Year: 1872

tional constitution resting upon universal
liberty and equal rights And the democratic
party, which had become the defender of negro
slavery and which was the opposing party to
all these new amendments, having at length
fully accepted the situation, our Presidential
probabilities are changed again, and must be
measured by this new order of things


The slavery question and the negro question,
upon which the republican party hos achieved
the greatest changes in our political system
and the most decisive party victories in our
history, are settled. The republican party and
the opposition forces here, at last, stand on
the same ground. It is in this capacity, as
representing the issues settled by the war, that
democrats and republicans, Northern and
Southern men, Northern Unionists in the war
and rebels of the Southern confederacy, are
uniting as in q common cause for the de-
feat of General Grant and in order to establish
o new administration at Washington. Here,
then, the statistics of our past elections cease
to be applicable Even those Of 1868 will not
serve us; for in 1868 the democrats fought
General Grant upon those very measures OF
Southern reconstruction which now they recog-
nize as valid and binding.


What, then, is the prospect of this new and
extraordinary Presidential contest? The re-
publicans pretend to despise this new depar-
ture of the democrats and their republican
standard bearer. The democrats profess the
most unbounded conf lence in glorious
victory. They are confident Of getting the
balance of power from the republican camp,
North and South, and that popu-
lar tidal wave is rising which will
sweep away the present administration
in the fall elections. But the issue of
this exceptional contest is necessarily uncer-
tain We know that the Cincinnati Conven-
ton represented considerable body of de-
serters from the administration; but we have
yet to learn the extent Of these assertions
We know that the name of Mr. Greeley as the
democratic candidate excites very general
confidence and enthusiasm in the
ranks of the party; but still there re-
main some doubling and protesting voices.
Assuming that q few days hence oil doubts
will be dispelled in the adoption of the Cincin-





may reasonably look for such rally Of the
democracy and their allies as we have not seen
for many years. General Grant is strong, and
is supported by compact and powerful party;
but the opposition elements are also strong,
and have of late evidently been gaining
the opposition camps upon Mr. Greeley.


Let not the party in power presume too
much upon the weakness of the adversary or
upon its own ample resources. History is full
of fatal mistakes of this character It was the
fatal mistake of James the Second in regard to
the strength Of the invading William Of
Orange It was the fatal mistake of Napoleon
the Third in his declaration of war against
Prussia. It was the humiliating blunder of
our first battle Of Bull Run, and the crush
ing misfortune of Lee was his over-conf-
dent advance upon Meade at Gettysburg. 1t
will be remembered, too how contemptuously
in 1910 the democrats spoke of General Har-
rison in opposition to Van Buren,; but the
result was o political tornado. We live in q
revolutionary age. In politics, as in every
thing else the world moves now by steam and
electricity. In this view oil that we can truly
say of this Presidential contest is that the new
position taken by the democratic party, in
changing oil the pre-existing conditions of the
campaign, renders the issue. from the lights
before ma, not only uncertain, but exceedingly
doubtful, and that it will require State elec-
ton or two, after the Baltimore Convention,
to indicate the drift of the tide