Year: 1872

lature which will take place in North Carolina
on the LIST of August will be the first gun of
this Presidential campaign, in being tho first
election after the final shaping Of the Presi-
Dental contest between the supporters of the
administration and the opposition elements Of
the country. The March election in New
Hampshire, the April election in Connecticut
and the more recent election in Oregon oil in
dicated in their results that General Grant was
still strong among the people; but these cleo
tions will not apply to the actual political
situation, because within week it has been
wonderfully changed. The democratic party,
in union with the liberal republicans, with
republican candidates for President and Woe
President, and with the Cincinnati resolutions
for its platform, has indeed taken new de-
parture, and departure, too, which cuts loose
the party in its future policy from the dead
issues of the past and brings it into the fore
ground upon the living issues of the day.


Accordingly the results of none of the State
elections of this year preceding the late Balti-
more Convention will apply as indicating the
strength of General Grant against the general op-
position ticket of Greeley and Brown. Neither
can the approaching North Carolina election
be regarded as q test between the rival repubi-
can candidates, inasmuch as the nominations
of both political parties in that State were
made before the acceptance of Greeley at Bal
timore and without regard to the union that
has since taken place between the liberal re-
publicans and the democracy. The situation
is the same as it would be if New York were
called upon to vote tomorrow on candidates
for some local offices who had been put into
the field respectively by the democratic and
republican parties before the Presidential
nominations had been made and without refer
ence to the division in the republican ranks.
1t is possible that the votes of some republicans
might be controlled by consideration of the more
important Presidential issue in the future but
the probability is that the party would adhere
to their nominees for local Offices without refer
ence to their subsequent action in the Presi-
dental contest. Nevertheless, as General
Grant represents the regular republican Or
ganization, and is the standard-bearer Of that
party, it is of vital consequence to him to
carry the North Carolina election, and
hence we find the administration party work.
ing with degree Of industry and iberality in
its electioneering appliances seldom witnessed
in mere State election since that in Penn
sylvania of 1856, upon which it was known on
all sides in advance the issue of that Presi-
dental contest depended In 1868 General
Grant carried North Carolina by nine thou
sand majority; in 1870 the democrats re-
covered the State by Ave thousand majority.
In 1871 they lost the State again, by a majority
Of over nine thousand against them, upon the
question of constitutional convention, which
involved, as it was understood, the overthrow
of the whole work of the reconstruction of the
State in the event of the success of the demo-
Gratis. Hence their defeat. Now oil this is
changed, and with Mr.. Greeley as President
no man can fear the overthrow of Southern
reconstruction or Of any of the fixed facts of
the situation as accepted by the democratic
party.


The chances of the election, however, are all
in favor of the success of the regular repub-
lican ticket next month. The administration
is using its power energetically to influence the





thoroughly on that side, while the democrats
appear to be singularly apathetc and almost
disposed to suffer the election to go by default.
The republican candidate for the Vice Presi-
dency, Senator Wilson the Secretary of the
Treasury Mr.. Boutwell,, and other prominent
administration politicians, are engaged in
stumping the State, and all the employees of
IN.
same side. The unusually large amount of
money appropriated for certain federal pur-
poses in North Carolina just at this moment
excites the suspicion that eloquence will not
be the only means used to influence the voters;
and the people of the State are miserably poor
under the policy to which they have been sub
jected since the close of the rebellion. The
census Of 1870 shows that there were then
nearly four hundred thousand negroes out of
| a population of q little over one million, and
the colored citizens are relied upon, almost to
q man, to vote for the republican State ticket
against the straight-out democratic candi-
dates, whatever may be their action in the
Presidential election, when the fight will be
between two republicans. The result can,
therefore, scarcely be regarded as doubtful,
and it is only matter Of surprise that the
administration republicans should evince the
doubt and apprehension manifested in
the extraordinary precautions they are
taking to escape defeat. Their anxiety
no doubt arises from the conviction that sin
gle overthrow in the skirmishes preceding the
battle would render their defeat almost a mat
ter of certainty. Probably the apparent apa-
thy of the democrats is owing to the absence
of similar feeling of responsibility, since no
one would regard the defeat of the straight-out
democracy in this State contest as destructive
| Of the Presidential chances of Mr. Greeley, this