Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-20
THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

lHG ncAl OO4SItcS lut OCuOCrdtS VIII
have eight. while the Republicans will
have only five, being a gain of five
members. But this is not all. The
Democrats have a clear majority of the
Legislature on joint ballot, which will
enable them to elect a United States
Senator in place of Mr.. Pratt, whose
term expires next March. The last
corrected report shows the complexion
of the two houses of the Legislature to
be as follows:
Senate Republicans. "a
Democrats .........-... -
independents. ...s... s. 80
House-Republican ......... 81
democrats ............. 04
Independents ..-........ 300
In the last Legislature the Republ-
cans had a majority of twelve on joint
ballot-for in the Senate and eight in
the House.
We see Hon. joseph e. Mcdonald
spoken Of as the probable successor of
Mr.. Pratt.
The Indianapolis Journal does not
say explicitly that the cause of the de-
feat Of its party was Grantism, but it
hints at it very strongly. 1t asserts
that Grants "silence has encouraged
his misguided friends" to press the
matter of the third term "until it has
become a pernicious element of cur
rent discussion, and very damaging
weapon against the Republican party;
and that .'the time has now come for
the Republican party itself, so far as
possible, to rectify that mistake by
washing its hands of the third term
business" The Journal closes on
Grant as follows:
AS the President mas not seen fit to
disavow it, the Republican party
should do so, and as a faithful expo
nent of Republican opinion, the Jour
nat here and now declares the third
term suggestion to be impolitic, anti
Republican and offensive to the popu-
lar mind. 1t is impossible for Presi-
dent Grant to be reelected. The par
ty that dominates him viii be ignomin-
iously defeated. 1t is not only impos.
sible for him to be reelected, but not
desirable if 1t were possible. His re-
election would not conduce to the ele-
Walton of American politics or to the
Inauguration Of such an era Of reform
as can alone restore the Republican
party to popular confidence. There is
but one way to meet this question. If
President Grant does not speak out
before the meeting of Congress In De-
cember, the Republicans IN Congress
must express the sense of the party
against the third term business. If
they had done this last winter the Re-
publican party would have been in
much better shape to-day. This is one
of the things that must be done"
1t is evident the Republicans are
getting sick of Grant. He is a load
which no party could carry, and the
Republicans are finding it out to their
cost. But it is only fair to say that
Grant, with his third term notions and
his interference in the Southern States
upon the fimsiests of pretexts, is not
alone responsible for the defeat of the
Republican party in the late elections.
That party has sustained Grant in all
he has done It has done nothing to
stay the illegal acts of his Attorney
General, while it has been ready 10
pass any law to Cypress the Southern
people. and has always denied them
their rights. But these are not all of
its sins, which, like chickens, have
come home to roost." 1t is the gen
eral cussedness" ofthe party which has
brought upon it the terrible defeats il
has been sustaining.