The mountain Democrat., 1864-04-02
From the New York World.
OUGHT a PRESIDENT RE.ELECT
HLM9ELF.

For q statesman of ability and expert
ence the desire to serve his country by
discharging the duties of the highest Of
fee in its gift is an ambition which a
reasonable modesty may not permit him
tnAVoW, but which neither virtue nor
honor forbids to feel. We do not, there
fore, impute it to Mr.. Lincoln as fault
that he wishes a reelection to the high
Office be now fills.
But when he assumes that the safety,
welfare, and institutions of the country
areSubordinateto his personal aspirations,
aud attempts. under artful diguiseS, to
subvert the elective character of our po-
liticAl system in order that he may retain
his hold on power, it behooves the peo.
pie to inquire whether they are prepared
to reliDquish the right of freely electing
their rulers, and Of peacefully deposing
them at the expiration Of their term of Of
fee by substituting others in their place.
In free government elections natural
ly fall under the control Of political par
ties, and the result Is determined by ma
jOrities, larger or smaller according to cir
cumstances, but seldom SO large as that
the excess Of votes received by the sue
cessfut candidate is more than a small
fraction Of the whole number cast. A
control, by the President in Office, Of as
many votes as constitute this margin, is a
virtual control of the election; and if such
control is gained by perverSion of his
official trust, it is as effective and as GRIM
inal q mode Of perpetuating his power as
open and direct usurpation. II, by some
adroit mechanical contrivance, votes
. enough 10 turn the election could be sur
r0ptitiously introduced into the ballot
boxes to control the result, every one
must admit that such votes would invali-
date the election, and that Office held in
pretended virtue Of it would be legally and
morally null, however Strongly it might
be supported in fact by military power.
II the machine, instead Of secretly despos-
iting favoring ballots, was so constructed
- to Intercept and destory an equivalent
number Of opposition ones, there would
be no moral, legal, or political difference
in the result. Nor would the case be
varied, or the guilt lessened, by any mod
i6cation Of the method so long as the cleo
tion was not controlled by the Independent
action Of alt the freemen legally entitled
to vote. II some are illegally kept from
the ballot box, or if the votes of some are
counted for more than their actual value,
or are Influenced by bribery, terror, or
any kind of coercion, the man who by the
conscious use of such means, or Of any
means resembling them, procureS his own
election, is guilty of q heinous crime
against republican institutions.
There are solid reasons for supposing
that such disloyalty to the elective prin-
Oiple 10 10 contemplation by Mr.. Lincoln
as means Of keeping himself in Office for
aHether four years. That he has, at heart,
20 respect for the sacredness Of the cleo
tive franchise. is evident from the military
Interference with its exercise which he has
practiced during the last year, beginning
with cAshieFing Lieutenant Edgerton, Of
New Hampshire, for exercising the rights
Of . -fsssSuaa his owa- township -aad
ending With sending Republican soldiers
home to vote in the fall elections while
furloughs for that purpose were steadily
refused 10 Democrats. II. Mr.. Lincoln
could do this In the case of mere State
officers, to what lengths will he not 60 to
eecWrS his,oWn sleclione
Hr. Linc0ln.s presidential strategy, SO
far as yet developed, consists Of three
parts; the .Grst being preliminary and in
taadsd to make sure Of nomination the
other Two to secure his election when
nominated. The preliminary part does