was
10 wish or purpose Of nominating war candidate
actuating the delegates The Convention had 10
except against the legally constituted authorities
Of The Unicn which they mockingy proiessed
ldellty TO. Is there any doubt, then, what spirit
ictuated the assembage which threw away the
grandest opportunity which ever offered itself to
any party on this continent, Of winning great
political triumph on a patriotic war platform, and
instead Of that declared in favor of making peace
With treason, even at the risk Of political de.
icatP The Democratic party has never been
distinguished for It's devotion TO principles when
they stood in the way Of party success, but its
intense love Of Slavery, its admiration Of jeff
Davis, and its love Of traitors, proved at Chicago
too strong for even its love { the spos Of office
and can we then doubt what its purpose is if il
wins power on such principles' Will not the
peace that jeff Davis wants be the only peace
possible thenP viii the perfect agreement in prin-
cpe, and the perfect accord in sympathy, between
the Confederate authorities and the magnates
at Chicago lead to any other results Obviously
not. Men do not gather grapes Of thorns nor
figs Of ,hisllesi aud yet we should as soon ex.
pecl these results contrary to both nature and
scripture, as that the fruit Of the Chicago Con
yenlion would be the honor of our flag, the su-
premacy Of our Constitution, and the enforcement
OF our laws
But this negative evdence-what the CCnven-
ion di not dos net the strongest point in our
argument. As we have said above, the Conven-
ton were not fools, and the committee on resolu-
tons were not IDIOTS. They knew something of
the force Of the English language. And that
committee, aud the Convention after them, de-
cared that the experiment of war to restore
the Union has fileI, aud that peaceable means
only henceIorth must be resorted to-not to re-
store the Unon,-mark the phraseology,- to
restore "peace on the basis OF the federal Union
Of the States" The Convention did not say on
the basis Of the Union, the constitution and the
enforcement of the laws" nor did it say, " on
the basis Of the Union as it was" but it carefully
selected the expression federal Union OF the
States" an expression which needs but tnaing
amendment to read confederate Union OF the
States" Words are things, and in that express
sion, federal Union Of the States" is partly
hidden, partly revealed, and clearly embodied,
Calhoun'S and Davis fatal doctrine Of State rights,
secession, and all their hideous train Of weakness,
revolution and anarchy
Nor is this verbal criticism all there is to prove
that the union which the Chicago Convention de-
sired,is not union under our present Constitution.
|
mate Convention Of the States says the plat
form. Such Convention can only be called " on
the apple ton Of the legislatures of two thirds
Of the several States," to quote the language Of
The Constitution, The legislatures of twenty
three States must therefore agree to this method
of subduiug treason, before such Convention can
have legal existence This would take year at
least,--lor The Chiclgoites didn't expec, that it
would be resorted to until after the fourth Of
March next, aud after a" cessation of host tes;
aud it WAS therefore apty styled an " ultimate
Convention Blu, suppose the difficulties in the
and the body actually assembled, what could it
do2 1t could not restore the Union on the basis
OF the present Constitution, because the very call
for the Convention presumes that the present
Constitution is defective. What amendments then
would the Chcagoites proposeP Does any sane
man doubt that, if Valhndgham, Seymour and
Mcclellan were members OF that Convention,
their first inquiry would be " What will satisfy
our present adyersaries 4" i" How can we make
hem frienisP" Aud does anybody doubt what
jeff DAVIS and his eonfederates would demand IN
such Convention Would they ask anything
less than a full recognition of State rights, as
Calhoun understood State rights, and as Jackson
also understood them when he put bis ron foot
On the doctrine, and only regretted ailersard that
he had not also srongej Calhoun himself2 This
,he leaders al Chicago, aud the Democratic man.
ayers elsewhere, understand perfectly, and they