Year: 1875

The announcement of the Republican
National Committee that it will hold meet
ing in Washington in few weeks to arrange
for the holding of a convention to nominate
candidate for the Presidency does not come
moment too soon. In fact, the apathy of
the leaders of this once proud and powerful
party shows that it has fallen into such an
abject condition that unless something is
done to revive and strengthen it there will
be no party at all when the votes come to be
counted. In the meantime, while the repub-
licans have been lowering about the ques-
tion, not knowing what to do we have had the
formal opening of the campaign from the
Methodists, represented in a Convention of
their laymen and ministers, presided over by
Bishop Haven, and practically indorsed by
Bishop Simpson, prelate of great learning
and virtue whose family has had from this
administration the best tokens of Presidential
favor. This Boston Convention of about
three hundred layman and priests is much
more respectable and important body of men
than any of the great political parties will
succeed in bringing together unless they do
better than has been their custom. And we
cannot but look upon it as the opening OF the
campaign. 1t is the first gun. 1t is none too
soon for Senator Morgan and his committee
to fire the second gun.


According to Bishop Haven we are to have
President Grant as the candidate Of true
Christianity and as the saviour of the coun-
try-as, in fact, the only man who can "pro-
tect' the people. Now, if this is necessary for
a third term, why not for fourth and fifth,
and so on without any interregnum? If the
Presidency has become matter of "protec-
ton" of the country where is it to stop?
And of what use are our other forms of gov
ernment if we cannot ''protect" ourselves,
but must of necessity fall back upon o Pres
ident who few years ago would have been
glad to fill the humblest function? We
might call the attention of the Bishop
to the fact that is now almost historical
namely, that we have lived as q nation for
a hundred years, mainly without the aid or
protection" of Grant. We do not mean for
q moment to underrate those services which
have given General Grant so just q claim to
the gratitude and respect of our people.
But at the same time, the people have re-
paid Grant with even q higher measure of re-
ward than was given to the peerless Wash
ington, as much of protector" in his time
as our present Ulysses. If, on the other
hand, we are all wrong, and the Bishops
Simpson and Haven are right, then what is
to be done?


Clearly this If we are about to have q
''protectorate" as necessary to our peace and
safety, if it is saviour" we want and not
constitutional magistrate let us begin in the
right spirit and go through with the bust
ness. Let us make this indispensable Presi-
dent our "Lord Protector of the Protestant
Religion and the Liberties of America" We
believe the title of Cromwell, after he had
been raised to the supreme and almost i'm
perial station by the aid of soldiers like Bah
cock and Ingalls, and of priests like Simpson
and Haven, was something like this. Why
should we not give it to Grant? He has
raised the banner of religious dis
sension even as Cromwell did. He
has appealed to the friendship of q
sect like Cromwell. He has all the
elements of Cromwells strength and, more
than all, he has around him political party
anxious to do his bidding-a disciplined,
compact, and audacious party, which
sees in him the source of con-
tinued power. Against him he does not
have the old nobility who gloried in sup
porting Charles, but a party whose leaders
are governed by selfish ambitions and not by
the best interests of the country-a party of
fossils and Bourbons who will be sure to do
all they can to give their enemies the oppor-
tunity of retaining power.


In this new "Protectorate, with Grant as
our Cromwell, there will be no trouble in
finding o place for Haven and the military
and religious retinue who are now embarked
in the crusade for third term. The
Bishop will be the Praise-God- -Barebones of
the new regime, and he will share with Simp-
son the clerical honors and duties. Bah
cock, Logan, Conkling, Chandler and the
rest will be the Iretons, the Harrisons and the
Ludlows There is the still further prospect,
not unworthy of thought, that when it
pleases God to summon Protector Ulysses
to eternal peace he will leave q son to inherit
his honors as capable, from all we can learn,
as the son Of Cromwell.


WHO Is GRANTS SUCCESSOR Tho Presi-
dents phraseology in the sentence, "This
will be the last annual Message which shall