Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-03-20
8utland 9ailp Gerald.
THE RUTLAND HERALD.
FRIDAY, MARCH IA, 1878.
The Result, the Joke ana Lesson


As the smoke commences to clear
from the battle fields in Now Hampshire,
we can begin to number the dead and
wounded, ascertain the causes of the re-
suit and draw lessons, perhaps, for fu-
tnre guidance, If any such there shall be
found. The ack Of an active campaign
the entire absence of stump speaking
and the dissemination of political docu
nents the lul, naturally succeeding
Presidential election the testimony be-
fore the several Credit Mobilier Con-
gres,ional investigation committees; the
action or failure of action Of Congress
thereon the aggravated case Of Senator
Patterson, long a tried and trusted leader
10 the Republican ranks in New Hamp-
shire. the increase of Congressional
=alaries, general apathy and inclement
weather have all had their effect, more
,,r less, on the Republican vote In New
Hampshire, and with what result? Oar
torcbodings OF three days ago are only
roalzed in part. We have improved on
She campaign of 1871, and are nearly, if
not qli'e, as well IF AZ We were In
lSJ4 In 1871, we lost everything,
GOVERNOR State officers, Councillors,
senator's and Representatives, while last
year we regained them. This year
Ezekiel A Straw Is reelected Governor
by the people, and the Republicans have
secured three out OF the five Councillors,
Eight of the thirteen Senators, the same
~ last year, and have majority of
some forty in the lower House Of the
Legislature The Importance of this
triumph 20 our friends Ia New Hamp-
shire viii hg seen from the fact that the
Governor and Council appoint all ju-
.licial officers, the Attorney General, SO
,icitors, notaries, sheriffs, coroners, reg
isters Of probate, and general and field
officers of the militia, while the other
State officers are elected by the Legisla-
ture There is one important Office now
to he filled, that of Chief Justice of the
supreme Court, just rendered vacant by
the amcnted and sudden death Of Judge
Bellows, on the day of election The
power Of removal is. also, vested in the
Governor, Council and Senate, and was
dnsparnely used two years ago, as the
then Republican incumbents of several
Offices have good reason to remember.
70 offset against this Republican tri-
unph, We have to record the reelection
1t three Democratic members of Con-
4rcss-Elery A. Hibbard, from the first
district Samuel n Bell, from the Sec
ond district, and Hosea w Parker, from
the third district. If Democrats were
TO be elected, we should rather pre-
fer the return OF these gentlemen, or,
more particularly the two last named,
aa, from brief personal acquaintance,
as well as from knowledge of their
public course, we entertain the highest
estimate of their characters, attainments,
abilities and integrity. They are elected,
however, only by small majorities and
comparison Of votes discloses the fact,
that the result was not achieved so much
by Democratic votes alone, as by the
Withholding Of votes by the Republicans
from their own candidates. We pre-
sumo the object of this was to mark, in
some way, the disapproyal, by these
Republicans, of the increase of Congress
sonal salaries. II may be, and prob
ably is true, also, that some Republicans,
who voted for the rest of their ticket,
took this method of compimenting
these gentlemen on their votes against
such increase This Is all well enough,
but we do not see that 1t required any
great amount of self-sacrIfcing patriot
ism or of Roman firmness and virtue to
vote in opposition to increased pay,
when, by counting noses, they could see
that, in any event, the enhanced salary
was to be voted, and that they were alb
solutely sure Of their share. They could
have gone home TO their constituents
and, with a little better grace, plead
their patriotism and unself1sh devotion,
If, while they were recording their votes
in opposition to the generous advance,
they had not, at the same time, been
reaching cut their hands to grasp the
tilthy lucre With the money in their
pockets, they were asking their fellow
citizens to reward them for their want
Of greed How they must have chuck
led to themselves, when the returns came
in, and they felt one reward in the
pocket and saw the other in the votes.
But this is all past now and cannot be
helped Indeed, as we said on former
occasion, IL Is a matter of no cense-
qquence, the Republican majority In
Congress having been assured, long
since, Beyond any and all contingency
1t would have been almost pity TO have
had the result otherwise, as In that event,
we should have lost one of the most hu-
morous of political complications. There
is another excellent joke connected with
this Congressional election Besides the
Republican and Democratic candidates,
the Liberal Republicans had also a ticket
for members of Congress In the field.
In all the districts. except the first, they
made separate and distinct nominations
from those supported by the other par
Ties In the first district, they endorsed
and supported the democratic nomlna-
aon, In the second and third district,
tne slsotion Of the Democratic candidates