New-York tribune., 1876-07-26

The ratification meeting at Irving Hall on
Monday evening was little hard up for elo-
oucncc. or would have been if New-Jersey had
not come To the rhetorical rescue in the per
son of her distinguished offspring, the Hon.
John +. Stockton. He is one OF those pretty
and powcrful speakers who can talk forever
without saying anything, and who can appear
to be very much in earnest without caring
ga continental" The expressions of Mr.
Stockton. here and there, were superiine
Thus, in speaking of the numerous candidates
at St. Louis he said: " Brought before the
" Convention in language chastc and beautiful
" we're the ablcst, the best, and the purcst
"mcn Of the Democratic party" ASain
" The simple, beautiful aud appropriate man
"ncr in which Mr. Herman presented the name
of Samuel j. Tildcn.' Again: The elo-
'Guence, good taste, and practical sense OF
" Mr. Keenan, Mr.. Stockton's sense OF " the
brautifuln must be extremely delicate, to
saw nothing of his notion of the simplicity OF
his hearers. As for the practical sense which
leads harl-up man 10 collar ana pocket every
possible dollar, we believe it is not gcncr-
ally supposed in Ncw-Jcrscy lhGt Mr. Stockton
is deficient III that Meanwhile, let the gem
tcmcn who are the recipients of Mr.. Stock
TOMS golden opinions take care they are
not compelled TO pay for them in something
more valuable than metaphors and adjcctlvcs.
Mr.. Stockt0n's wthcring criticism of the Gin
cinnati Convention may all he compressed
into the wOrds-Jamcs 6. Blaine. We hought
at first that the speaker was sympathizing with
Mr. Blaine upon being left ont IN the cold,
knowing show 1t was himself" but we dis
covered at last that it was all irony. Mr..
Stockton certainly made very free with the
gentlcman's name. Thus: " If the party had
chad their way they would have nominated
"Jamcs G.. Blaine = "thcy should have nomi-
"nated James G.. Blaine :" James G.. Blaine is
"wcll known to you :" "James G.. Blaine was
"the representative man OF the Republican
party" Then, by neat turn. Mr. Stockton
informed the audience that the reason why
the party should have nominated James G..
Blaine WIS that the party being dishonest,
and James G. Blaine being dishonest, the
candidate Of such party should
have been James G.. Blaine. So Mr..
John =. Stockton was not sympathizing
with James G. Blaine, but with public purity
and virtue and honesty, and all those things
which it is well known MIR. John j. Stockton
so dearly loves! The only drawback To this
style of augmentation was, that it involved
about the biggest compliment which it was
possible for blr. john II. Stockton 10 pay TO
the Republican party and the Republican can
didate. The party might be dishonest, but
according to the Stockton logic il was not dis
honest enough to nominate one denounced by
him as paragon of dishonesty. Indeed the
worst that this slightly muddIed speaker could
say of Mr.. Hayes was that he was "simply a
" Governor of one of the Western States"
Thus did this great man cast his scOTn upon
the miserable, petty, and contemplate gubcr-
material office, and upon the narrow, insigmf-
icant, and unimpOrtant State of Ohio. SO
lofty are the ideas of an ex-senator re-
spccting the comparative grades of official ce-
vatIon! He should have rcmembered-we
should think that he might still be sore
enough TO rcmcmbcr-that the loitjrr the posi-
ton, the more damaging to every bone of the
body is the fall. Still, credit to whom credit
is due! 1t isn't every man who, after such a
tumble under such circumstances of mortilica-
ton and ignominy, could muster courage
enough to make speeches, even in localities far
away from the scene of his disaster We are
not Over-supplied in this city with what Mr.
Stockton calls "purity, character, and ability"
but he is hardly the man to import from New
jersey as n moral missionary. We haven't
word to say of his purity" we haven't
word to say OF his ability" nor, upon the