New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-11-06

The Presidential canvass is well nigh over.
Only a short time remains % the voter Tor re-
Election. This can hardly be better employed
than IN considering how well each candidate
comDarativcly has stood the test OF search
ing investigation of his record ard antcce-
dents. 1t is a remarkable fact, nos 20 be. sue
ccSsfully controvcrcd or IN auy degree quail
fed. that GOV. Hayes. victorious or defeated,
will come out of this battle withon; the least
discredtlb!e imputation. II is literal truth.
and we believe We may say an unprecedented
one that the Republican candidate, for months
before thc country, has been charged with no
deed and with no word, knowledge of which
should decide any citizen against him. Ca!-
umny has found nothing to utter against lin
which ANYBODY would credit And dctraction,
so far from doing It's worst against him, has
been silcnced from the stHrt. We DO not,
as We have said, remember a similar
instance in the political history of the
country. There was, il is true, fcrlon at
tempt made a few weeks ago to set a'Oot,a
story about the tax returns of Gov. Hayes ;
but feeble at first, within q week the false
hood had lost both leg, ard all the wind which
it originally possessed, and this too, although
nobody had made amy very elaborate effort to
cripple it,. If there had been anything m the
public life or for that matter, in the private
life of Gov. Hayes, calculated by rs promnga-
ton to damage him, We may be sure that We
should have heard of IT, His opponents are
not Of the scrupulous sort. Any scandal IN
the least probable would have been 10 them 4
gcd,chd, and they have been able To fini
ncuc.
Now look at the other candidate! He was pat
upon the defensive from the beginning, and he
has remained 80 through the whole conflict.
His committees, his newspapers, his orators, his
sccYctaIics, and AL hi, personal friends haze
been for weeks explaining, cNtcaud,!ng, dcHy-
ing. 30 that there has been time for hardly
ANYTHING else. Whatever may be his views OF
taxes in general, it i certain that he has
levied q pretty heavy 0nc upon the ingenuity
of his supporters. His rebellion record required
explanation, ard IN fifty different ways it has
been explained as if mems memories might
with impunity he dciicd and their common
sense cgfcgious,y in,uited. And, alter all.
voters know just about where Gov. Iildcn
stood during those days of darkness and
danger-know that he burned under no danger
on. fever of loyalty. ThcrcsourccS of arithmetic
have been exhausted to prove that he always
paid proper and sufficient income tax, and
that he has always been financial purity itself.
His hcnchmen have likewise had in hand Il
still more difficult job of proving him the
sworn foe and rigid discountcnancrr of election
fraud, in this city; and pretty bad piece OF
work they have made of it! In fact, GOV.
Tldcn has been on the defensive all the time,
with how much success it will be unnecessary
TO estimate if we take into account that hc Is
lust as much upon the defensive to-day as he
was yesterday and as he would continue to
be if the campaign were to be prolonged. We
say nothing of dclails-we merely call the at
tention of the voter to the aggregate. If there
is anybody who is the more willing to vote
for Gov. Tilden on account of it, we have only
to say that it must be some exceedingly soft
and sympathetic person.