The New York herald., 1874-04-06


year. The winter has gone and spring has
hardly come. Business rises to its food
tide even as the rivers respond to the
melting of the SHOWS from the noun
tains. 1t is the season of life and growth
preparation for the fruits and the fatness OF
summer. The year may now be SAID 70 enter
upon its manhood Society arranges Tor Its
summer hegira- The sudden burst OF JOY
after Lent gives place to warnings for the sea-
shore and the springs gs-Newport and Saratoga.
The long session OF Congress drags along and
limps its way to barren and Intellectual close.
We pass from the period of activity and effort
to the period of speculation, for summer is
the time for thought. And the summer that
is now ripening will probably be one Of the
most important we have known in our politi-
col history.
We are well into the second year of Grants
Presidential term. Whether we prefer the
discussion or not, we must accept it. There
has been coyness in our consideration OF
present political circumstances which argues
an unusual modesty in our American charac-
ter In other days the sixth year Of any ad-
ministration was one Of exceeding activity.
The political philosophy of the country was
in state of high excitement. If the party in
power retained its life and commanded the
country we found ourselves discussing two
points-the new policy and the new candi-
dates. Either the party was preparing for
new departure, strengthening the ranks sum-
moning recruits, undergoing process of re-
form and publication, or drifting into
defeat and oblivion. The ''war Of the
succession" assumed personal and q
Jealous form. The captains of ffties
and hundreds summoned their followers, and
the political atmosphere was filed with the
busy note of preparation. With our fond
ness for these combats and for every form
of intellectual political activity we now
find ourselves awe-stricken and abashed.
The two parties have fallen into con-
dition of inanition and atrophy. The
democracy have neither policy nor pur-
pose. Their leaders look longingly at the
green pastures of power and are uncertain
whether or not to climb the fence. All the
energy of the party seems to have gone with
Tweed to Blackwell's Island, and it would not
surprise us to see the red flag run up at any
time announcing forced sale of Jackson's
clothes and Jefferson's principles The re-
publicans are greediIy crowding about the
troughs of power, animated by the desire to
eat while it is day, before the night cometh
when no man can eat.
In vain we look for any generous
principle of action or discussion. If
We dare to say word about the
future the republican leaders throw
up their hands and cry ''Hush!" lest it may
offend the silent Majesty in the White House.
Ii we ask the democrats what .they propose,
their answer is that they have no definite
policy except to see the republicans fall into
bankruptcy and administer on their estate.
Some Of the comic-vocalist statesmen, like
Cox, of New York, or Phelps, of New Jersey,
who never rise without setting the House in q
roar have views about 'third parties" OF
special doctrines for existing parties; but
Congress always regards these suggestions as
an overflow of humor from gentlemen whose
business it is to amuse and not in
struct. In New England we have
knot of earnest and somewhat pedantic
gentlemen, mainly professors and be-
levers in temperance and the water cure,
who think the country is enseamed
and sfoul, that there are no virtuous citizens
left except themselves and perhaps Mr..
Bowles, of Springfield. At the head of this
learned, but not very wise body, we have Rich
ard FL. Dana, who teaches us that the only
way to purify the country is to destroy Gen
eral Butler. The republican party Is very well
in its way, with fine principles, rather old and
musty, perhaps, but well preserved, only it is
affected with Butlerism. Butlerism, as defined
by as accomplished a professor as George
William Curtis, forlorn, abandoned follower
of Mr.. Dana in his isolation of New York, is a
kind OF rinderpest or epizooty, which has
broken out all over the country, like the cattle
disease in England or the horse dis
ease in America. 1t is probably NIL
asmatic in its origin. But when
we ask, how does Butlerism differ from Nor
tonism, or Conklingism, or Freylinghuysenism,
or Shermanism, or Brownlowism, or, in fact,
dominant republicanism generally, the answer
is that there is something In the air-that if
only General Butler were thoroughly buried,
or consigned to whitehead political crema-
ton cylinder, at two thousand degrees Fahren-
heit all would be well again. We must con-
fess that this explanation of Butlerism and its
connection with the republican party reminds
us of Mrs. Nickleby's explanation of the ten
dency of French shoemakers to commit mur-
der 1t was, according to the dear old lady,
because there was something in the leather
The Mrs. Nickleby party in Massachusetts
propose to destroy Butlerism by electing
Judge Hoar to the Senate. There is o thin,
silvered thread Of attenuated respectability
that looks for the coming Of millennial glory