The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-11-06

warnings, are entitled to expect that he will vim
dicate the justice of their course. II is due to
them as well as to himself that Mr.. Wood should
proceed forthwith, really and earnestly, to the
practical realization of the promises of reform
held out in his first inaugural. 1t is very true
that the reforms that are needed cannot be effect
ed without new charter; and therefore, we expect
that Fernando Wood will devote his whole mind
and energy, at the proper times aud in the proper
places, to the procuring of such new charter, and
that he will not rest till it is passed. At the
same time there is a wide field for the display of
energy in the proper execution Of the laws that
we have, and in the administration Of the govern
ment OF the city with all its faults.
Defeat, Death, and Burial OF Brooks.
The defeat OF Brooks, the American candidate
for Governor, conveys wholesome moral lesson
Erastus Brooks is one Of two brothers, who own
and edit the Express newspaper Years ago. the
Express was petty wing organ, and by dint of
contrivapces well understood by the initiated,
one of the brothers, James, secured q seat in
Congress. Thus vanished into respectability,
the brothers continued to carry on their jour-
nal, obscurely enough, and TO exc out a precar
ous livelihood by economies which are we'll re-
membered by all who had dealings with them at
the time. Time rolling on, aud the corruptions
Of the democratic party on the one side, and the
decrepitude Of whigism on the other stimulating
the Discontinued to the formation Of new politi-
cal organization, Know Nothingism was ushered
into being, and the brothers Brooks sought and
obtained an humble place among its priesthood.
They were not known as Protestants, or religion
lists of any kind. Their fulsome adulation of the
Irish in the days Of Taylor and Scott was well
and sorrowfully remembered by all the high
minded adherents Of these great wings. Yet they
now burst forth into strain Of bigotry and mar
row minded national prejudice that would have
disgraced Hindoo. Morning after morning
they put forth violent and brutal trades equally
devoid of decency, discretion and common sense,
against all foreigners and all religions save the
narTowest Calyinism. They called for persecu-
ton; they howled over the tolerance of the age
Every Catholic, they said, was a villain; every
priest hypocrite, a traitor and Jesuit who was
dying to destroy the republic.
Ofcourse the brothers Brooks, who had been
engaged for fifteen or twenty years in the news
paper business, were as well aware as any one
else of the palpable absurdty and RIGHTEOUSNESS
OF this gable OF theirs; they laughed in their
sleeve at their own afectation of bgotry, aud
very likely felt good deal of contempt for the
barrow minded ignorance Of the fools who were
deluded by it. Still, whatever they thought they
kept to themselves; and Erastus Brooks rode on
the bigotry wave into the Senate. There be-
would have died, politically; there would have
been the last Of him-but for the extraordinary
indiscretion Of gentleman whose many good
qualities are singularly alleged by want Of ru
dence and caution. This was Archbishop Hughes.
The Archbishop allowed Brooks to beguile him
into political discussion; Brooks OF course en-
Listed the religious sympathes of the rural dis
tricts; made SO much capital, in short, that tn
nomination for Governor was secured.
The next step in this unhappy mans career
was the canvass just closed. IL vas competent
to Brooks to move gracefully from the peculiar
position he occupied (Which, practically, was
mere opposition to the democracy, to the
side Of Colonel Fremont who alone, as he knew,
could defeat the democratic candidate; or he
might, if he really considered the election
OF Fremont dangerous to the Union, have fol-
lowed the example Of the fossil wings of Massa-
chusotts and elsewhere, and rallied to the sup
port Of Buchanan; or, finally, like our venerable
female contemporary OF the Commercial, he might
have assumed an attitude Of no,sasalty and con-
tented himself with underhand digs ut the can
didates. He did not pursue any Of these courses,
for the simple reason that not one of them held
ont TO him any prospect Of personal gain; but in
concert with number Of other uuprincipled po-
liticans, he played upon the personal antipathies
ard the conceit OF Mr.. Fillmore, until he per-
suaded that very foolish gentleman TO run q sepa-
rate ticket, and divide the opposition. Brooks
share Of the plumber was to be the Governor
ship and this crafty rogue calculated that,
though Fillmore as BE- knew well would be de-
ieatcd, and killed politically he CBroo1s) might
sill carry the State
On this basis he began the campaign. We
shrink from following him through the course =
the contest AE our city readers at all events,
remember The unblushng uncSamplcd abuse Of
Colonel Fremont which was the sole feature OF
Tie campaign E1prcs; they recclleet how TIE
Broofses chose for their attacks those points IL
Col. Fremont which would have been safe fro i
the touch Of every gentleman or man Of honor
bow they illuminated bis mother, reviled
his father, sneered at his wife, invented
falsehoods abou, his birth. his parentagc,
his religion, biz moral character, and repeated
th,m time and again. long after over-zealous
friends Of Fremont had been TO the trouble Of
disproving them: how, indeed, the sole, the only
proposition they asserted, with view Of training
the people to right exercise Of the suffrage, was
that Col Fremont had, by his energy and charac-
ter, risen superior 10 mishaps or Disadvantages
ihet would have crushed weaker maa.
This was Irastus Brooks contribution to the