National Republican., 1882-12-12
The Next Republican National convention.

Inc NcIt hcpuDllCan NuttOnnt convention
In framing the call for the next national
convention the republican national commit
tee, which is to assemble here next month,
will be called upon to decide first, the appor-
tionment; second, the manner of choosing the
delegates. and third, who shall be invited TO
participate in their election.
The appOrtionment will undoubtedly he
based on each states representation in the
congress- to which may he added one for each
republican senator and representative. This
would seem fair and would no doubt give gem
eral satisfaction.
As to the manner of chosing delegates, it is
not to be doubted that those based on scna-
torial representation will be selected by state
conventions, while those based on the dis
trict representation in the house will be
chosen by district conventions. The only
point to be decided in this connection will be
as to whether these district conventions shall
be required to be held within the districts,
or whether the state convention Mt which
delegates at large are chosen shall subdivide
themselves into district conventions for the
object named. The latter seems to
meet with favor and with no objection.
1t is argued that local district conventions
would in many cases be feebly attended, and
would be an unnecessary tax on republicans,
while at a state convention the choice Of dele
gates would be more likely to he generally
participated in by the voters. District repre-
scntation can be secured as well by allowing
the district delegates to also be state delegates
as by compelling the election of two separate
sets. OF course, if this plan is adopted, the
action of the district conventions should not
be subject to approval or revision of the state
convention.
As to the question of who shall be invited
to participate in the election of delegates
the committee will doubtless follow the gem
eral usage of addressing its call, not only to
all republicans, but to all others, without ref
erence to previous party affiliations who
agree with them upon certain enumerated cs-
scntals. The call ought to be broad enough
to include all who uphold honest suffrage and
the national laws for its protection; free COM
mon school education; equality of all citizens
before the law; a tariff for revenue and pro-
tection honesty to public creditors, both
state and national, and opposition to the res
t6ration of the democratic party to power
Then, with the word national rprcfixed to the
party name the call would be sure to bring to
the support of the nominees of the cOnven-
tion every American voter, north and south,
who decides to antagonze the so-caled demo-
cratic party, which represents reaction and
rctrOgressiOn.
1t cannot lower the standard'o of the party
to give it new christening like that of
national" " republican, if thereby a stumb-
ling block can he removed from the path of
tens of thousands of men like those ex-con-
fcderates in Virginia, to whom the negroes of
that state alone look for protection at the
polls, and who have not looked in vain. There
are no more ardent defenders of the very
soul Of republcanism, which we think we
have embodied in the above formula, than
the liberals who have broken away from
bourbon affiliations in the south. Let the
call be broad, and the southern liberals. be
allowed to join "national" party, and the
iceberg does not more surely yield to the sun
as it floats southwark than will those of the
people Oh INC sOuth, VINO are hou lmplacaDle
and irrecOncilable, yield to such an echo of the
words of ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
We are not enemies, we are friends. We must
not be enemies. Though passion may have
strained it must not break our bonds of affection.
A narrow and merely formal partisan call
would drive away the twelve electoral votes
of Virginia, now certain for a national party
would change North Carolina, with her eleven
electoral votes, from most hopeful proba-
bility for our party to an impossibilty, and
would force southern independentism to stand
by itself, with its negro friends, as II monu-
ment of northern republican prejudice and
prescription.