New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-08-25
PARTIES.

The New York Evening Post and the New
York Times are very anxious that there should
be two parties in the South. The fact that
there is only one party, is held by the Post,
to be conclusive evidence of an absence of
that freedom of discussion, and collision Of
opinion, which generally characterize en-
hghtened and progressive communities. In
one sense the Post is right In another sense
the Post is lamentably wrong. 1t is undoubt-
edly true that the existence of parties is as
general rule, an indication of healthy inteIec-
tual action but it by no means follows that
unity of opinion is not sometimes necessary,
or at least inevitable, especially in communi-
ties which are menaced, as to their presumed
rights and interests, by external and hostile
influences. Ifthe people of the South, or Of
Louisiana for instance, are unanimous, ornearly
unanimous in their views of federal politics.
that unanimity of opinion does not imply
dreary intellectual sameness, or a servile in
tellectual subseryiency; but it simply indi-
Gates the notorious fact that parties i'll this
country are divided by sectional lines.
Louisiana thinks that her rights, her inte-
rests and her prosperity are menaced by the
dominant party at the North. Consequently,
she allies herself with that party which is
willing to defend those great principles Of
public liberty in which she supposes her
rights, interests and prosperity to be in
yolYed. In other words her people belong to
one of the great parties in the country, and
| are opposed to the other party. It is only
natural that the questions arising out of
sectional war should produce this re-
suit, just as the questions (which led
to the sectional war were accompanied with
similar but less distinctly marked phenomena.
So fan from the unanimity Of Southern opinion
at this time being an evidence Of enervated
thought, it is only such unanimity that af-
fords any hope for the maintenance Of the
Union Oh the plan Of State sovereignty, and
for averting the serious danger Of consolida-
ton and Capitalization that now menaces the
country. The Post must know that the pres
sure of a dominant section upon a weaker
section, necessarily has the effect of forcing
into cohesion the elements of opinion in the
threatened section, thus producing that unity
OF sentiment and action Of which the Post
and the Times so unreasonably complain.
We do not doubt but that the plan
Of "nationalizing the Republican party"
so earnestly recommended by those
papers, would. be extremely agreeable and
serviceable to their party, if, only, it were
practicable. But it is impracticable simply
because the process Of effectively Matchmaking
the Republican party would effectually dena-
tionalize the Democratic party-and the Dem
ocratic party is the organization on which the
South mainly depends for assistance The
following remarks of the Post in reference to
this point, contain as much of sophistry as
we have ever seen concentrated in an equal
number of words
Party politicians and party journals naturally
look at this subject from peculiar and prejudiced
stand point, We who are interested not in the
success of any party, but in the establishment of
right principles and sound policy can see what
perhaps is not so plain to journals like the Tri-
bune, Times and World--that it is extremely i'm
pOrtant first of ALL to establish two parties in the
southern States, where party government has
been Tor many years almost unknown, and where
selfish and INSCRIPTIONS politicians are at this very
time engaged in schemes to prevent the establish
ment OF any second party.
It is indisputably true that the existence of
the Republican party renders desirable the
existence of another party; but it is likewise
true that the sectional character of that party
necessarily induces certain degree of sec
tionalism i'll the adverse party--at least so far
as it conpels the South to unite itself, en-
n5aSse with one of the great party organi-
cations It is, likewise, important to the
Republican party to establish itself in the
South; but it is quite as important to the
adverse party that the Republican party should
not be established in the South. Such a con-
summation might destroy the sectional char
acter which parties now possess; but it
would likewise annihilate those differences of
opinion which the Post considers so healthfu
and. desirable. The Matchmaking OF the
Republican party would simply be equiva-
lent to suppression Of all adverse senti-
ment, and to the complete subiugation Of
what would then be, not only the minority
sectionally, bat the minority nationally. Per-
haps, after this explanation of our views the
Post will understand why we desired that
only Democrats should be sent from Louisi-
ana to the Philadelphia convention.