New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-11-23
THE STRUGGLE OF 1914.

Our Boston Correspondent Oliver" makes
some mistakes in his letter in our last, which we
iAterpOse to correct, lest some laundering OF
knavish contemporary should undertake to attribute
them to us.
/. He errs in supposng that THE TRIBUNE ever
severely denounced the Natives of that day
1884 for causing the defeat of Mr.. Clay by per
sisting in voting for a candidate of their own. I"
THE TRIBUNE made no such charge, and could
have made none without gross oblivion of the
facts Some Of the prominent Natives of that day,
TO be sure, were very effective opponents of Mr..
Clay 4; but they set up no special candidate against
him, but voted and worked directly for his success
full antagonist, Mr. Polk. They had been Democrats
previously to April, IS43 when this City was car
ried by their party, and the resulting "spoils
(they alleged) nearly all apportioned among the
Irish and Dutch-whereupon they bolted and
started the Native party, in which movement a
number Of Wings were induced to join them,
so that in November they polled about 5000
votes. This encouraged them TO organize
and recruit throughout the Winter and
to nominate Mr.. James Harper (Whig, Native)
for Mayor next spring; and now the Wings were
urged to support Mr. Harper and his Native con-
frsrss on the Ward tickets as the only means Of
beating the Democrats. We resisted this appeal
to the best of our ability but large majority of
the " bigs were carried away by it, giving Harper
& Co. %, 900 votes-5 900 majority over Codding-
ton, Iem.--while only 5000 of US stood BY David
Graham, the regular Wing candidate. To this fol
lowed similar fusion " Of Wings and Natives in
pennsylvania, which, in connection with the riots
and church-burnings in Philadelphia, alarmed all
the immigra ants, drove the last remnant of them
away from the Wing standard, and caused an enor.
nous increase of Nsturslization-all against Ma
tiyism, and therefore in favor Of Polk. These
could not be won for Mr.. Clay, after the develop
ment Of Wig and Native afiliation in the Penn
.yl'anis State election (Oct "A y so an effort was
made to concentrate all the Native vote on Mr..
Clay To this end, the Wing leaders Of this City
came TO an understanding with the Native leaders
that our vote should be thrown for their
local candidates, while they should do their
utmost for our Electoral and State tick
ets. Mr. Clay was confdentially written to,
and induced TO give, sub rosa, qnGsi indorse ment
Of Nativisn His private letter to that effect was
confded or shown to certain leading Natives, for
merly Democrats, who undertook there With to
bring the rank and file of the Democratic Natives
over to Mr.. Clay's support; instead of which they
betrayed Mr.. Clay letter to their old Democratic
cronies, DOW working for Polk, and enabled them
Herewith to increase heavily the Naturahzed vote
for Polk. Mr.. Job Haskell, then of this City,
since Of Wisconsin was one of the principal ope-
rators in this game, and be boosted that he ee,ted
Mr. PeIk. He was Native in 49,, but Dem
ocrst before and ever after but al the Wing Ma
tves with some who had been Democrats worked
hard for Mr. Clay. and sincerely deplotsd his de-