The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-11-20
PAST REPuBLIcANIsMs
How a Party Changes Its Sentiments In Tweaty
Year.
For The Stark County Democrat.

Year..
For The Stark County Democrat
One stormy day, when VAS restless
and with little To do, l went to the gar
ret, and began to rummage among the
piles of Did papers there; papers of the
times before and during the war, stained
with the mold and BROWNIES of many
years. found it very interesting, as |
looked through them, to read the views
OF twenty years ago on themes which
are now making great deal of talk
among our political leaders and ne wspa.
pers, These papers were all Republican,
and l was greatly struck to find that
their opinions differed much from the
opinions of Republican papers of to day.
The first sheet that l read was copy
of the Cleveland Morning Leader, of April
IA, 1859. In it was an account of a trial
Of man for violating the Fugitive Slave
Law, in which Judge Spaulding counsel
for the accused, in denouncing slavery
and the Fugitive Act, used this remark
able language: "The Constitution would
never have been adopted had the north.
ern people known one-half of the evils
that flow from it, and it was adopted
under protest. Judge Spaulding was
then Republican, and the Leader ap.
proved his words. This Constitution,
thus denounced by a Republican, is the
same Constitution now held up by Re-
publcans as the acme of governmental
perfection.
Judge Spaulding proceeding in his ar
gument, thus denounCes the Fugitive
Slave Law: 81 cay that the act of 1850 is
unconstitutional because it gives to Con-
gress the right to provide pains and PEN
alties to be visited upon citizens of OHIO
who are not, in truth, answerable to
Congress for their acts in this matter. At
the time of the framing of the Constitu.
ton each State was free and independ
ent to enact its own laws The Conven.
ton to draft the Constitution was called
by the Confederated Congress of these
States. 1t was not called to firm new
form of government for the several
States, but to provide some extra legis-
lation upon certain matters" How is
that for a States Right speech? The
"Brigadlers" used no stronger language
in opposing, in the last session of Con-
gress the Supervisor and Deputy Mar
stal laws. In 1859 the Leader endorsed
these views, in 1879 it appears the as
sumption of unconstitutional powers by
Congress to control voters of the States,
in the face Of the decision OF the Su. |
preme Court that the Federal Govern.
ment has no voters of it's own creation |
in the States. The key to the strange
affair is, that the Congress of 1850 which |
passed the Fugitive Slave Law, was Dem.
ocratic; while the Congress of 1871,
which passed the Federal Election
Laws, was RepuDllcan.
The Republican party which to day is
horror stricken at the suggestion of re
5istanCe to law, whether that law be
good or bad, in 1850 held an indignation
meeting in Cleveland, to denounce the
Fugitive Slave Law, where a set of res
Olutions was drawn up and voted, con-
tanning this sentence: "We deem it the
duty of every good citizen to denounce,
oppose and resist, by all proper means,
he execution of said Laps,," Was this not
melting to revolutionary measures2
then found Weekly Pantagraph, of
Bloomington, Illinois, leading Repub
lean paper Its date was Nov. 2, 1859,
4 short time after the raid of John
Brown on Harper's Ferry. You know
we'll how John Brown is now called a
aero martyr by Republicans, how sever
Il years after his death, they sang, "his
Ioul is marching on" and how his raid
% liberate slaves is looked upon as
worthy devotion to convictions OF right.
was surprised to see how differently
Republican papers spoke of him at that
ime. The Philadelphia Daily NeWs
poke of Browns raid as an enormous
niqnity" and 'wiCkedness." The Panta.
lrdph alluded to it as "the foul crimes of
murder and treason"
Shortly after the Harper's Ferry raid
the Republicans of Washington city
leld meeting" to respond to the char
,es of the Democracy that they aided
md approved Browns insurreCtion. At
his meeting they passed resolutions, in
which, says the B bennington PGnta
raph, they deny the right OF the Fed.
,ral Government or of rufian invaders
o interfere with slavery in the States"
could hardly believe my eyes when
irst read that; read it several times -- {
The assembled Republicans of Washing.
on denied the right of the Federal gov
rnment to interfere with slavery in the
,tates How the Republican party
hanged it's coat when it got national Z
'ower, and directly denied it's early !
principles. l could not help but remem
'er then, the recent words of Garfield,
which came to me like hollow moCkery :
| should be glad to hold to political !
doctrine that would live longer than
hall live, and that my children after me 7
night believe in as true, and say, this I
octrine is true to-day, and it was true
ifty years ago when my father adopt ]
ID it,"
In Cincinnati Daily Gazette for Janu.
ry 8, 1850, / found several illusions TO
he Union as "ConfederaCy," which
he Gazette would now regard as wicked
nd reasonable. In this same Gazette
here is an account of Union meeting
t Barnstsble, Mass, where Browns .
aid and his sympathizers, were con.
emned, and where it was declared that (
hose preaching or melting insurrection
Vere guilty of moral or actual treason. q
The Gazette has long editorial on the e
pproaching Republican Presidential
domination of 1850, in which it SAYS, >
No man of extreme views, no man jlst. 0