St. Mary's gazette., 1866-08-23
The PHILADELPHIA Convention

The plllaQeipHih OousNueo-
Tb;s BODY ha. adjourned, md th'
country is now engaged III making up
ver,lict upon is labors We nave NJ n
miscivings 81 to what that verdict VII
he Radicslism is Doomed The jr'
has gone forth and we realize at last
that the end OF our civil strife has been
reached. Yes, the war that never should
have had beginning. is ending or has
ended. If one small tithe Of the mod
eYs,ion, forbearanee. compromise ana
patriotism which appears to have govern
Cd the deliberations Of the Philadelphia
Convention bad been exhibited when the
Cr;ttenden Resolutions were on their TIL
,l-wben it was possible to have pre-
vented the war-this country had been
spared four years of the most terrible
csrnage and devastation the world h1s
ever seen. At that critical period OF
our history, however, unfortunately ter
Us all, many Of the gentlemen WHO are
now for healing wounds we're then for
making them, and war and blood and
ruin were the consequence. Bat let by-
cones be by-goncs. We cannot recall
th. dead from the grave, but we may
assuaye the wounds Of the liyns, ami
sbovc all, we can, if We work N goou
faith together, restore, III spite OF fa''i-
c.,i,m. the Southern St tcs 10 thc NJ
ion without degrading them.
This we understand to have been thy
main object for which the philadelphia
Convention was assembled, and tins OBJ
iect, wo need not state to our readers
we heartily approve. 1t involves, OF
course, the repeal Of the congrcSslolaIsHi I
test oath and the consequent admission
70 seats in Congress of the real repre-
sentative men of the South. This IS all
that any. democrat could have asked OF
the Convention aud beyond this We do
not conceive that any democrat Is bound
The relation subsisting between the Penn
ocr,ts and the conservative Republicans
in this contest, we take to be ana agous
20 that os the allies in their F'latc wa 1
against Austria. They were, pcndlnS the
war. anti- Austrian. Pending the pres
ent campaign, wc are antirauiral, but
We still main, ain our distinctive faith anu
VIC hold our primary allegiance to be due
TO tho Democratic party alone. Ser1icr t
undcr contract, We indeed owe to the Phil /
adelphia Convention, but this is limitcd, |
eneci6c and not intended 70 be permanent.
1t will expire when TIE Southern States
shall have been restored TO the Union or
when radicalism shall have been over
thrown in the country This, at least Is
our view of the obligation which as demo-
Gratis we owe to our Philadelphia allies =
We have made. therefore, and intend to
make no pcrnapcnt investment in the
Philadelphia Convention. and We sthl ad-
Asse 20 the old Democratic party and the
nd democratic faith. The truth is, though
10 are willing and intend to fight this
contest through. now we are in for it upon
tho Philadelphia programme, we hike not
The strong Hamiltonian projections OF Mr.
RAYMOND His mosaic performance, halt
pig and half puppy, however acceptable
70 others, is distastcful to us. 1t is much
too strongly pcppered with Federalism to-
suit our plain democratic palate We StlIi
believe in Mr.. J,ferSon, and though, III
view of recently accomplished results, Nc
may be prepared to surrender something I
ofhis high State sovereignty theories we are
no. prepared to give up the snbstantlvcIar-
.;eIsx Of the creed he has left us, and es
pecisllv are we not disposed to give them
up for New England Federalism. Nor
neither. We are certain, is the democracy
Of the country We enter, therefore. With
the democratic party iuto the service OF the
Philadelphia Convention. renouncing moth
ing material Of our old faith and committing
to nothing but the overthrow @;
radicalism and the restoration Of the South
ern States TO their proper Constitutional
relations with the Union We expect, Of
course. for the present, to fight side hy
side with Mr.. Raymond, bat we wish 1t
understood shat~ he is no prophet of ours
or Of our party, that We still maintain our
iptcgri,y as democrats and still abate noih- +
ing Of our ancient hostility and antason'Sm
70 the doctors and doctrines OF fedcrai +
rm