Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-07-26
Tilden A Secessionist.
d From the New York Times.

In 1860 Mr. Tilden, who had for
years been one Of the most supple and
plant tools of the slave power, distin-
guished himself by extraordinary eff
forts to prevent the election of Mr..
Lincoln. He attacked every idea and
principal lpon which the Republican
party was founded, as false in theory,
as wrong in morals, and certain to be
h,ost disastrous in their results. He
asserted the right of the stakeholder to
take his human chattel into any of the
territories of the United States, and was
pre- eminently the champion of that
hldeOus system whose triumph in this
country would have been the end of all
liberty, of all humanity, of all progress,
Of all that characterizes Christian civ
ilization.a He not only asserted the
right of the shareholders to take their
human chattels wherever they pleased,
but the denial of such rights entitled
the slave holding state to snap the tie
that held them within the Union, as a
nation could break treaty or repel in
vasion. We have now before Us one
of his efforts, a pamphlet under the
date of October 18th, 1860, addressed
to the Hon. William Kent, then Elec-
tor on the Democratic ticket for the
state of New York, in which he held the
following language:
3 The single slender, conventional tie
which holds the states in confederation has
no strength compared with the compacted,
INTERVIEWING fbres which bind the atoms of
human society into one formation of nation
al growth. a 1o a aa
1.-The masters of political science who
constructed our system, preserved the state
governments as bulwarks for the freedom of
individuals and localities, against oppres-
sion from centralized power. They rtcpg-
nized no right of constitutional SECESSION
but they left revolution, organized aUhen 1t should
De demanded by the public opinion of state; left
1t a0'th over to map the tie Of confederation, as
nation natgh1 break treaty. and to repel coer
cioaa as a nation might repel invasion they
caused us to depend, In great measure, upon
the public opinion of the states, in order to
maintain confederated union. They in
tended to make it necessary for Us, iii every
reasonable extent, to respect that pubic
opinion. s9 d vss I'll. IA
/" AS rule of right and duty for the con-
struction and execution of the constitution,
the theory maintained by Mr.. Seward and
too extensively accepted, is entirely falla-
clouS, ao 10 cOutraCI governing COM pllcated
transactions or relations between men, and
applying permanently through the changes
inevitable inhuman affairs, can be effectnal
If eithe party is intended to be bound by it
is at liberty to construe or execute its pro-
visions in spirit of hostility to the sub
stantial objects of these provisions. Espe-
ciatly IS this true Of compact Of coafederatioa.
betaOeeaa the states aoere there can be no common
arbster invested Nth authorities and aoacers
equally capable NTH those whcch courts possess
betaOeeas andividUab for determining and e,nc-
tng just construction and ereca4tion of the IN
strttDoe7at." ! We eIef1saA UoG ~8& 125a
J There cannot in the whole Of Cal
nouns works be found more concise
and terse statement of the right Of each
state to secede at will from the Union,
Its opinion is its law. Washington
stated the opposite theory with equal
terseness when he said that /" influence
is not governm ent." Are we any better
prepared to accept Mr.. Tilden's theory
of the nature Of our government than
we were sixteen years ago. araa aea
B1aine's Letter to His Constituents.
Mr.. Blaine has written the following
letter to his constituents of tLA Third