Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 2, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1858 — COVERNOR HAMMOND. [ARTICLE]

COVERNOR HAMMOND.

Lieutenant. Governor Hammond made a speech at the Court House last Monday afternoon. The house Was comfortably full;’' about two-thirds of those present, however, : were Republican’s. The Governor com- • mended with a lontr tirade against AboliI tionists. In fact, one would think, from the speaker’s earnest abuse of the Abolitionists, (.hat ho fears that Lloyd Garrison and his handfull of followers were about to riiake a descent upon the South, and overwhelm this Union in one common ruin. We have not the space to follow the speaker throughout hiis speech, but will notice a few points ho made. . . | The Governor said there was never an issue Bchyeen the old Whig and Democratic parties on the question of slavery, and . challenged contradiction. Of course no one was foolish enough to contradict this,, for both parties in former days were unexceptionable to the great' mass of the people on the subject of slavery—both resolving to discourage its extension; but he forgot to state that there is an issue betweep< the Democratic party of 1848 and that of 1858. It is well known to our readers that the Democratic party North, ten years ago, was us much opposed to the extension of slavery as the Republican is today. Every Northern State in the Union, except dpwa, instructed their delegates in Congress to vote for the Wilmot Proviso. He'haid lie would as soon go to Indianap- . i olis and reason with a lunatic, as to attempt to reason with an Abolitionist, (meaning a Republican.) Just so —i tis easier to reason a lunatic into a wrong position than to pull the wool over the eyes of .intelligent Re- . publicins?. He charged«Xhe Republicans, with being demagogues, and then exhibited the worst , feature of demagogueism in his own person j

. . • ■ - - - - —■- we have witnessed for some time, by asserting, until he grew’ rod in the face, that no one living in one State had the right tej interfere with the institutions of another—just : as though there were a party in favor of such proceeding. He then went on to make use of that much hackneyed saying, that there is no difference of opinion of -moment between Buchanan and Douglas. The difference, as we understand it, is this: Douglas asserts that a Territorial Legislature haslhe authority, under the principle of squatter sovereignty, to make laws, sustaining slavery if they desire the institution, or to decline making laws to sustain it if they do not desire it—thus allowing it to fall for want of protection; while the Washington Union, the organ of Buchanan, say.-?: “The ..doctrine of popu- . lar sovereignty, as. laid down by the Democratic party in its whole advocacy of the Nebraska-Kansas bill, and in its promulgatiomof its platform of principles at Cincinnati, is, that the people of. a Territory, at the time of forming a Constitution preparatory to admission as a State into the Union, and no[ before, have tliii power to form their domestic institutions in their own way, neither Congress nor other authority h .t ing the power to interfere, then or at any time before, to forestall or control their action.” And yet Governor Hammond flippantly says he “'would not give a fig for the difference between them.” In speaking of the manner the Lecompton Constitution was formed, he admitted that great frauds were'perpetrated, and that that instrument did not "express tint sentiments of the people of Kansas; in fact, he believed that four-fifths of the people, from the beginning down to the present-time were in favor of a free State; but as Lecompton had all. the forms of law. it was valid. “Why,” sard the speaker,“we very’ often elect .men by’ fraud in this country!” We must admit that this is a frank admission to be made by a leader of the ; Democratic party. He said, also, that the people were bound by these frauds, although they do not reflect their will. Infamous! Good argument for a tyrant.

The speaker then went on to deplore the devision in the Democratic party, but consoled himself somewhat by saying that Democrats have the right to differ among themselves, so they don't bolt the ticket. In other words, the only fest bf a man’s Democracy in these latter times, is, that he sticks to the ticket, no matter in what manner nominated. This reminds u? of the. opposition of Mr. Sny.Jer, three years ago, to what he was pleased to term “ Spitler’s kitchen,ticket.” Mr. Snyder was not then a good Democrat. but.he is now taken into their embrace. Let him be careful that it be not the embrace of death. The Governor then made an exceed! n<dy unfair and one-sided statement of the manner our present bogus senators were elected and the.cause of the failure of the collection of the revenue, and ended by making the undignified assertion for a man in his high • position, that if any two Republican Senators had a particle of honesty,-the revenue i laws would have been passed. It comes with a bad grace for the presiding officer of the Senate; to charge the whole opposition, numbering one-half of the body, witliffieing dishonest. We remind the Lieutenant Governor of this in the hope that, he will refrainfrom making like undigiiified remarks I in the future. -- 'rhe Governor closed by making a pathetic appeal to the Democrats to stick to their ticket in voting for members of the Legislature. This was made lor the especial l benefit of Mr. Snyder, and no doubt the I -.gentleman was very much gratified to the [ . Governor lor it. Upon the whole, we think [ that ..Governor Hammoffd makes damaging speeches for his friends.