Year: 1879

If we were obliged-which heaven forbid!
to vote for Democratic President. there is
probably no one of that party for whom we
should deposit our ballot with so little reluct-
ance as for Mr.. Bayard. lie is a man of honor
md of courage on several occasions he has
resisted the pet enterprises of his faction, and
lie has emphatically repudiated nearly all the
objects for which they have been clamorng
and voting. In short, there never was a con-
spicuous Democrat who came so near being a
Republican. His politics are an inheritance,
for which he ought not to be held entirely re-
sponsibe, since he has done all that could be
expected of a Delaware politician to overcome
the misfOrtunes of his birth.


BUt of course the sentiments and character
istcs which commend Mr.. Bayard to the favor
able consideration of our party will make him
highly unacceptable to his own. He has been
talking a great deal since he came off the ship,
welcoming the ravcnous interviewer, and ex-
banding his opinions IN all sorts of newspa-
pers; and If his purpose was to smooth the
wav for his nomination in 1850, we must say
that he has made a mess of ii. Mr.. Bayard has
expressed a strong disapproval of nearly every
thing the Democratic party has done since
1875. "There is no use" said he the other
day, "in attempting to deny the fact that the
"course of the Democratic party has been
"unwise." The party has steadily lost
ground, and the fault has been wholly its
own. Mr.. Bayard upbraids it for tampering
with public and private credit, for encourage
ing the rag-money fanatics, for seeking to de-
base the currency, for graspng at subsidies,
for interfering with the MISUNDERSTOOD
prerogatives of the Executive" and threat
ening to stop the supplies if he did not Weld
to them. With the Southern wing of the
party he finds especial cause of complaint il
is not to he trusted TO oppose the lnhationists
of the West; ii seems to care nothing about
honest finance it stands ready to hold with
anybody who offers to help it win an cleo
ton Its raids upon the Treasury have been
scandalous and the Democratic platform in
Louisiana last year was the best campaign
document the Republicans could have had
In short If the Democratic party expects 10
succeed ii must cease to offend the common
sense of the country, and adopt policy di
rectly opposite in almost every particular TO
that which it has been pursuing.


In one thing only does Mr.. Bayard think
that it has done well. He cordially approves
of the opposition to Federal supervisors at
the polls. He does not limit himself to the
senseess cry about the Army. but he objects
on principle to the exercise of any check upon
fraud and violence at elections, unless the
States see fit TO apply check themselves.
This at least is frank. When politicians affect
to be quivering with fright at the danger
of basonets overthrowing our liberties we
feel that they afiront our intelligence they
ask us to believe what it is evident that they
do not believe themselves. Mr.. BayaId is too
much of man to do that. Although 1t Is
notorious that throughout large part of the
South the Republican vote has been literally
abolished by violence and terrorism that not
one of the States in which the right of suf-
frage has thus been denied has any desire to
correct the wrong that several of the State