New-York tribune., 1876-08-23
CONVENTION FOR THE TINES.
THE DELEGATES FEEL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY II
TIL, nEnpLE-AR ARsENCE OE BLUsTER--A CANDl

A CONVENTION FOh lllE IlmiIc'
THE DELEGATES FEEL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO
THE PEOPLE-ABsENCE OF BLUaTER--A CANDl-
DATE OF HIGH CHARACTER WANTED.
tBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIEUNE.l
SARATOGA N Y. Aug. 22.-To one accustomed to
attend poiitcal conventions and observe their ma
chinery and methods, or study their notions and
purposes the striking feature Of the convention TO
assemble tomorrow is its nearncss to the people and
the sense Of responsibility to the masses of voters
behind them which seems to be felt by all the dele
gates. There has not been convention III this
State in many years in which there has been so little
disposition on the part OF the delegates to take the
bit in their teeth and have their own sweet WILL re
Qardless of constituents or of public sentiment
There has been none i'll which there seemed 10 oe
such a predomiaating purpose TO represent accu-
rately and honestly the public opinion Oh
the party, and give the people the candidates
and only such candidates as they want. Whatever
NAV be the result of to-mOrrow's deliberations who
ever NAV be the candidates. and whatever the reso-
lutons one thing is certain that the people are felt
and respected in this convention as they have not
been before in many years. No doubt there is a
strong desire the part of great many delegates
TO promote the ambition of personal friends or
crafty the desire of political associates; but all
this is held subordinate to the ruling purpose which
is to make ticket that shall answer the eX-
pectations of the people and command
their votes The lofty manner IN which the
machine-made delegates in previous conventions
have disdained advice and disregarded unmIstak-
able indications OF public opinion is breaking here
The What-aTe yOu-going- -to-do-aDoutlt air mas as
appeared The atmosphere has changed ana there Is
q positiye Improvement in the manners and deport-
ment of the average delegate. This convention is
not lifting its foot at anybody but stands with hat
hat q
is their will.
lido not attribute this changed attitude to any
change of heart of course Political parties are like
corporatoDs in having no souls. and regeneration
is hardly possible The change is due partly to the
fact that away down in the primaries there has been
something going Oh which has resulted III the send
ing up to the convention of raw lot of delegates
and still more largely the fact that the Old pot-
cal managers have been learning something daring
the past three years; and the great thing they have
learned is that the business of delegates TO the Re
publican State Convention this year IS not to
tell the people what pet candidate OF the
politicians the people may vote for but TO discover
if possible whom the people want and will vote for,
and to nominate HIM without question as TO what
faction he belongs to or whose friend he is. There
are no loud disputes, no bad language no hard talk'
no offensive discourse of the wrong sort Oh the eve
of this convention. With plenty of candidates and
no end of arguments in favor of each, and very
likely at bottom i'll feeling and bad blood, there Is
nothing on the surface bat prevailing desire for
harmonious action There are no collisions OF fac
tions or between friends of rival candidates, very
little public discussion indeed of the claims or merits
of the gentlemen who are named for the several
places to be filed, nor is there any OF the
loud-mouthed nonsense about the result being
already assured, and Republican victory certain,
which is so common upon these occasions. FOR
wonder these delegates do seem TO appreciate the
gravity of the political situation and to realize that
this is no time for buster or brag but for wisc and
prudent action, and for earnest and united work.
The importance to the Republican party in the ma
ton of discreet and sagacious conduct III Ncwiork
is appreciated; and judge from the conversation
of the delegates that there is strong determination
to meet the expectations of the country at almost
any sacrifice of personal feeling and reinforce the
Presidential ticket instead of loading it down with
the dead weight of unpopular local nominations.
1t is impossible tonight to forecast with anything
like accuracy the result Of tO-morrows ballots but
enough is known of the assured strength OF Mr,
Evarts as candidate to warrant all have said re-
gardng the character of this compared with pre-
yious conventions of the Republicans of New-YOrk
for many years. To have suggested the possibility
of Mr.. Evarts's nomination for Governor any time
these half dozen years would nave Deen 10 cAclto
the open derision not only of the front rows
but of all the benches and the gale
ries He may not be nominated TOMORROW,
but the fact that so large number of the delegates
are in favor Of nominating suck man as Mr. Eyarts,
who has not sought that or any other office is a sign
of returning good sensethe return, in fact, on the
part of the politicians TO a of responsibility TO
the public. One cannot help thinking just here OF
the devils desire TO be saint when he fell ILL., and
how, when he recovered, "the devil saint was hc :;
and yet | insist that those gentlemen sitting
on the front seats, and exhibiting willingness 70
support man like Nj. Evars for Governor presents
spectacle which, be it ever so 1attering and eva
nescent is full Of comfort and encouragement while
it lasts They do look so good on the anxious seats