Year: 1875

day furnish new evidence of the disintegrat-
ing tendencies at work in our politics. In
the first place the selection of Vice President
Wilson to preside over the Convention was q
mark Of coldness toward President Grant.
Mr.. Wilson has, for long time, made no
secret of his disapprobation of the policy OF
the President. He has been again and again
assailed and sneered at by the republican or
1 gan at Washington, and treated with marked
anrespect by every republican newspaper in
the country which lQxuyiates IN the glover Of
/ government advertising. To make him
the President of the Convention was a
greater personal affront to President
Grant than the paying of a similar
honor to Mr.. Curtis at Saratoga, be-
cause Mr.. Curtis difference with the admin
istration has receded into the past, whereas
Vice President Wilson has recently been
| giving public expression to his lack of conf
dence in the President. The speech of Mr.
Wilson on taking the chair has no tendency
to conciliate General Grant Trust not,
gentlemen" he said, ''to party discipline
for it has failed you trust not to official
patronage, for it has weighted you down in
the race" This is plain accusation that
the President has injured the party in Massa-
chusetts by appointing unfit men to Office.
Distrust of President Grant is manifest in
other proceedings of the Convention. Mr.
Hoar, former Attorney General, made pro-
posal to confer on Mr.. Wilson, the President
of the Convention, the appointment Of
one-half the members of the State
Committee, and in a speech on this
resolution Mr.. Hoar said, "The party is
in crisis and must have new departure Z"
Considering the nature of his motion, he
evidently meant a new departure in the di-
rection pointed out by Mr.. Wilson-that is
to say, in an anti Grant direction. But Mr..
Hoar did not leave this mere inference He
proceeded to say that if he could he would
read an article entitled ga New Departure, e"
written by the President of the Convention.
because that advice was slighted, said Mr..
Hoar 'the party stands where it does to-
day." His proposition to confer on Mr.. Will
son the power to appoint one-half the men,
bers of the State Committee was carried-a
mark of confidence in the Vice President
which the supporters of General Grant must
swallow and digest if they can.


The platform also cast reflections on the
President, though softened by a formal en-
comium Civil service reform was strongly
indorsed in spite of President Grants be-
trayal of the cause. On the third term ques-
ton the Massachusetts Convention scorned
the ridiculous pretence of their brethren in
New York that General Grant had settled it
by refusing to be candidate. The Massa-
chusetts Convention says explicitly, without
any reference to his letter, that sound reason,
as well as uniform usage and the example Of
Washington, forbids Presidential tenure
beyond second term-an implied condemna-
ton of General Grants letter. which con-
tended that the people have as perfect right
to elect the same President thrice as once.
On the currency question the plat
form is sound and satisfactory but it says
nothing quite so piquant as the passage in
Vice President Wilson's speech, where he
says eve cannot as Americans, take pride
in the singular fact that a stray note from an
unknown bank in one of the British Prov
inces can be sold in State street for pre-
MUM of more than twelve per cent over one
of our legal tender notes, with all the wealth
of forty millions of people behind it.


Not the least significant feature of the pro-
ceedings was the vote for Mr.. Charles Fran
els Adams, which rose on the last ballot but
one to 260. Mr.. Adams has long been
out of sympathy, not only with Presi-
dent Grants administration, but with
the republican party. He is said to
have voted last year for Governor CASTOR.
Every member of the Convention who voted
for him indorsed Mr.. Hoar's idea of the
necessity of ''a new departure, if the repub-
lican party is to be saved. Mr.. Rice the
successful candidate, is gentleman Of high
social standing, a merchant and q graduate
of Harvard College. But the laboring
masses of Massachusetts think him Boston
aristocrat, and his election may be deemed
doubtful against the very popular democratic
ticket 1t is certain that his nomination is
not in pursuance of 'the new departure"
which ex-Attorney General Hoar and Vice
President Wilson, the two ablest members of
the Convention, thought necessary for the
success of the party.


LYNCH LAw.-Last week in Ohio q num-
Der of farmers, infuriated at the murder
of young girl in the woods,
broke open a Jail, took out of it the
man accused of the murder, and hanged him.
The poor creature had been accused by his
wife; he solemnly denied, in his last mo-
ments, having committed the murder, and
asserted that his wife charged him because
she was insanely jealous Of him. Now it
turns out that the man was innocent. I'm
fortunately he is dead. Unfortunately the
men who in violation of law hanged him are
oil murderers, who ought to be hanged in
! their turn Unfortunately they will all have