The New York herald., 1874-10-21

serenade to be given him some evening this
week. will speak Of the third term project in
language of strong reprobation. We incline
to regard this statement as apocryphaL In
the first place, the friends of the Governor
and the republican press Of the State are not
agreed as to the expediency of such step.
The Times, which advocated it for three or
four days, began to fall back on Monday and
yesterday dropped the subject The other
leading journals of that party have steadily
deprecated it and with the opinions OF his
supporters so divided the Governor will
naturally hesitate lest he should expose him
self to q charge of weakening his canvass by
hazardous change of front in the face OF the
enemy In the next place, all the reasons
which have restrained him from making sucha
declaration at a more suitable time exist IN full
force now. II he has been held back by fear
of offending the President and alternating the
Custom House there is no reason why that
motive should not operate with as much
strength now as heretofore His chances
have grown so doubtful that these people
would have no difficulty IN Furnishing him,
whereas had he made such declaration two
weeks ago, it would have brought him such
an increase of popularity that he might have
safely defed them. A tardy declaration
against the third term in the present condi-
ton of his canvass would be so evidently ex-
torted by alarm that o successful handle
would be made of it by the democrats as q
signal of distress or an act of desperation.
Aa ho tha Mt n
time when no member of his party would
have dared TO complain We shall be sur
prsed if he does it now, at the risk Of
loosening all the tongues in the Custom House
and exciting the regret of many sincere sup
porters Still another reason for distrusting
this reported intention of serenade to furnish
the occasion for an anti-third-term speech
appears in the attitude of the Albany Evening
Journal. Governor Dix's relations with that
paper are intimate and conidential and if he
had such an intention as is ascribed to him he
would have given hint of it to the party
organ at the State capital and saved it from
the awkwardness of opposing in advance
what it would feel bound to justify as soon as
it was done.
To be sure, there is a inessing kind OF
speech which Governor Dix might make with
out embroiling himself with the Custom
House; bat he should speak boldly if at all.
If he were merely to proclaim his disbelief;
if he were to brand the third term fears as
idle and causeless; if he undertook to clear
General Grant Of cherishing such aspi-
rntions and to offer this as the JUS
tifcation Of his previous silence, the
public would be entitled to demand
the grounds of his opinion. The public
would inquire how he became SO much better
informed on this subject than Grants cronies
and tamiliars. 1t is not believed that the
President has made Governor Dix confdant
or has communicated with him on the third
term question at all. Governor Dix has no
other means of information than the country
at large. His asserted disbelief would go
for nothing unless he supported it by evil
dence. The only evidence on which General
Grant can be acquitted is public declaration
by himself SO absolute and unequivocal as to
bind his personal honor and make it a breach
Of sincerity and an act of perfdy to permit
the use of his name for another nomination.
Of course Governor Dix has not this kind Of
proof to offer. His professions OF disbelief
would, therefore, be trfling with the public
patience if not an insult to the public intelli-
gence. Such speech would have satisfied
nobody, even if it had been made close on
the heels of the Utica Convention What he
ought to have said then, and should say now,
if he makes speech on the subject, is
evident enough 1t should be nothing
less than an explicit declaration of his i'm
movable hostility to third term and Of his
conviction that it would be the knell of our
free institutions. Had he intrepidly said this
within ten days Of his recent nomination its
effect on public feeling would have been mag
ical and electric. The universal, enthusiastic
piaudits with which it would have been
greeted would have turned the popular tide so
strongly in Governor Dix's favor that
nothing could have reversed it, 1t would
have established confidence in him as states
man of remarkable sagacity, patriotism, inde-
pendence and political courage. But it would
be no proof Of courage, sagacity or indepen-
dence TO make the declaration now. The pub
lie would think he had been scared by his
fears into an act which he failed to do from
wise and forecasting free will. Even his sin
cerity would be open to question, whereas
nobody could have doubted it if General Dix's
sagacity had not got so unfortunately belated.
This third term question has deeper sig
nifcance than those of our contemporaries
who at first secuted and have since echoed our
warnings seem to perceive. 1t is not, as the
HERALD understands it. mere question of
General Grants personal ambition. 1t goes
far deeper. The main element of danger, to
philosophical view, lies in the conjuncture
of circumstances by which such ambition is
inspired the safety and stability of our insti-