The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-08-27
Our Boston Correspondence.
BosToN, August Is, 1864.

y
Republican (" Convention Stephen o.
Philtips-Congress Csndidafes-Ex.
aegtrated Predictions of the Knosc Nothing
Vefe-.d Democratic Convention Called
Refusal Of the Democratic State Committee
to Endorse the administration.
The weather is horrible. There never was
such another drought since the last preceding
one. The country is all burnt up. The fields are
yellow as dying saffron. The ,rees are parched
The corn is all wiltd. Herbage is ad. The
atmosphere is filed with smoke and dust The
breezes are blasts from the great fire Office and
seem as If meant to ascertain the exact amount
OF heat that the animal man can bear The soil
is all " free SOIL " for it goes every where, and
makes itself at home in all places. Your food
is gritty, your books are gritty, your drink is
gritty, and there is even an allowance of dust
between the Sheets ! suppose that New Eng
land must have lost some millions by this
drought. Every thing looked beautifully a
month ago. And now it is all dust and ashes
literally so, and no figure of speech.
The Republican Convention, which is to meet
op the 7th of September, will have a very i'm
portsnt work to perform. 1t is supposed that
il will really nominate the free soil candidate;
and if it should hit upon Q man who shall hap
Zen to be satisfactory to the Know Nothings,
he would stand q most excellent chance of be-
ing chosen by the people, with large margin
in bis favor. Just at this time the most promi-
Dent name for the nomination, both of the re
Iubicans and of the Know Nothings is Stephen
G. Phillips, of Salem, one of the original free
soil leaders, for several years a member from
the Salem district of Congress, possessed of
great wealth, which he expends at once with
wisdom and liberality, and uniting in his per-
son the not common gifts of eminent business
capacity and high general talents. No free
sciier has ever received so large vote as was
thrown for Mr.. Phillips in 1S48. He has had
nothing to do with any of the internal squab-
bes OF the free soilers, Of late years, and would
be as clean candidate as they could present,
though not whit more deserving than General
Wilson. To the Know Nothings he would pro-
baby be as acceptable as any man in the State
Of equal fitness for the station. An idea has
prevailed with the new party, that they ought
to nominate an entirely new man; and with
some of their number it rides over every thing
else 1t needs. however, but little reflection
to show that such course might be attended
best Intentions. and yet fail, from ignorance
from want Of experience. A man is no more
born to knowledge of and capacity for the
performance of public business than to know
ledge of making shoes or pulling teeth. To
put an ignorant, inexperienced man at the bead
of the State would be about as wise as it would
be to give the command of the Independence to
Johnny Raw. At the same time, it does not
follow that the new party should take up some
old political hack who has been blown upon by
the gales of the last forty years. but man
who, while he is known to be qualified for
the Gcvernorship, has been for years out
Of the position Of an active party
leader In these respects Mr.. Phillips is
better situated than any other man in Mas
sachusetts; and it is because he is so eitu-
ated that am inclined to attach more impor-
tance to the talk about his nomination than to
most such things. 1t may be that he would not
take the nomination, as he has more than once
declined it in former years.
The statement made in one of our morning
papers, and copied into the HERALD, that the
Know Nothings of Massachusetts will cast
1000 votes, must be taken with mauy thou
sand grains Of allowance. They will throw
good vote, doubt not; but $4,000 would be
monstrous one, and such as they nor any other
single party will not get very soon. If they
should throw Sc, 900, it would be considered
great work here, and would be gladly COM
pounded for at this moment The highest num-
Der OF actual voters now claimed as members of
the lodges, by some of the most intelligent
members of the order, is $4,000 some put it
little higher, and others somewhat lower.
In either case, large deduction would
have to be made to get fair estimate of what
the actual vote would be, as there never has
been an election in Massachusetts,, for the last
ten years, a which almost fifty thousand voters
we're not present at the polls The largest
vote ever thrown for Governor in Massachu-
setts was that of 1852, when 1t amounted to
l38.436. Allowing that this year it will, from
various causes, reach to q hundred and fifty
thousand, the casting of eighty thousand votes
by the Know Nothings would leave but Seventy
thousand votes for the wings, democrats, free
soilers and scattering, which, fallen as are the
fortunes Of the whigs and the democrats, would
| be to place them too low altogether. That the
| Know Nothing candidate for Governor may
| receive eighty thousand votes, Ireadily admit.
| For instance, if Mr.. Phillips should be that
| candidate, 1t would not be matter of surprise
if he were to receive over eighty thousand
| votes; but one-half Of his support would come
from the free soilers, democrats 'and whigs
who have never belonged to the order,
and never will. The vote received by Horace
Mann in 1852, was 36, TAO, the free soilers then
! all being out that could could come, and
some wings supporting him. The same party g
vote, last year, was about 10000, several thou
| sands Of their number, under the lead Of Pal
tfey and @. +. Adams, refusing to vote either
for the new constitution or for Gen. Wilson for
Governor. If there should be free soil can
didate up apart from the Know Nothing nomi-
nation, and he should be generally acceptable
to his party, the Know Nothiogs will find it no
easy matter to poll over $4,000 votes-unless,
indeed, the democrats in their despair Of doing
anything so long as the present administration
shall keep up its coalition" with our wings,
tor the exclusive benefit Of the latter, should
go over en- xnasse to the support Of the new
party's nomination. In such case, whist with
democrats, new voters, and the Know Nothings,
who were originally wings or free soilers,
there might oe thrown nos iar from $1,000
Something may depend upon the action Of the
Democratic State Convention, but not o very
great deal, should think.