The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-07-18
The Confusion Of Parties ana T"'
cians-The constitutional rr'"eAPes

c,..-rn. .or.ttsutionmI Prineiptes
Underlying Our Present Revolution
The happy revolution that is going On apace
all over the country has thrown the profess
sional politicians ami spoismeu into such con-
fusion and dismay that they have forgotten to
loot and see IL there are not some vital prin-
clinics somewhere in the conflict which will
before long rally the people in their support.
There are half dozen candidates in the
field, aud this fact Of itself throws all the
placemen into state Of bewildering doubt and
perplexity as to who will be the next President
In their anxiety they set themselves at work
cogtaung over old election returns, and
making all kinds CT calculations on past events.
in the hope to cast horoscope Of the future
which shall show who will have the appointing
power on the 4th day of March next. They
cannot realize for they are too shallow pated
for the idea to get into their hesds-that
VIC are in the full tide OF glorious and sue
cessful revolution in which the people are de-
termined to throw them all overheard, with
their selfish echemes and hoary corruption. This
revolution dawned on the morning Of the Gath
of June, when the explosion at Baltimore OF
that gigantic villany-the old democratic party
organization--was announced to the world.
This happy event was hailed with JOY by the
whole country, and it would be as difficult TO
find a man. not placeman, who regretted it az
it was to find q royalst in Paris after the
French revolution had triumphed. 1t is as i'm
possible to define the course the popular Anne
rican revolution Of 1860 will take as it was
in 1892 to foretell where the French revolution
would lead to. As little idea can be formed of
the future by survey Of the past as was pos
sble when the Jacobins were overthrowing the
old regime by study Of the course of affairs
under the extinc. monarchy Many of our
professional and selfwise politicians viii yet
wake up to End themselves surrounded with
strange bedfellows and to learn that it is not
the initiators Of q revolution who reap the re-
wards.
Though the hungry politicians, in their
anxiety to preserve their places, and the old
system of Tammany Societies and Albany Re
gencies which have given these to them. cannot
find the principles which may exist. it behcves
the people to look and see if these cannot be
found. Six candidates are in the field-Lin-
coin, Breckenridge, Douglas, Bell Houston and
Gerrit Smith-all Of them, except Lincoln. ir-
regular, and not entitled to claim q regular
party support. In such condition of things
some great elements, not yet visible on the
surface, must underlie everything, and operate
eventually to consolidate the new formation Of
parties. These elements must be constitutional
principles, for nothing else under free govern
ment like ours can take hold Of the hearts Of
the people and bind them to representative
men. What constitutional principles, then, do
the several candidates now claiming the suf-
frages of the people stand upon?
Let us examine. Houston and Gerrit Smith
stand upon none. The FIRST plants himself upon
an idiosyncracy, and the latter upon fanati-
cism equally void of substance Bell proclaims
the constitution at large, without any reference
to the vital issue of the day; and Douglas de.
| tends an abstraction which ignores principles,
and appeals to expediency that is Unsatisfactory
to all and convincing to none. This reduces us
to the remaining two, between whom We may
! hope to find the real contest that is to divide
parties in this country As Gerrit Smith repre-
sents the John Brown faction, SO Lincoln re-
| presents the Spooner school Of constitutional
| revolutonists Planting themselves upon the
assumption of social superiority in the North
crn States, they aim at political domination
over those of the South. Their present an
nounced object is merely the exclusion Of the
people of the South from the Territories, but
the logical sequence of their ideas, the comics
sions of their teachers and orators, and the pro-
claimed object Of their zealots, is the abolition
| of slavery in the States where 1t now exists
Opposed to Lincoln stands Breckenridge
proclaiming in defence Of the South the consti.
tutional principle that all the States are equal
in their rights. and that neither the North, MOI
the East, nor the West has any right, on an As
sumed social, moral, physical or religious supe'
riority, To claim or exercise political or social
control over its equals in the confederation
Here We have the true conflict of constitutions
principles which enters into the present revolu
ton and destruction of old party organiza
tons. and which will eventually shape the new
II Is a conflict Of principles like those Of old
which have characterized the history Of oul
country from its foundation. and marked the
lines and formed the soul and glory Of parties
that have risen and decayed among us. The
true Gght has not yet developed itself, and it
coming may be delayed by the efforts Of ole
political managers to make hcartless combina
lions. in order to preserve their places anc
their spoils; but II will come, and when il doe'
IL will be found to rage only on the great con
stitutionsl principles which we have just point
| cd out
THr EcIIrsE or THE SUS To-DlY.-The par
tial eclipse OF the sun which takes place to-da,
will be visible In this locality. first at tel
minutes after seven this morning, and tn