The weekly standard., 1870-07-20

| carry DcmOcfdIlc phTLy lntO SUCH power as
to give effect to its doctrines, and the XIVth
| and XVIII Amendments should be repealed, those
| who are now disposed to give credence tolthe
address as binding that party, may well blush to
find that their crcdulity was so great upon a
| question so momentous. An address OF less
than one third of the representatives, of the State
| called together for no such purpose, and
| echoed by few county conventions, never did
| bind party For that, is required an assembly
sitting, as the law books say in regard to cofpo-
| rations, sin,I et sen,ot. Such is, no less, good
sense than law What was said in public
| should in public have been unsaid; there should
have been debate, confronting, DELHI ;raiion
| and solemnity. The great men of the State
| should have lelt themselves called upon to as
| senible. For it is a matter concerning peace
| and good order-the peace OF the poor and un-
protected, the good order and prosperity OF all
classes! The excuse of the poverty of the Con-
servativc party, put forth in the Address, is but
pcor one. They are not poorer now than in
1865 What was sacrificed in order to excite the
public, might, with better auspices, have been
sacrificed once more, for peace sakcl
However, we are under the necessity of treat
ing tie Address as a platform OF principles 1t
is all that we have; and the present campaign is
to be carried OH upon it. Let us give it our
attention:
First then; as regards national affairs. Having
been educated for three generations in the art Of
self government, there are certain maximsi as
regards the action of parties, which id any dis
cusssion of public matters, before the people may
bereferred to as universally understood and acted
upon. Government by party machinery, is a
well understood part of the Republic. No rel
erence to 1t is TO be found in our Constitution,
or our Codes, but, for all that, practically, it is
of an importance second to no element in our
s psSd T. a sf assftfsRs z s M
tails, and the principles indeed, ot the govern
ment. In order that they may not be deceived
in their information, they ought to be well
informed as to the mean, by which they derive
it. If they have no just view of the scope and
design, say, of party platform, they will greatly
err in their deductions thererom as
part of this scope and design, lay it down that
an address, like the one before us, which is de-
signed for, and appealed to. as party platform,
is significant az. well for what it oniits to say,
as for what it pronOunccs. in regard to current
matters of public interest. The trainers OF a
party platform for State arc under necessities
that do not cucumber stump speaker confined
to one locality in such State. They have to ut
ter opinions which may be acceptable IN a
hundred counties, he can indulge his rhetoric
whenever it docs not conflict with the opinions
OF one. Where i party succeeds, it involves the
success OF its State platform, and no more, or
less. This is well understood. That which par
ticular gentlemen may advocate outside of that
platform, is practically of no Importance, in
party sense. The main question is, what does
the party, through Its organ of specch-its party
platlOrm,-asser. or deny? The rest is mere
Babel OF confusion: thousand tongues in q
thousand different townships If you bear in
mind the necessity under which every party
feels itself of saying at the very least, ali that
can be said in attack ot the principles, or the
practical administration of the opposition party,
you will be in state of mind proper to hear
what now have to say in regard 10 the ab
seuce of all alusion to the National administra-
tion in the present address Upon what prn-
ciple, other than that of inability to charge any
fault upon 1t that could be maintained in all
parts af the Statc,-can this be explained |
have right to say this. do say 1t. 1t is pre-
posterous to suppose that the vast topic OF Ma
tiona affairs, carried on for more than two years
by the Republican party, was overlooked. To
say that, would charge an reconsideration upon
the signcrs that would go far to prevent the paper
from bearing any Significance even p State affairs
In such caseit would be regarded as altogether
unsOlenn. There would be nothing in it to
soothc the fears of q child, much less to allay
Just apprehensions entertained by thousands OF
men, inside and outside of the State, as regards
the tndlterable VOWS of the party at its birth. l
will not attribute such lightness to this paper
The only true alternative is the one which ac
cept, that party about to inaugurate a cam
paign which, in the event OF its success, was to
rebuke the Republican national administration,
has found itself at iault Tor any word of censure
upon that administration. Certainly very sin
guar, if not an unprecedented circumstance !
This or that advocate of the party may have his
themes for invectivc, and these themes may vary
with every county boundary, but the purity
tongue is deliberately mute. Such guerilla war
fare may be distressing, but it is not effective;
and it is to be regarded with suspicion by the
people. For, let them ask themselves, as the
persons chiefly interested, what better admins
tration of the affairs of the nation can they eX-
pect, than to which its opponents are
consciously silent? l may not admire all that
has been done no man may; but when the
gent question is as to carrying on summers
campaign, along the whole line, silence is, to
admit impregnability! Accepting this silence
as an admission, shall trouble you upon this
topic NO fnrther than TO say that ahc TACT of this
campaign, the proposal to trouble tins commu-
nifty by political discussion is somewhat incon
sistent with the admission. The contrast between
the conclusions to be drawn from the exist tencc
of the party, and its action, upon the one hand,
and its professions, upon the Other is singular
one, and not to be reconcilcd with perfect can
dor, or an absolute conviction that its success
does not involve 4 disturbance of public tran
guilty.
l have already taken occasion to remark upon
the informality of the confession made by the
Democratic or Conservative party as 10 its faults
in regard to the political equality OF the colored
man. Something more remains to be said i'll
this same cGnneXion.
The party announced this as in effect its only
point of difference with the Republicans in 1865.
II was the great theme for eloquence in March
and April OF that year, and the hope of reversing
the verdict OF tho Spring, gave very anOIna
lous character to the Presidential election in
November. Strike out all that was said about
the negro and his friends during these campaigns,
and the contest loses every particle of interest
or even of meaning. Now it seems to Inc that
when party loses its doctrines, it ought TO dis
solve. Here however We have party with
single doctrine, which is reported to have
annullcd that doctrine, but nevertheless contin-
ues in life says that ii is dead, for, in the true
sense it is the doctrine that gives the lfe-yct its
saying,sc--is being here to say so, affords grounds
for grave doubts whether it be true! 1.-The time
has been that when the brains were out the IN
would die ~ and so it has been with PARTIES
they necessarily dissolve with dSsoving doc
trinesl Why then is it not so here?
More than this How can party accompany
a confession of having erred in tue giavcst even.
with which our generation has been contempora-
ry, by q request of confidence for the iuiurei
1t is the most singular preamble for such pcti-
tion, that history supplies Remember! This
party, called Conservative or Democratic, sat
elite of the National Democratic party, is with
out descent pedigree! 1t calls itself, at times,
Democratic the view being to conciliatc favor
by a name which in past times wa6 itself power.
Whereas the counter observation is obvious
that the name ought not to concilatc persons
who believe in thingS-nOt namcs-and who sec
none of the substance Of the old Democracy
here; whilst upon the other hand, the name
itself should be no great inducemcnt for co opcr-
alton with mnay who are to be found III this
trnc, what is there to induce multitudes OF quiet
men in the State to continue cO-operation to
which they were perhaps coerccd by the ychc-
mence with which all outsiders were assaulted in
| 1868. May all such not conclude that the ext
gency for which they were assembled having
ceased-the fire which called the neighborS
together having run its course, what, in reason
is left for them to do is TO separate, and return
| to their respective homes. Can any but the
| class OF partizans continue to act with party
l1nl k1arN ht.tt, dam.
| thing which alter two years they admit was well
| done?
Within two years, 1t is said, by themselves that
| in this-not merely in the uncharitablc manner
| OF doing it, but in its very substance and mar
| row, they were wrong. When we consider
| who they were that composed the Democratic
Convention of 1858 in what schools they were
| educated to public life what wisdom they had
| gathered from reading and from reflection 10
| what experience they had attained what were
4 the great gifts OF nature to them; VIII was
| their interest in our society, and what their
wishes for their own fame and the good of their
| fellow -citizens-may We not eXclaim, without
| irrevercnce, in rejecting upon their recent con-
fession, "Where is the wisdom of.thc wise, and
| where is the understanding OF the prudent. ;
Let the confession be received and recorded
| for the benefit of the young, Us fresh page in
| the philosophy which teaches by experience, and
Us another lesson of charity for the opinions OF
others-but no: by any means, as trophy, or
any reasonaoie oasio lor request that a party,
born OF mistake, shall be placed in possession OF
political power. larSuc that the Conservative par.
ty alleges that it has advocated opposition to tie
political equality of the colored man because it
has been convinced that such opposition was
DrOng. This theory is the one most favorable
to that party. 1t may be suggested that it has
abandoned 1t, because hopeless. You arc too
familiar, my ow-citizens, with the careers OF
the old Wing and Democratic parties not to
know that one election, or the elections of one
or two, or a half dozen years, carry no proc
that particular position is hopeless The old
parties contcndcd ior certain principles, will
gether. The United States Bank, a Protective
Tariff, Free Trade, and the Sub-Treasury
are well remembered instances of this
We cannot believe that the elections o
1868 have convinced gentlemen who hav,
won their spurs in the old parties bcior,
the war, that it is lIopclcss 10 contest priucipl,
| which they hcliryc IL he Inurt..I - -,