New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-06-23
ILLINOIS DEPRAT or Heir NEW
TDNsTITIGION.

Illinois has always been o Democratic Stale.
In addition 10 rolling up large uFJoritics lot
Gen. Jackson aud against Henry Clay she
voted for Van Buren, against Harrison III
IslO. for Gen. Cass against Gen. Taylor ~
Isis. and for buchanan over Fremont m I,"O.
In 1853 she gave 4 small popular majority fof
Lincoln against Douglas, though Che latter
carried the Legislature and was elected /. >.
Senator. In l-GO she gave Lincoln good
plurality, but this was 10 test. Douglas was
already beaten by the BreckinTtdge sphl' ana
thousands who would haze sustained Douglas
if their votes v oud have elected him, cast
them for Lincoln, determined to have IN
Illinois President any how;
Lincoln. l6l Douglas. .l6O 20
Hru.. 4gl4 Breckinridgo G,iOi
Lincoln over Douglas. ......lI,9io
Lincoln over all. 4,b'o
Last year an election for members OF Con-
sti,utional Convention was held and the Dem
ocrats carried the State Overwhelmingly. They
had more than two thirds Of the Convention.
Their Convention assembled and framed .
Constitution, embodying many good features,
with Some that were not so good, yet popular
We gave fair synopsis Of that constitution
when it was completely They put IN enough
persecution and prescription Of negroes to float
almost anything in the Southern portion OF that
State, and had an aBt-bank section which
could not fail 10 be popular IN view oi the recent
collapse of the currency of thut State owing in good
part to the Insolvency of Southern stocks caused
by the shareholders rebellion.
A declaration that the Union is indissolube was
for the first time embodied in this Constitution,
and was calculated TO strengthen il materially.
The absence or death OF fifty thousand volunteers
in the war for the Union, Of whom a large ma
iority are Republicans, was worth at least ten
thousand votes to the new Constitution.
Still that Constitution has been voted down,
contrary to apparent probability The returns
are not complete, but the result is beyond dispute
1t is estimated that the adverse majority vii
reach ten thousand. So the expense of the Con-
yenton has been incurred for nothing, and the
Sham Democracy have incurred the odlum of moi
knowing how to make an acceptable Constitution.
We have looked on very coolly throu gbout
the struggle, the questions involved being sub.
stantialy local. We can now tell the Demo
cratic politicians of Illinois Of two blunae rs
which they must DO careful 10 avoid next time.
One was the splitting up Of issues. Very
seldom is d Constitution submitted to the
People in parcels without mourning defeat.
The great majority like a simple, broad, clear
issue. Had this Constitution been submitted
whole, with all its anti. Bank, anti-Negro i'm.
pericctloDs on its head, it would have stood
better chance. When an clector gets puzzled
by multiplicity Of issues, he is pretty apt to
vote No.
The other mistake was too glarlng at
tempt to make purity capital out OF the Const-
tuition. The Legislative Apportionment pre-
scribcd by this Constitution gave too large Il
representation to the South end, while the
North is growing BY far the more rapidly, and
should have had the advantage if either had
Then the turning Gov. Yates out OF office in
the middle Of his term Che having been fairly
elected for four years in 1902 was a blunder.
Tue higher Judicial Districts were somewhat