The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-10-02

DIRK HERALD, FRIDAY,
Charleston Convention Of 1860, and precipi-
tated by fire and sword the extinction of the
domineering Southern oligarchy with their
"peculiar institution"
The grand idea, we say, then, upon which
the republican party was organized In 1854
first came In positive, practical and impress
sive shape from Martin Van Buren, az an indie
pendent Presidential candidate in lS48. The
great compromise measures Of Henry Clay In
1850 gave . check to this free soil agitation,
which enabled poor Pierce to walk over tho
Presidential course in 1852; but In his repeal
Of the Missouri Compromise, which was part Of
Clay's adjustment of 1850, poor Pierce reopened
the box Of Pandora and the door for the re-
vival in infinitely greater strength Of Van
Buren's free soil movement. Thus, upon
the platform Of s'no further extension Of
slavery" Fremont would have been over
whelmingly elected President in 1856 but for
the third party movement Of Fillmore, which
crippled the republican organization In all the
free States and assisted in suppressing It by
terrorism in all the South. In 1860, however,
this order Of things was reversed by tho
Charleston Convention. The democratic party
was torn to pieces, and from its Northern frag-
ments and the floating materials Of the dis
banded Know Nothing party the republican
party Of 1850 came into power as on Northern
whirlwind, the free soil platform Of Lincoln,
like that Of Fremont, being precisely the Van
Buren, platform of lS48-s'no further extension
of slavery" f ee
The original mission of the republican party,
then, was simply to hold slovery to the ground
which it occupied and to provide that no
more slave Territories or slave States should
exist in the Union Hence the rebellion upon
the heel Of Lincoln's. election. The South
Carolina chivalry were armed and ready for it
in 1851, after the admission, in 1850, of Cali
fornia as free State, which broke the Southern
balance Of power in the Senate; but South
Carolina was induced to wait for the co-opera-
ton of the other cotton States, and she got
them in 1860 and 1861. From this point the
original idea Of the republican party-a check
against the extension of slaYery-rapidly
ripened under the war into Lincolns emanci-
patton proclamation military act which in
the outset he thought would be as futile
as s'the Pope's bull against the comet"
Since then, with the suppression OF the
rebellion, we have had the absolute abolition
of slavery and an interdict against its revival
engrafted upon the constitution itself. Here,
then, one would think the mission of the re- \
publican party at an end. But with the final
extinction of slavery and the Southern slave
holding oligarchy this new party Of the North
assumed q new mission in the work of recon
structi0n. The programme adopted for the
work In 1866 was that Of the constitutional
article fourteen. Upon this plat
form they swept the North, from ocean to
ocean, against the policy Of Andy johnson.
But the Southern States proving refractory
under the encouragements Of Johnson, the
radicals of Congress in 1867 proceeded to
harsher plan, involving Southern military gov
ernments and system Of reconstruction based
upon universal negro suffrage The Northern
elections of 1867 betrayed heavy popular re-
action against this system, and in the eight
rebel States thus reconstructed there is no
more peace to-day than In the three which re-
main tout in the cold"
How is this business to be settledY General
Grant will be triumphantly elected in conse-
quence Of the stupidity Of the democracy in
fighting their battle Of 1868 upon their platform
Of 1864. But what will be the policy Of Gen.
eral Grant2 In adhering strictly to the con-
stitutional amendment fourteen he. will leave
the reconstructed States to settle this disturb
ing question of negro suffrage for themselves;
and II so, within year or two, by the law Of
gravitation, the vote Of the black laborers viii
be in the hands Of their white employers from
Virginia to Texas. But this amendment says
that Congress shall have the power by sppro-
pirate legislation to enforce its provisions, and
the Congress elected with Grant may thus
undertake the reconstruction over again Of the
States reconstructed and which are now sup
posed to stand on the same footing as New
York and New Jersey. What then? Then
we may look for q reconstruction Of parties,
beginning with the clashing and disintcgrstion
Of the diverse elements Of the republican party
in Congress and ending with the restoration
Of The democratic party TO power on new
and substantial foundation. At all events, we
expect that the mission Of the republican party
will be ended with Grants administration, and
that after him a new party will come to the
front, and that the present radical faction will
disappear among the things of the past.
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Another Nitro-(slvcrrine Explesicn.
The terrific nitro-glycerine explosion which
occurred on q train OF cars near Urbana. i'm