The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-05-13

Il Q
sition to the pernicions 6isunion principles O.
W. H. Seward, which the people suspected to be
identified with the election of Gen. Scott. Be-
| sides Gen. Scott had been Native American
and his reputation of nativeism, while it gain,
ed him nothing from the "lovely German &C
cent or the sweet Irish brogue," alienated the
natives-an undeveloped balance of power al
that day, but the strength Of which we can now
| understand.
The first year Of poor Pierce's administration
disclosed the delusive, hollow and evanescent
character Of the tremendous popular vote by
which he was elected; the second year left him
hard aground; before the end of the third bis
crazy craft was embedded in the sand and
filed with water; and with the expiration Of
the fourth it was broken to pieces, and the
spoils divided among the wreckers. So demo.
rallied, crippled and disointed did he leave the
democracy, that in 1856, notwithstanding the
solid national popularity of Mr.. Buchanan,
and the malignant divisions of the opposition
forces their aggregate popular majority in the
PRESIDENTIAL vote was nearly three hundred and
eighty thousand This, too, with an opposition
candidate who, in most of the slave States, was
run merely to save appearances.
In the elections which have since occurred
we have seen nothing to justify the impression
that, North or South, the democracy have made
any positive or substantial reduction Of this
opposition majority. True, our New York cleo
ton last November went for the democratic
State ticket by handsome plurality, but then
there were over one hundred thousand voters
who remained at home. In word, since 1886
the democratic party, upon the popular vote Of
the Union, has been minority party,
and the only majority President they
have had since that day was elected by
opposition votes. By good management on
the part of the democracy, and by the bad
management of the opposition, the former have
repeatedly contrived to win with the odds
against them; but such an achievement as the
election of Mr.. Buchanan can hardly be ex-
pected twice in succession.
The election of 1856, on the other hand, sufi-
GENTLY admonishes Che republican party that
sectional platform will not unite the opposition
forces, and that with two or three candidates In
the field they can be very nicely defeated. The
opposition, then, in 1860, to be sure of success,
must assume the attitude of a great homogeneous
national party, North and South, and rally
upon single candidate throughout the Union,
as in 1910, and the result will probably be the
same. In this view it is easy to understand
that neither Mr.. Seward, nor Mr.. Doug
las, nor Mr.. Banks, nor even Colonel
Fremont, will answer the purpose, but
that some new man, with no sectional or
factious grudges against him, must be brought
out upon the course. Who that man is to be
may appear at the appointed time. Let it suf-
flee for the present that all great political revo-
buttons eliminate in bringing new men to the
surface, and in burying old men, old systems,
platforms, principles, measures, cliques and
parties.
The old whig party was destroyed upon the
rock of slavery, the ephemeral Know Nothing
party persisted among the quicksands of the mig
ger agitation, and among the shoals and breakers
of slavery the democratic party has been re-
duced to mere hulk, depending for its safety
upon chance and accident. And as all these
parties have thus been destroyed or left in sink
ing condition from too much tampering with
the slavery question: the party that henceforth
would be successful must stand upon other
issues, of more practical, conservative and
national character than the narrow platform of
the suppression or extension of slavery. Hence,
we repeat that none Of the old political can
iidates or party hacks identified as the slavery
agitating leaders Of either section will answer
the purposes Of the opposition in 1860. Their
must be man whose hands are as
clean Of this business as were the hands of Mr..
in 1856 of the odor Of the Kansas
Nebraska bill.