Whigs And Abolitionists

A few weeks since, John Thomas, a Liberty Candidate from the seventh Senatorial District, N. Y. wrote a letter to a friend in Marathon, and placed it in a letter rack in the store: of Dickson and Hibbard. It was seen there on Wednesday morning by Mr. Dickson, the clerks, and other individuals. It disappeared during the day, and early next morning a handbill was in circulation, publishing the contents of the letter, and comments thrown over the signatures, and by the authority of the Whig Central Corresponding committee of the county. This statement was published in the Cortland Democrat, and is uncontradicted as far as we know, and shows conclusively that the Whig County Committee had the meanness to. steal and break open the letter, or to publish it after it was stolen. It does not appear that they came by it in any honorable way. In this letter, Mr. Thomas says that it is an important object at the present election (in New York State) to defeat the Whigs, because if defeated now "they will begone forever," and he gives his opinion that such candidates ought to be nominated as will secure the greatest number of votes from the Whig ranks. The State Journal has published a part of this letter and charges us with having the same design in view, "to defeat the Whig party," and seems to hold us answerable for all John Thomas has written. Now to this we reply, that we can and will answer for ourselves and our opinions: but we cannot assume the responsibility of backing up all the sentiments advanced by the abolitionists of the great State of New York, in their letters to their intimate friends as often as whigs may choose to steal and publish them. That Mr. Thomas was correct in thinking that if the Whigs in New York should be beat at the next election "they are gone forever," we are not well enough informed to be able to affirm. We should think, however, from the small majority of Gov. Seward, (being as we believe only six or seven thousand) and from the number and untiring zeal of the abolitionists, & from the fact that they are chiefly from the Whig party, that he might be correct in his supposition. Should the abolitionists in that State give ten thousand votes this year as they probably will and the increase during the next year be as great accordingly as it has been this year, we should think such a result not at all surprising. In reference to the charge of the Journal, that our great object is to defeat the Whigs, "and thus elect the loco foco ticket," the general course of our paper has demonstrated it's falsity. But for the benefit of the Journal, we will say again, 1. That we believe that the twenty five thousand slave-holders of the South, by means of the 25 congressional votes which they cast for their property, by always uniting in favor of every measure that is supposed to be beneficial to the South, and by shifting their votes and influence from one political party to the other, to secure any object they have in view, do in reality wield the balance of power, and govern both parties, and consequently the nation; and have reduced the North, in many respects, to the condition of a conquered province. 2 That the Whig party is now completely subject to this slave power of the South, as demonstrated by various facts which we have published from time to time in our paper - especially by the appointment of eight or nine foreign ministers from the South, and only ONE from the North and his nomination hung by the gills for the purpose of disgracing him for weeks together, and was only finally assented to because it would not exactly do to reject the particular friend of the prime minister, Mr. Webster: By the refusal of Congress at the extra session, to receive the petitions of the people - a Whig and by giving to the South 364 000 dollars a year as a premium for holding slaves. These things are of recent occurrence, and show how unsafe it is to trust our liberties or interests in the keeping of a party that has a Southern master. 3. That we seek as our ultimate object the overthrow of the slave power at the South which now governs both parties; and having been driven to organize politically for this purpose, we shall get as many votes as we can conistently and honorably from both political parties. 4. That unless the great body of the people are more corrupt than we suppose, we shall succeed in overthrowing the slaveholding monopoly; and in doing that we shall not go out of our way to attack the measures or principles of either political party, only so far as their views and efforts may come in conflict with our ultimate object. 5. That any representations from any quarter that the Liberty party is organized and sustained for the purpose of defeating the Whigs, and thereby elevating the Democrats to power, are false and unfounded. We have thus frankly stated our object, and we have only to say further, that we hope the Journal and the other Whig papers in the state are honorable enough not to at tribute to us motives which we deny, and which they cannot prove.