The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-05-31
Barnburners and Old Hunkers.

Our readers will perceive by the news from Bal
tmore, that the proceedings of the third day of the
Democratic Convention was taken up in hearing
the arguments of the two factions of the party in
New ork, as to their respective rights to seats In
the Convention The names by which these di-
visions of the democratic party are KNOWN are pc
culiar and expressive, but unless explained would
be very apt to mislead strangers. The Barnburn-
ers by means addicted to the crime Of ar
son, nor have they so far as we can learn evinced
any general or decided antipathy to those very
full repositories of the fruits of the earhs fertility
and mans labor, commonly called barns. On the
contrary, being mostly farmers, they are rathera
barn-building and barn-preserving race, than
Misunderstanding people. Nor must they be con-
founded with the "Anti-renters,' which is quite
a distinct faction, having no affinity that we know
of to any branch of democracy. So far as we can
ascertain the facts of the case, they obtained their
name in this wise: being rather radical in their
political notions, they on more than one occasion
attacked the old usages of the party to root out
what they considered abuses. This dspleased
those who had grown fat on the system of things
as they are, or were, and led to many severe re-
Dukes of the reforming spirit. Among others, one
day, in the New York Legislature, one of the old
party described the new being about equal in
wisdom to the farmer, who in order to get rid of the
rats with which his graneries were infected, burnt
down his barn" To this it was replied that " they
would certainly burn down the barn if they could
not get rid Of the vermin in any other manner"
From that time to this, the radical portion of the
New York democracy have been known the
Barnburners.. The Old Hunkers derive their name
from a Low Dutch word, hunk what the precise
meaning of this musical monosylable may be,
defined by the photographers of that ancient and
learned language, we do not know, as we have not
a Dutch dictionary at hand but we do know very
well what the old hunk is, having been there some
thousand times when boy !; and it may be prac-
ticaby defined thus LIST, the usual place or post
in the play ground to which the boys run when
playing ball. hide and seek, ETC.. !; I'd, the old
ground itself; Sd, the where the chill
dren meet to play-and in this sense it is almost
synonymous with Undertook and 4th, any usual
place of resort, particularly the most public
in Dutch village. Figuratively and politically
speaking, therefore, the Old Hunkers are those who
play at the old corners, resort to the old stamping
grounds, and abide by the old manners and customs
In England they are known as Conservatives, and
in France as the men of the old rGg,me--the fell
lows who never forgot and never learn any thing
Whether this latter part is descriptive of the New
York faction, we will not pretend to say, as the ex
preston of any opinion on part might be con-
strued by the over-sensitive into an interference
with party -matters-and party-matters are never
the cleanest most pleasant things to handle.