New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-01-16
DESPERATE DEVICES.

| me Eighth of January has come and gone
We have waited sufficiently long, ana We nave
waited i'm vain, for reports OF those extraorul-
nary meetings to be held upon that historic
day, in which the people were to be arolised
io q sense of the awful calamity OF c0nstl-
tutionaIy elected President which seemed 10
he awaiting them. Nor have other suggestions
| been wanting More than one excited newspa-
per has limited at guns and gllnp0wder
more than one has called loudly for National
Democratic Convention to be held in wash
inrton on or about the Fourth of March-Or at
some other time or somewhere else. OF soon
"fcrencesn also there has been no end, and
VIC begin to suspect that personally Gov. Til
den has had quite enough of them. "Proml-
"ncnt Democrats" We are told, from all
parts of the country are constantly ringing
his door bell, and demanding certainly an
interview, probably lunch. and possibly
SQUARE dinner. Now it is an Honorable from
louisiana now General from COLORADO;
then comes a Colonel from Pcnnsylvania-Rep-
sentaives, Senators, Justices of the Peace
MAYORS, and Chairmen, each with his little
infaliblc proposition. Unless the Governor
has a morbid appetite for that sort OF thing,
even with all the assistance which Mr.. Abram ,.
Hewitt can give him, he must have had SUR
felt of it ere this.
A Sunday spent in close conference with
the HonOrabes and the Colonies, as last
Sunday was, must have been too much for
him. And, after all, what is there for
these volunteers, the sharpcst of them, to say
which would not naturally suggest itself
TO the acute mind Of Gov. 1ilden! They talk,
and talk, and talk. and he, poor man, cOurte-
ousIy listens; but they had much better leave
him alone to manage his own matters and with
ONLY Mr.. Hewitt in Attendance to carry his
messages Ncr do we think that Gov. 1llden
would be the worse off for following now ana
then Mr.. Hewitt's advice. For Mr. Hewitt, we
understand, says that the proposal for Ma
tionol Democratic Convention is all bosh-and
so if is. Mass Meetings would be much better,
for they would be responsible to nobody. 1Ou
can do what yOu please i'll mass meeting -
resolve rigmarOle, utter windy speeches, pass
roaring resolutions and adjourn, without DONG
ANYTHING whatever except making noise. n
National Convention is under the eyes OF the
reople. Something is expected to como OF 1t,
and who knows that, horrible to think OF, 1t
might not rcpudiate Gov. Tilden and resolve
Mr. Hewitt is right. A National Convention
would be blunder.
We are to have, it is intimated, big Mass
Meeting in this city in the course of fortnight,
which is to "demand" certain things We
object to the word, partly because it is uncon-
stitutonal and partly because it is absurd.
Demand" what2 Demand" of whom
When Ncw-York Mass Meeting, with the
banners flying and the brass bands blowing,
with the platform full of wisdom and the sur
rounding area full of the free and enlightened,
begins to demand" matters are really get
ting serious.
The Democratic party, we are satisfied, has
no particular and definite plan OF action III
view. We think so because there is 10 una
nimity of proposition to be observed III Its
newspapers nor in its conferences. 1t is In
the worst position which a party can occupy
il is simply running for luck and waiting for
something to turn up. 1t requires no prophet
to tell us of the certain result.