The Nevada journal., 1853-11-25
Political QuaFrels.

ONS'N~h
shell democrats in New York has reached its
crisis. The President and his cabinet have
taken the side of the soft-shells, and removed
Bronson and O'Conner because they declined
to give this perturbed section Of the democracy
a larger share of the spoils The letter of Mr.
Bronson declining to do so is manly and sin
cere, and takes as true an American ground az
does Marcy's Hulsenan letter, while it is.more
praiseworthy in that the latter only could ex-
pect ecldt, the former decapitation.
The difference between a hardsheIl and q
soft-shell democrat may be defined thus "A
soft is one who has been heretofore and is now
willing to coquet with, seduce and cajoie the
free soilers, so far as to make tools and instru
ments Of them for his Individual advancement
while the hards profess 10 denounce and defy
free soilers, and refuse to commune at all or as
sociate in any manner with them. The pros
pect of obtaining an Office, however, very fire.
quently has transformed hard into soft, and
soft into a hard, according as the best pros
pect was offered for personal advancement.
There never was subject agitated in this
country in which there was more blarney and
humbug hypocrisy and knavery than on this
subject of slavery. Neither the hards nor the
softs care anything about slavery Or freesoil OR
the questions clustering around these, and they
only use the subject for the purpose of using
up one another. 1t is a war of the Marcy and
Van Buren interests on the one hand, and the
Cass and Dickinson interests On the other. 1t
is the war which was predicted by every close
observer of the political chess board, when de-
luded by the glittering bauble Of the Presden-
tial chair, Gen. Cass brought himself into COLI
sion with Martin Van Buren and the Albany
Regency. Since that hour Buffalo platforms,
free soil agitatons, and all the concomita nj in
trigues, have only been the blinds, the decoys,
and the mannuvring movements which the am
bilious leading politicians have played off
against each other.
We did not believe when Gen Pierce was
elected, that the elemental party war was ended,
and an era Of good feeling permanently deve-
oped. The embers were not quenched, only
smothered, and they have now burst out anew
| till the existence Of the democratic party on its
old foundation is likely to perish in the confag-
ration.
We apprehend that various elements have
combined to bring about the present state of
things. One is that Gen. Cass has not yet Civ
en- up his aspirations for the Presidency and
that the house of Van Buren fear he may sue
ceed unless they still keep watch of him and
his friends ; another is the personal jealousy
and enmity existing between Dickinson and
Marcy, both looking for the next Presidential
nomination in case of the withdrawal Of Cass.
There are various minor elements in the com
bination, but these arc no doubt the most i'm
portant.
President Pierce did well when he sought to
rally all the diverse sections of the party upon
the Baltimore platform, and to forget and for
give all past differences of opinion and action /;
but he made mistake when be descended too
low in the political scale, to consummate this
union; when he stopped to cement it by divi-
ding the gpoils Of Office among the leaders ef
factions, instead of disregarding these and hay
ing regard only to private integrity and political
honor, and refusing to chatter with noisy dema-
gogues, whether Of high or low degree, in the
bestowment Of offices of honor and emolument
1t is in this light that we look upon the letter
of the Secretary of the Treasury to the Collector
OF New York, and its endorsement by the Pres
ident, as q sad blunder, likely to do much mis-
chief, and as step from the dignity of the
statesman, to the small fnesse of a ward-room
canyaSser.
If there is anything to be determined by the
signs of the times there will be more and louder
music in the next Congress. 1t is confidently
predicted by some of the Atlantic papers that
a new political organization will be seen few
months after the commencement of the session.
1t is said that an organization hostile to the ad-
miniStration is already known to exist among
democratic Senators.