The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-01-16

Gov. GEORGE b. MCCLELLAN yesterday
delivered his inaugural address before the
Legislature of New Jersey and large as
semblage of citizens and visitors from other
States.
The new Governor shows n little fondncss
for the language of notification 10y speaking
Of the general Government a. Federal
compact" The southern question he
considers settled, and nothing further Is re-
quired but to let it alone
AZ regards the currency the Governor Is
emphatcally sound. He is for gold as the
basis. Respecting silver he says there is
probably no grave objection to the remonc-
tizaton OF silver within proper limits that
IL to say, to making 1t legal tender for
small amounts. so as to secure its use in
small transactions and for convenience in
making change. But in this event the silver
dollar should certainly be made equal in
present value at least to the gold dollar"
Precisely what he means by equal at
least" we do not know. We believe no one
thinks of making it more than equal.
Gov. MCCLELLAN refers in n most lamb
like spirit to the greatest crime ever com
mitted against the nation-the wrestling by
fraud and threatened violence OF the Office of
President from the candidate lawfully elect
ed He intimates no indispositon to sit
down submissivcly under this over
shadowing wrong for three years
md half to GOMEZ He has
not so much even as an honest and hearty
outburst of Indignation at its preparation!
His own sores about the war, now many
years gone by, still remain unhealed and
open, and he whinngly complains that it
was not conducted according to the no
tions of some pcople-mcaning particu-
larly the notions of GEORGE b. MCCLELLAN;
but, while he admits that the usurpation Of
HAYES was " a great wrong" he seems quite
willing to sit down supnely under 1t for the
coming three and half years He foolishly
says that majority Of the people feel that
perhaps even civil war was avoided only by
the forbearance Of the patriotic Democrats.
Nonsense! Nobody but a few madcaps ever
thought Of civil war. 1t is true Gen. GRANT
would have liked to put the count through
by the President of the Senate and then to
inaugurate HAYES at the point Of the bayo-
net but Gen. II. V. BoYNToN's letter has
disclosed the fact that Gen. GRANT had at
the time the names Of nine Republican
Senators who would never have submitted
to this criminal scheme. And as TO Dem
ocrats-no sane Democrat ever thought of
resisting the Inauguration Of HAYES by
force. That was not necessary then, neither
Is the employment Of force to eject him
necessary, or expedient, or justitiable now.
But there is all the difference in
the world between refusing 10 take up
arms against HAYES and tamely and un-
eomplainngly acquiescing in his retention
OF the office he has wrongfully acquired
The Democratic party is not patriotic i il
stands silently by, nth folded arms, and sees
our free Government Orerthrolcn by fraud
But the remedy against Mr.. HAYES is not
by arms, but by impeachment
Gov. MCCLELLAN recommends additional
legislation by Congress to prevent the repe-
tition OF such fraud. In this we think he
Is widely in error. The whole mischief re-
suited from the legislation by Congress
establishing the Electoral Commission
What we need is not legislation, but merely
the enforcement of the Constitution as 1t is
and as our fathers made 1t and carried II
into execution.
Barring the grating Of few secession
notes, and this grand omission to charac
terize in fitting terms HAYEs's criminal un
derminlng Of the Government the inaugu
raj address Is, in other respects, remark
ably sound and sensible document.