"Define Your Principles!" Number III

"Bank, or JYo Bank-Tariffor JYo Tari ff, or you cunnot have any support here." A Rkpublican. NUMBRR III. Every one acquainled with Liberty porty papers and proceedings knows that the overthrow of the Si.ave Powku has olways been held by that party as parainountin importance to all other objects. It is not strange, therefore, ihat while their declarations on ihis point have been explicit and ful!, on other questions they have been to some extent indefinite. - The only formal Bfatement of the Liberty prin tiples we have in our possession is the follewing, adopted at the Annual Convention of the party ie MichigBn, in 1848, 8d published in our paper of Feb. 20, 1843. T!:ey are as follov8: "The pinctical enforecment of the conetitutional principie, that slavery is purely locnl in lts cWacter and cannot exisl beyond State limits under acts ol Congres?, by the repeal of all such nets which sanction or regúlate the traffic in slaves on the American coost, and the holding1 of slaves in American vetsels on the &eaR, or which estoblish and continue slnvery ju the district of Columbia, or in the Territory of Florida; and by the repeal of all Iaws and ordinances in thai District or Terriiory, which sustain slavery therein, and by inflexible opposition to the admiesion of any new slave Siate i tito the Union. The entire severonce of every department of the National Governments from unconetiluüonal connexion with sluvery. An open,anrl mnnly renunciation of all eubserviency to the slave power. Tiie udoption of immediate measures to revive the prosperity of the West, and of the whole country, by opening the markets of the world to our agricultura) product?, which we are now furced to =ell chierly to slare holden, who canno.% or will not pay, wliiJe immense markets abrohd remain closed against uk, through the criminal supinenessand indifference of our own government. The practical application of the greatprnciples of Liberty and Jnstice,- which are al- , so the fundamental principies of the Constitntion and of Republicnniem, - and the recojtiition of the eqñai rights of all men in the administration of our State and national governments. The diflusion of the blessings of education among ail classes; the establishment of a sound and honest cnrrency of gold and silver coin, or their equivalente; and the adoption of such jvst commercial regulations, wbether in the ehape of' dutics on importe, or any other shape, as will most eifectively promote tbe interests of free labor, and thereby advance the propperity of our country." It may, perhnps be objected, that these principies do not give a sufficiently definite statement of our currency and tarifF view, and that the langnnge is too vague to be satisfactory; in other words, that doubt yet exists as to what our views on the subject are. Perhaps it may be so. But if it be, we at least sharc this imperfection in respectable company. The objeclion of vagueness against our principies - "a sound and honest currency," &c. does not at any rate lie in the mouth of the whig, whose only declarnlion on the same subject is, "a. sound national currency,'' &x. nor can he with good grace complain of our tariff definition, while hïs own asserts no more than "an adequate revenua with fair protection to American indiistry." If the author of our caption be, as we believe, a Whig, we presume he will be equally astonished and pleased to find U8 occupying just the same ground, that hisown party does, on theee, their most prominent principies. - Ifhsis definite, we are definite: if we are vague, he is vague. But there is this difference bet ween us: ihat if we are both vague, there is excuse for us, - but none for the whig. Every party has some leading object, to which olhers, however valuable in themselvep, are subordínate. For us this object is found in tiie endeavor to abolisb. the dominion of the slaveholder over north and soulh: over the white citizen of the one, no less than over tbe black slave of the over. This prominent object of the Liberty party with its incidentalsi is clearly set forth in the first five of our principies. No one can here mistake our position. Are the whigsand demócrata equally clear, or their cardinal principies? Thoir own selected definitions will best answor the question! Do they admit, what they can't deny their vagueness and retort that we are equally vague on the same questions? We reply that these mattere, which to thern are the alpha of politica! creed, are held by us to be but subordínate to others of greater moment. We have never uhdervalued the mportatice of the financc and tanffquestior.s to the whig States; on the contrary, we have always feit and adraitted thera to be of great moment, but l