The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1856-06-04
Correspondence ot the Ashland Union.l
FROM NEW YORK.
New YoRK, May ~, 1855.

Correspondence oe the Ashland Union.l
FHON NEW Il
New York, May 81, 1856.
"Lcs ertremes Sc touchent." An
immense quantity of news mounts to
about the same thing as no news at all,
and a dozen equally important topics of
public interest, make newspaper-writing
nearly as difficult a job, as if there was
positively nothing to write about. The
Champion Difficulty, the Walker Move
ment in Central America, the approach
ing Democratic and Free:Soil Conven-
tions, the Assault on Senator Sumner,
and the late Destruction of the City of
Lawrence, in Kansas, will each exert so
decided an influence, for good or for evil,
on the destinies of the United States,
that the more a man ponders over them,
and on what may grow out of them, the
more puzzled he is to decide upon the
subject which should chiefly engage the
attention Of the Government and the
Press, and enlist the sympathies and en-
thusiasm of the People. AS the news
papers all over the country are, and will
continue to he. grooming with liable ar
ticles" on all these subjects, and taking
so many different views of each, that the
people are in a glorious state of uncer-
ta:nty and confusion, I will not attempt
to drive them to positive insanity by
giving them still another elaborate opin-
ion on each subject, but will pass on to
other topics less exciting and interest
ing, but perhaps not less really import
ant after all.
1t is a matter of im~possibility, in my
opinion, for US to have honesty and
straight-forwardness in our different
State and Federal Governments, until
some means are devised of letting each
voter record his individual preference
for the man by whom he is to be served
in any capacity, instead of permitting
him, cirtuaHy, only to choose from two
or three candidates brought forward by
their respective parties. I do not know
from personal observation how it is with
you in the country, but here in New
York, the result of party caucuses and
Conventions is, that the majority of our
officials are as great a set of r%ascals as
are to be found in any State Prison in
the Union-and much more dangerous,
for the reason that they are more cum
ming than professed thieves. What can
be said in favor of a system that gives
US a Fernando Wood for Mayor, a man
whose private character was such on the
very day of his nomination, that he
would not have been permitted to place
his feet under the mahogany of any gen.
tleman in New York ? of a system that
gives US, as other public functionaries,
men only known to the public as fight
ing men and professional haJitues of the
r~ace-course, and the lower grades of
gambling houses? My reason for not
detailing to you some of the public and
private vilainies of New York politicians,
Of al parties, is that you-would not
credit my statements, or would think
that I had picked out a few exceptions
to the general rule, for the purpose of
making out a spicy letter, or of crafty
ing private malice but let me tell you
that no better service could be rendered
to the people of the United States, than
to keep them posted UP on the tru
state of politics in this city, and the real
character of politicians of all parties.
There are now in New York twice as
many " separate and distinct stinks," as
Coleridge counted in the famous city of
Cologne. AS those stinks will be indef-
initely increased in variety, favor and
intensity, as the hot weather approaches,
it is not surprising that many persons
anticipate a fearful epidemic. 1t is a
consolation to know, however, that that
scourge of all changeable climates, con-
sumption, is perceptibly on the decline
among US. A late number of Hunters
Medical Specialist contains an ably
written article on the causes and cure of
consumption, from which it appears that
the deaths from that disease, in the first
quarter of 1854, were 543 for the first
quarter of 1855, they were 776 and for
the present year, only $50 These fig
ures are certainly very fattering, espe-
cialIy when it is considered that our
population has been constantly increas-
ing.
"S a'le eHaon has been recently called
to an invention that has already found
favor here among reporters, %clergymen, |