Washington sentinel., 1853-10-14
NEW YORK POLITICS
BY A NEW YORKER

- New ork has, Tor some Time, been the
scene Of strife and contention You speak
truly, and manifest wise solicitude further
down in your editorial of September 10Th, by
asking Could not their dissentions have been
4 happily healed, and could they not have been
brought into fraternal harmony?n
have never seen our position, as | under.
stand It, fairly stated by any newspaper at the
1 seat of government. F8T
This probably results from the same cause
which prevents European from comprehend
ing the working of our American system--the
lack OF precise information. VIII you permit
me briefly TO state our position, SO far as i un-
derstand it.
/ 1t is matter of history, that when General
Cass obtained the nomination for President.
over Martin Van Bnren, the friends of the
latter gentleman united with the abolitionists,
and disaffected from all parties, and formed
new party organization at Buffalo This party
succeeded in its primary object in defeating the
democratic nominee. es
In eflecting this, John Van Buren and his
prominent coadjutors were aware that they had
rendered themselves extremely obnoxious to
the national democracy.
| lie was also aware, that as the leader of his
Buffalo party, he could only remain prominent
as a sectional man. This was below his amb-
tien--besides, 1t was uncertain how long he
could keep his discordaut, but ambitious, stbor
dinates together, unless he could hold out to
them the prospect Of participating in the ma
| tional patronage. This could be effected only
by returning into the democratic party. To
return there as individuals would have been
easy. This, however, would not answer.
All OF Mr.. Van Buren's great and varied
talent could not have rescued them from the
prejudice which their great provocations had
excited in the democratic ranks.
All idea of disbanding the Buffalo party was.
therefore, abandoned, and uaion Of the t,co
parties was to be effected. Martin Van Buren
had been called the favorite son Of New York
prior to this Buffalo stampede. He had been
the head OF the democratic party in this State.
In that capacity, he had acquired great, and
perhaps, deserved influence amongst its leading
men, He had extended his patronage to them
freely, and in return had secured their untirinr
and honest support. Prominent amongst them
were Governor Marcy, Governor Seymour. and
others, who as yet had adhered steadily to the
interests Of the national democracy.
These men were appealed. to- to effect this
union. We can easily sec that there was much
to dazzle the minds of honest political men in
this mission. The glory of restoring the demo
cratic party to its original strength The posi-
tion they would hold in the party after efecting
h'io uCohdpic IcSuits StcSuT nau maze himself
emperor of Rome by reconciling Pompey and
Crassus.
Convention after convention was held. and
finally their delicate mission was accomplished.
Two parties at antipodes, if they were honest,
upon the only issues which were then distract
ing the Union, were said to be united without
either disbanding or giving up its organization
Inc State central committee was doubled IL its
number, and each party had Just half
lhe old practice of making the number odd,
to prevent a total failure of action in case of a
tie, was abandoned, as it would give one party
the advantage over the other Each party to
retain its old notions on the veNed questions
which had divided them. This they termed
union for the success of the democratic party.
The irreyerent wings called it union for the
sake of the spoils. Well the two parties went
on under the reign of this coalition as well as
they could. The counties enlarged their cen
tral committees and made them equal in num-
ber, and in nominating officers where thew acted
to the spirit of the compromise one side would
hrst nominate their man, and then the other
side, until the ticket was full neither party could
interfere unless by very mild advice in the |
selections the other made.
There was sometimes, it is true, a sho,cing
Of eyes when there was an odd number to he
nominated. No fusion of the two parties was
pretended; on the contrary, the introduction of
any resolution into convention, either State,
county, or town, rejecting upon the peculiar
tenets OF either, was considered and treated as
violation of the compact.
One of the immediate consequences of this
coalition was an outcry on the part of the old
abolilonists and wings that had gone with |
John Van Buren to Buffalo. that he and his
friends had betrayed them; that he was not
honest &c., &C. This new difficulty was to be
met or a large portion of his forces would /
abandon him, and he would lose the fruits of
tins coalition, from the want of sufficient num-
bers to make himself respected, and his last |
state would be worse than his first. @
he meets the crisis with his usual energy I
and adopted, perhaps, the only course his posi-
ton allowed
By his speeches and letters, he Immediately
assured them that he had not abandoned one
OF his old positions, but on the contrary he was
now IN position to render them triumphant
/" or aboi'tioaistng the democratic party
These measures partially quieted the revolt,
put they produced increased irritation amongst
the national democrats, and the reciprocal
charges OF the want of good faith on each side
we think the error of GOV. Marcy and his
friends consisted in forming a coalition, instead
of insisting, at that time, upon fusion of the
two parties upon national platform
lie may say this would have been impossible
without throwing off all of the old abolitonists
who had gone for the Buffalo platform.
This may be true; but he must admit that it
Was these men, and those who rely on them
Tor political Importance, who have Kept ND the
agitation since that time
lie may say, the hunkers were Just as set in
their views, and just as impracticable, as their
opponents. Admit it and should he not have
known this, and taken it into the account be-
fore deciding to proceed upon the basis Of
forming coalition. He kne,c the iron an their
bones. M
he knew they were the very men who sus.
tanned him and Tompkins and their compa-
trIots in the last war with Great Britain. lie |
knew they werethe men who stood between them
and the British bayonets. The men who sus.
tanned the democratic party and the nation in
that clark crisis" They had resisted all of the
seductions of peace parties, Washington beney-
olent societies, anti-masonry abolitionism, and
80. ~ ~, L 4 =.