The New York herald., 1871-12-08

Il
managers and the sappers ana miners Of both
the great political parties, and all the outside
factions and cliques, are drawn to Washington
in order to compare notes aud count noses In
| reference to the Presidential succession. The
question with the republican party being set:
tied in favor of another term for General
Grant, the only difficulties to be overcome
preparatory to the great battle are the diff
fcuties Of the opposition elements in reference
to their organization, their leaders and their
plan Of operations in the fight. The de-
mocracy, disheartened and demoralized by
| their late defeats and the disastrous collapse
OF Tammany Hall. are like the poor driver
with his cart stuck fast in the mud, crying to
| Hercules to give them lift, and they seem to
be willing to recognize as their Hercules eny
bolting republican with the odor of radical
sanctity fresh upon his garments. So far we
have hardly had whisper from Washington
Of any consultations between denocractic
| ton; but we are told that on Tuesday next
| Mr.. George Wilkes and his colaborers in the
political vineyard will hold little confidential
anti-Grant republican caucus, and if so they
may do something that will cheer the heart of
| Mr.. Schurz and illuminate the face of the
melancholy Mr.. Fenton.
| Meantime, with the demoraIized democracy
the condition of things may be defined as
| nothing better than confusion worse con-
founded" The downfall of Tammany has
sorely disheartened them. and all their regu-
lar candidates from the Tammany National
Convention OF 1868 have gone overheard
Chase, Pendleton, Hendricks, Hoffman, Sey-
mour, English, Andy johnson and all the
rest, excepting only Hancock, who still is
| recognized as having the elements Of Presi-
| dental availability, In spite of the changed
condition of things. But the main idea now
discussed among the democratic journals is
the Missouri fusion policy-or the 'passive
policy" as they call 1.-THE policy Of placing
the boiling republicans with their independent
| ticket in front, and of bringing up the demo-
cratic party in the rear. The platform sug-
| gested for the boiling republicans is general
amnesty, civil service reform, revenue reform,
the public lands for actual settlers, &c. This
i
thunder has been appropriated by General
Grant in his Message the prospect for an out
side anti Grant republican party is becoming
very gloomy.
| Senator Trumbull, one Of the leading can
didates named for the fusionists gives it as
his opinion that this fusion experiment will be
failure; Senator Sumner, it is under
stood, is not In that line of business;
Vice President Colfax goes for Grant;
Senator Fenton is not thought of even as a
last resort by the democrats, and Mr.. Greeley
fatty declares that he will not be party to
any back-stairs Presidential arrangement.
The conservative Governor Walker, Of Vir-
gnia, has pnt in the strongest bid of all the
bids made for the nomination on this proposed
fusion plan of operations; but Governor
Walker hardly carries guns enough to CON-
mand the position. Mrs. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton's plan Of scrub race. with sepa-
rate anti-Grant Presidential ticket in each Of
quires, first, the sinking of the democratic
party in the fight 1t is as good as the prop
osition to run this party as a tender to
boiling republican faction; as good as the
scheme of running mongrel ticket without
any platform in opposition to General Grant;
it is quite as good as the plan of Mr.. Micaw-
Der of waiting, still "waiting for something to
turn up;" and it is vastly better than the prop
osition Of hitching the democratic party to the
eight wheeled, uphill locomotive of "Tom
Scott" the Pennsylvania railway king.
But none of these various schemes for a
joint stock fusion movement of the
democrats with the boiling republicans
against General Grant viii do, be-
Gaass they AZ depend upon this boiling
republican element, which is Al unknown
quantity, and concerning which there is
general suspicion that it amounts to nothing
and loo weak to be trusted as balance of
power. The game of the ant-Grant republi-
cans has been to keep down the discussion of
the party candidate for 1872, as matter
belonging exclusively to the national party
Convention, and yet to work meantime like
beavers to secure the Convention against Gen.
eral Grant. But the discussion has, neverthe-
less, been kept up until it Is made manifest that
| Grant will have his party Convention and will
be renominated on the first ballot; and hence
the democratic idea that these anti-Grant re-
publicaus are in the democratic market. But
to all such political adventurers there is in the
catastrophe of the downfall OF Tammany such
discouraging prospect for Presidential spoils
and plunder in the democratic camp that these
hungry men are in no hurry to enter it,
The actual situation of things may thus be
stated. The democrats have found IL out from
the late elections that they are in minority
In the country. They confess it, and that
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