Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1860-07-20
The Contest--state Convention.

;
wellwritten article defining the position Of
its accomplished editor, from which we ex.
tract the following sentences, and upon which
we shall briefly comment:
III we find that in supporting Mr.. Brock
i1nridge we can accomplish most for the de-
I feat of Abe Lincoln, we will support him,
although our preference and our first and
last choice'is STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. But
we do not mean to be hasty, and we advise
our friends to look before they leap. We
are willing, as we stated last week, to abide
the decision of State Convention"
We'cannot discover in any view we take
Of The political elements which are to enter
into the present contest for the Presidency,
the least shadow Of chance for Mr. Brock.
Einridge. It is our matured and deliberate
opinion, that Of the four candidates now ii
the field, he will be the lowest, and in The
event Of failure to elect by the people, biz
name will not come before the House.
There cannot be named more than twe
States that will vote for him certainly, and
those are South Carolina and Florida. W.
believe every other Slaveholding State viii
vote either for Douglas Or Bell. No one
pretends to'claim for Breckinridgea single
electoral vote North, and his running only
contributes to what our c6temporary Of the
Spirit desires to avert, the election Of Lin
coin, for every vote cast for him in The
North, is SO much taken from Che strohg est
man there, whois Judge Douglas. But as
suming, for argument sake, that Mr.. Brock
(inridge could carry the 100 electoral votes
South, is it Just as necessary and i'm
portant for him to receive the 80 Northern
votes in order to elect him ]? This, it is i'm
possible for him to do, so look at it in any
light you please, Mr.. Breckenridge cannot
be elected by the people. But no one, with
a thimble full of common sense, can impair
TALLY say he will certainly carry 20 electoral
votes.
What are Judge Douglas chances? We
believe he will certainly carry Missouri, 9,
Louisiana, 6, Alabama, 9, Georgia, 10, and
Arkansas, 4, of the Southern Ssates-1na-
king 38 votes. In the North, he viii re-
ceive the electoral votes of New York, IS,
Pennsylvania, 81, Ohio, %, Indiana, 10,
Illinois, IL. Iowa, 4, Wisconsin,, 5, New
Jersey, I, Connecticut, 6, and Minnesota,
Amazing in all 172, or 81 more than is
necessary for an election. If he Losses any
of these States it will be chargeable to tie
Breckenridge party.
It seems plain, therefore, that the Sup
port Of Mr.. Breckenridge can only embar-
rass the Democracy South, and favor the
interests of Mr.. Bell, while it will weaken
the party North, and contribute to the sue
cess of Mr.. Lincoln. AS between Douglas
and 4ainceln, the former has a better chance
for the electoral vote North than the latter.
Ia 1852 President Pierce carried votes
enough North TO elect him. In 1856 the
Democracy lost greatly on the vote of 1852.
But this was justly chargeatle to the repeal
of the Missouri compromise in 1854, which
many conservative men who heretofore had
acted with US, considered breach of faith,
and an encroachment Of the South upen the
North. Add to this cause of sectional pre-
judice, the fact that tie candidate of the
was man not known in con-
nection with the abolition party-he was
democrat, about whose character was thrown
much Of romance and novelty, which are
sure to catch the sympathies ola certain
class Of men-and we have plausible expla4
nation of the Republican vote Of 1885,
These facts, we are convinced, swelled the
ranks of the supporters of Fremont to an I'm
wonted and unnatural degree, and far be-
wound its substantial and legitimate strength
The times, the circumstances and the re-
lations of parties have all changed. The
popular mind has subsidized from the excite
mett that rode like storm throughout the
N orth, in consequence Of the passage Of the
Nebraska bill and the Gaming Of Sumner.
Many who were then carried off by an un-
impulse have returned to their
sentiments. The Republicans
have as their chosen leader the author of the
irrepressible conflict "a man who measu-
res to the full stature of an Abolition fanat
ic Of the Seward and Greedy School, The
Democratic party has been relieved of its
disunion element, and Is no larger amena-
BILE to the charge Of being a Southern Sec
tional organization. It rests upon high ma
tional ground, presenting defiant and hes
tile front to fanaticism and disunion both
North and South It stands on the middle,
national ground, the great key stone to the
arch, and safe and appropriate resort for
all who love and venerate the Union and
the Constitution IS handed down to us by
our fathers. It remains to be seen whether
our hopes and expectations will be realized
in significant rebuke to Northern and
Southern fanaticism by the sovereign people