The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-08-05
From the New Orleans Picay4n0'
History Corrected.

The New York Times Is necessarily pro-
claiming that the deroeratic party Is hope
lessly dead. and can never be resuscltated.
II was killed by it's devotion to slavery
Slavery is dead that party is deprived of
that element Of cohesion, and ought to dis
band itself and its members into some other
organization with another name, &C., &c. +.
If the party had no other principle, the
advice to them would be superhuous. They
would disband of themselves, without exhor-
tation from any quarter. If there was a
principle, above and distinct from the slave
~ question, a principle in which the topic of
slavery was only an unlucky incident, be-
cause unpopular, the removal of that Incl.
dent ought, on the contrary, to strengthen
their cause, and bind them together with
new hopes of success. If they should have
held that the defence of the rights of the
slave states under the constitution was as
much duty as the defence of any other
right recognized in the constitution, and
to be performed like any other duty enioin-
ed by that instrument, it ought not to be
sufficient reason for abandoning the view of
the constitution, out of which this sense of
obligation is created, because that obstacle
to its more general reception had been re-
moved, which consisted in the popular pre-
JUDGES against slavery. If their convictions
and views In favor of constituting the powers
IN the federal authorities in favor of local
and municipal rights, against the overshadow-
ing authority of a mighty centralized gov
eminent, were so strong as to include the
support Of local institution in the south,
which was so essentially at variance with
their own ideas and habits, they ought not
to be less strong when invoked to defend the
essential principles of free government, now
that these had become freed from any com
plication with facts, which they would have
been always glad to get rid of, if they could
only have persuaded themselves that they
had the right.
We do not, therefore, by any means agree
with the New York Times, that the demo
cratic party is under a necessity to disband,
because slavery, which was the heavy weight
1t had to carry, Is removed from its shout
ders. 1t is certainly bound to disband if its
protested principles ON these topics were in
sincere, and adopted only to win southern
votes for its candidates. This is Just the
point which is to be decided by it's action in
the present crisis of political affairs. Slavery
being gone, there is not the slightest reason
LETT why party maintaining the original
ideas on which the constitution was founded,
should not come frankly together and uphold
their convictions freely and unembarrassed
by the psrpetually recurring necessity of OPP
posing the barrier OF a constitutional obliga-
ton, reluctantly raised by food of popular
prejudices.
To sustain its view, the New York Times
is constrained to affirm that the democratic
party has always owed its political successes
IN the country to the 'slave power mean
ing by that, the vote of the slave holding
states. There would be nothing in this if It
were true, for it would only prove that Ger
tain political principles, maintained by a ma
lority. of The nation, were made to be a ma
lOrity by the votes of the southern states.
To object to this would be equivalent to the
declaration that the southern states ought
not to have had their proportionate share in
the government of the country; and that a
majority made up by southern votes was
something unconstitutional, and to be fought
against and resisted until majority could
be got up, made of the free states, which
would of course become instantly constitu-
tiOnal. N@ 1888 ~
But the facts Of the Times are misstated,
cooked up, to present a false conclusion.
One OF Its assertions is:
"Every democratic president since jackson,
has been elected by direct combination of the
democracy of the north with the slave power of
the SOUTH"
The democratic presidents elected since
jackson have been Van Buren,, Polk, Pierce
and Buchanan. The last only was elected
by a preponderance of the southern vote
In every other instance the candidate elected
had a majority of the votes from non-slave
holding states. Van Buren,, Jackson's sue
cessor, was elected in 1886. He received
the votes of New Hampshire, Maine, Rhod,
Island Connecticut, New York, Pennsylva
MIA, Illinois and Michigan-eight states, 10!
votes. The other five free states voted a.
follows For Gen. Harrison, Vermont, Nev
Jersey, Ohio and Indiana-45 votes. Fo
Mr.. Webster, Massachusetts-l4.
Of the thirteen free states, eight voted TO-
votes for Mr. Van Buren,, and FIVE voted 5!
votes against him. He had nearly two t
one in the free states. 1t is not true eithe
that he was the fayorite candidate of tn,
''slave power" In the thirteen slave-hold
ing states there were but 81 votes cast in hi
favor to 65 against him. In 1886, therefor,
the democracy of the north elected Mr.. Va
Buren, by vote of a majority of the nortl
His opponents were a majority at the sout
and a minority in the north &C y
Mr.. Van Buren, was defeated in 1910, wit
annajority.of votes against him north an
south.
The next democratic president elected wa
Polk, in 1874. Mr.. Polk received l03 vote
of seven northern states, viz Maine, Ne
Hampshire, New York, PENNSYLVANIA, Ind
aua, Illinois and Michigan. Mr.. Clay 5
votes in the six free states Of Rhode Isiant
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont. Ne
Jersey and Ohio. Mr.. Polk had, therefor
majority of the states and of the votes
the north. se
The "slave power" was divided, giving hi,
81 votes against 40, but only majority
one state Six southern states voted for M
Clay. E
General Taylor succeeded Mr.. Polk ov,
ademocrat, defeating Gen. Cass, the dem
cratic candidate, by Carrying e;obt of II
slave states and several OF The nsnoIlv dom
cratic states of the north. Yba 0sloye no,
err defeated the democrats in ls4e r.
Gen. Pierce was the next democra,;o ,,ro
ident. He had 296votes to d. for Gepar
Scott. lie received all the northern Stat,
but two, Vermont and Massac husetts, a,
all the southern states but two. Kentucl
and Tennessee. General Scott got mo
southern votes than he did northern votes
The slave power" did not make this pre-
dent, for Mr.. Pierce got votes enough in Il
north to elect him president by a majority
all the votes, if every other state had vot,
against him. He had l58 votes from d
free states, when l49 was majority ov
all. s sx SIS
In point of fact, Mr.. Buchanan. in lax
was the only one of the democratic pre,
dents, "smce Jackson" Of whom it can