The daily gazette., 1878-12-13
From the ". Y. Herald,
senator RIaine.s Sneecn

Inc much heralded speech of the emi-
nent Senator from Maine seems TO have
made but feeble impression, first. be-
cause IL was dull second, because il was
not spoken, but read third, because tbe
SUBJECT Is too stale for anything new
10 De SAID upon it, and fourth, because his
ieiow senators regarded his speech as a
Did ior the Presidency, and few of them
are disposed to favor his aspirations. If
goes without saying that MIR. Blaine on
sr,s sr, occasion was not equal to himself
nat ne Is not often dull is proved by his
thronging audience which focked to the
senate Chamber to listen to him in the
expectation of brilliant, or at least a
powerful and fervid speech that he is
capable OF speaking impromptu is proved
Dy the fact that he always shines in a
hand-to-hand grapple with an antagonist
wien ne has no time for preparation.-
we suppose no man could be very orlgi-
nal except perhaps in the ingenious
strokes OF invect've) on subject which
A.-s been so much discussed and there
is no presence in which politician can
display his ambition with SO little adyan-
tage as in that of his jealous rivals. This
able Senator has an important lesson vet
TO learn-namely, the value of reticence,
quality in which General Grant is as
strong as Mr.. Blaine is defective. "a
wise and mastery inactivity" is a phrase
OF whose meaning this impetuous states
man seems to have no conception. The
moment new issue springs up or an old
one Is revived MIR. Blaine tries to mount
and monopolize 1t, without waiting, like
a wary and prudent man, for time and
events to show whether it has any
strength. Had he been of cooler and
more calculating temperament he would
quietly have inspired some less conspcu-.
GUS Senator to offer his resolution, and
without showing his own hand have
caused that Senator to get the resolution
indorsed by the principal republican
members before offering it. But when
he introduced it himself, on the first day
of the session, without comforting with
the older republican Senators, he assumed
a position Of leadership which was Offer
sive to the pride of Messrs. Conkling and
Edmunds. OF course they could not or
pose resolution to which even Mr..
Lamar were constrained to give polite
assent, making no opposition to its pas
sage with an amendment but the re-
publican Senators exhibited a contempt
tuous indifference to the speech by occu-
pying themselves with other matters du-
ring its delivery. Mr.. Blaine as new
Senator has displayed a want of tact and
Judgment in assuming position of lead
ership which the older Senators resent
all the more because they do not feel at
liberty to rebuke it.
| When new Senator thus assumes to
take the pas of the older members of the
Senate and protrudes a party issue with
out consulting them he ought to be very
strong in his arguments. But Mr.. Blaine
has dealt in the most transparent and
easily refuted sophistry. The substance
of all his reasoning is that the republican
representation in Congress from the
Southern States is not in proportion 10
the colored population. He supports
this position by elaborate statistics, thrice
repeated with three di fferent groups oi
States but his attempt to substitute rea'
soning for the usual bloody shirt dscla
nation, though commendable in atten.
tion, is an utter failure in logic. His
contention is that inasmuch as the South
eln republicans have not a representatIo OF
in Congress proroitioned to the compar
. ative white and negro population the
Southern white have more political pow
er than The same number of Northern
white citizens, whereas every citizen
should have precis ely the same repres en-
tation in Congress. This specious alb.
surdity can easily be refuted Let us ap
, ply Mr.. Blaines method of reas onipg tC
Pennsylvania, his native State. In 1876
the republican vote In Pennsylvania was
3S4, l22, and the democratic vote 366, 1853
In that year Pennsylvania elected
eighteen republican and only nine demo
cratic representatives to Congress. b.
strict application of Mr.. Blaine's politi
cal arithmetic it will be fourd that 1t re
quired only u $40 republican citizens o
Pennsylvania to elect one member o
Congress, but 40 684 democratic citizens
: to elect one member. That is according
to Mr.. Blaine's reasoning, politica
i, equality is subverted in Pennsylvania
because one republican citizen had al
much representation in Congress as tw'
democrats. 1t overlooks or ignores th
fact that in all elections the votes of tn
beaten minority are of no more accoun
than if they had never been cast. 1t
fiagrant absurdity to reason as if, whel
votes proved 10 be- inefficient, the voter
: are deprived of their rights.