The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-06-12
The commeucemenf OF the New Era-New
York the Starting Poinx for the Nation.

VI WIG utW era In the nlstory VI
New York. The existing era began at the
epoch Of the adoption OF the present State con-
with It's blunders, heresies and license.
and has been marked by steady increase OF
misrule year after year, until the people are
borne down by the weight of debt and taxa
tcn, and the whole State is given over to an
archy and corruption. 1t is now about TO close,
and the great political reconstruction for which
the whole nation is preparing itself will APP
propriately and properly find its starting point
in New York.
The action Of the Constitutional Convention
now in session at Albany will destroy both
the existing political organizations in the State
and lay the foundation of q great reform move
ment which will be the nucleus of the national
party, whose province 1t will be to make Gene
raj Grant the next President and to finally
dispose Of all the old leaders, hacks, aspirants
and fanatics-secession, copperhead and radi-
CAL Whatever course the Convention may
take the result will be the same, and it cannot
be averted. There are some men among
the delegates on both sides who will be
anxious to make good constitution and sub
NIT it to the people for their approval;
but if they succeed it will be despite
of the partisans in the body, all of whom,
whether democratic or republican, will OPP
pose any alteration of the organic law that
will not inure to their own political adj
vantage. Their work will be repudiated by
both the existing political organizations in the
November election, and efforts will be made
by the leaders and their pariisans, either openly
or covertly, to defeat it. But it will be sup
ported by the great mass Of the people, and its
success at the polls will of itself be the inau-
guration of the new era and the commence
ment of the political reconstruction Of the
whole nation. IT, on the other hand, the radi-
cal fanatics in the Convention, led by Greeley
and aided by the Brookses and their copper
head associates, should force upon us a bad
and unacceptable constitution, then the people
of the State will unite against them and their
work, and will overthrow them all. There will,
in that event, DO popular combination upon
candidates nominated, without reference either
to democracy or radcalism the party tickets
Will GVcTy WuCIO w uOiCosOAe vAC COHoSituLUu
will be rejected, and the people will take the
reform of the organic law and the publication
of the government into their own hands. In
either case the corrupt, wornout political or
CARNATIONS will be swept out of existence, and
the foundation laid for the great Grant move
ment of next year.
Under these circumstances IL Ia fortunate
that the State Constitutional Convention was
authorized by nearly four hundred thousand
voters at the last November election. The
character of many Of the delegates and the
opening scenes of the session have been calcu-
lated to make the people distrust that any good
could result from the Convention But, as we
have shown, whatever may be its action, 1t
cannot fail to be instrumental in securing
thorough reconstruction Of political parties in
this State next fall, and In clearing the way for
the Presidential campaign. The four hundred
thousand electors who recorded their votes in
favor of the revision Of the organic law were
In earnest in their desire for reform. In con-
junction with thousands of others who did not
vote on the constitutional question at all, they
will be found in the next election supporting
he new constitution, If 1t be good one, and
voting against II and against the old party
organizations by whom they have been be-
rayed, ii it be q bad one.
Nothing Is more certain than that we cannot
continue any longer in our present condition.
Returns recently made TO the Secretary Of
State and Comptroller, under the law authoriz-
ing the Convention, show that the local
Of the cities, towns and counties
In the State will reach nearly ninety millions.
The State debt is over fifty millions,
and the people Of New York there
fore owe at the present moment about
one hundred and forty million dollars, ex-
elusive Of their proportion Of the national in
two thousand FIVE hundred
millions. These figures are startling; and they
become the more alarming when accompanied
by the knowledge that both the national and
upon anarchy. AT Washington the executive
and legislative branches are in bitter opposi-
ton to each other; both Of them weak, blum
dering and obstinate, and doing their best to
bring ruin upon us at home and disgrace
abroad. In our own State we are
without any responsible government, and
given over to corruption and political
confusion. The vagaries Of our politicians are
making matters worse, by proving the war to
have been failure; establishing the fact that
treason, against which we have fought at such
a ruinous cost, is no crime after all, and
the country with the hateful word
In word, we are at a crisis
in our history, both as a State and as a nation,
and there is no hope for us but in prompt
and thorough change. The November election
will inaugurate the new era in New York, by
sweeping away the old political organizations
and building up strong party Of and from
the people. This will form the nucleus for the
great movement of political reconstruction