New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-11-24

lied that the suscessfal candidate should lave pro
seDted himself in person before the citizens prev-
GUS to the eection-that he should to use the COM
mon phrase, have "stumped the State" Tho
Courier sees in this lamentsble downfall OF ancient
dignity and decencJ-something, in fact, altogether
subversive Ct good government, revolutionary and
disorRanizipg. IN, Courier declares that such
cour,e is not suited to "the subdued taste" Of the
people by which it car only mean the tastes of the
subdutd people since the mass Of the voters do not
appear to have been grieved to the hearts core By
the spectacle On the contrary, it is safe to say
that the precedent Introduced BY Mr. Bsuks has
receive nest decided sanctionat the hands Of the
honest and Itellgent voters Of Massachusetts, and
that il 10 much more likely to be followed than sbAn-
doned. Audreally we cannot iee Why our brethren
Of The Courier should break their hearts at the
prospect. In the frat place. it is not true that the
practice is such an innovation as our friends seem
to consider it. On the contrary, in many parts Of
the country il has always existed; and to limited
extent il has existed in Massachusetts where it has
not been an entirely unknown thing for candidates
TO address voters. In England, the rgidsst CoDser-
vative, q well as the EXTREMIST Radical plainly and
plumpy from the hustinss and without any cir-
cumlocution, asks the people for their votes. The
mode has never been thought indicate or undsni-
fed except in States in which it was not followed.
We are not at all inclined to regard the foreign way
as the best ard our own ~ the worst; and it may
not be amss for The Courier to inquire whether, if
there had always been "stumpiug" il Nassschu.
setts, anybody there would have found in il any
innate demOralizing tendency at this time.
A sir gle word of tie indelicscy We suppose it
to be pretty we'll established fact 10 politics that
when man sccepts nomination no would rather
prefer ,uccess to defest The simple fact that he
is candidate s an implied request for the votes Of
the people. Then, too, when WAS it thought i'm
proper for q gentleman denomination to write reams
of letters eIpatiatDg upon all things in heaven and
earth in convincing and seductive language But
if man may write letter, why may he not make
a speech
For our own part, in searching for the disad-
vsntaees and improprieties of the custom, we can
not find q single one TO eItenuate; nor has The
Courier helped US in our dilemma. To be sure,
that paper Gays:
"Shal 9 citizen hereafter be chosea Governor Of
Nsssaehufetts on the condition, not tot his ability,
integrity ard eminent public service but bscaase ne
ia capable Of treating Us to just much windy sus
piIaticn Of forced breath ="
To this it may be replied that person only ca
pable Of the windy su'prstion aforesaid is just the
man to 60 about and show him,elfin order that the
people may not be wheedIed into supporting him.
His wind would probably blow him up in very
short space of tIre. Some fools get great rePuts-
ton for wisdom by looking solemn and holding their
tor CUES; but we never heard Of any one who was
deemed able or honest because he went about ut
terpg nonsense. Voters are supposed to posscm
some intelligence; and if this presumption in their
favor be not false one, public osnvassing on the
part Of the candidates would exercise q sslutsry
effect upon public affairs.
What the people want is political information;
and we do rot know any way in which this can be
furnished in more agreeable manrer than BY those
debates between rival candidates which Are 80 uni.
versal at the West and South. There public ques-
tons are publicly discussed BY the able,t men, who
are never gagged because they are candidates. In
this way, the people become thoroughly acquainted
with political characters and events, and arc just
as likely 10 ird out tse mere dsmagogue ss he is to
cheat them. If there be good objections to stump
ips," LET us have them. Those advanced by The
Courier are childish.
The only indelicscy which We can imagine as the
re,ult of the custom would be forward and i'm
rudent advance of personal professions, which
would be, indeed, offensive to "the subdued
ts,te," which The Courier does so relish. Bat
a, in private affairs, this esotsm and impertinencs
are sure to be severely snubbed, why not ia pub.
Lie sffaiy7 The people are extremely sensitive in
these matters. In none Of the speeches made by
Mr. Banks, so far as our memory and the reports
serve us, did he suffer himself to be betrayed into
sny such imprudens self gori6cation. Everybody
from the least to the most refined understands that
nothing go becomes man IS mOdesty; and We sup
DC 80 this has been and always will be felt by ma
icrity Of orators and audiences. 1t is Q matter of
coed breeding smong public nen to speak with
humility of their services They do So il not sin
cerely at least from polite motives; so that under
spy circumstances it 10 not probable that the deli
c.cy of those who are Of The CosTisrs way Of
thinking will be offended, unless it really
amount, to squeamishness.
We have raid that political information is neces-
sary in enabling the people to form correct po-
lticl decisions. We believe that if the naked and
absolute truth respecting affairs in Kansas could
have been generally presented to the electors Of
Pennsylvania previous to the late election in that
State, David Wilmot would have been the triumph
ant candidate for Governor. The voters were hug
ger gered BY the Administration newspap
the notion that all was going on smoothly in tia. per
secuted Territory. A general stump" Of the