Year: 1870

canoe. That at a moment when the
shipping interest is prOStTated, and the
imminence of a war that may be of
European extent opens the amplest Op-
pOrtunities for American commercial
enterprise, a Republican majority should
refuse to cooperate with Republican
President, shows that the question in
vOIved is powerful enough to destroy
party unity; that is to say, it has already
divided the party, and has become,
therefore, an immediate practical issue.


Under our present tariff, building ships
is a TUinOus business. Suddenly we
want great numbers of ships immediate
". They can be bought cheaply in
Europe. Let US buy them, then, to-day,
saws the President to his party in Con-
gress, and turn them to account, even
if we again decline to buy them tO-mOT-
row. And his party divides. A portion
of it wishes to follow his advice. The
other portion wishes to use no ships that
we do not build ourselves. But mean
while we build no ships. The carrying
trade which founded our commercial
prosperity appeals to us again, and in
vain. We swing our feet and dOZe in
our silent and crumbling ship-yards, and
drOwsily reply that we sail Americana
built ships or none. And, meanwhile,
English and other foreign ships triumph
antly carry off the advantage that we
disdain.


This means that the question of pro-
lection, free trade, revenue taTiff-what-
ever we may choose to call it-has be-
come a cardinal point in practical poll
tics. We have always insisted that is
sues can not be arbitrarily chosen.
They arise from the national develop
ment. They assert themselves; and
they assert themselves precisely in this
manner, by showing that they are strong
er than the prevailing party traditions.
The experience of this session has shown
that a House with q large Republican
majority might be returned to the next
Congress which should not contain a
single member that would support the
recommendations of the Republican
Administration. In the House which
has lust adjourned there were no more
positive Republicans than Messrs. Blair,
Kelley, Maynard and Mccarthy. Yet
had all the other Republican members
agreed with them the final and urgent
recommendation Of the Republican
President would not have received a
single Republican vote.


This most important fact must not be
forgotten in the nominations for the
next Congress- 1t is for every reason
connected with the power and perman-
enee of the party desirable that the
various State conventions should express
themselves distinctly upon this subject,
which the action of Congress proves is
now one of paramount Importance. No
party can divide upon such questions
and retain its asCendency. If half the
party in Congress intended to support
the President and half to oppose him,
the party fate is fOTeshadOWed in that of
the Kilkenny cats The arbitrary will
of the President is not, indeed, to be the
law Of the party; on the contrary, the
President has declared that the will of
the people shall Ee his law, But now
can he determine what that will is, if
the Representatives of the majority do
not agree? Unanimity in essentials is
the vital condition of the party ascen-
dency, and that must be the objective
point of the Republican party at the
Congressional elections HGyPG RS
Weekly.