Indiana State Guard, Volume 1, Number 18, Indianapolis, Marion County, 28 August 1860 — Page 1

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H THE CONSTITUTION, THE UNION, AND THE EQUALITY OF THE STATESI

1 A . ' 1 J I,,, I EJ IJ k

VOL. I.

THE OLD LINE GUARD. is lniui.isiiKU rp n. X - -JV 33 33 K Xj "ST , -AT - IKD I A K A V O L 1 S , , I K ID I A N A . UV ELDEH ic HAKKIMJKSS. T 33 Xi 3VI S , ' : tl.OO, until after the Presidential Election. In advance, iu all cases. Advertisements inserted at the usual rates. HON. HENRY S. FITCH'S SPEECH AT CHICAGO, ON THE OCCASION OF FORMING A 'HICKORY CLUB. Mh. Prk'sident and Fellow-Citizens: My remarks to-night shall be brief, both on account of the lateness of the hour, and because I desire to leave fresh upon your memory when you quit the hall, the cogent reasoning and unanswerable logic of Mr. Campbell's masterly speech. I do not intend to enter into any extended argument upon the great principles involved in this Presidential campaign. Mr. Campbell has done that with far more ability than I possess. But we have to-night taken the initial steps in the formation of an organization hostile to a majority of the Democrats of this city, and as we have daily to thank those gentleman for an unnecessary amount of abuse, I propose to call your attention simply to some of the spiciest points in the history of this Democratic division, and to defend, as best I may, our political course from the assaults of the adverse faction. The Democratic party, like all political organizations, has had more or less interesting little family quarrels and more politicians have been punctured in the wind-pipe during these intestine wars than ever received a scratch i'n open field fight with the enemy. But these domestic deaths these fireside funerals these broken links in the household circle, are not usually registered in the public archives but as the dear intesfates departed this life in " the bosom of the family," so in that bereaved bosom rested the secret to the manor born and to the manor buried their sacred dust resposed in the old ancestral vault, as solemnly interred as they were silently murdered. But the present contest in our ranks is deeper, broader and more radical resting upon high principles, and involving the very existcnee of the organization. It admits of no concealment. Whatever may be said about the rivalries of Presidential aspirants or the personal feuds of the party leaders, there' can be little doubt that the immediate and real cause of the present formidable division of the Democracy was the remarkable action of the Baltimore Convention in excluding the Southern Delegates from a participation in its proceedings. . , , , The secession at Charleston, although a delegated duty, was a great political blunder. Unaccompanied, however, as it was by any separate nomination, the movement was not irrevocable. There was nothing in the mere act of seceding to prevent the delegates from retracing their steps and reclaiming their seats in the Baltimore Convention. But admitting as facts upon this point, all the delirious declamation of the. Douglas orators, and dignifying the "deep damnation" of their invective with the name of argument, still what logical connection has the secession at Charleston with the important issue afterwards raised by the contesting delegates at Baltimore V The Virginia resolution adopted previous to adjournment, in pursuance with which these delegations were formed and in accordance with which their respective claims must be measured, is so clear and unmistakable that there is scarcely room for controversy as to which were justly entitled to admission. That resolution invited all those States whose seats in the National Convention they might deem vacated to fill them up with delegates before the Convention re-assembled at Baltimore. To whom was that invitation to appoint delegates extended ? To the Democracy alone, of course. In what manner were they to be appointed ? In accordance with the Democratic usages of each State. By what authority? The regular Democratic organization of each State. .There was no promiscuous invitation to any and every body no handbill call for tumultuous town meetings no recognition of nsurped powers no connivance at disaffected factions in that Virginia resolution. It contemplated simply Democratic delegates, regularly appointed bv the highest Democratic authority of their respective' States; and not the representatives of a dirorganized guerrilla force that might hang round the rear of the Democratic army. It proposed as evidence formal commissions, signed, sealed and delivered by the proper Democratic authorities, and not a local report in a country newspaper of an illegitimate provincial mass meeting. . The decision of the Charleston Convention itself in the cases of New York and Illinois was too recent to admit of any doubt as to what were considered the requisites and essentials of a Democratic delegate. Now mark the result. All the Southern States (ex- . c.-ii. r'.wXno'x ;,i nnnnrrlnncK with this mvitation, met together in State Convention, under call ot their several executive committees, uuu mm ous formality, a scrupulous regularity and a sensitive observance of all Democratic precedents and usage, appointed new delegates, empowered with new credentials, for the Baltimore Convention. I say new delegates, for although the men were the same their trust" was original and fresh, and it is in their character as delegates, not as men, that their title to admission must rest the distinction being as clear as that between any other indiviaual and delegated capacities. They came to Baltimore with precisely the same kind of commissions with which they had been admitted at Charleston. It is difficult to conceive how any man can be so profoundly stupid as to smcerelv doubt the regularity of their appointment, although it is not so difficult to imagine one sufficiently dishon.a.,... .,!. rl.-.V.ta On the other hand who were the contestants of these delegates? A score of c. .v ii . n witWicliirirr innivprPP of ability and a very select limit of influence, who nave iui y 101 jjiuit-o.-w.-u uijuiiii " at the proceedings of the Democratic iarty. They nrea tJncinrr vnrinfv rif Tinlirical vaoarics united TOUW u j-.voi"ii . j - 0 i .. i : : Annfwit rn tft I mmnrranr Their leaders were men whom fortune had once given I r- wkl,.!. tntA f an position in vur rtnH.;s iur wmi.ii hoiuic v au early age disqualified them men of long retired rep-M.ittrL-iliL 4rr tlm firi1itv with which thpV 1 1 La ..nnvua -.st tho 4Vliiv with whirh thnv had failed. Political exiles, ever eager in revolution ary times, to relieve the teaium 01 tneir p&m,snmem by re-aerting their claim to long abolished titles ana conhicatea estates. 'PI a 1 J ,A a-tnn Sttwllt hAWAVPf i ni'v cenaiiiiv uvsti c v.. . . . , for the perseverance with which they have waged an "iirepreksible conflict n with public opinion relative to their own merits. A majority of these gentlemen generously released the Democracy from .. ,-w. ... 1... nMa...i. ana Kv kahvodi it at a and with mutual interrhange of puffery delegating .1 'I" L . i 1 ....,!... l,.i nm. one Riiouier. iwrnx, iituuun mum m. barra.snment of a first acquaintance with the parrjthey were ambitious of representing, modestly sought some provincial town, wher under the protective obsenrity of their own fame snd the rural districts, they went through the motions of a Democratic Convention manifesting considerable mimic talent considering their inexperience with the subject matter. These gentlemen came to Baltimore led by Mr. Pierre 8oole, that garcvn Talma of their Boards, in the pride and pomp of his tiiespian tones and batrd-heroict; in ome instances ashamed, in many amused at the impudence of their own pretention. Their claims, instead of being summarily rejected, were referred to a Committed on Cr4ntMtl. A majority report wa

INDIANAPOLIS

made in their favor, if that can be called a report which is but a clumsy concealment of facts. It is a political, literary and' parliamentary curiosity. It bids fair to become classic from the very completeness of its stupidity. It is without the force of an argument or the. ingenuity of a, sophistry, and written m the language of "neither Christian, Pagan nor man." In lucidity and logic it resembles Bottom's explanation, "Methought I was and methought I had. But man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I was." Mr. Krum's position as chairman of that committee is nroof conclusive that our Demo cratic institutions are yet free from any aristocracy of intellect. That gentlemen, liKe iiosweii, win nave iu thank the feebleness of his understanding for the pernetnitv of his fame. He is oriffinal. for an utter help lessness even to imitate. The School Section was evidently disposed of at too early a period in Mr. ir,.,,m'o rKuinVt- Tf ttiprfi is a sinola blunder omitted in that report it is an oversight; Krum could hardly have supplied it. . : T haxra x'i't tn ago tlin Donrrlaj) nailer RO dlsreSOeCtflll to the English tongue as to publish it, or the Douglas speaker so reckless of his reputation for sense as to commend it. Yet this Dunciad was adopted by the Kump Convention for, as Schiller says HAmlmt ntunidltv llio vcrv Gods flirlit uiivictoriouB," and stands to-day the highest official excuse for its gross ana ranK violation 01 wemocrauc usage. xnv Minority Report, on the contrary, was Arislotlan in the serenity ot its logic, unimpeacnaoie in ns siaw:mi,nt nf ftiofa ami iitinnawnrn hlr' in its roiielusions. It diffei-s from Mr. Krum's report, inasmuch as it is the . . i . i . . i . i production of an eoueateu gentleman, a logician, aim a writer of power and clearness. It is a document all Democrats can read with pride, and all Douglasites with profit. It was the rejection of this Minority Report, that AinjT tlt cuonml upvuiinn t "Rnl i imnri a.nd the final division of the Democratic party a work for which we have especially to thank the New York delegation. Those Algennes ot the convention so imiiemauiy given to consultation and sack held the balance of power upon every test vote, and controlled the destinies of our party for weal or woe. We all know too ,.,n l,... .nrl tlw.i,. liicrli trust. Thpv were a tTV'ii iiwT, uit-j u.u t...... ."o cunning crowd, albeit Mumm was the word. Over flowing with patriotism and punch, no wonder need be excited at their waverings. io motion 01 me tunvonilnn Knt iam1 a ri'tiremeiit of New York, and every retirement signalled the safety of the Constitu tion, and the compounding ot that iragrani neru-mint, in the best French importation. Strnnif from this weakness, thev would have re-en-entered the Convention breathing the balmiest spirit of conciliation and cognac. There was nothing sectional in their policy or their potations. The devotion 1 . .,- , 1 ft 1 il 11. to the JNorth and " iviononganeia, wiuen mey caiuuited upon one motion, was upon the second generous ly transferred to the South and " old Jamaica. No man shall ever fitly tell the prisoned sweets ot the New York Conunitte'e-Room how royal " Bourbon " bled at every bung, and Douglas leaders in every purse how each new scheme ot knavery was siampeu with approval and a dozen "green seal, anu eaeu broken pledge decorated with handsome equivocations and sparkling "Cordon Rouge," how honest Peter Cagger's oily face glowed with fresh bumpers and increased bribes, while heavy oaths and light corks freighted the air till vou would have sworn there were "six Richmonds in the field." These are all the sweet secrets for future times and historians, and now that they have rested from their labor, let us do just to them. They were generous m every sacrifice of principle involving their neighbor's rights, and firm in their resolve to be moved oy no weaKnecs ior me puuK wuiil Wlf-li t.hft honor of a harlot and the arts of a gamester, they present a striking example of how men with a pnuosoptuc scorn ior me puuniAjm brilliant eminence of infamy. backed by no merit but the " plain devil and dissem bling looks." Wherever that delegation may oe scattered, so ceaseless, so tireless were their libations for their country's honor, in whatever vale secluded, upon whatever mount exalted, there will linger around them forever in unit and en manse tho halo of the Rouge, and the aroma of Brandy Smash. Tho conduct of this delegation necessitated the secession of one hundred and five electoral votes, repre senting every reliable .Democratic oraie, logeuier wiui. the principles and brains of the Baltimore Convention. The Rumps that remained, after calling Mr. Tod to the Chair, into whose head Stuart labored in irlea of narliamentarv law, proceeded to go through the farce of balloting for the Democratic nominee tor x-resiaent, anu now cmiui that their resulting choice is the only " regular " candidate of our party, TkoT. timrn wm-a fmt nnA hiiiidi-pd and seventy bona fde delegates in all, which number some of them now try to demonstrate, Dy a remarnauie urauieumui-ai calculation, is two-thirds of three hundred and three, the entire electoral couege, while others conicnu mm u was at least equivalent to two-thirds, inasmuch as those who were present agreed upon the nomination of Mr. Douglas unanimously, inai nappy cum-um umu probably have been the case had there been no one there but Mr. Douglas himself. Lacking over twenty of the nominating number, without a President, without a quorum on half the r .,.:it0 mi'fhmit 9 full H,.lc(T;if Inn from a single sure V klHIlllllll 1 "! ' .vi 1. ..... vDemocratic State polluted by the presence ot such men as l ai-sons, 01 Aiauama, who iicyci uicu, never expected to vole a Democratic ticket Mr. Douglas' friends exhaust all their arguments in attlin i-piriilai-itv" of his nomination. The claim has been so ouen anu so cuuipuwijr . J 11 liat it is not necessary 10 uwi-u upu il uhj n.iie... Tf o rntlwi-inrr Dpniocratie in evervthiuir but principle ; numerous3 in all things but representation ; performing Squatter Sovereignty to two shilling houses, . t-, . t rjM T.i..k A Af at the rom screei xiinucr. it j..iuvn About Nothing," by competent performer. " I had af 1, tAivn.nwr had snoken " a olatform as u. .n..iniiirv llomncrats. Kvpit State doubts ful in Democracv poured her freesoiiers into this Conm. V, . . t, 1 x" .1 fl'.A vention. The estern ieserve, wnere iucr vnudin"s fattens in idolized supremacy, sent a constellation of strolling stars to the ihespiau assemoiy. Wherever Reoublicanism had sway, squatter sover eignty was in the ascendant. It seemed as though the victories of Fremont had bloomed into the mobocracy of Douglas. ., Add to these a rennue 01 immy muc i jcuuemeu, tk k; r.ri.a Jmnoaincr stomachs and apoplectic necks, who had come dow"n from (he provincial towns to do the blasphemy by comracr, anu me urin.is u, invitation eloquent jokers of mouldy jokes, and valiant eaters of their own words, and you have a fair ; picture of the motley troupe that made a burlesque of Democracy in the Front street Theater. " t o ), urmniul of its lcadin? spirits. It is as : . Anii nv .". y-1'1 ''- r i good as a play to run over the role of " the Douglas and lnt JUen." They have an enicreu upon wen j present glory through the pains of martyrdom. The i l:i,t f !. moftor rrncru! lias downed noon them. ,:,!. tm',r, on't from 1ia tiirVnilemf of office.' Proving the doctnnes ot the churchmen, that the carnnl ..( i;fu kli,id 11a to tlip immorlalihe-S uoi ..villi. S-.i 11. 1 y t miu mi - of the truth, it was only to employ the magnificent language of Webster when the eyes of tieorge N. Saunders were - turnea ior ine iam nmc uion mc , gorgeous " proliu of the Navy Yard, "full high advanced," that he telegraphed his regeneration to the President and published his dying confession to the "world." It was only when Forsyth turned his last lingering look upon the pleasant pfainsof Mexico and tlT sweet abundance of a minister's salary ; only ; when Mr. Buchanan tenderly invited him back to the home of his childhood, amid the pleasant legendary of Alabama, that he took Popular Sovereignty to his bosom and proclaimed its healing virtue. It was only I when the taciturn Stuart had rolled beneath his tongue the last unctuons morsel of Senatorial emoluments, and received permission from his constituents to return to his former professional leisure in the law, that he grew terrible with a torpor of eloquence, so provocative of th lock-jaw, in behalf of th ' Link Giant;" and to

INDIANA', TUESDAY,

. runs the mournful history, through half the catalogue. These arc the men, who, shorn of all power but for mischief, have endeavored from personal hatred of the present Democratic Administration to coerce the Democratic party into the support of its bitterest enemy. .It would be unjust to omit stating flie reason assigned by Mr. Douglas himself for accepting a nomination under such circumstances. . He says, in his letter of acceptance, that his nomination having been made without "any agency, interference, or procurement, on his part, he feels that he is in honor and duty bound to accept." This is handsome. Since the brave old Tagan days of Rome, when the conscript fathers made patriotism immortal, we have not had a more striking instance of disinterested self-sacrifice. Evidently the Senator stands alone. It was vulgarly supposed that Mr. Douglas' nomination was the result of ten years of solicitation and intrigue ; an unlimited sale of political indulgences and postrobils ; an attentive forgetfulncss of former principles, and an enthusiastic insincerity in future pledges, assisted by a liberal exhibition of Belmont and Brandy. But this of course must be an error, which it is' to be regretted, however, has become so popular and irradicable in the American mind. The only wonder is, how, in these days of Presidential aspirants, when so many bold bad men are devoting all their unhallowed energies to tho attainment of that high honor, it should have been thrilst upon so unobtrusive, unostentatious a gentlilman as Mr. Douglas. Verily, the "Gods take care of Cato." The circumstances attending the duplicate nomination of Vice President is also too refreshing to lie overlooked. , , Mr. Douglas has always paralleled his devotion to principle aone of his most prominent virtues; but it was never so strikingly illustrated as in the nomination of Senator Fitzpatrick, by his friends, at Baltimore. Having sheltered himself behind the glorious uncertainty of that celebrated double entendre, the Cincinnati Platform, it was only requisite to place his political antipode on the same ticket to have everything satisfactorily arranged. The Southern Senator was to lead the Cavaliers of the cotton States, while Douglas marshaled the Roundheads of New England. Fitzpatrick having repeatedly repudiated "my great principle." must of course be popular among the Democracy, while the Illinoisian, by reiterating its advocacy thereof, would make fearful inroads into the Republican ranks. The one having voted for. the,' Davis resolutions and the other against them one having advocated Congressional protection and the other unfriendly legislation a magnificent latitude for every diversity of opinion was thus presented, and it only required a judicious selection of localities to insure success. There existed but one obstacle to this scheme an obstacle, the nature of which being out of the range of Mr. Douglas' system of tactics, was entirely overlooked namely, the honesty of Senator Fitzpatrick. He peremptorily declined to be a party to any such programme of "stratagem and spoils." . He possessed too much of that quality, the absence of which, in the Douglas Convention, is so justly lamented by Mr. Miles Taylor "proper self-respect." It was amusing to observe the violent revolution in the Douglas press upon this question of Vice Presidency. PFitzpatrick's nomination was hailed in most admiring capitals his withdrawal in triumphant italics. "llis name added great strength to their ticket and its absence still more. He was a distinguished statesman three days before Mr. Johnson's name was known, but from tho hour that glorious obscurity arose j above the horizon, "decorating and cheering the elevated sphere in which he began to move," the star ot Fitzpatrick sank into political oblivion. The Doug-1 lasites are always sending some one to "political oblivion" a region with which, from long residence, they seem particularly familiar. If they escape, and return themselves to their native "terra incognito," it will onlv be through the unpleasant reputation of having advocated a man for President who obtained a nomination with greater difficulty, and a defeat with greater ease than any candidate in American history. This selection of Johnson is an apt illustration of the much boasted "regularity" of the Douglas ticket, and shows how far any loyal Democrat is bound by his Democratic fealty to support such leaders. Ten or fifteen gentlemen, "urged bv hunger and request of friends," met one night in the dining-room of the National Hotel, at AVashington, when having disposed of a cold collation, they proceeded to dispose of the Vice Presidency. As there were no aspirants for the honor of this post-prandial nomination, their labor would have been light, but for the difficulty of finding any one to even accept it when proffered. Finally, after a voracious and anxious session, during which every bone was picked, and every name canvassed, they chose, as a rfprmer resort, Mr. H. V. Johnson. And now this Dining Room Candidate this table d'hote nominee this "lame and impotent conclusion" to a cold supper and a secret caucus is proclaimed the only regular Democratic standard-bearer, to oppose whom is to dissolve the Union. ' Mr. Johnson's qualities for running are in perfect keeping with the manner in which he was put upon the course. He led the secession from the Suite Convention in Georgia, hence the grace with which his supporters so glibly charge us with being seceders. He took the stump against Howell Cobb, as the Disunion candidate tor Governor, hence the refreshing piquancy with which his associate accuses us with seekiV to destroy our "free institutions." He was rejected0 by the Baltimore Convention as a disorgamzer and a bogus delegate, hence the peculiar appropriateness of endorsing him as orthodox by placing him on a Presidential ticket. He announced in his Georgia report that slave property in the Territories was "upon the same footing as all other property ," and entitled to the "same recognition and protection in the legislative, judicial, and executive departments of government, hence the pungency with which his followers can denounce our plattbnn as a "Slave Code." TT ..ivuilaitus that, "in" ithftr the General Govern11C ivv,ii'i-- ... j ment nor anv Territorial Government can destrov or j impair the right to slave property in the common Ter-! ritories," hence the delightful concord of opinion that j must exist between himself and the great patentee of; "unfriendly legislation." Oh, rare Mr. Johnson 1 It I is under the leadership of such men as these that the : Doudasites charge us with ultraism and disunion sen- j timents. There is nothing equalling it since faistan complained of cowards. Our candidates are both proslaverv men in the vulgar acceptation of the termthat is', they are for equal rights in the Territories and equality ot' the States, and while they do not pretend to have" discovered any "great principle," they propose to maintain inviolate those embodied in the Constitution, as expounded by the Supreme Court But did anv one ever advocate the re-opening of the African slave trade in the Breckinridge Convention ? Has either of our candidate pledged himself to support do one whose "principles are inconsistent" with a slave code ?" Has either of them ever boasted in the Senate of the United States that he had given more territory to slave labor than any other public man ? Has either of them ever introduced a bill into Congress proposing to make abolition assemblages an indictable offence, aud to put down anti-slavery agitation by criminal prosecution in the Federal Courts? The charge of disunion comes with an equal grace, and I trust Mr. Johnson is edified by th vivid dam-; nation with which this crime is denounced by his as-! sociates. Searching in vain through the military gal-! lantry and Constitutional statesmanship of both Breckinridixe and Lane for anv pretext upon which to base j this accusation, Mr. Douglas turns with solicitude to1 a recent proclamation of Mr. Lawrence M. Keitt, of ( South Carolina. South Carolina has always been a. very belligerent sovereignty. 1 le'r history is brilliant , with the most daring intentions! Illustrious from the ; fiercest Conventions with the greatest loss of time, arid j the hottest battles with the least loss of life. She once unanimously severed the Union by joint ballot ; j conquered Jackson bv a bulletin, and overthrew the ; Federal Govemment'according to the statute in such cases made and provided. Among her most terrible : warriors in eternal embryo her immermw Cromwell

AUGUST 28, 1860

"guiltless of their country's blood," stands Mr. Lawrence M. Keitt. This gallant chieftain, armed cap-a-pie, in valiant rigmarole, mounted on his favorite Rosinante Secession his gray goose-quill, the oriflamc of his chivalry, at rest, periodically makes a dashing charge upon Democracy and the Union. Are we to bo held responsible for such nonsense ? The same kind of logic would make Mr. Douglas an advocate of A muwmniEm nf Wnaliinirton H lint, and the CathUtC JlllH-llVWlllolll V. iw. , , olicism of Abbe McMasters, tho Abolitionism of Horace Greeley ,and the fillibustering propensitiesof Pierre Soule, a somewhat complicated role, but one to which I am not prepared to say that Mr. Douglas is unequal. ' . , , If the Douglasites have but little argument, it must be granted they have a desperate fecundity of epithets. One of the most serious maledictions, conclusive at once of the original purity of the Douglas ticket, and the actual sin of the Breckinridge nomination, is the charge that we are Yanceyites. That may or mav not be offence. Let us see. The best reason, adorned with the highest eloquence ; a courage to meet all comers in the political field, and skill to confound them ; eminence by universal concession ; foresight, daring, devotion, irreproachable in private life, reliant adventurer everywhere, means simply William L. Yancey. These are traits admired by all men. With the personal preferences of Mr. Yancey, and his intense Southern affections, we have nothing to do and he who will, has forgotten his own business. With Yancey's sincerity, Douglas might be trusted with Yancey's attainments Douglas would be an ornament to the" Senate with Yancey's sagacity, Douglas would not now occupy a position which, while it destroys his past, forever obliterates his hopes for the future. . , On the whole, we have no particular objection to the title of Yanceyites. The last charge, brought against Mr. Becckinridge : tk.,t kn -dlK-itinl with flin Know Nothings. The jo, buab m aiiiiiMivn ...... . -"- rcharge originated in a letter from a Mr. John Savage j to Hon. Henry A. AVise. j As it is not "to be expected, of course, that any one , of you ever heard of Mr. Savage before it may be j as well to remark that his name does him great injus-j tice. He is a very harmless, inoffensive little gentle- j men, whom the public has always treated with gener-. ous neglect. He is the author of one tragedy that ! was read and damned, and one book that was damned j without being read. Mr. Savage, it seems, is now ( worrying his tender intellect with politics. It is the , old story of Penelope's suitors tugging at the bow of j Ulysses. The entire basis for the charge against Mr. Breckinridge is contained in a statement made by him in a public speech, that he "would rather vote for one , of his own countrymen than a foreigner, all other j things being equal." This is certainly a very grave offence, considering that in tho very next sentence he denounced the Know Nothing organization upon high j moral and constitutional grounds. ! I am afraid a foreigner, one of Mr. Savage's own class, an Irishman, for instance, wouldn't vote, for one ; of his own countrymen in preference to anybody else, ! "all other things being equal," or unequal. It niustj be a mistake about their ever doing such things. It I that be Know Nothingism, then make the most of it. Having thus briefly alluded to the character of the attacks upon our candidates, I wish to call vourj attention for a moment to a recent Douglas opinion of our platform an opinion which, being of an of- j ficial nature, cannot be repudiated. The Breckiii- j ridge platform, as of course you are all aware, is simply the Majority Report of the Charleston Convention. , 1 That report, a frank, statesmanlike declaration of; nn;..lac tko voIi.mIoh of which was the cause of se-l cession at Charleston, was denounced by the Douglas delegates as a " slave code" an expression which they spoke " trippingly on the tongue," and not having the most remote idea of its meaning, supposed to be something especially ferocious. To any one credulous enough to believe their twaddle, the Majority Report was as ruthless as a piratical league, and as lawless as a code of the Camanches. This document, however, afterwards proved so acceptable to the National Democracy that it became necessary for the opposite faction not only to add a codicil to their last will and testament, identical in principle, of which anon, but also to modify their system of attack upon it very materially. The Douglas Executive Committee, in a recent manifesto, repel and denounce this Breckinridge platform, not as a "slave code" not as a violation of the Cincinnati Platform but " horribile dicu," as " truisms of the tamest significance." " Iruisms ot tne tamest signin-: cance" is good. A truism is defined by Webster to ; be a self-evident truth a very rare, but one would ! suppose very excellent material for the forma-' tion of political platforms. But these gentlemen of j the Executive committee nave, it seems, Bpiiai aversion to self-evident truths an aversion manifested clearly in many statements in their own manifesto, and entirely consistent with their enumeration of Mr. Douglas' virtues, and their approval of his dogmas. Yet this same platform was rejected at Charleston because Douglas had denounced it as repugnant to his well-known principles. It is unnecessary to comment upon the character of principles repugnant to self-evident truths. Justice, however, to the distinguished Senator compels me grant that he was perfectly correct in this view of the subject. Mr. Miles Taylor and his colleagues object also to this majority report as too " vague and unsatisfactory." ri;ii;n,.c n,,fl (.vantlnir critics! Thev demand some thing succinct, clear and pointed like the lckhfte ' resolution for instance, a fine McFlecknoe production . to which no human ingenuity can ever give two mean-; ings, or even one. ' , i The truth is, the worst thing they can say of our ' candidates is that they are opposed to the " great principle that underlies" Mr. Douglas' personal ambition, and that our platform is composed of " self-evident j truths" repugnant to any affiliation with Republican-: ism North or Americanism South. Both our platfom j and our standard-bearers are Hipported and endorsed : by the President and his Cabinet, the Senate of the j United States, and such time-honored Democratic leaders as Daniel S. Dickinson, Pierce, Halle tt, and j Benjamin F. Butler, who for an incomparable view of j sly satire, laughter and ridicule, is the Prince of Talk-, ers. It does one's heart good to see him with the skill ' and finesse of an Italian fencer, flourish the rapier of his wit (a real Damascus blade with Attic salt on the edge,) run a Douglas Champion through at every thrust, and then with the graceful bow of a courtier and the exquisite mocking of the devil, ask after their health. , With such a cause we can afford to be content in vietory or defeat. " Victoria causa placw't, ted ricta Ca-; . . .. .. I The fact is, it is becoming every day clearer that m ; an alliance with the Know-Nothings of the South, and! the disaffected tepulicans oi toe jasi wk " hope of the Douglasites to injure Breckinridge and Lane. The Opposition press of the border States prove the first, the electioneering tour of Mr. Douglas the second. , Where is Mr. Douglas now ? Refreshing his recollection of American History at the base of Bunker Hill, under the escort of that little coterie ot gentlemen who couqiose the Douglas Democracy in Massachusettsendeavoring to gather some of the dust of Webster upon his shoes, and trying like a dull tourist to grow eloquent from Association relieving College exercises from the wearisome elegance of classic recitations bv the inelegant wearinc- of hi distinguished platitude's on self-government disserting to astonished savant in the shades of Harvard the origin of Squat- . . .. . ii .i i i. " ;,i. ter sovereignty, anu " watering au uie - his endless repetitions on the "great principle tliat underlies" and outlies all other principles. It is not the custom, I believe, for Presidential nominees to advocate upon the stump their own superior merits tor tv... ... if. T ,1 . It. as !. ! tn lv ft nlpjisant orator when on an agreeable topic, it would scarcely he generous to deny him the only pleasure be st ems likely to Herivw from hi nomination. Certainly il" a keen ap

NO 18.

preciation of the magnitude of his subject be any incentive to an orator, the Judge ought to furnish us with some eloquent bursts of autobiography. Why he should have selected the Republicans of New England for his first auditors is a pretty speculative question for those Democrats who remember his entangling alliance during the Lecoinpton struggle. I am not prepared to deny, gentlemen, that Douglas is ascendant in this State, and particularly in this city. But the heyday of its vigor has passed, of which we have had recently some significant omens. It niust be within the memory of many men that the Chicago Times was once published in this place. But as Elias of old, growing in grace was translated, so it may be said of the ex-Tines, it has " gone up." There is not a gleaning ot it left. The Reaper hath done its work well. The lamentations of the Douglasites over its departure is heard as dolefully around our corners as the wail of the damned that wander by the Styx. Edited with great ability, it was a paper of marked and vigorous traits. Locke says the most absolute liar cannot condense more than one lie in every three sentences. One of the finest powers of the Times was its daily refutation of this fallacy. It was haughty and triumphant in its manner of telling untruths. It conquered by them it retreated behind them. They were not silken, soft, felt-footed lies, insinuating and genteel, but solid, brave, formidable lies, full of all the strength and lustiness of their sin the sturdy, truculent yeomen of mendacity. This was genius. It showed the real afflatus irifernus tho genuine, mendacious Douglasism. As men of sense instinctively admire lah ut, no matter how employed, there is general regret at the death of the Times. I have said that the failure of the Times is ominous for the. Douglas cause for although the Times fHerald have Douglas' name at the mast-head, its editorials show a love and devotion to Democracy that is incompatible with any one man's partisanship. It labors with consummate ability for the success of true Democratic doctrines, and if anything could have induced me to vote for one candidate for the sake of electing another, it would have been (he ingenious arguments and eloquent appeals of the Chicago Herald. If we are to credit Pascal, the Jesuits had a favorite thread of theology called "the doctrine of probability," or the chances of salvation through the commission of sins a subtle and pleasing method of promoting a good cause, which a political paper under peculiarcircumstances may be justified in adopting. Approving as I do of the intentions of the Times y llerald, I cannot censure, although I may not imitate the course it has thought best to pursue. We do not pretend to be very strong in this State we were not in 1858. But few as we are, we have at least, the consolation of knowing that we shall be, after the Ides of November, the only National Democratic party the only party within the limits of our State whose principles are acceptable to the Democracy of the Union, or whose candidates are recognized as Democrats bv the National party of our country. I had intended, gentlemen, to advance some further views upon this point, but the extreme lateness of the hour prevents. Trusting that you will excuse any oversight or embarrassment necessarily following the peculiar circumstances attendant on to-night's proceedings, of which you are all aware, I earnestly thank you for your kind attention, and bid you good night. Cheering Prospects in the State. From the members of the recent State Convention we nave mo ino&t giamjwji miwi ...... ...... ence to our prospects in the State at large. Nothing but the madness of the Douglas leaders in running an opposition ticket can prevent the vote of the State beinT cast for Breckinndge and Lane, and we do not believe even this folly can affect us. Our reliable advices show that all through the State honest Democrats who desire the triumph of their principles and their party are determining to give their support to Breckinridge and Lane. They see the folly of adhering to Douglas, and that, in so doing, they can only be aiding our common enemies. Men of this class say to us: "We are Douglas men; but we are Democrats first and above all" other things. If there was any chance for the election of Mr. Douglas, we should go for him, but we know there is no shadow of a chance in this State, and as true men and Democrats, we can not throw our votes away upon him, and, in so doing, aid in the election of the Abolitionist Lincoln, or contribute to the strength of the old Know Nothing party of this State." This is tho view of honest Democrats all over the State, and it is but a few hours since this very language was used to us by a gentleman who, two weeks ago, was among the most determined supporters of Mr. Douglas In this connection, wc take occasion to express our pleasure at the spirit of conciliation which is manifested bv the Democracy of Pennsylvania in fraternizing upon" an electoral ticket. So it should be so it will he everywhere, if the spirit of Democracy prevails. When we see those calling themselves Democrats uniting with Know Nothings against their fellow Deinoerats,we think it is time they had dropped the name of Democrat. Such men may be very good Douglas men. But they cannot be Democrats who prefer the election of a Know Nothing or a Black Republican to a gallant patriot, a tried statesman, and a sound Constitutional Democrat We are glad to know that a large majority of the heretofore Douglas Democrats of Maryland "do not belong to this class. They see there is no chance for Mr. Douglas, and, like honest men and true Democrats, they declare, their intention to go for Breckinridge and Lane. Baltimore Iieptibican. . - - Stephen A. Douglas and Henry Clay. The old friends and admirers of Henry Clay the Old Line Whigs must fee! themselves highly flattered by the encomiums now every day lavished upon the deceased statesman, by his former most malignant revilers. Were it not' for the motive that just now prompts these outpourings of praise, and the acute remembrance of the gross abuse heaped upon the Sage of Ashland by Douglas and his followers, in times past, the pleasures would be without alloy. Before Old Line Whigs agree to take Judge Douglas yery closely to their embrace, they should compel a direct and unequivocal retraction of the unmitigated slander contained in the following extract from a speech delivered at Carrollton, Green county, during the canvass of 1844, when Clay and Polk were candidates for the Presidency. On that occasion, Douglas said : 'I denounced him (Clay) in the Congress of the United States, and I now denounce him as traitou AN OLD BLACK-HEARTED TRAITOR -the first American traitor who ever attempted to tell hi country for British gold." It remains to be seen how far the friends of Henry Clav will go in endorsing this foul slander, by promoting 'the aspirations of the slanderer for the high position he now seeks. Tiik Benicia Giki.. The New York correspondent of the Charleston Mercury writes: Mr. Adah Isaacs Menken Heenan it now in i th citv, qiiietlv awaiting the recognition of her ',0nf and lord, J. C. Heenan, the Cbampnin. now test the truth of the gcip respecting the marriage of the Benicia Bov. Thus far be U held back and sought no interview with his Adah. She says that if he doe. not come out like a man and taka her to hit bosom and his home, she wiU publish uithe Sundar papers all the tender lov-lettert he wro her in -theirdav, of billing and cooing. These wonM reading, and great it the compedtKm .nvmg the Sunday sheets to obtain these f' 'f"e1 raB take th. matter at a good jok on a bad reject