New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-09-02


was naturally expected to increase IT, Bot tn'
cIintonians Of tina, County considering the recent
division virtually superseded by the retire men' %
Gov. Clinton, saw no reasonior vo'lns q
friend and neighbor merely on account u : -,
Befor, the Election, they said one 10 "" =,
Mr.. Wright will give us assuraho' IN
ssupport law giving the choice o.
.r,aa,o,. % Tho People, we will vote Tor hm rather
-. .,,,nge,' T1as assurance ~os g'ee''' a.
- - .,,es5y stated without contradiction On
a.. testimony Of living witnesses ana Oh tne
..rng,b of il siIas Wright received the solid vote
q che County. though mainly his Political oppo-
naut.. and by that vote was elected
No., .uppose il were otherwise than above
.,s.ed-suppose the CintoniaDs OF St Lawrence
oo,v srD.oted and Jeliered that Mr.. Wright would
..noort the measure by them deemed ofparamount
imuortance-whst course was incumbent on him
as a public man and a man Of honor Had he
moral right to use the power thus conferred to
thwart and defeat the cherished purpose OF the
giversl Can there be two answers to this question
But the Legislature assembled, and Mr. Wright
took his seat in the Senate The state OF things
vaguely anticipated in 1923 was presented In ls2i'
IL had been customary to nominate Democratic
candidate for President by Congressional Caucus
But now fire candidates for President had been
presented by their respective friends, all Of the
Democratic party, with no Federal candidate.
very large majority lover two to one of the Demo
cratic Members Of Congress decided that no Caucus
should be held and issued virtual Protest against
the binding force of any nomination made by such
Caucus Yet the minority, sixty-six IN all, the
friends of WIN. II. Crawford almost TO man, held
Caucus and nominated their man. thereupon In
sisting tina. all true Democrats should vote tor him
There are a great many such doings that pass tor
Democracy when TO our mind they seem plainly
the rankest kind Of aristocracy the grossest lmPo
sition.
This however, did not pass. The friends oil Ad-
ans, Jackson, Clay, Calhoun, secuted and spurned
the djctum of the unauthorized Caucus They ap
peaed from that to the People. and were responded
10. But to come back to NewYork
Martin Van Buren, was OF course a member Of
the Crawford Caucus. active and leading one.
A man made by Caucuses and party machinery
and who had made others the same way, could not
be expected TO rise above them. And as strong
ly Bucktail Legislature had been chosen IN ls2J'
dates for President and without the least reference
to the support Of Mr.. Crawford or anybody else
and Mr. Van Buren, and his set had for years exer-
csed almost undsputed power over the bucktaii
party in the Legislature they calculated that they
had the Electoral Vote Of New-fork In their
erasp-that their Legislature, chosen without re-
ference to Presidential preferences would choose
Crawford Electors, and thus the whole business be
done up.
Rat this lis it a wonder y did not suit the people
of Nsw.York They wanted some suostantiai
voice ia the election OF President oil the Ohioh'
The old Clintopians, with hardly an exception
were vociferous for such change as would give
the choice of Presidential Electors to the People
directly Bot not they alone very large portion
of the Bucktails also, led by HENRY WHEAToN,
then Assembyman from this City, Gen JAMES
TALLmADcE. then Speaker, Gen. JAMES W. Will
KIN of Orange, CLARKsos CRoLIus, senior &C
with nearly the wbo.e voting population not spe'
cially attached to party, also cried aloud for an
election by the People. The Assembly, though
strongly Buoktail was in favor of acceding but the
senate almost or quite all OF the Bucktail party
would not consent The regular session closed
with nothing done.
But this. which the short sighted managers had
supposed would dspel the popular excitement,
only caused it 20 rage more hercely. Pubic meet
iues 10 favor Of giving the choice to the People
were held Ia every section, until at length Gov.
Yates himself Bucktal and a Crawford man
dared hold out no longer. He called an Extra
Session Aug Il OF the Legislature on purpose
10 pass an Electoral Law, and in his Message stated
the obec. and bis reasons. But the masterspirits
were not at all disposed to give way. Ihey
thought they had the vote of the state sale ioi
Crawford if the choice were made by the Legisia
ature they were very sure OF losing II they SUB
mitted the question to the People So they
resolved TO brazen 1t out
Mr. A C. Flagg, now Controller, then Buck
| tail Editor at Plattsburgh was in the Assembly
and a leading Caucusite. He pretended that TIT
| calling of an Extra Session was illegal, but wa
overrued. On the 3d. resolution moved by MI
Ogden. came up in the Senate, affirming that
| il expedient to pass law al the present NEE
ing of the Legislature giving to the People OF thu
State the choice of Electors of President and VIC
President" Sereateen Senators-a bare majorit
voted No; among them Silas Wrgh so the II
4
that the People ought to have the privilege
choosing their own Electors was previously pr
posed and carried. Sas voting Yea But this al
swered no purpose, so long us those who temPor'
rily had the power would not vest 1t in the Poop
TO whom it belonged.
On the 5th. the Assembly passed a resolve sivin
the choice to the People Yeas IS, Nays a. 81
the Senate, by vote OF the seventeen aforesaid
fifteen refused to and the People were nj
allowed to choose the Electors that year. AT Il
regular session. Mr.. Wright had, after voting tn
e the People ought to have the privilege contende
I for, aud presenting complicated scheme ostensib
therefor which obtained only four votes had hnal
1 voted March lo 10 postpone the rho'e subject {
y Noreaber-that is until after the Electors shou
be chosen-which was carried by the votes OF q
: II aforesaid Thus alsw which the People slmc
n unanimously demanded to permit them To do
1 rectly that which they did not choose to have dol
by deputy, was defeated and by the vote OF Sii
Wright who had been elected expressly on Il