Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-21
THE QUESTION OF INSTRUCTIONS TO
DELEGATES

Chicago that they are not bound by their |
instructions. In order to obtain basis
for its argument it has been obliged to
postulate a condition of public sentiment
in California so widely removed from the
actual facts as to be ridiculous. The only
possible excuse for disregarding the in
structions of State Convention would be
the failure of that body to represent the
wishes of the majority of the party. This
we pointed out some time ago, and to get
round it the Alta now makes the amazing
statement sit is safe to assert that fully
"four-ffths of the Republicans of Cali
fornia are strongly in favor of General
"Grant's nomination. We suppose it is
"safe" to assert this, inasn oh as there
IS no legal penalty for such misrepresenta-
ton, but it certainly is not honest to make
the assertion, for it is VIGOROUSLY false.
We doubt very much whether one-ffth of
the Republicans of California favor the
nomination of Grant. We know that four
fifths desire the nomination of Blaine. The
fact is that the instructions given to the
Republican delegates to Chicago faithfully
represent the dominant will of the party
in this State, and no one who desired to
maintain a reputation for sobriety and in
telligence would dream of disputing this.
1t would seem as though the Alta had
written its article of yesterday for special
circulation in some other latitude, for
assuredly it must appear preposterous
to every California Republican. This
wild and astonishing misrepresenta-
ton of notorious facts, however, is
only one of the remarkable features in our
contemporaries argument. 1t begins by
saying that the Convention could not know
what the sentiment of the party through
out the State was. What does it mean by
this? Is not State Convention composed
of men drawn from every part of the
State? Are they not necessarily shrewd
and representative men? Do they not as
rule faithfully reflect the prevailing SEN
timent in their respective sections? And
is there any better method of ascertaining
the will of the party than the system I'M
der which such bodies are organized? But
if the State Convention cannot know the
sentiment of the party in the State, how
is the National Convention to know the
sentiment of the party throughout the
country? The Alta probably holds that it
was quite right for the Utica and Harris
burg Conventions to instruct their dele
gates for Grant, though it is notorious that
he is not the first choice OF a majority of
the Republicans in either New York or
Pennsylvania. Yet it boggies fearfully at
the idea of instructing the California dele
gates, though there has never arisen the
least doubt, outside of its own office, as to
the unanimity of the California Republic
cans in their preference for Blaine.
1t would seem that our contemporary
wants all the Grant States to instruct
their delegates, and all the States which
are not for Grant to send theirs unin-
structed. Perhaps that would tend to SIM
pity matters at Chicago, but it is neither
politics nor common sense. As to the obi
cation resting upon the California delegates
to respect their instructions, we have SO
much confidence in the uprightness and ID
telligence of those gentlemen that we feel
it quite unnecessary to impress upon them
the responsibility they have assumed. But
it is nevertheless proper to repudiate the
sophisms of the Alta, and to reaffirm the
only tenable view of the case, which is
that they are bound in honor to adhere to
their instructions, and that they cannot
disobey them without dIsgracing them
selves. The pretense that the State Con-
vention had no authority to instruct them
is mere nonsense. That body represented
the Republican party, spoke and acted for
the party, and rightfully declared the will
of the party. Had General Grant been
preferred by the majority of the party it
to instruct the delegates to vote for
him, and those instructions would have
been approved by the rank and file
as the present ones are. There was no
packing in that Convention. Its members
came here with the complete conviction
that those who had sent them preferred
Blaine before all other candidates, and
upon that conviction they acted. No del
egation has ever been sent from any State
at any time which more fully and faith
fully represented the sentiment of the party
than this one will. If the National Con-
vention is composed of delegations all of
which are as representative, we may be
sure that its choice will be heartily in
dorsed by nine-t enths of the party through
out the Union, and that the canvass for its
nominees will be an enthusiastic one. But
if the Atlas suggestion were everywhere
adopted, it is clear that the National Con-
vention would be non-representative Its
action would not reflect the will of the
party, but would depend entirely upon
the idiosyncracies of its members, and
thus its nominee would or might be, not
the choice Of majority of the party, but
merely the choice of majority OF the Con-
vention. That is the kin d of result ma
chine politicians are trying to bring about
and that is the kind of result most likely
to issue in such schism as may destroy
the party. Honest representation is the
only guarantee for such nominations as
will command support at the polls, and
this year California has given the country
very good illustration of what it con,
sists in.
A SIDE-LIGHr ON TIE WHITAKER
CASE.
: The cadets at West Point have been
bitterly denounced for having drawn the
color line, and for having subjected Whit
taker to social prescription. Some ferveni
| negrophiles have even gone so far as to
| propose that the Academy should be abol-
ished unless all race prejudice can be
illuminated from its conduct Now vestar