New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-08-19
AnvxCE TO CHICAGO.

/
is the Chicago Convention; his object TO 500"
! that Convention how to dodge the great Issue oi
our time so as to win Office by prcyarieati'h ana
concealmont as to vital principlc. Thc aud"c'''
Of his aim is not parallelod by tho briiliancy oi
his achievement.
Do tba Urited States constitute one Nation
possessing the right to maintain and de'cn.' Ito
own existence and integrity against ar'hcu u.s.
soilants from without or within3 VIGOROUSLY
this is The graycst and greatest question whlch
has ever divided our people. certain solution
may bo oiyen TO it by the sword; but, however
the existing War may result, the question will
remain. Ii is the question mcmorably deba1eu
hv Webster and Haync, and which aTrayed
Jackson and Calhoun in ombittcred antagonlSm'
In or day, it has drenched the whole land III
fraternal blood
l. the State above the Nation Or rather
Are the States SO many different Nations only
held together by tho continuous consent Oh
each1 Secession assumes that they arc-that
Florida for example, which we bought o, SPAN
for Five Millions of Dollars, had perfect right
whenever erected into State, to secede ana
thereby render herself wholly independent OF
the UDion-nay, to unite herself directly
to Spain, leaving us minus our S5,0OV,ooo ana
whatever money we may meantime have spent
on her harbors, lighthouses, navy yard, dry
docks, surveys Of public lands, &c. 80 LonISl-
ana. for which we gladly paid $l5,OOO,OOO had
according to this theory-a perfect right 10
leave us aud 90 back to France from the mo
ment that she became State or States. JeH
Davis officially declares the Federal Government
but "an agent" OF the several Statcs-an agent
with powers revocable at the will OF each pr'nci-
nal He terms Secession "the dissolution OF
n leerue." If this is sound doctrine, then we
who uphold the Union are the guilty authors
and upholders of an aggressive, unjustihabie
war on the South. fit is-as we most undonpi-
edly believe it-utterly bascless and p1ntediy
condemned by the letter and the spirit, The ms
: tory and the genius Of our Federal CONSTITUTION
/ then the Southern Rebellion is as wanton and
wicked a crime as bad men ever perpetraicd.
. Between these two positions, there Is no
, halting.plsce. Even Mr.. Curtis does not find
one. As disciple and lifelong admreE OF
: Daniel Webster, he should not desire to find
one. Yet he maunders through three leaden
columns in eager quest Of some common
ground whereon secessiOnists in principle and
1 their radical amupVdo, can DO brought 10 act
9 together in the approaching election. Know
. ing that very large proportion of his new
political associates concur in fundamental prin.
) ciple with Calhoun and jeff Davis-arc peace
men expressly on the ground that State can
not legally be "cOerced that the War for
: the Union is therefore radically wrong-he Ia
= bors to cojole fire and water into loving accord
and cooperation by such logic as the following
! 1T Is immaterial now. In my view. whether tho
Southern revolt rs called an effort at revolution, or
, called by any any other name. II is not yet coneum
mated; and no principle III honor duty expedcncy
prevents from hindriHg its final consunmation BY
endcayOring persuade those who have CmDnfkedu IL
that il is necessary their safety and happiness
But If We are to that they will insist It's final
contamination. unless lag tie right OF state scces
son at the basis Of system, tho case Is hopeless
know Of no policy and can conceive Of no statesman
ship that viii help or help them. " that Il 20 be
the result for believe such agreement the part
OF the people Of the North and TIE West is mpOs ble
Nor do believe that intelligent and farseeing southern
statesmen viii insist upon it. They have seen thet the
assertion Of the right Of secession right implied ia
resulting from the Union. whether they had provoca
ton or did not have IT, has plunged the country into
civil that has been disastrous to them IL has
been to u.s. AS means OF preventing or checking the
aggression OF Northern aboitOnsts The right of seces
sion. acknowledged as principle in new Union.
womb he utterly worthless TO the south Und not.
therefore, that the democratic party ought tO
base it, policy and aciOn upon tho assumption that the
South viii make settlement with us tbat does not
admit that right At oil events. II such should IN
the end be their determinations ii will not DO wise
for TO anticipate it, by returning from rendering
the Constitution II made by their fathers and
ours leaving the pefmanency Of the Union to depend
as ii always depended upon the chances Of successful
revelation. 10 which ell governments must DO and
exposed.
Whoever is to be the candidate OF the Chicago Con
venton whether he ~ IT, be taken from those who
arc dcnOmnacd War Democrats or from among those
who known as Peace Democrats, or from nehcr-f
earnestly hope that nc VIII be hsMpercd by no Stringent
platforms respecting the precise methods by winch q
peace is 20 Dc obtained The mission II the bemocraiic
party II seems to me. il to rescue this cOuntry-is
whole c0untIyfrom It's pesenl amcGtab!e oOhc,tlon.
and to give Restored Union. II VIII IN
possible respectfully contend. for popular
convention 10 foresee and provide for the faetods by
which tins vast and complex result BE- reached. The
human mind has had 10 grasp greater problem.
Things hat may now seem to us practicable VIII be
gfGpple with the difficulties Of the case, utterly im-
practicable Difficulties which now look formidable 20
us may disappear be approaches them. The wisest
thing that tbs convention can do will DO to onunciae
clearly few simple principles looking TO the integrity
OF the country under the existing Constitutions 20 select
some able courageous and high principled man its
candidate in whom the people confide and then 10
nominate him with such unanmity will strengthen
his hands with oil the Intellectual aud NOR !, resources
which great and patriotic party confer upon him
&C. T.. c.
The American people arc here called to take
refuge from suffering and peril in cowardly
ambiguity-to adjourn or ova1e the main ques.
ton now urgently requiring solution and settle
mcnt-to let all the bloodshcd and deya9tation