Middletown transcript., 1869-09-11

crafty mere handful of raw recruits, who
would substitute policy and enpedinecy for
PRINCIPLE. What would victory be
worth, achieved under such auspices? Its
fruit would be scramble for spoil, rup-
ture and disintegration.
That we do not misapprehend the drift
of these new would-be leaders and coun-
sellors of the Democratic party, we subjoin
the following extract, which is introduced
here merely as a sample of many others of
similar import with which a certain class
of journals not thoroughly indoctrinated in
the democratic faith, is teeming:
THE FUTURE OF THE DEMocRAcY.- New
York Sun has all along taken the ground that
the Democratic party will be the winning and
controlling party of the country in 1872, if its
leaders can only be brought to see and acknowl-
edge certain facts and recognize the political sit
uation as it is, and act upon principles formed in
the light of the present, instead of hanging their
fortunes upon the dead past, and scrapng up the
mouldy ideas and measures which in the days of
slavery formed their chief staple of success, but
which the conservative element of the country
can never again be induced to countenance or
support.
Abiding to the nomination of Mr.. Adams as
the candidate for Governor of Massachusetts,,
the Sun touches the subject as follows:
In his speech accepting the nomination for
Governor of Massachusetts,, Mr. John Quincy
Adams enunciated the principles which the De-
mocracy must adopt to achieve success in the next
Presidential election. If the party will cordially
accept his views national issues, and will pre-
sent candidate that fairly reflects them, then the
Republicans in 1872 will have to bring out their
strongest man. and throw into the canvass their
bottom dollar, or give up all hope of success.
The philosophy of Mr.. Adams is simply re-
cognition of facts as they actually exist He
does not see the wisdom of fighting battles over
again which have once been fairly fought and
conclusivey decided. To any longer combat the
results of the late war, including reconstruction
and negro suffrage he knows to be bootless
struggle. Mr.. Adams does not require Demo-
Gratis to yield up any of their opinions as to how,
in their judgement these controversies ought TO
have ended but only to acknowledge thesunde-
niabe fact that they have ended in particular
way, and then, like men of common sense, to
govern themselves accordingly"
We will not attempt a reply to this sort
Of reasoning. That reconstruction" and
"negro suffrage" are among the "conclu-
sively decided" "results of the latewar," is
a self-evident error. They had nothing to
do with the late war, and were not thought of
till the war was over. They came to their
birth in the prolific brain of Radicalism,
only after that brain was in throes to dis
cove some means whereby it might main
tain its ascendaGcy as a party. " Recon
struction is not "conclusiveiy decided yet.
1t is thing of Protean shapes, anu the
form it is made to assume one day, is
abandoned for something else the next
day. As to "negro suffrage" it is de-
pendent ON the ratification of the 18th
amendment, which may never be ratified
There is certainly less chance of its ratifi-
cation against the opposition of powerful
party, than there would be if that party
should accept the ratification as thing ac-
complished. The possibility of defeating
the 18th amendment, is urged, even by
the New York World, as fresh incentive
to the Democrats of that State, to elect a
Legislature this fall. That journal says
/" The defeat of the amendment will not. TO he
sure, upset negro suffrage in the South but il
will keep the subject within State CONTROL and
enable the South, ut some future time to retreat
from rash experiment when the political COM
plexion of Congress shall have been changed il
time and experience shall demonstrate that negro
suffrage is not consistent with public TRANQUILITY
The present signs of the times indicate that the
II fifteenth amendment will not be ratified by tn,
Iran / nisita nharn nf Sfata ID
/ in its favor has preceptibly slackened under {
growing apprehension that the negro vote in tn,
South will be controlled, or at least divided anC
nullihed, by the Democratic party. Consistenc,
compels the Republicans to keep up a show o
supporting it; but if the elections in Mississippi
and Texas shall resemble that in Virginia, ant
+ exhibit large numbers of negroes voting for Cor
servative candidates, the Republican party will
be content to let the fifteenth amendment slide.
: We say, then, in conclusion, to tn,
: Democratic party, that theirs is no cham
elton organization, no changeling of al
, hour, no time-serving party of expediency
but the devotee of principles which hav
their foundations in the Constitution itself
and which are vital to the existence of tn
Republic. They will cherish and defen,
= them as long as they are impelled by
y sense of duty to themselves and thei
e country. They will stand now, and il
: the future, firm as adamant, with close
/, ranks, bearing the shield of truth, as ers
= "In arms they stood
+ OF golden panoply, refulgent host "
10 If the Conservatives would continua Z
q cooperate with US, let them show that the
# are not restive, and that the association i
: not irksome. They must not expect us
give up our name, abandon our organiza
? ton, or forsake our time -honored princi
Piles. 1t is too great a sacrifice to make t
mere prJudice; for that, after all, is tn
secret of these hortative appeals to "le
"a the dead past bury its dead" A new par
- ty of expedients, under new name, woul
L