Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-10-06
THE ALBANY CONVENTION.

cd III the IOOlStepS OF Its lliuStT10uS prede-
cessors. For years it has been sitting upon
the shore bidding the humanity and honor
and decendency of the American people re-
tire. And now that its ridiculous command
is lost in the roar of the rising ocean of lib
erty and justice, it eonfesses that the tide
has risen. Having encouraged traitors and
stimulated civil war, it exhausted every
method of perplexing the Government and
disheartening the people, and on the eve of
the final and universal national triumph, it
exultingly declared the war failure and ma
tional ruin inevitable. The American people,
lnsFlted and indignant with one hand over
whelmed the enemy in the field, and with
the other utterly annIhilated at the polls the
whole line of the Democracy.
After a year Of CONSERVATION its stunned
and struggling columns begin TO stir But
as If to show its total rout, at one point it
proposes to reorganlze upon It's old basis. In
Ohio it asserts the very doctrines which the
country has denied in the victorious field.
1t means in Pennsylvania that if its coun-
sells had been needed it would be still alive.
But In New York-pld, en- Hispaaia with
the perfection of comedy it resolves that
its past history is to be found in the proud
est records of the country" especially in
IN the chapter entitled THE Chicago Plat
form; and shat it is ready to meet the
great questions of the future with the pa
triotism, fidelity to principle, and practical
wisdom that have characterized its long and
auspieious identification with the history of
the nation
There let us take breath and ask, as well
as inextinguishable laughter will allow, why,
in crisis of mortal peril, the American
people, to secure their national salvation,
utterly obliterated all this Democratic patri-
otism, fidelity, and practical wisdom And
history and the immediate memory of the
people answer, because it was the Patriotism
of Benedict Arnold, the fidelity of Judas,
and the practical wisdom Of Horatio Sey-
mour.
The Democracy" of New York having
thus complacently referred to the proud rec
ord OF their c0ntemptuous rejection by the
people, enthusiastically resolve to support
cordially President whom they are still
hoarse with denouncing as renegade and
traitor; whose election they deplored as a
national disgrace, comparing him to the
horse whom the Roman emperor made con-
sui and finally, this Pretorian guard of
slavery gravely announce that the abandon
ment OF slavery makes peace and Union pos
sible
Inc DulucFS OF 1dSJ year $ GllCagO lIat-
form having thus bolted it whole the reyi-
lers of the President having declared their
sincere attachment to him the lackeys of
slavery having thus grinned over its corpse !;
and the bitter opponents of the war having
duly cheered its happy and benefcent conse-
quences; the Democracy Of New York
proceed by the mouth of John A. Green,
one Of the most notorious Copperhead op-
ponents ofthe war in the State, to nominate
General Slocum, a Republican, distinguish
ed and honored soldier and the military
Governor of Mississippi, who has just sup
pressed the civil Governor authority.
His unanimous selection is followed by that
of LUcius Robinson, another Republican.
and one of the most honest and faithful off
GERS the State ever had; and his nomination
in turn is succeeded BY that of Martin Gro
yer, another Republican, who left the Dem
ocratlc party ten years ago, when its ''proud
record was characteristically illustrated by
the patriotism, fidelity, and practical wis
dom Of the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise.
Thus poor old King Canute yields to the
ocean which he can not command Thus
those who have Systematically betrayed the
principle of the Government surrender for
the time to those who. under whatever
name, have inexorably maintained it. Thus
the party which has thwarted progressive
civilization in America eats its own words,
abjures Its own acts, turns one complete
somersault, and its late face disappears.
The anti-American spirit which has SO
long dominated the Democratic party still
survives in the country. Its associations
are all with the name Democracy The or
ganization of the party remains; and al
though its leaders temporarily desert their
reactlonary and natural ground, they are
still the same, and the irresistible tendency
of human nature will compel them to reoc-
cupy it at the earliest practicable moment
That profound faith in the moral righteous
ness and political wisdom of fair play for all
men, which is the handspring of progress
sive American civilization, will never, under
any probable circumstances, be found in the
Democratic party, but in its antagonists In
every country there is a constant tendency
to intelligent progress and an opposition 10
it. This makes the eternal Tory and Liber-
al parties of all civilized nations and the
American Democracy is the American Tory
party. 1t is useless to say that it was not
formerly SO, or that it ought not now to be
so. We must deal with facts The true
party Of the people In this country might
have been called the Democracy, but the
opportunity was lost The name was sur
rendered, and the organization is not in the
hands OF those who sincerely love liberty,
and in no other hands can the party Of pro-
gressive liberty be safe.
The ignorance and prejudice of the coun-
| try, the rabble of cities, and the aristocrats
in feeling, all gravitate to the party known
as the Democracy. The intelligence. the
industry, the steady, elevated purpose Of
the country, gravitate to the opposition.
| There are unprincipled and corrupt men in
all parties; but the character Of parties
themselves is radically different Thus the,
great eras Of true progress in this country
have been those in which the Democratic
policy was overthrown. To the Democracy
we owe, in late years, the repeal Of the Mis-
souri, Compromise, the efforts Of slavery to
perpetuate itself, the Dred Scott decision
the vitality of State sovereignty, and the
armed insurrection of slavery against free
Government.
To the opposition, under whatever name,
Free e-soil, Republican, or Union, we owe the
education of the public mind and conscience
which has produced emancipation and es-
tablished the Union upon the eternal rock OF
Justice The Democracy delights to call it
self conservative But its conservatism is
merely dry-rot; and no intelligent American
can believe that the country would stand as
nobly eminent as it does at this moment il
the Democracy had remained in power.
Therefore it is useless to sacrifice substance
to shadow, or TO bewail name. He is not
a very wise man who supposes that resis-
I g -