Year: 1860




We see that Austin L. Smith, who made
himself conspicuous at the Baltimore Con-
vention, by delivering an insulting speech in
which he urged on the secession, has pub
lished in the San Francisco Herald an ad-
dress "to the Democracy of California" in
which he attempts to show that the Sc
ce.sion was caused by the adoption of the
following rule, soon after the assembling of
the Charleston Convention:


"Thatin any State which has not provided or
direeted bv its State Convention how its vote may
be given, the Convention will recognize the right
of each delegate to cast his individual VOTE


This is the rule which not only Mr. Smith
but all the other Secessionists in this State
would have the people believe was the prime
cause of the secession. Mr.. Smith says;


This infamous rule was the cause which led to
the disruption of the Democratic party"


The Breckinridg State Central Committee,
in their address. cite it as the prime cause Of
the division at Charleston. What is there in
this rule that is the least unfair VIII the
Seceders pretend to say that the Convention
ought to have denied to each delegate not in
structed by his State Convention. the right
to cast his vote for the candidate of his
choice? From the fact that the Seceders de-
nouuce the rule, it would appear that they
actually do claim that the Convention pos
sessed that right, and that it ought to have
used it. We apprehend that this is new
theory unknown hitherto in the usages of the
Democratic party. Has anybody before the
Seceders, ever claimed that National Con.
ventiops had the power to annul the pro-
ceedngs of regularly organized State Con.
ventioDsI But TO show that we do not
charge too much upon the Seceders, we
quote following from the address of the
Breckiuridge State Central Committee, pre-
sided over by Judge Lindley. In arguing to
show that the rule worked against them
they say:


"A careful examination ofthe record shows that
| if q uniform rule had been applied to all the
States, either requiring each State to vote as a
unit, or allowing the delegates individually to
cast their votes in accordance with their views,
the following would have been the result"


The language of the committee is plain
enough They evidently believe that such a
rule as they speak Of, ought to have been
adopted They believe that the Convention
ought to have annuled the resolutions passed
by the State Conventions Some States
passed resolutions instructing their delegates
to vote as q unit; and the Breckenridge Cen
trail Committee of California tell US that the
National Copventian ought to have annuled
those resolutions, BY conceding to the
National Convention the power to abro
gate the resolutions of Instructions passed by
State Conventions, it follows that they con-
slider such instructions as not binding. But
the Committee have advanced another propo
sition entirely opposite TO this, viz: That
the National Convention has the right to
compel each State to vote as u unit. The
first proposition, if put into practice, would
sweep away along established usage Of the
Democratic party, and do oway entirely with
the right of the States to instruct their dele.
gates to the National Conventions. The
second would deny to delegates the right to
vote according to the dictates of their own
conseiences and their own notions of right
and wrong. For when delegate goes into
Convention with no Instructions as to how
he shall cast his vote, he is expected to ex-
ercise the right always accorded to every
free voter; and to take that right away from
him would be an act Of usurpation hitherto
unknown among all parties in this country
i word here, in regard to the "unit rule" as
it is called. 1t will be observed that we
have spoken of it as rule" because it is
so called. 1t was nothing more than reso-
luton, and required only that the Conven-
ton should act according to the just and true
Democratic doctrine, that delegate not in
structed by his constituents as how his vote
should be cast, should vote as he pleased. Is
there anything wrong in such doctrine as
that? The Seceders think go but they are
the first who ever did