The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-03-09

Feelings OF brotherhood between The consuming
| ard producing communities The nssceut
symptoms OF 8 commercial estrangement be-
tween the North aud the South identical With
that which hos suDdered the communion Of their
churches and their political parties and spring
ing from the same crazy fanatcism OF
the New England philosophers and aboli
tionists, is beginning to tell upon the pockets
ano the minds OF the merchants, who are the
middlemen between the Northern manueac-
turers and the Southern consumers. The innu-
merabie bonds Of interest between them are
electric in operation and convincing in effect.
Another evidence Of the reaction in New Eng
land il to be seen In the strike now spreading
among the shoemakers, and beginning to agi-
tate the other laboring classes there. Turning
from dwelling on the imaginary wrongs Of
Southern slaves, they are beginning to look
upon their own evils. The theories which have
been 80 strepuously inculcated by their philoso-
piers and preachers in behalf Of distant ne
groes are being applied to the white race at
home. From these great, and many minor
facts, it is evident that the tide of popular feel
ing, which carried on the crest of its food the
Wilson's, the Hsles and the Hamlins from the
democratic to the republican ranks is now
ebbirg. This may be seen In the following
figures from the electoral returns OF 1856 and
1885,
PREsnEsrAL EtEcroN. SrRSo ELECTION.
C-ls56-0 c--lS5p--
New Hampshire. 80 7sQ e.346 2s25 36,388
Rnore i. srd..".. $3.50 H,4s7 sSls s.sss
As we have said, 1t ia not yet clear what
course The new tide in the public feeling of
New England will take. The strong minds
among its conservative elements have not
taken the field in a compact body and with
general plan for action, but here and there they
are beginning to waken and to work. The SEN
sible and plain spoken meeting Of the Connec
ticut manufacturers at Meriden gave an i'm.
| pulse in that State, and the canvass now going
on for the April election has more spirit in it
than is seen in either of the others. In New
Hampshire the politicians are full of doubt as
| to how to deal with the rebellion of labor
against capital, and in Rhode Island the predo
| minant sentiment has been that Of the so.cailed
| Ans ricanism, rather than sympathy with
| black republican abolitionism. The elections
which are to come off between now and the
4th of April next will show whether the con-
servative feeling of New England has been suf:
| dcently aroused to the impending danger from
the sectionalism of the black republican party
to turn upon it and reject 1t; or if, by its con-
tinued supineness, it will encourage the black
republican leaders and their abolition allies to
force the whole country through Presidential
| campaign against their destructive principles,
and create a commercial rupture between the
| North and South which will involve every
| Southern interest in temporary privation, aud
| every Northern one in bankruptcy and ruin.
| TIE BRooKLYN FERRY LEAsEs-THE Con-
TEST BEFORE THE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE
We have now the case Of the Union Ferry
Company before Us, as developed in the argu-
ments Of its counsel before the Committee on
Commerce and Navigation of the Assembly.
From the report published yesterday, it will
be seen that it is miserably weak in all the
points which were relied on as defence to the
complaints brought against the Company by
the Brooklyn people. 1t does not seek, in fact
to meet those complaints at all-it enters into
no statement to prove that the profits made
| from these leases are notextortionate and more
than double what they should be, and it shows
! no rational motive for continuing in the hands
of single company privilege 80 valuable
Shifting its ground from these direct issues, it
argues the question on a contingency which
! has been started, in default of better defence
! namely, the injury that may result to the New
York Sinking Fund from the cheapening of the
income of the franchises. This position might
serve its purpose but for few antecedent facts
which are sadly at variance with it. First, let
us observe that it by no means follows that by
putting up the Leases to public competition
in the manner required by the Brooklyn
people, the franchises would be deprecated in
value. On the contrary, it is certain that their
price would be greatly enhanced; for there are
parties in the field who are not only ready to
bid as high for the leases as the Union Company,
but who will bind themselves under penalties
to run their boats at cent ferriage and to give
asgood accommodation as is ut present afforded.
is there not security enough for the interests
represented by the Sinking Fund in the propo.
sal made by the Common Council of Brooklyn
to secure to New York the full annual value of
these leases? 1t is surprising that in the face
of such guarantees lawyer should be found
bold enough to insult the common sense of the
committee by such an argument
As to the assertion that cheap ferriage must
necessarily lower the character of the accom-
modations at present afforded on the ferries, it is
equally untenable. The profits to be made out
Of the leases at the one cent fare are, we con-
tend, sufficiently large to enable the lessees
to give all the facilities ard coaveniences re.
quired. When the three ferries--tae Fulton,
the South aud the Hamilton-wcre run