New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-05-14
The Independent Voter.

Inc following ID VefDAIlW repOEI VI tuo
speech of Rev. James Freeman Clarke, of
Boston, in the Massachusetts Republican
Convention, on Wednesday last:
There is an old story which l used TO
hear in former days. how, during the Mex
lean war, one of the Generals came up to
Captain Bragg and said: Captain, the
crisis has arrived! Fire. Whereupon Cap
tain Bragg said to his lieutenant, "You hear
what the General says-tre!' The lieuten-
ant said: "But. captain, l don't see any
thing to fire at" Fire at the crisis said
Captain Bragg. Laughter and applause
So suppose that you would like to have
me fire at the crisis-the crisis which now
seems to be the question between two diff
ferenr kinds of government. There IS one
kind of government which came into this
country when the maxim began to prevail
that to the victors belong the spoils. That
is a very bad kind of government 1t
assumes that the party. which carries
the election has right to use the
Offices of the country, not for the sake
of the nation, but to strengthen itself,
and it assumes that officials have a right TO
make use of office for the sake of strength
ening their party-that is one kind of gov
eminent. There is another kind of govern
ment in this country, which began 100
wears ago. and which has taken on that
same view in conventions down to the pres
emit time. 1t has assumed that offices ara
for the people; that they are not to be used
in any sense as q reward of merit; that the
men for offices are the men who will do the
work of the Office the best. They are not
to be taken possession of by any party for
their own privilege and benefit. l take it
that was the judgment of the men of
Massachusetts in the old time, and that
these were the sentiments which the revO-
lutionary men had. Do you suppose that
Josiah Quincy, Jr.. or General Warren, or
any man OF the revolution would
have believed in building up party for
the sake of perpetuating itself by the
spoils of office! Do you believe ia later
days Abraham Lincoln or Charles Sumner
or John A. Andrew would ever have con-
sented to any. such principle' What We
have to fight against now is that false and
poisonous principle that offices are tor the
sake of the party, not for the sake of the
nation, and it is tor that purpose that the
civil rights question is the one most prOm:-
nently before the nation; that is what We
have to contend for, and if we are to help
the country it is by adopting such plan as
to cause the Offices to be taken out of the
politics of the country, and not till that is
done will there be any safety for this ma
ton. That is what We want. l don't have
anything to say ought not to have any
tn ng to say-as to the question betwe. n
candidates. You did not ask me to speak
for that purpose: but l do say this, that
we want candidate that is not merely
partisan. We want q man who as
shown himself in the past not an Office
seeker, but q man to be found by the
Office that wants him. We want q man
who had shown himself firm when in the
midst of terOcious majOrities rising all
around him. man who has the bOldness to
stand up for the truth and the right when
all around were beginning to run away,
This is the sort of man we want now. And
as for us, friends, brethren ard members of
the Republican party, have been Repub-
lican ever since the party was formed. l
have never voted any other ticket than the
Republican since the party was formed,
but do say, as have said before, that the
only way in which to keep the party pure
bad man is presented to us to be voted for'
And for one stand here as . delegate to
this convention, and mean to bolt, and not
vote for the Republican ticket if Q man is
presented to us as q candidate that we can
not have. and ought not to have confidence
in. A gentleman in the gallery here rose to
point of order and Mr.. Clarke proceeded
amidst some confusion.l don't wish
to Souch upon any disputed question.
ceplable to the gentlemen of both sides.
don't suppose there is any body here who
proposes to vote or wishes for ANYBODY to
vote for man for President who is included
in the category have named. Don't you
believe in your own candidates, gentlemen9
[Applause, and cries of "good."] If any
body is hurt, he is hurt by something have
not said. All have to say is this: that we
ought not to be tied hand and foot at any
time by our party. We ought to 20 by the
principles OF the party; for the party will
die, and ought to die when it's own doctrines
and principles are not believed. l recOllect
how, in the old anti-slavery times, there
was an anti-slavery man who had the cour.
age to get up meeting in some Dutch
county in Pennsylvania man who had
always voted the Democratic ticket-and
argue on that subject. He said: "You call
you, selves Democrats; now, what ia a
be nocrat? What call Democrat ia nor
q DemOcrat-a man who believes in free.
dom, equality and equal rights-is that mot
q Democrat" But an old Dutchman who
did mot 60 for anti-slavery, got up and said:
"No! that is not what cell q DemoOrati a
Democrat Is man who votes the Demo.
cratic ticketW Gentlemen, we won't be Re-.
DubliCau0 OF that aOrt WA vitl ha Da~uk