The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-28

Presidential Parties-The Hancock Move
l ment and It's Tendencies.
| In revolutionary times all the plans and
combinations Of parties and politicians are as
liable to be changed by passing events as
is the grouping Of its various colored bits OF
broken glass by single shake Of the kaleido-
scope. Thus, for an illustration, we see that
the nomination Of General Hancock for the
next Presidency on the Washington platform,
by the independent National johnson Conven-
| ton in the White House, has wrought such a
| wonderful change among all the political
elements of the country in their relations to-
wards each other that we can hardly entertain
doubt that it furnishes the true pattern Of
the coming Presidential contest.
| In the first place, we have, in this White
House nomination, the withdrawal Of Mr..
Johnson in favor of General Hancock This
is a shrewd move Of Mr.. Johnson. He says to
the hopeful democracy, "You have, since the
| death OF my true friend, John Van Buren,,
turned your backs upon me, as you did upon
honest John Tyler. You are casting about
among yonr old copperhead leaders for
Presidential candidate-among the Seymours,
the Pendletons, the vallandghams, and others
Of your old Chicago failures of that stripe.
These men have no faith in me, johnson, and
], johnson, have none in them. propose you
compromise on General Hancock splen-
did soldier, a gentleman and scholar, and q
statesman withal who possesses more of the
sterling qualities of George Washington than
any man in the land Of the living. What do
you say?' The masses of the democracy re-
spond, " Hancock is the ticket Hancock is
good. We will rally under the standard of
Hancock But the old hidebound copper
head leaders Of the democracy are thrown
upon their beam ends. care we" they ask,
"to be ruled out by this man Johnsons Is he,
after all, to dictate our nominations? Are we
to play second fiddle to johnson 2" They are
puzzled and chapfallen. The sceptre is taken
from their hands. Mr.. johnson, with all his
laundering and all his foolishness in his ma
nipulations Of the democracy, has bit the nail
upon the head in his ultfmatum of Hancock,
and has shown himself, at least on the main
issue, to be wiser man than John Tyler,
though not quite up to Tyler in other things.
But the republican radical managers are as
sorely perplexed as the copperhead chiefs with
this Johnsonan bombshell. II is shrewd
prescription. 1t goes to their bones like the
newly discovered Gettysburg mineral water,
which, II is said, will straighten out the worst
case Of the bone rheumatism in six weeks.
Hancock, however, though he went through
the fire at Gettysburg, has no need of the Get
tysburg water. He is sound. He has no bone
rheumatism. The radicals know it, and they
are afraid Of him. They pretend to be won
derully taken up with General Grant. Gle is
one of us, and is with u.s." they say; but all the
time they are planning and plotting to shove
him out and shelve him. But il they shelve
Grant and take up Chase, where go the army
and all the glory Of the war; They go to
Hancock. So in nominating Hancock for the
democracy Mr.. Johnson dominates Grant for
| the republicans; and thus in this single move
on the chessboard he blocks the game Of both
the copperhead and radical leaders, appoints
the candidate on both sides, anl shapes the
fight for the succession.
! The New York republicans, under the wing
Of Mr. Chase, are nowhere. They are fifty thou
sand short Fenton is demolished, Greeley Is
all al sea, and az for Weed and Raymond, they
have gone over to the bushwhackers. They
scour, like Mostly or Carvajal, around the
edges of the battle, looking out for the supply
trains. We had feared that with the death Of
rough Dean Richmond and the smooth and pol
ished John Van Buren,, after. the failure Of
Haskn with Slocum, the New York demo.
cracy had run to seed. They certainly did
look very seedy year ago; but niger suffrage
has given them new start, and with Com
modore or Land Admiral Vanderbilt, with his
four railroads well in hand, like crack team
on the Eighth avenue, and with Peter the Great,
known as Bismarck Sweeny, in the places Of
Richmond and Van Buren,, New York State and
city. on four-mile stretch, is as safe as Cam
| den and Amboy-yea, safe as Jersey.
This brings US Swinging round the circle
back again to the White House and Mr.. john
son. He is lucky man, this johnson, after
all, if not great man. The radicals have
failed to impeach him, the copperheads have
failed TO catch him, and he has headed off both
copperheads and radicals. Is this small mat
teri Mr.. johnson has no doubt had enough OF
the r5le OF Jackson aud his "By the Eternal,
am in the fights" aud in going back to the
Washington platform, with Hancock, he heads
OF both radicals and copperheads. lie has
been studying Tyler and Fillmore, and their
game he finds waste of powder He takes a
new departure. II IL can't be Johnson, his sue
cessor shall be Hancock or Grant and this is
the battle now before us.
watchman, what do you see In the ofling :
Grant the republican ticket, in spite OF himself
aud in spite Of The radicals Hancock the
democratic champion, in spite Of the copper
heads. What elscf vicksburg and Frede-
ricksburg, Gettysburg and Petersburg, Chatta-
nnora and Annomattox. Niger suffrage. nig-