The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-05-03
H7:2ITR3FQk -
The New York aerald's Speculation
upon Political Prospects.


The New York aerald's specuiations
upon Political Prospects.
We hope none of our Old Line Democrat
ic friends will be offended with ms for offer
ing them the following .drop of comfort
| from the New York Herald, Mr.. Buchan-
ems fayorite and petted organ 1t contains
valuable hints for all parties: fadz {
+ Is there any hope for the forlorn democ-
racyf Divided and subdivided into sections
factions, cliaaes and little wrangling Presi-
DENTAL cabals, as we now fnd this lately
all-powerful party, IS there any hope OF re-
uniting its broken fragments forthe great
battle of 1860? The prospect j. gloomy,
but there is yet hope. To be sure there
is split In the Pennsylvania camp, q rebel
lion in the Louisiana camp, q Presidential
discord and various local discords in the
Virginia camp, and hostile cliques and @het
qusrrels here, there and everywhere among
the rank and file, which seem to defy all the
agencies of peace; but STILL upon Mr.. CAL
houn's great saving cardinal principle of the
party, "the cohesive power of public plum
der," there is a hope for the salvation of the
party, and for its effective reunion in 1850.
Ii must be remembered that ever since the
Withdrawal of Gen. jackson from the abso
lutte command OF the democratic party, the
opposition party or parties have represented
a majority of the American people. And
yet, since the time OF Jackson, the democ-
racy have elected four Presidents<-V Van Bn-
rem, Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan--sgainst
two opposition Presidents-Harrison and
Taylor. We do not include Tyler and Fill
more, elected as Vice Presidents. These
more numerous successes of the democracy
were achieved-frst, from the union among
themselves; and secondly, from the divisions
of the opposition. Thus, against Van Buren,
the opposition vote was frttered away upon
several candidates, including Harrison, Web
ster, and White. Thus, against Polk, the
opposition balance Of power held in New
York by the anti-slavery wings was thrown
away upon Birney, and thus MIR. Clay was
defeated. But the most remarkable tri-
umphs Of the democratic party were those
OF 1882 and 1856. ..
In ls48 the democracy Of New York>and
other Northern States were demoralized and
cut to pieces on the slavery question; in
1851 the whole Southern camp was disor-
ganized and separated into two hostile fac
tions upon the compromise acts of 1850.
North and South the party thus remained
demorslized and split up till the spring of
1852. But the Baltimore Convention of
that year, upon the basis of general am
nesty, and upon the nomination of a man
an outsider-innocent of any of these intes-
tine quarrels, conspiracies, and cliques, clear
ed the decks for victory which astonished
all parties, and which involved the absolute
destruction, death, and burial, Of the mag
nihcent old whig party. s11l .7 a. 80 e. .
In 1856 the democracy entered the field
with a recorded popular majority from the
State elections Of '53-4-'5, of upwards OF
three hundred thousand against them, and
under the tremendous Northern pressure of
poor Pierces Kansas agitation. But here,
is Mr.. Buchanan-the "favorite son of
Pennsy lvania, and q man whose hands
were clean of any contact with that Kan
sas Nebraska bill--the right man was found
for the reunion Of the party, as far as it
could be united. Even Mr.. Buchanan, how
ever, would have been powerless against
the opposition had they been combined but
they were divided, as in 1886 and 1914 and
1852, upon distractions, and principles and
leaders, and candidates. And thus it. was
that Mr.. Buchanan was handsomely elected,
with a popular majority in the Union OF
nearly four hundred thousand against him.
From these refreshing examples of the
past, there is still hope for the forlorn de-
mocracy in 1860. They have shown, over
and over again, that they can be combined
at the tap of the drum by the cohesive
power of public plumber Place the spoils
and plunder of the Presidency before them,
tell them that the day of battle is at hand,
that union is their only chance, and they
will rush into each others arms like hand
of brothers, and till the battle is over, will
stick to their common cause like cobblers'
wax. They make terrible uproar, mean
time, we admit and keen the country in hot
water upou constitutional questions, princi-
piles, State rights, and such things; but the
great question of the spoils comprehends ev-
erything which a good democrat feels il
to be his highest privilege and holiest duty
to live for, labor for, fight for, and die for
Upon this word Of magic-the "spoils -
depend his successes, bis hopes, and his faith
in the resurrection. ..Ue-
On the other hand, the opposition ele-
ments of the country do not so clearly CON-
prehend the Importance of the spoils, or
they do not stand SO much in need of the
spoils rs the democracy, while they have a
much stronger belief in the saving virtues
of political principles and abstractions.-
Hence the difficulty of combining the oppo-
sition forces, North and South and thus we
find them now as far from any basis of COM
mon union as they Were IN 1856. With these
general views of the subject, we think there
is still living hope for the democracy in
ls60-6rst, from their reunion upon the
good old party platform of the spoils and
plunder; and secondly, from the divisions
OF the opposition upon constitutional ques-
tions and principles. in which, this way or
that way, the bulk of the republicans,
Americans, and old line wings sincerely be-
Books IN JAPAN Whoever walks through
4, the streets OF q Japan town or village, will
be surprised to notice the number of books
exposed for sale in almost every shop On
looking inside he will probably find one or
more Of the attendants, il otherwise disen-
gagged, busily reading, or listening to some