The Portland daily press., 1869-08-02

The Uncertainties Of N Transition state.
Lord Russell once said that there were only
two persons who ever understood "the Schles-
wig Hoistein question"-himself and another
gentleman. The other gentleman had learned
the truth about it and told him, but was now
dead, and as for himself, Russell h ID forgotten
all about it. A like cloud hangs over the pres
ent aspects of Southern politics, and there are
as many constructions of any given event as
there are of one of Louis Napoleon's inysteri-
ons pronunciamentos, when he appears in his
great part Of "the Sphinx Of the Tuilleries =
But why should we expect, after all TO get
closer views and more precise notions of moral
transformations than we do of chemical changes
in the physical world? We do not expect 10
know exactly how poor worm gets himself
Transformed into butterfly with painted
wings, Or how a taapole sheds his tail, unless
Mr.. Pickwick explained the matter in his gre at
paper on his Theory of TittIebats" Why
hope, then, to peer behind the curtain which
nature hangs up before the traitor-copperhea
while he is being transformed into "trooly
loir' and negro respecting Radical. One may
not intrude himself into the workshop where
these great operationsof Of nature are going on.
But we apprehend that the general result OF
the moralfermentation thatis going ON among
the Southern people is such as we have stated
above Gradually, almost impcrceptibly, the
American citizen is being evolved from the
States Rights Confederate. We see this in
the disposition evinoed by the lately.sullen and
non-committal Rebels to coquet with the more
conservative Of the Republicans and even 10
make use of their late chattels for the further
ance Of their political designs .9gs ha-
Let US be content then, if we cannot sec
whether Hunnicut and his associates or Gen.
Lee and his soldiers triumphed most in the
: Virginia election. 1t looks now il the admin
istration was amply justified for The counte-
nance it seemed to give to. the Walker mdve-
ment. The latest phase of the affair is that a
coalition willbe formed between the Wells and
Walker wings of the Republican party--as il
the Walker men went out of their way little
merely to capture as many Democrats as Dos
sible and bring them bodily into the Republic
can camp e. A. Pollard seems to be right
when he declares that the support given by
native Virginiars to Walker indicates the
abandonment on their part by all distinctive
Southern doctrines, and the disintegration OF
the separate Southern party.
In Mississippi the political complications
that have been as puzzling as those in Virginia
are taking favorable turn. 1t was feared that
the President would give his support to Judge
Dent, the candidate of the conservative Re-
publicans and the Democrats for Governor
We know now that he will not II he design
ed to do so, the first blow would be struck at
General Ames, Radical who will throw the
weight Of his legitimate influence on the side
of his party. After consultation with the
President that gentleman has gone back to his
command, and well informed correspondents
state that the President is not at all in syrhra-
thy with his brother-in-law. He does not re-
gard the Dent movement as at all analogous to
the Walker movemsntin Virginia ssa'e Ifi
In Tennessee matters are not SO encourag-
ing. The Senter Republicans have found that
the Democrats have sought an alliance with
them for the good Of the Democratic party
Untrue to their pledges they will endeavor to
return pure -blooded Democrats to the Legisla-
ture in order that Andrew johnson may be
sent back to the Senate Unless this bad faith
shall unite the Republican party again and
compel the withdrawal of Senter from the con-
test, the Tennessee political horizon is decid-
edly cloudy. 7 E4 ;isqei atag