The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-07-10

many if this revolution assumes serious proper
tiOns.
Party Conventions and Their Presidential
Candidates.
The perplexities of the democracy at Tam
many Hall in the nomination of their Presi-
Dental candidate naturally draw our attention
to the cliques and combinations, the trading
and log rolling and the chances and accidents
which in most cases have determined the nomi-
nations of these President-making conven-
lions, and especially under the democratic
two-thirds rule. Let us look back little, and
we shall see that in this Democratic Conven-
ton Of 1858 there Is nothing extraordinary in
Its proceedings or results. II is only the old
story Of 1874 and 80 and Sc over again, with
certain variations adapted to the time.
The lines Of division between the old repub-
lican and federal parties having entirely dis
appeared with the dissolution of the federal
party, there was in 1924 beautiful scrub race
for the Presidency between Jackson, Adams,
Crawford and Clay. Jackson came out first
from the people, but lacking majority vote Of
the electoral colleges the election was thrown
into the House of Representatives, when, by q
coalition between the friends of Adams and
Clay, Adams was elected. Against this Goa
lition, denounced by John Randolph as "a
coalition of the Puritan and blackleg," the
Jackson party rallied at once around their
favorite for another trial before the people,
and in 1928, by sort of popular spontaneous
to make cold Hickory" as the head Of the new
democratic party, its candidate in advance for
another term. Thus with the assembling of
the nominating party convention of 1882 there
was no difficulty about its ticket Jackson and
Van Buren,; for the popularity of Jackson had
settled his nomination, and his will was &C
copied as the law Ia reference to his associate
on the ticket. So it was with Van Burens
nomination and election as President in 1886
and with his nomination for second term in
l840 But inI84O the financial disasters of
Van Burens administration had turned the
popular tide against him, and 80, even as the
anointed successor of Jackson, he met with a
crushing defeat.
The friends Of Van Buren,, still pressing his
claims for second term, came forward with q
decided majority Of the Convention in his
behalf in 1874. Here the previously unsus-
peoted power and difficulties and doubts of the
democratic two-thirds rule began to be felt.
Van Buren,, by little over one-third of the
Convention, was thus cast aside, and Polk,
never dreamed of before, was finally nomi-
mated as compromise for the campaign.
The New York democracy supported Polk with
a sort Of understanding that Van Buren, was
to have another trial in 1848, and 80, when by
the Southern slaveholding oligarchy in that
Convention Cass was nominated, Van Buren,,
assisted by Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, and
other powerful democratic free soilers, took
the field as q third party candidate on his
Independent free-soil Buffalo platform. Thus
n cutting Cass out of the vote of New York
and defeating him Little Van" had full salts
faction against the regular Democratic Con-
vention and the Southern oligarchy, which had
juggled him twice out of the regular demo-
cratic line of succession.
In 1852, as much of q surprise to the party
as was Polk, poor Pierce, over the heads of a
bakers dozen of old stagers, became the demo-
cratic nominee; in 1856, on the strength of an
alibi on the unpopular Kansas Nebraska bill
(having been absent in England at the time of
its passage), Buchanan, after thirty years of
active engineering, secured the prize under
certain skilful manipulations of the slavehold-
ing interests Of the South by the Pennsylvania
delegation. This two-thirds rule, in fact, was
the instrument whereby the Southern slave
holders dictated the candidate of the demo-
cracy from and after the defeat in 1910 of Van
Buren, down to Buchanan. But in 1860, at
Charleston, the Douglas democracy of the
West set their faces resolutely against the
Southern oligarchy, and we know what has fol-
lowed.
SO much for these President making conven-
tons of the democracy under their two thirds
rule. The old whig party and the republican
party, under their majority rule, down to 1860
were not subjected to such terrible conflicts as
the democrats in their nominating conventions;
but they were still largely controlled by the
chapter of accidents. In 1886 the wings were
cut up into scrub race against Van Buren,,
the results Of which showed that upon one can
didate they might have beaten him. In 1910
dictated the nomination of General
Harrison, when they might have elected Clay;
in 1914 they nominated Clay with great enthu-
siasm, only to have him defeated by an aboli-
ton detection in New York; in lS4s, when
there was another chance for Clay, they fell
back upon General Taylor military chieftain
whose election was as pro6tless to the
party as that of Harrison; in 1852 they
General Scott, another military
and in that canvass the old wing