The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-12-21

|
| Opening OF the Great Contest between the
Opposition and the Administrations The
New York Herald tI,c Leading Opposition
| organ.
The contest between the national Union men
OF the country and the free soil coalition spoils
party of the administration is now fairly
opened The leading party papers of the day
are accordingly ranging themselves with the one
| party or the other. Read the several articles
| published elsewhere in our columns this morn
| ing from the Washington Union, the Richmond
| IVA inquirer, and the Richmond Examiner
all leading democratic organs. The Enquirer
| is terribly frightened at the revolutionary plot
| disclosed in the vote for printer to the Senate,
| and cries treason The Union betrays the
| same alarm, and throws the whole burden of
the conspiracy against the Cabinet upon the
NEW YORK Herald, which it denouuces as 1.-The
leading organ of the opposition, whose object
is to break down the administration The Err
dDainer, on the other hand, unshackled by the
spells, pourtrays, with the honest candor of an
Independent mind, the utter impossibility of
anything but continuous disasters to the admin
istration with the present Cabinet, and desper-
| ately pleads for change as the only hope of
salvation to Gen Pierce
There is good ground for the alarm Of the
Union and the Enquirer-there is practical
wisdom in the despairing appeal of the Erami
aer; but while the future promises no relief to
the ministerial organs, there is every reason to
believe that the formation Of a great and over
whelming party against the administration can
| not now be arrested 10y any change which may
be made in the Cabinet. The proposition comes
now too late-the rupture in the democratic
party is too wide and deep to be healed upon
any such arnistce. The Rubieon is crossed
and the rebellious national democrats have
already commenced active operations for the
| succession of 1856. Their programme contem-
| plates nothing less than a total dissolution OF
| the spells factions as now recognized by the
| Cabinet, and their entire reconstruction upon
those broad and living general principles which
the administration has repudiated and aban-
| doned.
| Already, in the outset of this new contest, we
| have some democratic Developments Of oppo-
| sition to the administration which ia their
! boldness are unlike any thing that has happened
for many years. The only parallel case, for
| example, TO the late election of the Senate
printer is in The similar election OF 1927. To
this case we have heretofore adyerted, but it
was only an incident in a whole chain Of events
constituting Presidential crisis similar to that
in which General Pierce now finds himself
With the administration Of Mr.. Monroe the
old Congressional caucus system of Presiden-
tial nominations fell to the ground. The con-
test which followed was simply scrub race for
the spells. there being no regularly organized
parties in the field. There were ''no federaists,
no republicans" and wings and democrats were
as yet unknown. General Jackson, Mr.. Cal
hour, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Adams and Mr.. Clay,
were each and all brought forward as indepen-
dent candidates in this scrub campaign Of "a
Mr. Calhoun, however, withdrew from the main
ticket, and was run in for the Vice Presidency;
and of The four other Presidential aspirants the
three highest-Jachson, Adams and Crawford
were carried up to the House Representatives
where, by junction with the friends of dr.
Clay, the election of Mr.. Adams was accom-
plished.
Up to this point al parties were adrift and at
sea; but no sooner was the grea! statesman
Mr.. Clay appointed Secretary Of State BY Pre-
sident Adams-an act scarcely more parilous
than Gen Pierce's appointment of the spoils-
nan Marcy-no sooner was this done than
the cry Of bargain and sale" was raised
among the partsaus of Jackson. Crawford,
and Calhoun and the opposition to the adj.
niuistration was foreshadowed from chat day
Nothing definite was developed-no positive
blow was struck for two whole years. till The
election Of Gen. Duff Green az printer to the
Senate in 1897. That affair, however, could
admit of no misconstruction. 1t developed a
deliberate combination of the partizans Of Jack
son, Calhoun and Crawford, the import of which
was as plain as daylight. The old National
btelHgemesr then was seized with a similar
alarm to that Of the Union and Enquirer now,
and raved and frettcd in pitiful expostulations
and impotent warnings to the extent Of ten or
twelve columns in several Jeremiads Still
the war went on Stevenson. Of Virginia, was
elected Speaker Of the House, the opposition
gathered strength and consistency from day to
day till it was concentrated upon Gen. Jack
son in 1923, and resulted in his triumphant
election.
From such materials and such causes was
formed the modern democratic party, now
being dissolved and reconstructed by n
movement strikingly analogous in its &C.
| neral features to that which broke down the
administration Of John Quincy Adams 1t was
charged then that the administration was a cor
rupt concern--a thing Of bargain and sale-and
that its only element Of cohesion was the spols.
But compared with the present free soil coah-
ton Cabinet-tbis spoils administration-tha
Of Adams was purity itself for the present
| spojls jobbing coalition at Washington is rotten
% the core, and the only principle held 10 com