The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-04-08
Wednesday Morning, April g. 1865
The Conaec,icu, slec,ion.


The first peculiarly of the result in Connee-
ticut which arrests attention is the sing"
lar circumstance that although Governoi Eng
lish has been reelected, the Repuois"nS nave
gained five members in the HOUSE anu one IN
the Senate, giving them q ciear majority ot 70
on Joint ballot. and securing the election of a
Republican successor to Senator Dixon. Last
year the Republicans had majority of one in
the Senate and ten in the House; this year
the majorities are increased to three in the
Senate and twenty in the House Connectl-
cut is in fact a Republican State, though APP
pearances are against her. For ten years,
from 1857 to 1856, she elected Republican gov
ernors by maiorties ranging from 547 IN the
year of doubt aud dread which preceded the
war to II O35 in 1865 when the vi tory was
won. She is Republican still, as the COMPOST
ton of her legislature shows. Two weeks ago,
the New Yolk Sun "a Democratic paper, warn
ed the Democrats of Connecticut that the
chances were that they would be beaten The
explanation OF the gubernatorial choice lies IN
the personal character of Governor English.
During the rebellion he was so steadiast and
true to the country, that he was burned in eft
Hyy in his own State by the very men whose
woes have since twice raised him to the CUB
ernatorial hair The nomination Of such
man by Democrats is Republican triumph
His election and reelection is a complete vim
dication of the Republican policy during the
war. In New Hampshire the Republicans
easily beat Sinclair with his retinue of Burrs
and Deans; in Connecticut the public mind
was disturbed by the presence of such men as
English, Dixon ard Doolittle in the hostile
ranks, and the real significance of the election
is accordingly obscured.
Another circumstance must be taken into
the account, however. The western tiels OF
counties, nearest to New York, Litchfield and
fairfield, Hartford and New Haven, show
r publican gains. Tolland and Middlesex
Windham and New London, show Republican
gains. It is not difficult to account for this re-
markable result. The Sun two weeks ago
ago conceded that the chances were
against the Democrats. In the east
ern counties, where there has been no outside
interference, that prediction has been verified
the Republican gains foot up to over 600, and
a similar gain in the other counties would have
carried the State. Tammany Hall was too
near The Democratic papers began just be-
fore the election to tell what they expected to
do in New Haven Some hundreds of fraudu-
lent names were actually found on the lists in
New Haven, and removed, bnt to no purpose.
The carpet-baggers" contrived to vote and
the majority for English went up per saltum in
New Haven from 1910 to 2253, in Hartford from
40 to ga, and Bridgeport, as reported, went
over from 60 Republican majority last year to
100 Democratic this. The gain in these three
towns exceeds the entire Democratic gain in
the State at large by some hundreds.
1t is by such means that the Democratic
party has succeeded in obtaining nominal
victory in Connecticut-by disavowing their
principles and traditions, by selecting for their
a man whom few years ago they
burned in effgy, by conducting the campaign
on semi-Republican plan; finally-and wthr |
out this all else would have been un availing- |
by importing voters enough to turn the scale. |
In November, when the issues are more clear
" presented, the vote of Connecticut may be |
counted on with certainty for the Republican
candidate for the presidency.