Year: 1876

8Q.I


NORTHERN POLITICS.


Tho Four Political Powers Within the


American Union-T Their fIeiation to


the Approaching Presidential EIec.


tion-The Relation of the Negro to the


Contest, and the Interest He Has in 1t.


New YORK, May l, 1876.


There are four distinct forces or powers
now existing il separate and distinct
shapes within the American Union. These
are:


First-The Union party.


Second-The Confederate party.


Third-The Catholic party.


Fourth-The negro power.


The Union party represents all those who
are CnlOnists first and last, and who place
the Union" idea above everything else,
without regard to whether the Union
stands for right or for wrcng, for liberty or
for despotism. Decatur's celebrated toast
expresses the sentiment of the per Sc Union
ist. Decatur said: "The Union right; but
right or wrong, the Union" The Union
party has its strong hold in the Northern
States. 1t is weak in the late slave States,
among the Southern whites even in the
border slave States.


The Confederate party is cow the dom
inant political force in each OF the late
slave States. 1t is not without it's ad-
herents in the Northern States, particularly
in New York. New Jersey, and at the West


The Catholic party is stronger than most
persons ara willing to admit. 1t is stronger
than its own leaders care to have known.


The negro power is, also, thing of
strength. It's strength consists in the two
facts that it not only represents power
of the Union. The Union party of the
North can control the national government
if it throws away the negro power as now
organized as a political power in the late
slave States. On the other hand this negro
power in the United States is related by
race instinct and destiny to the 9,0OO,00 ne
groes in the West Indies, the Spanish
Americas proper, and in Brazil.


In the approaching presidential election
the Democratic party of the North will
move along those lines of policy which look
to union with the Sout hern Confederates as
against the political associations of the
negro. Political reform and reconciliation
will form the two battle cries of the Con-
federate Democratic party. This Confed-
crate Democratic party will receive the
solid Catholic vote. The few exceptions to
this will amount practically to nothing.
Governor Tilden, of New York, will unite
sll these forces thoroughly, and SO far as
personal character can do such an amount
of lifting" he will Gift the Democracy
into position of comparative conservative
respectabiiity.


How far the negro is interested in this po-
iitical contest depends upon understanding
how much protection he has received during
the last eight years from the Republican
party TOR rather from the government
through the Republican party, and how
much additional outrage and oppression be
is likely to receive under Confederate
Democratic restoration. The protection
which the negro citizens of the South have
received from the national government dur
ing the last eight years is something which
each intelligent, impartial and well-intormed
man can determine for himself. But fear
thatx protection has not been either ex'
tensiye or effective. Negroes are sold into
penal servitude in Virginia, under so,
called penitentiary law, within sight OF the
national capital, and yet the government is
powerless to prevent this injustice. How the
negro fares in the Gulf States it is unnec.
oessary to state. Will Confederate Dem
ocratic administration at Washington make
the present condition Of the negro citizen of
The So nth worse than it Row is! Will re-
newai of Republican rule for four years
longer improve the negros condition!


These questions are important, and pos
sess a practical virtue for all politicians,
because the negro voters of the North are
asking themselves these very questions.
Not only this. but the. antislavery vote of
the North, which has always gone soldidly
with the Republican party, will be more
Influenced by the issues and interests
involved in these questions than by any
question Of reform, or finance, or recon-
cilistion which the Confederate Democracy
may bring forward. B.