The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-11-02
The Election Tomorrow.

| selection Of certain individuals to ill certain
State Offices, with purely clerical functions; Of
| a few Judges and a Justice Of the Court Of
| Appeals; Of new Assembly and a new State
| Senate. II is not obvious that the public is
deeply concerned, one way or the other, in
| the contest for the State offices; nor has much
| excitement been created by the struggle be-
tween the several candidates for judicial honors,
| except for the Court Of Appeals With regard
to this branch of the contest, with this simple ex-
cepton, the public mind is in state of calm re-
pose not to say absolute Indifference: no one
candidate possessing sufficiently paramount
| claims, or eyincing 20 decided superiority to
! his rivals as to awaken any very violent SYM
| patty in his behalf, and the interests at stake
! being in them selves not worth much distress of
| mind.
| The contest for the State Legislature is of
rather moro consequence. Of late years the
Legislature has exercised powers very nearly
approaching to absolute sovereignty; one only
\ needs to recall the deeds of the Legislature of
| last year to realize the power of that body for
| mischief. This winter especially, the finan-
I cial condition Of the State is likely to afford
! opportunities for vast amount of legislation
which may be highly beneficial, or intellectually
| Injurious, according to the character, ability
and integrity of its trainers. 1t may be in the
| power Of the State Legislature 10 help US out
| of our present financial endorsements and to
preclude the prospect of their recurrence; it
certainly will be in the power Of that body to
| do infinite mischief by aggravating the pending
| troubles, and protracting the struggle in which
| i<ade is now writing. II cannot therefore be
| said that any one has right to feel indifference
as to the composition Of the Legislature.
| The last time we elected State officers and
| legislators the issue on which the rival candi-
dates met the country was Kansas free or Kan
sas slave. Practically, the advocates of Kansas
slave won the victory; though defeated in this
and other States, Mr. Buchanan was elected
President; and it might have been nationally
expected that, having fought the battle out fair
ly and having won it, his friends would have
claimed the spoils of victory and would have
firmly established slavery in Kansas. Instead
of this, the fairest, most honorable and above
board policy has been pursued by the dominant
party toward Kansas; with SO striking result
that Kansas is now as firmly secured to freedom
as New York. and even Senator Douglas de-
nounces further efforts to introduce slavery into
the Territory, and Robert J. Walker, by pro-
clamation certifies he triumph of the free State
party. This being the state of affairs the issue
Of Kansas free and Kansas slave has been set
tied and can no longer enter into any electoral
contest. There is no longer any issue for the
opponents and advocates of slavery to fight
about. Especially in this State, where the
| slavery question has always been one of re-
mote interest, has it now completely died out,
and seeks decent burial at some good mans
| hands.
| There therefore remains no issue for us to
fight the November battle upon but our own
State issues We mus apply the test of State
principles and questions Of State policy to the
candidates who solicit our votes; and upon
these, and these alone can the selection of can
didates be nationally based.
Happily these are few and clear. Without
discussing the rival merits of any of the candi-
dates, or advancing any arguments in favor of
this or that party or ticket, we may say en-
| phatically that whoever are the right men to
! choose the republicans are not the right men.
They have been fully tried, and their incapacity
| to legislste for the State has been abundantly
proved. Last year, when they controlled the
Legislature they disgraced the statute book
with series of acts which contain the germ of
the ruin Of all democratic institutions, and
restoration Of the old colonial stem of govern
ment by Commissioners ''rent from a.ar to cat up
the peoples substance" Some Of these acts have
never been carried into effect, 20 impracticable
| and outrageous were they found on cxamina-
ton. Others are being held over, and will
| doubtless be repealed this winter. The Police
| act the most outrageous violation Of the cardi-
nal principle of democratic government ever at
tempted since the organization of the confede-
racy, had happily secured the favor Of the
Judges of the Court Of Appeals before ID be-
came a law, and IL has been duly executed; with
what happy effects the daily reports of robberies
| and murders and the ludicrous mbecility Of the
Board Of Commissioners are there to show. II
these acts had been mere blunders, one could
have forgiven them. Had they been mere par
,y manuuvres for honest party purposes, one
might have tried to pas them over. But they
were low, knavish tricks to build up the repub-
lican party in this State with the money and the
patronage Of the city of New York-base, mean,
dishonest, reprobate lodges to get our money
for hungry politicians: and no man who re-
spccts himself either in city or In country will
vote for any member of the party which gave
them birth
There IL no principle at all involved In this
election that can compare in point of impor-
lance with the question Of extravaganza or
economy in our State finances. How the
republicans have managed these, we showed
the other day in the comments we made on
John Van Buren's speech at Tammany Hall.
| One hundred and twenty-five per cent, we show