The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-08-26
State Rights Doctrine at Home and Abroad

This is the season of Conventions, and they
IRE multiplying upon us with marvellous ra-
pidty. The "school" of them held at Bangor
recently, though differing somewhat 10 tht
eye, viii yet, on close examination, DC iounU
TO have an astonishing resemblance TO eaeh
other. They are plainly specimens oi 'he
same genus. The resolutions passed. ps tht
State Convention are remarkable as embody-
inn no princinle except the NEEDY knife grind
or" one of Recommending themselves for pow
ar From the mass of glittering generaliies.
and patriotie protestations which, after many
aerce throes, the Convention succeeded il
bringing forth, we can extract but this ore
cenuiue and unaffected idea. OF the sincerit,
aud genuineness of this plank in their plat
form, there can be no reasonable doubt. Al
beyond is false and hollow as the claim of this
sssemblage of worn out party hacks of every
political stripe to represent the position and
principles of the Democracy Of Maine. The
district and county conventions have the mer-
it of being more outspoken. They avow the
rebel doctrine OF Estate rights" which in
wolves the rgh. Of secession, deny the consti.
tutionality of the wsr, aud the right to "eo-
cree a sovereign 5 ate thus deliberately
planting themselves On Jetf Davis ground,aud
making that now an open which has from the
first been rirtudl alliance with the authors
Of the rebellion. But this boldness is just
what we like to see. We are all tired of the
"Good Lord, ""Good Devil utterances of this
party 10 the months which are gone. To say
nothing of the present being the more respec-
table because the holder course, it has the ad
diiional advantage OF being understood by the
dallest.
Other States besides Maine are going extern
sively into this business of conventions.
body claiming 10 represent the democracy o.
Illinois have recently held meeting at Peoria,
where they passed series of resolutions
strongly resembling some OF these OF Bangor,
aud embodying In addition the monstrous doc
trine that the administration of Mr.. Lincolu
having "denied to sovereign States all consti
tutional rights has thereby dbsotued them from
all dliegi0nces.r In Syracuse, the other day,
the peace democracy Of New York held con
yention which was addressed by VallaDdig-
| ham and Fernando Wood, ard in which they
called upon the people TO obtain suspension
I of hostilites, enioined on the Chicago Con-
vention to nominate peace candidates, de
nounced the war as waged against the rights
OF the South, and especially thanked those
I who have stood up for these principles and
declared for peace, promising that their SER
/ rices shall be recorded ,cheR The democratic
/ partg shall be reinrested nth The reins Of
! government" In other words, If these north
| ern traitors will but lend their aid to the
southern rebels in destroying the best consti-
/ tntiunal government under the sun, they shall
/ have their reward in the rich "loot" which
4 will abound when that fair fabric lies in ru-
! insi
/. Is manifest that the resolutions of these
! meetings though they may differ in the more
or less ambiguous statement of their princi-
Piles, y do really sound the same key. Ifany
one OF them is equivalent to six, each of the
others is expressible by. hall a dozen. They
/ all alike demand an immediate suspension Of
I hosiiities as preliminary TO yielding TO the
/ rebels all they have ever claimed. They all
/ denounce the government but never the re-
! bellion. But most especially there is discern
1 able through all their utterances, despite thu
greater or less degree Of verbisge, in which
/ they have chosen to envelope 1t, the Calhoun
doctrine OF State rights, tue theory that, II.
/ spite OF mathematics, The whole is not greater
than any of its parts but that each of the parls
is greater than the whole. 1t is at last appa-
/ rent that the pseudo democracy OF today de
4 Iiberatels takes the nnsiiinn that The rahels
are right and The government is wrong, that
the Union is but rope Of sand which any
| State may break at will, that the maiorit,
have not the right TO rule since the most in
significant minority may at any time set it,
will at defiance. and the government of the
United States is destitute Of the very first oil
human rights, the right of selfprotection.
For eighty years that government, combir-
I ing the fullest representation with a strong
central power, has enjoyed an unexampl, d
prosperity; and we now see it brought almost
/ TO the verge ofruin by an attempt TO exchange
I this integral character which has been the
/ source of its greatness fer mere compact at
viii, which would reduce it from a mighty ma
tion to mere horde ofpetty States each pow.
erless to command Tor itself either safety OF
I respect. Ii it were possible to conceive OF
such thing as an honest patriot among these
/ democratic leaders, we might wonder at his
blindness in failing TO read such lesson as
/ this. 1t is certain that lis teachings have not
I been lost upon the people of other countries.
Two great and powerful natiopaities, the one
/ in the new the other In the old word, reading
in these things the value of union, are seek
in, to secure for themselves the very thing
these men are so anxious TO throw away.
namely. strong central government Our
/ Canadian neighbors, tired OF divisions and
! qnarrels, are aiming 10 gather up those scat
tered elements OF strength now y ing waste in
( DISCONTINUED provinces, and uniting them I'M
! government, to lift themselves from the state
| ofmere colonies into the Iank of nations. The
| Canadian union is probably thing decree6,
and Canadian independence must follow in
time, when the United States will have On her
northern borders nation kindred ia origin,
language and customs, rivalling her in the
friendly race Of development and civilization,
and two closely connected with her by COM
munity OF pursuits and interests to make such
near neighborhood other. than productive OF
mutual good. In the old world the case Of
Germany affords a striking example Of the
value Of institutions resembling our own
The German Empire, bound in close consti-
tutional union, held for centuries tie fret
rank in Europe, and was able to give the law
to all Christendom. Ia an evil hour she gave
up this'strongeentral government, the En-
pire was suffered TO fall in pieces. and weak
ly held Confederation, just such thing as
these State rights fellows would pursuade us
TO substitute for the glorious Union of cur
EatIaor. t.oi. 49, ~. ..-----I-