The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-10-27

per vocation is natural history; and we hope
he Will next enlighten us concerning "that
same old COON" Gen. Webb says he is dead
Corporal Brooks says he still lives" What
says Mr.. Wise?
PRIVILEGED CIAssEs-A New TACK.--Gov.
Seward runs nearer to the wind than any other
political navigator in this country. He navi-
gated the higher law plank right in among
the breakers of the Constitution, and he is now
astride of "the privileged classes"-the slave
holders of the South. There are plenty of
dough faces who believe that Mr.. Seward is
great hypocrite and demagogue in this in
stance, as in nearly all others where he has
moved forward in advance of his abolition as
sociates with a new theory. He has discovered
that the shareholders are privileged class in
this republic of absolute freedom; and he pro-
poses that the higher law shall be applied,
like Murat's scythe of equality, to cut off all
heads down to the negro level. After hearing
SO much of the slave oligarchy, the slave pow
er, and its fierce aggressions, it was natural to
expect that somebody would find privileged
class. That it has existed in the country for
more than seventy years-speaking freely by
its press and in the halls of legislation
that it's labor has entered into the common
field of production, and its fruits into the
pockets of every Northern manufacturer, i'm
porter and jebber-that it has paid its taxes
into the general treasury--that it even fought
the battles of the Revolution, and furnished its
ablest generals and some Of its wisest counsel
lors--that it,entered into political compact
with the dough faces for a perpetual union of
the States on settled principles of reciprocal
interest-it is, perhaps, little strange that this
privileged class was not sooner discovered.
But it must be remembered that it is only once
in an age that mankind is furnished with such
statesmen as Seward and such philosophers
and patriots as Greeley and Garrison.
Those who consented to allow three-fifths of
the negroes to be counted as basis of repre-
sentation in Congress, and covenanted to sur
render fugitive slaves, and made these cove
nants part of the organic laws of the repub-
lie, were dough faces; and those who secured
those covenants were privileged class. Since
then we have grown wiser, and but for the eff
fort Oh our parton the part of the abolition
ists---to set aside our obligations, to refuse to
fulfil our contracts we should say more honest
AT this point there is little confusion. The
wisdom Of the abolitionists has given us the
higher law, a blessed dispensation intended to
repeal such provisions Of the federal constitu-
ton as may conflict with either our interests
or our prejudices; but it is misfortune that
three fourths of the North and the entire
South believe that dispensation to rank ex-
actly on par with those of Joe Smith and
Brigham Young, and to proceed from the same
ethical fountain as Fourierism and the de-
lectable free love concern which lately en-
gagged the attention Of the police, and which
Greeley has SO perseveringly attempted TO In
troduce in this community. But aside from
the constitution and the higher law, Mr.. Sew
ard is positive that he has found a privileged
class. For instance, the Shareholders regard
their slaves as property, three-ifths Of whom
are counted as a basis of representation in
Congress. Here is an exclusive and pc
culiar privilege at once; as in the free States
population alone is basis of representation.
In the North, free negroes, who are generally
useless members of society-who are prescribed
thus counted in the population and represent
ed in Congress The North is the nursery of
emigration. 1t receives thousands and hun
dreds Of thousands, many of whom do not un-
derstand our language-more know nothing of
our institutions, have no right to vote, but are
still part Of our population and represented
in Congress. Now, if this is no offset to the
he oe;c e e1c g.,
South, il is q fact which goes far to show the
equities of our political system and the equi-
valents secured to all parties by its theory and
its practice. But let us suppose that Virginia
abolishes slavery. She has five hundred thou
sand slaves-three hundred thousand of whom
are counted in her Congressional census 1t is
clear that if che should abolish slavery she
would be entitled to two more members. The
same principle applied to the entire slave
States would give them more than twenty adj
ditional members 1t would appear from this
practical showing that Mr.. Stewards "privi-
legged class" is not much of an affair, after ALL
His remedy would add to their privileges with
out changing the character of the population
In truth, the North have decided adyan-
tage in the organization of the govern.
ment Labor constitutes an essential part of
government everywhere and it will be re-
membered that in the North its entire labor
and its great asylum of European emigration,
its Migrants end its paupers are represented in
Congress, while the privileged class" of the
South has only threeffths Of its orderly and
most productive labor counted.
The ALDERMAN HERRIcK CAsE.-The result
OF the trial OF Alderman Herrick is Just what
every one expected. No one believed that the
jury would agree; or If they did, that the case
would proceed to termination without some
multiplying incident. OF the offence charged