Ligonier Banner., Volume 15, Number 26, Ligonier, Noble County, 14 October 1880 — Page 6

A . B T he L Danne The Ligonicr Davmer, 0 s D »! B. STOL, Editor z;:nd Prop’r. TACGUNIER, ¢ ¢ v INDIANAS —dmma:,mq‘mvmwﬁmw " FOR WHOM SHALL I YOTE? ; The Important Quesiion of the Hour—Gen. Hugu-ni«:k’s Eminent Fituess for the Presidency. . ; The fol’owing are thé principal points of a speech xecentiy delivered by the Hon. C. C. Bonney, ot Chicago, at Morris, 11L.: FELLOW-CITIZENS : It.issometimes said that the voice of the peopleis the voice of God, but this is so only when the people love justice and seck it with zeal. The love of justice is the door through which wisdom enters the mind; and zeal in good works is one of the surest-roads to correct opinions... One of the most potent means of securing a just result at & popular election®is the public discussion of the issues involved, before assemblies ot the peopie. Bat such a discussion should be something higher than a public entertainment. It should appeal to the judgment of hearers, and endeavor to lead them by reason 0 just conclusions. ; It is said, and I'presume. with entire truth, that there are jarge numbers of citizens who have not voted for many years. It is certainly true that there are many young men 'who are now entitled for the first time to vote for a President of the United States. The question, “What ought these men to do?” is a

SERIOUR AND IMPORTANT INQUIRY, involving interests and duties of a very exalted character. Should they vote for flancock, or Garfield, or not at all? To answer this question properly we must consider the state of the country and the attitude and Pprobable future course of the contending ;)m'ties respectively, in case of success. This 8 4 vast subject, quite too great and too complicated to be treated fully in any single discourse; but some of its most important aspects may easily be considered on the present ouveasion, el : ; ;

Let us first direct our attention to the nature of the Presidential office, and the qualifications of Gen. Hancock to discharge its dutics; and then consider some of the public interests involved in thie ensuing election. 1t is manifest that the qualifications for every position depend upom- and should corre: sf)ond to its %e(:ulia‘r labors and duties, and that mere ability and general accomplishments are quite distinet from si)uciﬂc qualificatiens for g particular place. It isobviously not necessary that the President of the United States should be a brilliant novelist, nor a skillful chemist, nor a gifted. painter, nor a protound - astronomer, nor a mechanical genius All these characters are eminently usetul in theirrespective spheres, and inthem many . achieve fame and fortune. He who wouid succeed s ahouse-builder should learn the hnuse-huilt.'ier’sx art. He who would attain suceess as a Judge should acquire the judicial meihod of investigation and decision, And he who would successfully administer the Presidency should know the nature of its bowers and duties, and have the peculiar qualifications required for their efficient exercise’and dischurge. Then whatis the nature of the Presidential authority; and what arc the specific powers and duties which belongto the office of the Chief Magistrate? The office of President of the United States: is created by the National Constitution. Its duties are there tetined. Its powers are there prescribed. The exccutive province is a dist¢inct and relatively independent -domain. With the legislative authority, and the judicial power, it ¢onstitutes the supreme trinity of civil governmgnt. Each 1s paramount within the limit‘s’%f."its own sphere, and it is tihe duty of ecach to uphold the legitimate authority of both the others. Now what are the sp,wi!ic duties of the Presidential office? They ajre notv legislative, for the law-making authority is veated in a Senate and a House of Representatives. They are not judicial, for the judicinl. power is vested in a Supreme Couit and such, inferior courts as Congress may ffom time to time ordain and establish. But they are executive; for the Constitution expressly declares that *“ the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” 5

- After giviny: at some length the meaning of the term yexécutive powers,” as defined by the most eminent authorities: and as pre-s«-ril_u"‘d by the Constitution, the speaker continucd: St

Such are the powers and dutics of the President of the United States. A mere enumera- * tion of them shows that they require a come- ~ prehensive and commanding ability; a‘nature knowledge of the nature of thefiovernment and of the state of the country ;/an active and aceucate juilgment, o powerfull-will and an all-previding patriotism and love of justice. The President need not be an acccomplished iegislator nor alearned Judge. The Coustitution provides other places for such - men.. But he should be pre-eminently ens. . dowedl with the ability to ordér and direct the . adairsavith which he is required to deal’; and T -shouid be able to ¢ommand the respect and - afiection of the people, as well as to direct the Yastaud varied operations of the Executive Degartiment throughout the Union: ;

GEN. HANCOCK’S QUALIFICATIONS. Let us now see how far Maj. Gen: Winfield Scott Hancock possesses the qualifications requircd tor the exercise of the great powers aud the discharge of the high duties 1 have described as belonging to the Presidency of the United States. That he has eminent natural abilities, and that he has applied them with sinpular success to-the service of the ‘country, his National reputation sufficiently jattests. That he hasbeen a profound student of the Constitution,- and has a much more ac‘curate knowledge of the nature of State and INational Governments, and the limitations of their respective powers, than the average *eminent statesmen,” is evident. from his orders as Military Gbvernor of Louisiana and fllexas, his correspondence with Gen. Sherman and his letter aceepting the nomination for the Presidency. That he has the supreme qualities of executive ability—quick percep‘tion, sound judgment, decisive action, personal courage and a readiness to take and bear agreat responsibility—is proved by manifold public testimonials, which have become, & pare of the history of the country. That he. is too cool and able a strategist to become the dupe -of scheming politicians, and that if elected to the Presidency he will be Chief Muagistrate to all intenfts and purposes, is plain from every recorded act and utterance of his public career. . That he will remain true to his %reat reputation—that he will preserve inviolabke every just result of wvictory over secession and rebellion—that he ‘will promote to the utmost of his power D%g complete restoration of fraternal relatiofis throyghout every part of the Union, that he will take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed and obegwed in all sections of the country alike, that he will promote the prosperity of every business interest and will maintain the present sound financial system conforming its administration more and more to the rule of ‘“honest money,” isas certain. as the law that “a tree is known by its fruits.”” . . :

Gen. Hancock was educated at the National Military Academy. He breathed there the in--Bpiring air of National power and glory, and learned the duties of command and of obedience. He was schooled there in the grand idea that the army exists and acts for the sake of the people, and thatits duties are epitomized in. the oath. of its Commander-in-Chief, to preserve, protect and defend | THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED. STATES. The word- Constitution, as here used, obviously does not mean the instrument which declares the organization and powers of the Government, but the Government itself, ordained and established by the people of the United States “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, I‘)l'omote the eneral welfare, and secure the blessings of ﬁberty.” Union, justice, tranquillity, defense, general welfare, liberty! Nobler words never eclared the object of human government, and the great charter of National authority which foﬁows them stands to-day, as on the day of its completion, the wisest and most successful effort of mankind to establish a government of the people, by their own representatives freely chosen and accountable for their acts. A sincere love of this Government, and a familiarity with the churter which declares and establishes it, are among the first gualifications to be sought in a Presidential candidate; and they are confessedly conspicuous among the characteristics of Gen. Hancock. : ]

In the course of his public services he has visited all sections of the country, and has a personal knowledge of the peculiarities and needs of each. Engaged in the service of the country, and taking no part in active politics; his observations hatye been impartial, and his convictions of the nature, extent and limitutions of the great powers of government and Baeir relation to each other are those of a poldier-statesmen. That he is a statesmay, In the highest sense of the terin, may readily be seen by comparing his public utterances In relation to civil authority and military govier, or to the objects and province of the and Nagtional Governments,respectively, or to the g)olicv now required in the administration of public affairs, with the views of any eminent Representative or Senator of either .garty. Match them, point by point, and it will e found that in intellectual vigor, compreheasiveness of view, clearness of - expression, and especially in patriotic spirit and just con-

clusions, Gen., Hancock occupies no doubtful “or inferior position. On the conmr{, his .}mliucal acts are as noble and defensible as lis military career. ‘ Butouteries ofobjeetion from the Revublican camnp fill the air. Would you, they usk, intrast the administeation of the Government try to the men who triet-to destroy it? Would {,ou imperil the businessinterests of the couny a dangeérous< poliiical change? Most assuredly not. We only propose to S COMPLETE THE CHANGE begun six {n::rs ago,; and which has been followed by the present abounding prosperity{_s{ the country. Formany years the Republic party held the unqgualified control of all departments of the National Government. During that time tiwey had ample opportunity to do the .good works they now so solemnly promise to perform, if the country will only grant them another four years’ extension of’power. But their neglect of duty is too flagrant>and of too long standing to be again forgiven. The Republican party failed to restore prosperity and peace to the South. It failed to reform the abuses of the civil service. Itfailed by wise and prudent measures to reduce an inflated currency and bring about a return to.specie payments, without a disastrous tinancial collapse. It confessed itself too weak to cope with the {financial foes of the people, and tinally, with nerveless hands, surrendered the country to the! desolating panic of 1873. What the war had spared the panic threatened to consume. Inthat gigantic calamity millions of people were more or less impoverished, and thousands ef business enterprizes completely wrecked. That wise and competent statesmanship. could very largely have mitizated the severity of the panic, and could have saved a very large share of th» losses which it éntailed, is a fact. about-which there ought not to be any debate among intelligent public.men. But the party in power proved itself totilly incompeteiit to meet the emergency. Its ¢ forts to control the disaster were tfeeble and inefticient and it did little more than act the part of a dazed wit® ‘nesg, while a mighty river of bankruptcy swept the interests of ghe country into the ércut deep of irretrievable loss. And this is the party-that asks to be reappointed guardian of the public weal! But in spite of its never-ending claims to superior purity and governing capacity, the American people :

WEARIED OF REPUBLICAN PARTY CONTROL. They concluded to change the administration of their Government. They commenced the change by the election of a Democratic House of Representatives in 1874. ' They continued it by a like ‘elelction in 1876, and by a })()‘puxmr majority for the Democratic nominee for President, over all competitors, of 158,336 iand over the principal n})posing_ candidate of 252,474. The election of 1868 continued the Democratic majority in the iouse of Representatives, and in the same year the Democracy obtained control of tze United States Senate. %&ut for the action of ‘the Klectoral Commission, whereby the popular will was defeated and Gov. Hayes declared elected to the Presidency, the Democratic party would to-day be in complete control of all departments of the General Government. The action of thafCommission is a great and an exciting theme. It was so astounding in its procedure and results that, after the lapse of nedrly four years, it can not be, discussed withont a burning indignation at the manner in which a President, not. elected by the people, was seated in the executive chair. Letus rather hasteu its consignment to oblivion than recall its dismal scenes, =ts place is in the charnel house of dead patriotism and honor. Let it rest there,

. But in the sacred names of truth and justice, the leaders of the Republican party assert that the election of Gen. Hancock to the I’residency would put the Government into the control of “thé men who tried to destroy it” in the great. rebellion, and would lead to the payment of enormous sums on claims of citizens of the Southern States, And by such assertions it seems to be supposed that citizens can be frightened into voting for the Republican nominees in November., Butif the advocates of the Democratic party should, with tne like solemnity and zeal, assert that the election of Gen. Garfield would ecommit the control of National affairy to the men who, a few years ago' declared the Constituiion of the United States to bé ‘“a league with death and a covenant with hell,” and wlio insuited the american flag with “Tear down the flaunting lie,” and who would have said to the Southern States, -when they rebelled, “Wayward sisters, departin peace;” and that they would inaugurate measures hostile to ttie Union and Constitution, and seek the overthrow ot both—those advocates would do no more violence to the truth, would commit no greater outrage on the patriotic fidelity of millions of citizens than do the leaders of the Republican party in asserting that the clectionl of Gen. Hancock would subject the country to rébel control. Our opponents will win no votes by any such calumnies,

"~ 'THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF TO-DAY has “renewed its youth like the eagle,” and, while it re¢tains all the pure gold of past experience, it meets the advanced thought of the present day with clear purposes and plans of progress and reform. It embraces in its ranks many who have been members of other political organizations. Such men as D:u-vidi Davis, Lyman/Crumbull and John M. Pahner, of lilinois, are siong its leaders, Similar men.advocate its claims in the other States. In every community may be named eminent merchants, bankers, manufacturers, and other business men, who are proud to avow themselves. members of the Democratie party. In the control of such a party, under the direction of such men, the business interests of the country will assuredly be safe. - .

But the Democratic party is not the only political organization in which importang changes have occurred. Few of the founders of the Republican party now appear in its ranks. In many a churchyard their dust mingles with the earth from which it sprang. Years ago it accomplished the sole purpose for which it was created—the overthrow of Southern:| slavery.. It was always a sectional party. "It never ‘rose to the rank and dignitg of & dpart’.y of the -whole country. It should have dissoived when ‘the abolition of slavery was secured, and, no doubt, would have done so had it not been held together by what has been aptly described ‘‘the cohesive power of public plunder.” It did its own work, not wisely, but with ‘an irresistible energy and zeal. But when it undertook the work of reconstruction in the conqueredrebel States, it speedily demonstrated its utter incompetency for the task. It breeded disorder and ill-will everywher ‘and added to, the afflictions of an impovisnepa people the unendurable burden of : 2 * .- “CARPET-BAG GOVERNMENT.” It undertook to deal with the vastfinancial 3uestions which resulted from the war, and ealt with them in such afecble and inetlicient way that a pecuniary panic ensued, in which the industrial interests of the country suffered losses, grobably equal, in the a.ggregate, to the cost of the war. .- It promised to reform the adminiStration of the Government, but its achievements: in that direction are so utterly ridiculous that they naturally suggest the fable of the mount@in and the mouse. Since it finjshed its proper work, and devoted itself to office seeking for . the sake of emoluments and power, it has divided into contending factions that have so investigated and described each other that, if half they say is true, neither is it to be trusted. But, for the honor of the country, let ns make some allowance for partisan bifterness and personal interest and prejudice, and trust that the leaders of the Republican parvy are really not quite so bad as they have been gainted by the artists of their own household. ‘The party itself is so vulnerable to attack on ever, side that we may wecll forego the opportunities offered for criticising the conduct of its chieftains. .

We seek the complete overthrow of the Republican party at the next election, that the country may be entirely delivered from sectional rule and pass wholly into the control of a truly National party. The sucgess of the Demoeracy will secure the results of good government to the people of the United States. . PEACE, PROSPERITY AND PROGRESS | will follow that success, as the bounteous harvest succeeds the golden summer, for the Democratic husbandmen go forth to sow the seeds of justice, fraternity, and egual rights; and to root up the thorns and thistles of sectional bitterness and strife. In this noble work we invite every lover of hiscountry to participate. . §

The sword that defended the country under Gen. Winfield Seott in the -Mexican War, and won imperishable renown on the battle-fields of the rebellion, crossed by the pen which wrote the orders of Gen. Hancock as Military Governor of Louisiana and Texas, and his letter to Gen, Sherman, and his acceptance of the nomination for the Presidency, would form a fit emblem of his life and character. In hoc signo vinces! was the war-cry of the knights of the Christian Cross. And in this sign of warrior’s sword and’ statesmen’s pen the new Democracy will cenquer at the election in November, and they i:m inau}gurate, with the accession of Winfiel °;‘Scott Hancock to the Presidency of the United States, a new era of reform, progress and prosperity, of reconciliation, good order and peace, of more perfect union, better justice, and increased domestic tranquillity, realizing. more fully than ever heretofore the purpose for which the Constitution was ordained. | - ]

To crown our beloved cou‘ntr% with this triple trinity of blessings is the o ject sought by the Democratsic party under the leadership of Gen. Hancock, and in their efforts to secure that result, they ask the aid of every patriotic voter, of all who would see a sectional administration superseded by one that will promote the welfare and -proteet the rights of ull classes and interests, all localities and races, with equal and impartial fidelity and Justiog,

Texts from General Hancock’s Letters.

When “fraud, violence, or incompetence controls the noblest Constitutions and wisest laws are useless. :

The bayonet is not a fit instrument for collecting the votes of free men. " It is only by a full vote,free ballot, and fair count that the people can_rule in fact,-as required by the theory of our Government. Take this function away and the whole structure falis. .

The greatest principles of American liberty are still the rightful inheritance of this people, and ever should be.

The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural rights of persons, and the rights of property nmust be preserved. ‘ -

The : Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States, embodying the results of the war for the Union, are inviolable. :

If called to the Presidency, I should deem it my duty to resist, with all my power, any attempt to impair or evade the full force and effect of the Constitution, which, in every article, section, and amendment, is the supreme law of the land. :

This Union, comprising a General Government with general powers, and State Governments' with State powers for purposes local to the States, is a polity the foundations of which were laid in the profoundest wisdom. .-

This is the !Union which our fathers made, and which has been so respected abroad and so beneficent at home. =

The war for the Union was successfully closed more than fifteen years ago.

All classes of our people must share alike the blessings of the Union, and are equally concerned in its perpetuity, and in the proper administration of public affairs. - ‘

We are in a state of profound peace. Henceforth let it be our purpose to cultivate sentiments of friendship, and not of animosity, among our fellow citizens.

As one people we have common interests. 3

A sedulous and scrupulous care of the public credit, together! with a wise and economical management éf our Governmental expenditures, should be maintained, in order that labor may |be lightly burdened, and that all persons may be protected in their rights to the fruits of their industry. = '

Let us encourage the harmony and generous rivalry among our own industries which will revive our languishing merchant marine, extend our commerce with foreion Nations, assist our merchants, manufacturers and producers to develop our wvast natural . resources, and increase the prosperity and happiness of gur people. 0

Public office is a trust, not a bounty bestowed upon the holder.

The basis of substantjal, practical civil service reform must {érst.’be established by the people in filling the elective offices; if they fix a high standard of qualifications for office, and sternly reject the corrnupt and incompetent, the result will be decisive in coverning the action of the servants whom they intrust with appointing power.

' No form of government, no matter how carefully devised, no principle, however sound, will protect the rights of the people unless administration is faithful and efficient. e

Power may destroy the forms but not the principles of justice; these will live in spite even of the sword.

The true and proper use of the military power, besides defending the National honor against foreign nations, is touphold the laws’ and civil Government, and to secure to every person residing among us the enjoyment of- life, liberty and property.

The regular army should be so directed by its superior officers as to be recognized as a bulwark in support of the rights of the people and of the law.

I would, under no circumstances, allow myself or my troops to determine who were the lawful members of a State Legislature. -° i

Our system does not provide that one President should inaugurate another. There might be danger in that, and it was studiously left out of the charter.

The army should hayve nothing to do with the election or inauguration of Presidents. = The people elect the President. The Congress declares in joint session who he is. : .

I like Jefferson’s-way of inauguration; it suits our system. He rode alone on horseback to the Capitol, tied his horse to a rail fence, entered, and was duly sworn; then rode to the Executive Mansion and took possession.

A Moral Certainty of Sucecess.

- For the first time since 1856 the Democratic party finds itself in a Presidential campaign in which it faces a moral certainty of success. In the four great contests of 1860, ’64, '6B and ’72 the Democracy had little prospect of any beiter fortune than defeat. In 1876, the result was.doubt‘ful from the beginning, for the extent to which the army micht be used to suppress popular feelin%; and the full measure: of influence to be exerted by bulldozing Deputy Marshals could not be estimated in advance with any degree of certainty. The magnificent victory won at the polls was counted only when fully achieved. i In this campaign the doubts and fears which have clouded previous struggles find no place. The Hancock movement was grand in its inception and has grown stronger every hour. The Democratic nomination struck a responsive chord in the popular heart and won the approval of the popular judgment. In the dark and doubtful contests of the past the Democratic party has ‘worked with such unity of purpose and such unflageing zeal as have always deserved succdess. Emerging from the

gloom of suec‘essiv:e'[" ‘defeats, it has ‘bravely and cheerfully come up to the work of eath successive canvass with a courage that disaster could not subdue. The Republicans have celebrated what they caﬁed the ‘tDemocratic funeral”’ over and over again, only to find their old opponent stronger and more zealous in the ensusing conflict. Patriotic devotion to the principles of the Democratic fathers, the only principles on which a Democratic republic can endure, has nerved the Democracy when there was none of the stimulus of a well-founded hope. e Having thus. fought the good fight and kept the fait%x }througﬁ\ vears of gloom and defeat, it is not strange that the grand old party of Jefferson and Jackson enters upon its work this year in a manner well caculated to disconcert the opposition. The campaign having begun, howe‘?er, there will be no pause in this work, no resting on laurels already won, no counting of anything as assured that is not actually gutheredn. .~ . The Democratic ‘Feople,'the statesmen, politicians and the masses, all classes, from the venerable Solons of the Senate to the humblest laborer who wields a pick and ' plies a spade, will work on to the victorious end, feeling the utmost confidence that a splendia victory will reward their labors, but determined to do work;fworthy of such a victory, and to make the result a crushing, overwhelming defeat and rout of the enemy.— Washington Post.

Was It a ‘Failure, After All

It appears from the stalwart Republican newspapers and speakers that the ‘‘war was a failure,”’ after all. According to these authorities, slavery is, but the Union is not, restored. Not only are the States in revolt, but the border Union States, which'furnished more recruits to the? Union armies than to the Confederate armies, are engaged in this new rebellion. ‘The Southern people purpose, it is said, to win by legislation what. they lost by an :appe:ﬁ to arms. They lost by an appeal to arms four millions of slaves and the right to secede. But, according to the stalwart Revublican, the success of the Democratic party at the polls will be the suecess of the ‘‘Solid South”—including the Southern Union States —the success of the doctrine of secession and the restoration of slavery.. If this be not so, then the ¢ Solid South’ cannot regain by legislation what it lost by an appeal to arms:. The New York ‘77id une goes even further, and declares that t%e negroes in. the South are already reduced to a condition of servitude as helpless as their condition before the war. The Chicago Tribune publishes a statement from a Southern Republican, who declares that: =

“;l‘hq Southern people :w"_ a ruling power are to-gay in a worse state of rebellion than they were in 1861, 2

If these statements be true then the war was a failure. Those who agreed with Mr. Greeley that it is impossible to pin this country together with bayonets, were wise in their generation. Those who demanded peace at any price were patriots; because they foresaw that the blood and treasure expended in strife was an absolute, wanton, cruel waste. If the South stands where 1t stoed twenty years since, with the same hopes, purposes and plans; if thie negtfo hasnot been emancipated, but is bound again in slavery, lacking only the name, it would have been better for the North to have united in the sentiment of General Scott and bid the erring sisters depart in peace. For if the South is just wherg it was twenty years ago, millions of human lives and treasure were vainly spent in the effort to bind them to the Union and to abolish slavery. It was all useless, all a hopeless, unprofitable, terribie mistake. On this showing it would have been better to have let them go; for nothing has been gained, and an awiul measure of life and wealth forever lost. ;

All this has been accomplished, too, under the administration of the party that waged this unsuccessful war. = For twenty years it has had either a twothirds share in the National Legislature or a pliant Executive. It ‘has had })lenary power to pass and execute all Jdaws necessary to the success of the war policy. -No law has been repealed, no decree annulled, no prescript, statute, ordinance, or amendmenf rescinded. And the outcome of it all is that not only are the rebel States just as rebellious as they were twenty years since, but that they have dragged into the ‘“new rebellion” the border States of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri, and by cunning legislation re-. enslaved the negroes whom the war and the Constitution emancipated. If this be true, as the Riepub{)icans declare, then the war was a ghastly farce, a bloody burlesque, a phantom, a delusion, a snare, a dead failure. :

Such is the proclamation of the stalwart Republican organs and the stalwart Republican orators. . Day unto day uttereth this speech, night unto night showeth forth this knowledge of the situation. Lyt

Of course this is all nonsense, and none knows it better than the journalist. or the stump-speaker who declares it. Is this the measure with which theg mete the intelligence of their readers? Do they Hflatter and persuade them by this perpetual flinging into their faces the proclamation that the war was a failure; that the negroes were not after all emancipated, and hence owe the Republican party no gratitude; and that twenty years of arms, coercion, reconstruction, confiscation and all, have left the South just where it was when the Republican party assumed the reins of Government® And in the very face of this profound protest that the party has so utterly failed, it protests just as loudly that there should be a political change of administration.—Detroit Free Press.

-——A leading Democrat in Maine—one of the old wheel-horses of the party —writes: *““We have won a great. victory, notwithstanding the figures of our opponents, which are made as the basis of counting us out by the Legislature —which they have. %Ve‘ have not done with them yet. They will find the De Golyer pavement a hard road to travel.”’ e ¥ £

——Congressman Hoar says Blaine ““knows what he is about.” So does everybody else. He is ¢“about’” the most disappointed man in the State of Maine or in the country. - :

POLITICAL POINTS.

f—-———Galﬁ'ﬁeld had better 'resign and run for Congress as he used to do when %@ fighting grew warm.—Chicago mes. - | s

‘——Neither party guessed very well about the Maine election, but the Republicans/ made the biggest mistake.— Boston Herald. : g

'——Mr, Blaine has the Returning Board in Maine. A Returning Board isjworth several hundred votes if ex,pertly handled.” Mr. Blaine is an ex‘pert.—Cincinnati Enquirer.

| —=General Hancock’s letter on rebel 'war claims in to-day’s Sun ought to put anﬁleﬁd forever to one of the foolish pretensions of the ' Garfield party. It is a straightforward letter.——N. Y. Sun. ——Now would be'a good time to reissue the lies about Mr. English. So f{r the prospects of the Democratic party do not seem to have been injured by a campaign of slander on the Republican side. ; L ;——-'Allit-he dead walls, tight fences, andcurbstones in Washington have been mg"sterimisly decorated with the figures 4329.” .The Democrats feel very jolly over it, but'the Republicans do not appreciate the joke. gL

- |——The Credit Mobilier of -America “ynade,”.f?clear of all expenses, 81,925,328.34. Mr. Garfield's share of a part OE the plunder was $4,000, of which he only received $1,376—0ne dividend of 140 per cent. on his ten shares, of stiock. | L e

——lln 1876 Hayes got 173 electoral votes, counting those of South Carolina, which did not belong to him. It looks now as though Garfield would not get over a hundred, and Agnes Jenks and Eliza. Pinkston have retired/from business. e

- ——Mr. Blaine made a great mistake when he'did not secure a retired back room at Augusta for General Garfield and invite some other distinguished statesmen to go to Maine and see a fair count. 'Thanks to his carelessness, Plaisted is now elected! —N. Y. World.

——The disgust of the Republicans wﬁth' thein own caleulations about. the majorities in Maine reminds the New York Wonld of the deacon who twice started the hymn, ¢ O fora thousand tangues to sing,”’ and broke down. ‘‘ Better start it at five hundred, br(rther,”” was the suggestion of a sympathetic soul. e ——The * rebel claims’ bugaboo was always an absurdity, hardly calculated to frighten anyone but old women and children. | The Southern people and tﬂeir representatives are those who would feel more than any others the burden of the taxes that would have to be levied for their payment. These cigsidemtions alone placed the whole subject outside the pale of reasonabie politics, and it needed no specific assurance from General Hancock that he would not violate the Constitution, outrave the wishes of South and North alike, and rob the Treasury for the benefit of a few claim Sharks who are alone interested in these claims.— Detroit News. | :

- .——lln his speech at New York Senator Conkling said of .General Garfield: “LT'hat he has- intelligence, experience and habits of mind which fit him fer

the Presidential office, 1 think I know. That he is competent to discharge the duties before him, there seems to be no reason to doubt.” Of General Arthur he said: ‘“All who know him know ai high-gouled, honorable ‘man, etc. If the character, popularity and personality of a candidate can add strength to the Republican cause, General Arthur v'v(jll add that strength,”’ etc. Which reminds one of the old New England storekeeper who employed two boys—one of them the son of a poor widow, the other the son of the rich man in the village, whom no one cared to offend. “What kind of a boy is Chester?’—let us call the poor boy—asked a man from the city, who was looking for a clerk. “Splendid bov! He’s ac® favorite of mine; I'never saw so nice aboy; 1 have watched him ever sinee he was a little shaver.” | *“And how i§ Jim—is that his nameP’’ << Well, Jim's a pretty fair boy; good as boys go, I guess.” “You guess; don't you know whether he's a good boy or not?” . ¢ Well, I si‘fspect he's a good boy, though now you ask (me, I think I must have dreamed it.”’ . '

The Hamiltonian Party,

‘We hiave seen it reported that a descendant of Alexander Hamilton was stumping for Garfield, and we do not see how he could do less, .since Garfield has expressed his . freat reverence for the character and ideas of that distinguished man, and has declared that the Republican party was following where he led. Of course "this statement must be accepted with many grains of salt. Hamilton was a man of brains, and, we dare say, of patriotic purposes. He had very positive and well-defined notions respecting the policy that should furnish the foundation for this Government, but he would not have endorsed men who had been. proved guilty of bribery and perjury, or a party that in its practices encouraged debauchery and winked at corruption. Moreover, statesman though he was, Alexander Hamilton did not succeed in laying down a plan that was acceptable to the founders of the Republic. - His idea of the Executive was that he should hold -his office during life. The Republican party, having the Executive, would no doubt be glad to have the country adopt Mr. Hamilton's, idea without further question; but the fathers thm:fht, and justly, that such a policy would be but a faint recognition of popular government, and would in a, short time float them back into the hﬁranny from which they had escaped .t‘r‘ou%lh blood and sacrifice. Moreover, he believed the General Government should appoint .the Governors of the several States. and the militia of t?;)se States should be under the exclusive direction of the United States, which was to appoint and commission all their officers. These and a number of similar provisions constituted Mr.. Hamilton’s plan. In the light of events we can see what a,rock-rooted system of centralization it would have been, and the liberty-loving men of the Revolution would soon. have felt that in escaping the frying-pan they had chosen their lot in the fire. Fortunately a more enlightened, progressive and popular system was selected, the only one

upon which the Republic:of the United States could have' held together for a hundred years with. constantly increasing strength - and glory. - But the candidate of the Republican party tells us that that ‘organization is_ following in‘the footsteps of Alexander Hamilton. It certainly .is as Ara‘ﬁidky as it dares. An Executive: to hold. office during life, Governors appointed by the General Government, and other innovations, based upon Hamilton's suggestions and its own necessities, have been more than hinted at in the publie record of this party. And yet:its-or-gans have the impudence to ask us why we want a change. . We think the people’s instintt of seélf-preservation is as gogd a reason as we need to urge were there no others.” The Republican policy is nothing more ner less than the formulation of a conspiracy whose character - Garfield "has indirectly divulged. Let' the people. sirike down this menace before:it becomes too large for them. —Boston Post: = - . 7=

An Appeal to Business Men,

It is most vain and fatueus indeed to hope for real and solid prosperity while the Nation is kept in a state -of continual eivil war. It is true that there is perfect peace so faras those who took up arms against the Government twenty years ago have been able td produce a peaceful condition. Ik is true that the Southern people laid down arms fifteen years ago and returned to their homes to become peaceful and-law-abiding citizens. - Itis true besides that the objects and results of tiie war hiave been imbeddéd in the Constitution, and that no party or faction seeks to disturb them. Nevertheless, as Patrick Henry said, in his great oration, we are crying, ‘‘peace,; peace! when there is 10 peace. - Fhe Republican leaders refuse to permit the country to.realize that peace has actually. come. They insist on fighting the war everagain in new crusades -against the conquered Southerners. . Thus it happens that while thereis no armed resistance to the authority .of the Government anywhere, while the Constitution in all its parts is respected in all “our borders, that a large portion. of the people of the North are inflamed by the heated appeals of designing demagogues into such bitterness jof mind against their fellow-citizens pf the Southern States that they fancy themselves engaged once more in fighting thebattles of civil

- The business men of the eountrywho take but" little {part in .the _sectional strife that is nm\itv_a.ged-by the Republican politicians will find-in- the renewed agitation of segtionalisma subject for grave and t’,arn,e:il‘t oonsideration. . Can a Nation that is totn by the violence of sectional factiong attain real and lasting prosperity? Is it possible to establish the friendly relations between the people of the several States and sections which are:necessary to successful commerce while a great party insists on sowing the seeds of enmity and hatred? No man of enlightened judgment will hesitate to answer these questions in the negative. Nor is it a matter of the slightest doubt that the maligned section is retarded in ‘material progress by the malignarit slanders utteped against it. The falsehoods studiously invented and constantly circulated by the Republican politicians goncerning the social condition of the South have the-efféct of turning immigration and .capital away. from: that . region. Now an cause that produces an injurious. 'ef): fect’ upon the malterial interests of one section naturally. and surely.produces the same deleterious effect upon the whole country. The derided and vilified section loses, or fails to make its just proportiomate gainin ability. to bear the burdens of taxation, and the inevitable consequence is that the remainder of the. country.must suffer in the same propottionate degree. Capital and labor both are diverted from the region that is under ban and repudiation of public and private debts naturally follows, Thus the march of the people to real and permanent prosperity is effectually retarded. Hence it is plain that the Republican party, by preaching its eternal sectional erusade, has become the enemy of the material progress of the Nation. There remains but the alternative of the utter defeat of that party or'disaster and ruin to the business of -the country.efHaTn?burg (Pa.) Palriot. = | -5 v 8

A Statement by Jere Black.

Judge Jere S. Blaek sends to the New York Sun the following answer to questions asked him by the editor of that paper: Laoiblasißee se e

Sir: Your questions are. entitled to a candid answer. I will give my reply to “each one in the order youputthem: -.~ . - : : 1. “Did I mean, in my letter to Mr. Blaine, that General Garfield acknowledged receipt of stock and dividends from Oakes Ames?” Unquestionably he agreed to takKe the stock, amg ‘(iid receive dividends. upon it. .The" lette plainly implies that he had not concealed, or tried to conceal, that fact from me; but his admission was coupled with astatement which showed him to be guiltless;. g 2. *“Did he declare to me that he-would go before the Poland Committee and testify that he had taken the stock?” I had no previous conversation -with him ' about his’ testimony before the Poland Committee, and I did not kn%w'wh‘at it would. be until I heard it deliv~ ered. e T i i

3. “Did T advise -and urge him to tell the truth?” No, eertainly not. Such advice and urgency would have -been a most outrageous insult, which I could. net .offer to any gentleman of his character. S R S

4. *“Did 'he agree to a:d(}){pt, the line of defense suggested by me?”’ You seem to think that I was his counsel. - I ‘was not; but as his friend and a believer in his perte¢t innocenece, I was extremely anxiousthat he should get safely out of this unfortunate business. After it began to be discussed in the néwspapers, and before the committe¢ was appointed, I besought him to make no statement for the publie eye which might bé inconsistént with what he said to me. Leést. he ‘might forget it or miss the important points of it, I re%eated the substance of itsomewhat carefully. He did not reply, and 1 learned ‘soon afterward that he bad authorized a total and tlat contradiction. Simultaneously the other members .of Congress who were implicated made: separate statements of the same kind, assuring the public that they never had taken or owned any of thqtstock at all, or received any dividends u 1 IT. = < T ¥ S 5 %(.') s th', according to my. understanding o 2 the fact, did Garfield adopt a defense so con= trary to that he had agreed on?”’ 1 have already said that he mide no agreement about it.. His reason. for abandoning 'the true grounds of his defense was, doubtless, the necessity he felt.himself under of making common cause with his political friends, for whom there was no refuge, except in.a fundamental falsehood. =~ * Aaag e 3

At South Scituate, Mass., is a farm that has descended from Stetson father to Stetson son for six generations. The farm of Major Ben Perley Poore has been in the family for two hundred years without a change of the deed granted by the original sachem.” = -