Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-08-13
MAx1Ms OF POLITICAL DEGENERAcY.

MAXIMS OF POLlIlCAL DEGENEkAC1.
The Pittsburgh Gazette, in its number Of the
4th instant, arguing against the expediency Of
placing Governor CURTIN in nomination for re-
election by the Republican party as the Chief Ma
gistrate of Pennsylvania, prefaces its remarks iu
opposition to that gentleman's candidacy with the
following observations:
"The Convention, which meets here Tomorrow will
have grave and delicate task before it, If represents
tho popular sentiment wi any reasonable fairness it will
endeav0r to candidate who combines the essentials
to success with ability and honesty which will insure
faithful and favorable administration Of the affairs Of the
State We do not expect, OF course, from this any
other representative body thus selected either the very
ables most honest and courageous 10 the State
This would be looking for in the present c0ndi
ton of poor human nature The best man is seldom the
available because he generally either reserved
outspoken man, eschewng politics and counting
body because he despses the arts which supposed to
be necessary to the sweet voices Of the people
procaming all occasions precisely what he thinks,
without fear favor. Such popular and
never therefore, acquire that not0ety which s derived
from newspaper pufey, which is unquest0naby Of
the passports to greatness and glory in this country We
must wait few generations to improve the tone OF
lar sentiment and the system of public representation be-
fore hope TO develop the best abilities Of the
ton in the places of highest trust.
Trusting ourselves therefore, to the times although
there occasion when the country needed
its brightest men, not disposed to be unreasonable
in our demands We want man. however, If we would
succeed of whom at least evil be spoken and for
whom every honest freely vote, without com
promising his conscience his principles TO take
against whom any solid and we'll sustained objection,
the of honesty be made would be to court de-
feat and show that Indifferent, we'll to moral
considerations to the probable effects Of such
Among the candidates named we have ourselves as
have than remarked, choice, and inter
ests If the privilege given to of saying
who should be the standard bearer should decline it,
There is not of all the candidates whom have
named that would not take cheerfuly, except Gov
Curtin or of the associates Of Woodward aud Lowrie
on the Supreme Bench. Either of these would be
ineligible here and Western Pennsyvani generally the
first because of his policy and acts Governor and the
other because of disastrous decisions and acts of high
handed tyranny which have exasperaed and named
people to napprecabe degree against them On these
points, Lowrie and Woodward will both prove weak and
vulnerable, beyond any other in the State if the ad
vantage is properly used Beyond these candidates we
are Indifferent.
1--WE trust however that nobody in the Convention will
allow himself to be misled by the idea that like
Curtin, and with such record have shown of him.
be forced upon the people Of this county by putting
him in nominate IN against their will We know what we
say when give notice to those who be tempted to
this vew that he is universally believed by the people
here to be corrupto have sold the State and the party
bothand TO be- any thing but well affected to the National
Administration the truly loyal at home they know
indeed we'll the sort of company he keeps and the kind
of influences tht have governed him, that have but
given shape and utterapce to their nvncbe repugnance
to the and done what they desired in endeavoDg to
the party, by warning the managers that they must
neither touch taste handle any thing unclean they
considered the vote of the STRONGEST Republican county in
the State or the nation an important one"
We have never seen case in which the degra-
dation of organized politics" they have come to
be pracsed in the later days of the Republic, was
more painfully illustrated than in the language and
attitude of this journal, when propounding the
maxims which should govern the representatives
of political party, assembled in Convention for
the purpose of selecting candidate to occupy the
highest Office in the gift of the people of Pennsyl-
vania We have nothing to do with the allegation
of the Gazette against Governor Curtin, who holds
the Office he now fills by favor of the party to
which the Pittsburgh paper processes to belong, and
by which he has just been honored with renomina-
tion in spite of the reflections iDuriously cast
his political consistency and public honesty. But
we wish to mark the low stage which our political
morals have reached, and the indignity done to
representative institutions, when it can be openly
said by public journal that things are in Penn
syvaha, it does not expect from any representative
bo1y selected as was the Republican Convention
which lately met in Pittsburgh, either the very
ablest or ppost honest and courageous man IN the
State" The "best mag," it says, els seldom the
available one," because he despses the arts WHICH
are supposed to be necessary to secure the sweet
voices of the people," or because he "procaims
On all occasions precisely what he thinks without
fear or favor" Our contemporary thinks we must
wait a few generations" to improve the tone of
popular sentiment and the system Of public repre-
sentation before we can hope to develop the test
abilities of the nation in the places of highes
trust" In the mem time, though admitting that
"there never was an occasion when the country more
needed its brightest men," the Pittsburgh Gazette
resgnedly says it is "not disposed to be unreason-
able in It's demands"
1t does not expect the ablest and most honest
and courageous man to be put in nomination by
any representative booJ selected as political conven
tons nowadays are, but yet the nominee must not
be one against whom any solid and velLsustained
objection, on the score Of honesty, can be made,"
as to select such man would be to "court de-
feat" with the same certainty il the "best man"
was nominated. The "best man is seldom the
svaable one" argues the Gazette, but at the same
time the candidate must not be notorousy bad in