The Portland daily press., 1877-02-06
Our New York Letter.

The Louisiana Perjurcrs--The Demo-
cratic Counsel--Those TeIegrams-
The Oregon Iniquiiy-The Justiccs--
Specie Resumption and the Message.
New YORK, Feb. q, 1877.
Whenever Congress creates a market for
false witnesses they are sure flo to the
Capital nu TIE rag net which
the Louisiana Investigating Committee threw
out has caught school of Pckets, Maddoxes
and Littefelds, whose stories would be start
ling if they were credible. But besides being
without any title to confidence on the score of
the character of the authors, the tales are in
themselves so extravagant and preposterous
that they carry their own refutation with
them. The Democratic course of procedure
throughout has been intensely melodramatic.
But the toga is not ample enough to conceal
the sock and buskin. A philippe against fraud
is well enough in its way. Every right-minded
man denounces fraud. But when such q
philippe is spoken with affected solemnity by
David Dudley Field, the sense of its ridicu-
lousness becomes palpable to all New Yorkers.
He has defended the worst cheats that any
ciple laid down by Lord Broughsm, that an
advocate has no right to relnqu,sh case be-
cause he is satisfied of the guilt of the sccusedl
But the very fact that he piloted the Erie Rail-
way robbers through their great scheme Of
plunder, and has since been the advocate Of
Tweed makes his present lofty attitude of in
flexible hostility to roguery sound like broad
burlesque. That part of the performance
should have been left to one of the other actors.
Assigning it to Mr.. Field was sure to provoke
laughter and to destroy the force of perfe ,tly
good sentiment. The committee room Is the
proper theatre fr2r the display of Mr.. Fields
peculiar talent He can make and twist testi-
mony with a skill worthy of the mos. acute
sold Bailey" practitioners.
The Democrats do not appear to have had
much of an eye to moral strength in their sslec-
tion of counsel. In point of personal character
Mr.. O'Conor has always held faultless posi-
ton, but politically he is hopeless mono
maniac. Ever since the rebellion broke out he
has been possessed by the delusion that the gov
ernment had no right to suppress II and that in
doing so it forfeited all claim to continued ex-
istence. He is more ultra-Southern than any
other man in the country. North or South. A
year or so ago Mr.. OConor at the age of sew
enty was 30 ill that his life was long despaired
Of He rallied and recovered his health, but
his sickness seems to have intensified his
monomania, for he subsequently wrote letter
to one Samuel c. Reid of ST. Louis so shocking
in its tone that charity compelled the conclu
sion that it was the effusion of disordered
| brain. Even if he retained his original facul-
A. L. L.. L.
counsel for the advancement Of any man to the
Presidency, entertaining as he does the conceit
that the office can only be acquired by usurpa-
| tion, and that any incumbent of it must be an
| imposter ex oficio
Mr.. Merrick is a secessionist also, though I
am not aware that he is absolutely crazy about
| it, Everybody knows who and what Mr.,
| Black is. On a review of these names I do
not think the proposition will be seriously dis
puted that the Democratic pursuit of the Presi.
| dency will derive no extensive support from the
exalted personality of its legal advocates.
| The Western Union Telegraph directors
cruelty spoiled whole series of sensations by
giving up the kilograms that the Congressional
committee pretended to be in quest of. As
| long as they were withheld great deal of cap
ital could be made out of their suppostitious
contents. The moment they were surrendered
they became valueless. The Oregon dispatches
were the only ones that had anything porten-
tous in them, and they recoiled upon the In.
| quisitors. That Oregon business looks worse
and worse every new light that is shed upon it.
1t was tra,ed home SO directly to Gov. Tilden,
that there is no escaping the conclusion that he
was willing to be President even if he had to
buy a vote. 1t was Henry Clay who said he
"would rather be right than be President"
1t was U. s. Grant who said 600 man worthy
of the office of President would De willing to
hold it if there was the least doubt of his hav-
ing been legally elected" Now suppose Gov.
Hayes had been detected tampering with the
returns of any State in the Union? Would it
have been possible to restrain the indignation
of his own partisans? On the contrary would
there not have been such general expression
of disgust at such conduct as would have rem
dered any further prosecution of his claims a
barren form merely? cannot imagine how the
Republicans could have continued to stand up
in the face of such revelation. And yet il
does not seem to disturb the Democrats a par
tic,e. They keep right on declaring vocifer-
ously that they are the victims fraud, "cou.
spiracy," ''fal SO counting" and 'false return
ing" with a show of gravity that does credit to
their power of assembling.
However, it is one thing to practice these lit
tie devices, and another and very different
thing to profit BY them. So far every move
mept touching the Presidential issue has
turned adversely for the Democrats. They
, have failed to prove allegations made agaius
, the canvassers in the two Southern states they
are struggling for, while the Oregon disclO
sure proves beyond peradventure that they ar,
willing to win by fraud. Their chief relianc
for favorable decision from the electoral tri
, bunal seems to have been based upon the prob
ability that the choice of the fifth Judge woult
fall upon Judge Davis. His election to tn
Senate occurred just in time to deprive then
of that apparent vantage ground. 1t is note
worthy coincidence that one of the most unscru
pulous city organs of 1ildeu discovered on tn,
, very day of the selection of Judge Bradley tina
! the counting scheme was unconstitutional AM
wrong.
do not attach much importance to tn,
change myself but can readily see that from
Democratic standpoint it is purely question
of numbers. If they have eight of the Com
mission and we only seven they must inevi
tably succeed. 1t does not SO certainly fellow
that if the figures are reversed the Republican
candidate will be declared elected, for the decis
: lou will be judicial rather than a politica
one. Everybody is morally certain in sdvsnc
as to how the ten members of the two house
t will vote. Whenever there is question OF
;, contested election its legal aspects are determ
r ined party-wise That is 30 common an occur