THE PEOPLE'S JOURNAL.
JNO. S. MANN
EDWIN iIASKELL, 5 DDITORS
FIDELITY TO THE PEOPII
CuITEIZSPOICI, FRIDAY; AUG. '25,1854
ltev. L. F. Porter will deliver
nn Address - onlhe subject of Temper.'
ance, at'the Red Schoolhouse in Rou
lette townsbipi . on Wednesday evening
next (Aug. :30.) Those who, at pres-.
ent, feel 'but little interest, are par
ticularly invited to attend. The friends
of the cause will need no invitation,
IT" Mr. J. Watkins,asssciate editor
of Frederick Douglass' Paper, and a
popular ,peaker, will hold an Anti-
Slavery meeting at the Court House
on Sunday evening, August 27. We
trust there will be a full house, for in
that we shall show our determination
to oppose, on every suitable occasion,
the hateful tyranny that is trying .to
"crush out" the spirit of a freepeopla;
On Monday and Tuesday even
ings we went to see the Panorama,
etc., with P. T. Barnum's name at
tached, but conducted by Mr. Towne,
which has been exhibiting in oui• vil
lage. The views were mostly of scenes
in Mexico, and these were interesting,
as with most of them we have been,
'within a few years, painfully connected..!
Over One of these was brought a mimic
thunder shower—the thunder and
lightning very natural, and the sound '
of the rain really refreshing. The
clouds came on a little too curtain-like
at first, but the clearing away Was
beautiful. After one or two scenes in
California, and, on the second night,
Boston and-Lowell, in Massachusetts,
there was a glittering, sparkling fairy
scene, (said to 6.0 which pleased by
its gracefulness and beauty, but
which we could not judge. A few
attempts at ventriloquism seemed to
please the little people, and then we
Lad a succession of little images that
danced and performed various laugha
ble evolutions. 'We felt well satisfied
to have seen it all, and think it was
mostly pleasing, although there were
some performances Which were as lit
tle creditable to the exhibition.as con-.
plimentary to the taste of the audience.
We think no one could wish to, hear
again of the Wrymouth Family; and
most of us have heard the Yankees'
pertlmnances so often in real life, as,
to dehire no stage representation of
EIII
A NATIONAL LOSS
CoL THOMAS 11. BENTON, the great
f`Nt statesman now living, has been
defeated for Congress in the St. Louis
District„ by a combination of Admin
istration men, Hunker Whigs; Know-
Nothings, and Catholic • Jesuits. If
this coaliti4n does not incite Northern
Freemen to greater efforts to build up
:a party t-f . Freedom, without regard
to old political associations, then I`,:e
51131.1 L. mistaken. The Clevelanil
Ltrulc, in speaking of Benton's de
feat, and of the coalition which caused
it, Iris the. following, which we cOm,
znetai to the honest masses :
Wurth, the A dministrgion at Wash
im;ton helped to perfect this strange
and monstrous union at St. Louis, and
c. mcentrated all its power there to
di.-feat BENroN.
The Slave-Democracy worked hard
120: slavery. Every office holder .
of the administrrtion toiled for this
-end, and we are assured that "men
:high in authority" labored incessantly,
*by "pulling different sttings." to com
plete a fuxion between all Slavites,
whether Whigs, Democrats, Catholics,
or Know Nothings. But the chief
• plow came from die Washington
ion, the official orgauof the administra,
tion—which Journal, at the right time,
charged, that the Anzeiger was- the
most offensive Journal in the weAt
and invoked the people of St. Louis
to put it down BECAUSE PREACIIING AB
OLITION DOCTRINES IN THEIH WOR S T
rotor. This nailed the pulley of the
Opposition to 13Evros. The indomit
able Slave. Power, thus backed by the
central authority at Washington, em
braced Catholic Irish and Know Noth
ings, Whig and Democrat, and wbo:
ever would join in the onslaught
against brave 'old THOMAS I3EN - roN,-
the representative of the opponents of
Slavery extension and of the friends
of emancipaiton in Missouri. By this
fusion of the monopolists of injustice,
was he overthrown. Through this an
ion...of an aristocracy, leased on -the
blasphemous assumtion, that Man has a
right to chattel ire man, was he defeat
• . fiy the direct influence of the ad
aist Infirm was this Slaveholding plan
• r rird. to deprive the country of the
Fr•r;ir•P'i of a man just %sien the crisis,
• i :7' :Cr t nV•ed, most demand them.
BIGLER DEMOCRACY.
That our readers array have a clear
unclerstandibg of tile kind of derdo
cracy which•the BIGLER leaders of thii
county advocate, we:publish the reso
lutions adopted• at their Conveniiori
on the sth of this month—as follows:
Resolved, That this Convention, do
not claim fOrThe•citizens or-Common
wealth of Pennsylvania any right to
control or interfere with the local or
domestic institutions or interests of any
other State or people; but while
for ourselves the right to regulate
our own institutions.and interests, we
will accord the unmolested enjoyment
of an equal privilege to every other
free people.
Resolved, That in cases where dif
ferences of opinion have heretofore
occurred on subjects affecting the feel
ings or interests of ditlerent portions
of our beloved Union, and those dif
ferences have been settled by constitu
tional or legal compromises, we are
opposed to the disturbance of any such
compromise; and hence, we cannot
approve of the rePeal of the Missouri
Compromise of 1820; and we hereby
endorse and approve of the'resolutions
passed at the Mass Convention, held
at this place Feb. 20., 1854.,
Resolved, That the Hon. Jas. gam
ble, our able and faithful member of
Congress from this District, in voting
against the repeal of thri Missouri
Compromise, is entitled to our confi
dence and respect.
Resolved, That we are in favor -of
the principle of the Homestead Bill,
now before-. congress, and that we
recommend to Congress the passage
of an act giving, in limited quantities,
portions of our public domain to actual
settlers, with such rules and- regula
tions as will secure the same to the
family of the settler.
• Resolved, That we approve tho nom
inations made by the Democratic State•
Convention, for the offices of Governor,
Judge of the Supreme Court, and Ca
nal Commissioner, and in view of the
unjust assaults now being made on the
present honored chief-magistrate of
the Commonwealth, we deem it ap
propriate to declare to our Democratic
brethren everywhere,. as the cordial
and unanimous opinion of this Con
vention, that .Gov. William Bigler, by
his firm, dignified, and patriotic official
course, is eminently entitled to our
continued confidence, and mill receiNe
our hearty and undivided support in
the coming contest. •
The first of these resolutions is the
merest twaddle, and if not drawn up
by some splenetic slaveholder, • was
adopted simply to please one. - The
second one, referring to the repeal of
the Missouri Comproinise, is 'charac
teristic of mere politicians. Instead
• .of expressing an honest indignation
.a the wanton disregard of a selemn
compact, and a settled purpose to
remedy the evil. done to Freedom, the
resolution speaking for the Bigler men
simply says "we cannot approve Of
the repeal of Missouri Compromise of
1820." Of course not. The State" Con
vention which nominated Wm. Bigler
didnot approre of that measure, and the
same policy would doubtless be advi
, salile throughout the State. Neither
approve nor disopprorc, is the word
;which our artful- dodgers have adopted.
Let us see if it will work. •
The onlyprinciple endorsed by these
resolutions, is that of the Homestead'
Bill now before Congress. If we only
knew what kind of a bill. Was before
Congress at the time of the adoption
of this resolution, we should know
I whether we could respond to it or not.
But taking it for .granted that these
men meant to approve of afrce Horne
!
stead bill, we, shall give them credit
for being in favor of one good thing.
But as nearly everybody is in favor of
that, we suppose it will not be claimed
that this resolution gives any claim to
support. Take all the 'rest of the
resolutions, and there is nothing in
them,except a blind devotion to par
ty men of the worst stripe. William
Bigler, who dare not say whether he
is for or against the Nebraska iniquity,
who dare not say whether 'h'e is for or
against the Maine Law, or the bill in
his breeches vpcket, intended to sup-
press the low groggeries—is endorsed,
and so are other caucus nominees of
like character; but the vital issue,
which has aroused a storm, throughout
the Northern States, is not touched.
This shows that the men who con
trolled this Convention care so little
about principle that they will go with
their party, no matter, wherc; that goes.
That portion of the voters of this
county who are equally wedded to
party, will of course support the Con
vention and the ticket nominated by
it; but those men who vote to eccoin,
plish some good work, to .adraTice
some principle, will, we think, enquire
how they are to advance their princF
ples by voting for men who , dare not
avow any.
The Breaking up of Partim
'Whoever has set his heart onC on
tinning the present formation of par
ties; will certainly be disappointed.
It' is certain that no "party_ could .
push through Congress a bill doing .
such violence to the popular will, as
that of repealing the Missouri Com
promise, and keep the least hole} on
the respect of the people.
Thus the passage of the Douglas
bill by the administration party; would
of itself cause its overthrow. Add to
this the corruption of the caucus sys
tem, and .a dissolution is inevitable,
We have heretofore given.the
ion of '1 old Bullion " against the
tyranny .of regular nominations. We
quote now from an article in a late
.gveying - Post. By the - way, why are
the old line democrats of this county
treated with selections from the New
York Herald, a paper that nobody
respects or believes', in preference to
the choice articles of the Post, a paper
that enjoys an enviable reputation for
truth, candor,• and statesmanship,_ and
is the oldest democratic paper in ex-
istepee?
The Post of the 26 July has an able
communication in reference to " Na
tional Conyentions" which commences
thus:
I am, Messrs.. Editors, an old-fash
ioned democrat of the state rights
school, and of course a strict construct
tionist as regards the federal constitn
tion ; and desire to have a little com
munion with you on the present
condition of our political affairs. It
is•obvions that our national legislation,
and the tendency of
_political and
party - action for some years past, have
been of a centralizing character.—
Nationalism is becoming a prevailing
sentiment; and the states are losing
not only their sovereignty, but in a
degree their individuality. Under
plausible devices the federal govern
went is arrogating to itself extraordi
nary powers, plundering the treasury
for fancied steam lines and groundless
claims, wasting the public domain on
railroad schemes and other devices,
legislating to fester the institution of
slaVery, and in. it variety of.ways
exercisingthe authority of government
to crush uia every vestige of state
rights, of individual independence and
regard for freemen. Ocean 'steam
lines are national—projects
.for rail
roads are rife,.of a national character
—and the government is exerting
itself to make slavery a - national insti
tution. There is a fragment of a party
in some of the States which calls itself
the national democracy, and the whole
country has been victimized for some
time past by national conventions.
It be deemed' heterodox by
some extreme partisans to oppose the
system of national nominating <conven
tions, but it is nevertheless true that
this machinery of party is becoming
oppressively. obnoxious to a great
portion of the people. Without ques
tioning the motives, intentions or de- -
signs that led to the iniroduction of
these irresponsible assemblages when
originally instituted, it is notorious
that they have degenerated into mere
nests of intrigue, by which dema
gogues manage to make Presidents
out of materials of very indifferent
quality. The system is demoralizing,
corrupt and vicious in the highest
• degree—a cheat upon the- people—a
fraud upon the constitution—central
izing in its effects and utterly incon
sistent with State individuality.
We should like to see an intelligent
man Who doubts the truth of the
above, and if true, we do not see how
an honest man can consent longer to
give his influence to a system which
fosters slavery, is " a cheat upon the
people" and "a fraud upon the consti
tution."-
But here are two more paragraphs
from this same article equally truth
ful, and quite as puOgent
• The members who compose these
conventions are notorious office-hunt:-
ers, place-seekers, jobbers for plunder,
and profligate politicians. There may
be eXceptions, but they are few and
rare; and, unfortunately, the history
of the successive administrations for
years discloses 'the fact, that a large
portion of the delegates to the success
ful.convention have receieved, direct,
ly or indirectly, offices and rewards
in payment for their services in these
conventions. Cabinet offices, foreign
missions, custom-house offices, post
offices, land . offices, &c., are bestowed
on the mercenary hordes of intriguers
who have been members of the con
vention that nominated the man 'who
has, those • offices to bestow. This
shameless prostitution is a part of the
system, and the public mind is becom
ing vitiated and debauched,by it.
. No system could.be.devised .where
by men :of high moral - worth, distin
guished public service, and inflexible
integrity would be so entirely ex
eluded . from the presidency as the
convention system. Such men, states
men and patriots in the true significa
tion of the word, will never be favor
ites with the intriguing, managers who
control the__ machinery efi• a national
cOnvention, and hence the 'unhappy
condition''Of our ''political. affairs.--
NVlere . Jefferson or Jackson, either of
the, on` :the stage of action now,
instead of,-the .perted when they :ex
isted, and in the Jaime of life, neither
of them could receive a nomination
from a national convention. If there
are such men . •among us at this tiine,:
no National Convention will permit
them to be elevated to the 'Chief Mag
istracy. Such Presidents . -are born of
no 'convention. They are the offspring
of the people—,brought forkvard by
them and by the 'States, without the
intervention of any centralizing party
machinery, but in spite of it. Until
we return to first principles—discard
intriguing, centralizing, national corn
binattons—and.have free primary !lo
tion in the States, we shall never
again have such Presidents as Jeffer
son and Jackson were;
We make one other extract, and
we commend these facts to the atten
tion of those democrats in this county
who desire t to discharge their duty' to
their country, in preference to serving
small politicians. If idur. judgment
shall . be convinced of the necessity of
the reform alluded to by these; ex
tracts, ive ask you to join the effort
now making for the overthrow of the
Slave Power and the ,caucus system.
Alluding to the proceedings of the .
National conventions the writer
in the Post says:
Under this state of things; is it stir
prising that there is almost universal
political demoralization ? The primal
element of* government, the peo
ple themselves, are robbed• of the
right and privilege of selecting their
candidates, the truly great men of the
republic, .to_be their Chief Magistrate.
There is no .relief so long as they I
submit to the system. They- have:
alternated from one party to the other
while the system has been in opera
tion. •In 1836, Van Buren, the candi
date of the democratic, convention,
was elected.. In 1810, Harrison, the
candidate of the whig convention, was
elected. In 1844, Polk, the candidate
of •the democratic convention, was
elected. In 1848, Taylor, the candi
date of the whig . convention, was
elected. In 1852, Peirce, the candi
date of the democratic convention,
was elected. In all these successive
contests, 'Pince 1836, the people have
had little or no voice in selecting
their candidates. All that remains to
them is-to register, by their Votes, the
edicts of the several conventions,
while the conventions themselves are
notoriously controlled, in 'every in
stance, by six or eight prominent and
unprincipled demagogues. The Can
didates begotten in those nests of
intrigue must, of necessity, be second
or third-rate men, such as will be the
convenient tools of those who made
them, and of that equivocal position
that , shall make their availability a
Substitute for true worth.
It is obvious that the public senti
ment is becoming justiy hostile to the
national convention system of nomir
- nating candidate's: but there are two
party organizations to sustain it, with
hordes of mercenary partisans and
dependent presses-that dare, not Per
nik the errors and enormities of the
system to be exposed or discussed.
To overthrow the system, .resolution,
determination, and perseverance are
necessary, and they will not be want
IEI
Letter from Judge Wilmot
We publish on the first page a let- .
ter from this distinguished and fear
less advocate of true democracy, which
we commend to the true hearted -yeo
manry of Potter county. Read this
timely.and straightforward letter of
the Hon. David Wilmot, and - then
the call for a union of all men opposed
to the further aggressions of slavery,
which we publish in another column,
and See if thb two do not perfectly
agree in spirit and purpose. Says
Judge Wilmot.:
The power and design of slavery
must be checked, and the original
policy of the Government on this
subject restored., To this end we
must lay aside-,postpone for a time,
the strifes ofparty over minor points
of controverted policy, and unite, in
the great Work of preserving our free
Institutions from- impending destruc
tion.. ..
The:call is an invitation to the free
men of this county to do the very
thing here recommended.
The folloiving passage from Judge
Wilmot's letter.is a perfect vindica
tion of the course of the independent
men of this county who have aban
doned party for the sake of preserving
Liberty.
We challenge any of our opponents
to show that this
.extract , does not
contain wise counsel, or thae t we havp
ever asked voters to go farther thap
is hero so earnestly urged: •
- The first blow must be aimed for
the overthrow of the present Na
tional Administration—the mere tool
'mid
_puppet .of the Slave Power.—
Through the competing influence of
its patreuage upon the people's Rep
resentatives, Freedom has been be
trayed. It must be overwhelmed at
every point with ignominious defeat.
We cannot shorten its Constitutional
term of office, but we must strike
down its allies in every State, District,
and County. It must have no preps
in the States, upon which to lean fOr
the support. of its. iniquitous policy.
No man should be elected to respons
ible office, Governor, member of Con
gress, Representative, whose relations
of friendship and alliance with the
National Administration are open to
suspicion. We must accept of noth
ing, in the candidates presented for
our suffrages, short of undisguised
hostility:to the ultra pro-slavery power
at Washington. Anything short of
this is folly, idle, trifling, shilly-shally
'nonsense; and designed in the end, to
lead the peoPle step by step into
acquiescence in the policy and plans
of slavery. Lot- no candidate pretend
to condemn the recent legialstion of
Congress, and yet hold himself in
party alliance with the present admin
istration. He eaunot he trusted;
so sure as-he is trlisted; so sure will the
peophi, and their rights, again he he
' trayed. The man who will not face
in . open and manly resistance, ti+,:the
aggressions of the slave power id-day,
cannot be relied upon to do so on the
-occasion of a future provocation. He
is hopelessly rotten—unsound to the
core, and will sacrifice his Country's
• highest interest and glory fur sonic
paltry, partisan considerations,
We trust our friends Will see that
erery sincere opponent of the Nebras
ka swindle sees this letter. To all
such we are confident it will carry
conviction. To those \vim- only pre
tend to be opposed to that measure,
for the sake of securing votes for the
prirty, no arguments would change—
they are bound to their idols, and it
uselers to waste. words with them.
But 'the masses are honestly and
determinedly opposed to any further
aggressions of slavery, and they will
read this letter with care. Let it be
thoroughly circulated. .
ALL. lIAIL TO IOWA!
The Opponents of the Slave Power
in lowa have -united and o•erthrOwn
the allies of Stavery, that have ruled
the State ever since it was admitted
into the Cohfcderacv. lowa wa, the
New:Hampshire of the West, and the
triumph of the Republican party there
shows that every free State is about to
throw: off the :hackles of party, and
join the ranks of Freedom.
The - latest returns from the WeF4
show the election in lowa of Grimes,
the Anti-Nebraska candidate for Gov
ernor, by four thousand majority.
To the Senate the Anti-Nebraska men
have elected "14 ; the Administration
12. Thore.is 1 heard, and 1 not beard
from. To the House there are :ri
Anti-Nebraska men, 19 Administra
thm men, and 14 to hear from.
:The Dubuque Tribune thus announces
the glorious triumph:
Sisters! lowa is Redeemed!
yes, our noble, young State, has
spoken in thunder tones, words that
will tell, upon.lier recreant Senators,
and upon the foes of Freedom every
where.
Sisters of •the East, have we done
our duty? Is Freedom worth strug
gling for ? Will you, too, " Come to
the Rescue Or will you, with un
principled timidity, shrink ignomin
iously from the contest ?
Freedom or Slavery ! Sisters, what
,kay ye •? The spirits of our noble
sires, from the liigli spheres which
they inhabit, st(Mp to hear `•our-ans
wer ; what is your reply ? We urge
you, by the holy ties of brotherhood
which :should hind Freemen one to
another, by'hll the suffering and sac
rifices of our Fathers, by the memory
of Concord, Lexington, and Bunker
Hill, and by the - heart-rending cries of
crushed and bleeding humanity—Do
your duly. Will you act' as becomes
the sorts of worthy sires, or will you
tamely bow your necks, and bold out
your arms fur the manacles t
lar Those of our citizens who have
taken an interest in the welfare of
Emily Fourness, the unfortunate mute,
has been in the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum of Philadelphia for, nearly two
years, will be glad to learn that she
has arrived safely home, and that,
although slie is suffering with dis
eased lungs; she has improved wonder
fully 'in appearance, manners, • and
intelligence, under the guardian care
of A. B. Hutton, the gentlemanly And
philanthropic Principal of the Asylum.
LECTURE.—Mr. J. G. KENYON,
the 'American Ventriloquist, tivill lec
ture at the Court House on Monday
evening next (Aug. 23.) Those who
attend may expect a good evening's
entertainment. Admission 12A cents.
...MKN'ABE KNOWN BY THE COMPANY
• THEY rue:.
The leaders of the Bigler party in
this county, are trying to make the
people believe that they are opposed
to the Nebraska iniquity ; but if they
are judged by the ordinary rules of
common sense and common applica
tion, it will be seen that they are sup
porting that measure. Judge them by
their acid, rather than by their words
—by the company they keep, rather
than by their constant boasting of being
the only trite patriots and democrats,
and you will have no difficulty in as
signing them their true position.
The Repeal of the Missouri Com
promise was curried . by the National
Administration. That every body
knows. It, vas done in di:Ranee , of
Ithe populatt will. But the slaveholders
said to the President, • " Don't be
lalarmed,_ the licople will grumble and
growl a little it is true, but they .H ill
soon suhmit. - Make this question a
party lest, and the leaders will soon he
found acytticscin z g in the act as passed.
Well, it has been made a party test ;
and nearly every Administration pa.
peril] this State, is active, puppartin 4 ,
the bill and its authors, while not a
single active supporter of Bigler. is
doing anything to rebuke the uuthov
of this great outrage. The leaders iq
this county arr is All rominyn;on, anti
ar . tirc :rfiperation With the most vio
lent supporters of this Ivanton
lion. of the rights.of the people., NV:s .
should like to see sensible men, wiM
such facts before them, made to be
lieve that a vote for the old line
ticket is anything but a vote to ap
prove. the authors of the -llougla;
fraud. What is recomMended by the
Bigler men of this - count); Inkt
ion, to the, outrage ? Can tiny one
tell? Will a vote - for the ticket pit
in Huminatitm by them, di, (lay thin
t o wards correcting the great tvrowz!
I;y no means, They do nut pretionl
that it will. They are sodunissionist.7
and aro doing flp•ir best to induc , i
the people to submit to the rule of
'flavcry. Hence we say anc the
supporters i,r Dopglas and hi:, pra
;vt:— zreil; the rua , s of the
people ac.: Natistlc..l of this fact.
W t , ihioL ir i. perfcctly plain to every
/wers/. app inert of die Nebraska !
in
.
upnty, that the °O,/ way to ovicrthroc:
the slave power, is for the friends of
freedom. of all parties to unite and
make the preservati . on. of liberty the
first object..
Nrr.o or tr.—A cfirre+pondent of th ,
Burr oak advise:
,again:: men joining a third
party to light' the Slarr- Power, and advise.
Democrat: to stick to their own Tarty, :mewl
the eatten•e , , &r.
Nobody is invited to join a third party in
this State. There are hot two parties here—
' the Republican party, which is for Freedom,
and the Hooker party, whichis for Slaver . %.
The people must make- their selection be
tween thein.—Milirtzuhre Free Democrat.
That is precisely the position of'
parties in this county.
The Vinegar-raced Gentry
That very able and übiquitous sheet.
"An Exchange Paper," gives the fol
lowing plain statt!nients, which
commend to the afflirted
"There is a class of. men in every
community who gT, about with, vinegar
faces,' because•sornebody feels' above
them, or because They are not appre
ciated as they should be, and whohave
a constant quarrel with wiint.they call
their destiny. We hate sach people.
They are a nuisance arida pest. They
make all within their influence uncom
fortable. These men have usually
Made a grave mistake in the estimate
of their abilities,-or are unmitigated
asses. Wherever this fault finding
with one's condition or position occurs
there is always want of self-respect.—
If you,are a right down clever fellow,
wash the wormwood off your. face, anti
show vonr good will by your deeds.
Then if people 'feel above you,' why.
teturn the compliment, and feel abpve
hem. if they turn up their noses be-_
cause you are a mechanic, Or a farmer,
or a shop boy,' turn up your nose a
notch higher. If they sWell when
they pass you in the street, swell your
self. Deliver us from . the whining
fools who go around like babies • tell•
ing how people abuse them, and -whi
ning because society will not take
them by the collar and drag tham into
decency" •
The Traits of Bona
President Pierce was assaulted to-day at
the Capitol. On walking down the steps of
the eastern facade he was accosted by three
individuals, evidently under the influence of
a recent spree, who asked him to go and havo
a drink. Mr. Pierce, not boing iu the humor,
politely declined the proffered civility, saving
that he was not in the habit of taking drinks;
and he was thereupon pelted with stale eggs,
which his would-be entirtainers designedly
happened to have in their. coa t.pockets.—
Some of the Auxiliary/Guard rusheif to the
rescue and took th'e factious gentlemen into
They are mid to be Bnotheraiirm.-
I'. Tributes, Aug. 7.