The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-06-29


HoLpKRs--As matters stand at present, lis almost
beyond doubt that General Taylor, Mr.. Folks
home manufactured candidate, for he laid the egg,
and the Mexican war Matched it, will be the next
President of the United States, and will assured
ly reign in the White House for the nextfour years,
as that the present occupant thereof is one James
X. Polk, who formerly practised the intricacies Of
law in neat whte-washed town somewhere
down In Tennessee, and who was nominated for
that Office because he had the peculiar felicity, be-
fore the canvass, of being unknown, unhonored,
and unsung. With this certainty staring us in the
face what, in the name of politics and patriotism,
are the numerous hordes of office-holders to do,
what they to take in the coming contest:
Are they to support General Glass; whose cleo
ton is contingency of doubtful occurrence,
or are they to throw their influence in the
scale of General Zachary Taylor, a certain
military man, who did certain great things on a
certain occasion, on a certain field called Buena
VISTA with certain kind of shot called grape?
It is estimated that there at least sixty thou
sand office holders under the general administra-
ton, and that the amount of plumber annually dis
trbuted by government equal to forty millions Of
dollars, which is expended in thousand and one
ways The party which has the command of these
office-holders, and the scattering of this vast
amount of spoile, is possessed of potent weapon,
which, when welded by cunning hand, can knock
down opponents as fast an expert bowler will
knock over ten pins New York alley. But
the opponents must be Of the right sort, of the to-
he-victor-belongs-the-sp character, or these
great feats cannot be accomplished; and the man
who handles the weapon must be expert as WELL
Now in order to determine the question, as to how
the present office-holders will conduct themselves
in the coming canvass, we must inquire first, whe-
Their this great weapon is in the hands OF an expert
bowler, or whether he who yields it is bungler,
apt to run his ball up the alley-and secondly,
whether the adversary belongs to the order which
we have referred to?
The first inquiry can soon be disposed Of Every
one in the country knows that Mr. Polk, previous
to the meeting of the Baltimore Convention, re-
sorted to every trick and article known in the poll
tcian's manual, to procure a denomination, but
failed. He threw his balls at the ten pins; but in
stead of knocking them over, they rebounded, and
toppled himself on the slippery alley, where he re-
mains foundering away, amid the jeers Of the
lockers on. This shows that Mr.. Polk is not an
expert hand in the political bowling alley. In re-
gard to the other print, General Taylor has un-
equivocally declared that he is not party man,
and in relation to removing political opponents
from Office, and filling their places with his friends,
he says he will not do it, Therefore he is not a
to-the-victor-belongs-the- opponent
Now, how will the office-holders act in this Pc
culiar position in which they are placed. For GER
tain reasons, Mr.. Polk would desire their influence
in favor of General Cass-but he IS an unskilful
operator. They are therefore thrown on their own
judgment. How then will they act? We are sat-
isfied that they will act so as to deprive General
Cass of the benefits which the exercise of this pow
er has heretofore conferred Many of them will
doubtless adhere to the fortunes of General Cass,
and sink or swim with him; but the greater pro-
portion will take sides with General Taylor, be-
cause his star is, and most likely will be, il the
ascendant, until it bursts in full splendor at WASH
ington, like Crutchets lantern the top of long
pole, of dark night.
The influence of office will, therefore, In the
present canvass, be an instrument to help to defeat
General Cass, and to elect General Taylor. Such
Is the view we take of the matter 1t will add to
his popularity and to the chances of his election,
which, from the signs of the times, is almost GER
tain The present is, therefore, in this, as in ma
ny other respects, anomalous, and it will result,
we have no doubt, in the destruction of the two
old parties, and the establishment of great CON-
prehensive republican party, known as the Taylor
party; as the present democratic party was known
as the Jackson party.