The New York herald., 1861-12-08

The Curiositics of the City Canvass.
NECK AND NECK RACE-THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE
sUPPORrIN0 EACH CANDIDATE-THE ISSUES OF THE
CAMPAIGN AND THE SINGULAR REsULrs-wHY TIE
RrMoR OF GUHTnER's ELECTION IS KEPT AFLOAT-
THE FRIGHT OF THE TRIBUNE RHILOSOPHERs-THE
SPURIOUS TICKETs-REsULT OF THE CHEATING AT
THE NOVEMBER EIECTIoN-A WARNING TO POLL
TICIANs-THE RESULT IN THE ELEVENTH WARD
THE TRIBuNE's INFLUENCE IN THE TWENTIETH
WARD, ETC., ETC.
Tho charter election had less Of tho ecccnrici
ties than the election in November, and in looking
the since the but little Of interest to
chronicle. AS we predicted in issue on Sun
day before the election there ncvcr was SO near
a mock and neck that for Mayor The
successful candidate is elected by only about i've
hundred votes, and tho lowest candidate is only
about fifteen hundred below him, while tho nominee
that nearly all tho press insisted had chance
out only second in the race and is claimed by his friends
to be ecct1. Tho canvass commenced, with the issue
between w6M and 0pdyko so apparent that no person
could mistake the fact but circumstances changed that
before the campaign ended The paradng Of Mr..
Opdykes name at tho Sumner meeting set tde against
him, and the speech Of Wood in tho Bowcry created
scattering in his ranks The result that about
Thanksgiving day tho tide began to settle towards
Gunther and from that time to tho day of election he
gained rapidly, and had there been day inter-
vcnng before election Mr. Gunther would have come out
successful.
Tho friends Of both Wood and Opdyke saw and
felt this change; but each Of them felt that
their depended upon conv ncng the public that
the issue was directly bewcen Wood and Opdyke aud,
therefore, nothing said about the change Of the
favor Of Gunthcr The denial OF Mr. Opdyke that
hc had any connection sympathy with the
was however, admission of tho above fact but not
taken by the Of voters at the time The two principal
features Of the canvass we're tho antwood cry and
anita nh hp yptcr If thp cifv oafal
bo stated, divided those two issues until Mr.
opdyke out with his card OF DENIAL which put an
the abolition cry against him. but the fact that
nearly all Of the press of tho city declared TO the last
that the issue vas between Wood and Opdyke
caused many persons who wero desirous Of voting
for Gunther to vote for Wood in order TO defeat
Opdykc and others for Opdyke to defeat Wood opcra
ell both ways. We have the names of a large number
Of prominent citizens who influenced in this way
some voting for one some for the other but all
democrats
Wood sustained in the canvass by Mozart Hall
paper and had tho prestige Of nviucib,y in his
favor and would have been elected had the election
place a week earlier. opdyke nominated by tho re-
publcaDs Taxpayers, German League and half dozen
organizations, and supported by every daily
paper published ip the city but two, nearly all the
hes with the influence Of all Of the national admnisra-
tion departments in the city. Gunthcr
nominated by Tammaly, tho National Union
party and several clubs, supported by two
newspapers, Street Department, City Inspectors,
and all tho departments in the city government with the
exception Of the influence IN the Mayors By this it will
be that the political powers well distrbuted
and 1t speaks well for the influence of the HERALD that
Mr. Wood shoad have received SO large vote as he did
in this sharp and triangular contest.
The friends Of Mr. Gunhcr still keep the cry that he
is elected and understand that Mr. Gunther himself
claims his election by about forty tive majority. We
have carefully looked the votes and cannot see how
that result be brought about although II is claimed
that there enough for G. Godfrey Cunt
and Godfrey Gunthe, ciassed among the scattering,
to elect hun, II allowed, but We think that when
the votes all canvasscd thore will not be found
scattering votes enough in the city 10 overcome Mr.
0pdyke plurality AS far have been able 70 as.
certain, there tho least number of votes clossed
amoig the scattering that has over been known IN an
election in this city For Mr. Scattering appears not
" have been very popular In regard TO the Cunt and
Gunth votes they appear TO have originated ~ foows