State of Parties and the Country [pp. 1-53]

State of Parties and the Country.
by the union of the States, and to sustain and advance among us constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and exclusive
legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and
by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles and compromises of the Constitution which are broad enough and strong enough
touphold the Union as it is, and the Union as it should be, in the full expansion of the energies and capacities of this great and progressive people.
A creed is a body of living law, or it is a lie and a corruption. Here is ours, and its honest maintenance constitutes
the only condition of life for the Democratic party. It is
clear enough for honest purpose to comprehend and follow;
it is general enough for the corrupt politician to evade and
avoid. A clever lawyer can pick his way through the wards
of any statute, and human language has never proved quite
equal to human securities. In these articles, thus delivered,
lie the material which we have condensed or dilated upon in
previous pages. WVe have not thought fit to omit the solemn
formula which constitutes the preamble to the articles, particularly the third general resolution; as it sounds like an appeal to Deity for his sanction on what is affirmed, and as
bearing witness to the good faith of those who appeal. We
believe in the active superintendence of the Supreme Ruler
of the Universe, and that he keeps an always present and
searching eye upon the proceedings of his creature man;
and we believe that no men can escape divine retribution,
though administered through human means, who deliberately forswear themselves, in any of their relations; and that an
oath of political signification is quite as serious and solemn a
concern-nay, much more so-than when taken before court
and jury in regard to merely personal affairs. In other
words, the lies of party recoil upon the heads of party; and
that party which fraudulently wins support by professions of
faith which it means to falsify, or falsifies indifferently without meaning, is at any and every moment in danger of such reverse as shall oust it from power or from popularity. Let
then, the Democrats take warning; for as sure as there isa God
in heaven, he takes quite as much interest in the affairs of
men and nations, in the nineteenth century, as when he
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[July,