New-York tribune., 1867-04-10
WH1T WE PROPOSE TO DO.


The editor of The Times is disappointed
that we do not answer certain queries IN
reference to some observations we yenturcd to
make upon the recent election IN Connecticut.
We regret to have added i'll any way to the
discomfort of that gentleman. After his recent
experiences we can imagine how uncomfortable
he must be = his uneasincss with every
thing and everybody, his anxiety his con
Germ for the country and the party. Ibe
uncasiness of the thief, who sees III each
bush an oflcer-of the tardy sinner who
came in during the closing minutes OF the
twelfth hOur-Of the unfortunate Salatmcl
after he had cursed his Savior were as nothing
compared with the anxiety of our TREND since
the failure of the Philadelphia Convention,
with its tremendous, Incompatible, sublime
"ideas.n TO use the phrase of his illus
trious excmplar, he has been swinging round
the circle III the most distressing manner. On
certain days hc is radical; on certain other
days conservative. We can only account
for his coursc by Astronomical calculations.
Unfortunately, however, he happens TO be
copperheadish just about the time the
Copperhcads want to carry an election
and TO be radical when 1t is of no par
ticular interest TO anybody whether hc is ndi-
cal or not Like Shakespeare Stanley, he IS
very busy in the mouth when hIS party
needs him in the west. II may have been be-
cause of fhc moo" thor 80 o." trusting lh'9'
bad, revolving stars-hut the Coppcrhcads in
Connecticut lad scarcely a more efficient ally
during the recent election.
OF course we don't please him. We rarely
do. When he took ont his gong and raised an
alarm over Gen. Paine's Militia bill ~ Rad-
cal plot, we sorcly distressed him by calling It
"Cbinese thunder Who was right! When
tbe massacrcs occurred in Ncw-Oreans, we
called them murdcrous, and fixed upon Mr..
Johnson grave share of the responsibility.
He was hurt at this severity, and insisted
that the negroes did it all. History has de
cided the nature of the crime and IFS respon-
sibility. When hc went to Philadelphia with
Thurlow Weed and a wagOn-load OF rich men,
and tried to sell IT'S all ont to the COppcrhcads, and
wrote an address of Incompatible ideas the
only known effect of which was to bring tears to
the eyes of a noble statcsman-we rcpudiated
the bargain, and said that neither Mr.. weed nor
his rich men could sell and deliver the Repub-
lican party. The gong found itself dreadfully
"shortn in everything but ideas, which was,
of course, very humiliating, and sad, and un-
comfortable, and calculated to make Il person
uneasy.
Thus believing, no wonder this editor wonders
what We mean by insisting upon Universal
"Libcrty and Impartial Suffrage, regardless OF
"caste, race, or color" lie warns us that Judi
"cious and rejecting Republicans" are be-
ginning to doubt whether the Republican
6 hoo nt oI,y, INIT ,e
"safe in that direction Well, Mr.. Jefferson
Davis, as we see by dispatch, gives us
similar warning: "The Connecticut election
"was one, Isaid Mr. Davis, which that State
"could well be proud of, as it appeared to him
"to be the turning point in that political
"strrggle which was causing so much suffering
" in the land" Our editor thinks we have gone
Gas far as it is safe.n Mr. Davis believes that
we have reached ga turning point" The happy
sympathy is suggestive. The trouble with The
Times is that il always wants 10 be safe" 1t
is safe to be on the side of power, to be in the
confidence Of administrations to be pressed to
take this Office and that, TO assist in discussing
the patronage of q great party, to be the
champion and minister of any policy, no mat
ter how degrading, so long as its author sits in
the Presidential chair. This is very safe" and
very easy we know of nothing more so. 1t
brings no worriment not even about clothes,
for not only the ideas, the duties and the re-
sponsibiities, but even the livcries, come from
Washington. If this editorial politician has not
found it as safe and easy to champion Mr. john
son and wear lhis livery, as it was in SUMMER
days, the fault is not with him. but with his
master. We do him the credit of thinking that
he did the best he could.
Our friend pay consider whether it is "safe"
or not to defend Universal Liberty and Impair
tial Suffrage, and go his way. We believe it
to be just, and we shall fight to make it safe.
And when he asks us what we mean, we reply
that we mean to establish in the South, by
the will of the people, that which only exists
by the will of the bayonet. We propose to
build up party in the South which will repre-
sent the power of the majority of loyal citi-
zens until now disfranchised by oppressive
laws. We propose to labor in Connecticut
until the sin which rests upon that State, and
which so recently brought it to shame shall
be removed. We propose tlat in Ncw-York