Of Cmtrt gawttat.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
The Largest, Cheapest end Best Paper
PUBLISHED IN CKNTRK COUNTY.
VICTOR HUGO..
His I.lie. His Ways uml Ills Character.
Pri.ro Umilon Truth, January 15.
Count Victor Mario Hugo was horn
in 1802, his father having beeu one of
the most distinguished of Napoleon's
Generals. At one time General Hugo
held command in the province of
\uvelliuo, in Calabria, where he man
aged, after a desperate chase, to run
I'm Diavolo to earth. Afterwards he
went to Spain, taking Victor with liiui.
The child already gave promise of
genius, and King Joseph asked to see
f,im. "Remember, my hoy," quoth the
father* "that if His Majesty s|>eaks to
\im volt must address nim as 'Sire.' "
The King did converse with little Vic
tor, who called, him "Monsieur." Geu.
Hugo asked his sou after the audience
why he had disobeyed the paternal in
junctions. Victor made a reply which
jerhaps only a shy man will quite un- ,
dcrstand: f 'l was afraid."
About this time Victor was entered j
as a student at - the Scminnry of the |
Nobles in Madrid. Previously his
education had been conducted under
the athpices of an old royalist, who
was a general into the hargaiu. In
18151 he was placed at the Convent of
the Feuillantines. He is thus one of
the most mournful and striking argu
ments against the old creed. Brought
up a Catholic, und endowed with all
the susceptibilities which could enamor
a soul of the Catholic poetry, he has
deliberately rejected it. lie is no;
sceptic, but a passionate Deist, who
speaks somewhat scornfully of what I
are pre-eminently styled the mysteries ,
of our faith.
Papa Hugo wished his son to he
come a soldier, hut the boy hud other
ideas. He had begun to scribble at
or seven; a vtritahle replica of
Pope —
-WhlM y*t * child, und *ll unknown to fain**,
I lUpM iit Biauibava, for (he nt)iub*r • none."
At fourteen he wrote a tragedy—had,
of course, hut such as many a man of
twenty-eight might have been proud
to write. At fifteen he competed for
ot.e of those prizes which the French
Academy annually offers with the
hetiigu intention of encouraging the
study of letters among the people
most disposed to rush into print of
any in Europe. The subject was—
"The Advantages of Study." Victor's
poem was unquestionably the best, hut
he had been goose enough to sign "A
Poet of 15.'' The bigwigs fancied
they were being chaffed, never dream
ing of such a product of nature as a
boy of genius. Ho they refused him
the prize, hut (fr they had a collect
ive con-cience) allowed him honorable
mention.
Three religious, patriotic odes, all
"crowned" by somebody, followed in
three successive years; and Victor be
gan to lie looked upon by the Royal
i-t pretty much Mr. Gladstone was
looked upon by the Tories of forty
years ago. Indeed, there is more than
one point of resemblance between these
eminent men. They have both travel
ed the same way, only Mr. Gladstone
has not covered the same space. He
hegau as a Christian anil a Christian
he has remained. Victor Hugo has
measured the vast distance between
belief in the Pope and belief in him
himself alone. Agnin, the men are
ltoth terribly in earnest. A Govern
ment of Hugos with real power at its
hack would probably reform society,
unless, ly way of alternative, it suc
ceeded in destroying'that time-honored
institution altogether.
In 1822 ivas published the first vol
ume of "Odes nnd Ballads." The
success was fully equal to thnt of the
two first cantos of "Childe Harold."
Like Byron, Hugo awoke and found
himself famous. For a time he was
' happy, this lad of twenty who had
become one of the greatest men in
France. He now took what some
persons have pronounced the one wise
step in his life. A Mile. Foucber had
been brought up with hiin at the Con
vent of the Feuillantines, and young
ietor hail risen to love her. The
Parents of the young lady, however,
had looked upon him as a detrimental
or worse; now he was discovered to
hiree merit, also much prudence in
money matters —a quality which has
never forsaken him —so their views
changed, and his suit was encouraged,
frankly, this poet has a keen eye to
the main chance. On his return to
i'ari* in 1870, after a nineteen years'
exile, his first act was to drive to the
Academy and claim his arrears of
Py as one of the Forty. A thousand
francs a year, I think, is the allowance
of an Immortal, so that the sum was
worth asking for. Victor Hugo has
been accused of lack of generosity,
chii fly because his charities are unos
tentatiously liestowed. But numerous
little acts of kindness oil his part are
known to friends who have come in
contact with him. For instance, Hugo
makes frequent use of the tramway,
and regularly gives a Christmas box
of 4520 to the employes of the particu
lar line on which he generally travels.
His marriage was a happy one in
the most essential point, out marred
an uncommon series of calamities.
Both his sons, men of great promise,
have preceded him to the grave. His
daughter, Leopoldinc, was* drowned
with her hugband, Charles Vacquerie,
ot Havre, in 18451. It was a singu
larly gay boating party that lmd this
tragic end. And yd M. Hugo, does
not give one the idea of u melancholy
man ; quite the reverse. At his own
table, lor iustance, he will talk and
laugh like a great schoolboy, seeming
to overflow with animal spirits. I was
dining with him one duy, and towards
dessert the conversation had become
political when the door suddenly open
ed and a pretty child of eight years or
so made her appearance. "C'est
I'Ainour et c'est lu Joie 1" was Hugo's
rapturous exclamation, and politics
were contemptuously dismissed. Well
does he know the art of being a grand
lather.
Hugo's political life can only be
said to have begun in 1848. The
Revolution found iiim an Academician,
a Peer of France, an officer of the
Legion of Honor, a rentier. He had
everything to lose, nothing to gain by
change and disorder, But the move
ment of 1848 had in it so much of the
heroic and hopeful that more than one
strong head was turned, ititter was
the reaction; but Victor Hugo had
the genius to perceive that the princi
ples of the Republican leaders were
the only ones possible for bis age und j
country, and that the scle question
was as to the best method of applying J
them. His conversion occupied in all
about five years. It was in 18551, ■
when liberty had absolutely disap
peared from the entire continent, that
Victor Hugo seized the opportunity of
proclaiming himself a "Democrat."
lie told a friend about this time that
there was no phase of his career of
which he felt prouder than this. "1
hail to give up many cherished preju
dices nud many fair illusions, and to
part with some dear friends. 1 had,
too, to confess myself mistaken. Now ,
lam proud to look bnck on it all. I
dared, 1 sjioke, I conquered."
After the coup d'etat Hugo resided
in Jersey till, in 1855, our fellow-sub
jects of that isle drove him out for
having protested against the expulsion
of some French refugees. The poet
then went to Guernsey, where his
linos were cast in tolerably pleasant
places. The scenery is lovely, aud
Victor Hugo had chosen a delightful
spot for his home. Hautevillc House
soou became the resort of pilgrims
from every part of the world where a
lover of liberty or an admirer of gen-1
ius was to lie found. Indej>eudently
of its illustrious tenant, the mere
dwelling repaid a visit. Hugo lias
rare decorative skill, and his house >
was a perfect gem. He himself, how
ever, rarely used his fine rooms, pre
ferring to"work in a garret furnished I
with a single table and chair, and des
titute even of works of reference. A
thrifty soul, he was proud of haviug
written a whole book without the ex- j
jiendilure of more than one bottle ot
ink. He called it accordingly, "Co
qu'll y a dans une Bouteille d'Encre."
One splendid apartment, by the way,
was reserved for the reception of Gen
eral Garibaldi, in case that hero
should ever accord the honor of a
I visit. Hugo might be bard pressed
i for space wherein to la-stow bis guests,
but the liberator's chamber itill re
mained inviolable. Hugo would not
j hear of its being occupied by any
meaner mortal. I believe the Gene
ral never came, and indeed doubt
whether the most brilliant thinker and
the bravest soldier of the age ever met.
Nor is there much chance that they
will in the future, Gnrhaldi being too
I ill to travel and Hugo being too fond
i of France to care to leave it.
Hugo has been accused of inordinate
vanity ; but at all events he can af
fect a graceful freedom from that
quality. He once received a letter
addressed, "To the greatest of French
|K>ets." Hugo sent the envelope un
-1 opened to I,amartine, who courteously
returned the same assuring his rival
that it had not miscarried in the first
instance. Hugo deserved to be praised
by I>amartiue,ufid Lamartineby Hugo.
MOI.TKK AT BERLIN.
lIOMC 1.1 I B or TIIB OREAT ROI.DIER W 110 IS
SILENT IN SEVEN LANOOAOES.
In a recent publication by Rnron A.
von Firks, an interesting glimpse is
presented of the private and domestic
life of the great German strategist,
Count von Moltkc. The bappv mar
riage of the Chief of the Prussian
General Staff' was dissolved by the
death of his wife on the '24 th of De
cember, 18f8. Since then his domes
tic affairs have been managed by bis
only surviving sister, Fran von Burt,
whose only son has likewise been at
tached as second adjutant to his uncle.
Count Moltkc resides in the new build
ing lielonging to the GenerltKHtaff". It
is situate on the King's square or
Konigsplatz, Berlin. His npnrtments
have a southern nspect and look out
upon the Column of Victory, which
commemorates chiefly his own unpre
cedented triumphs over the Austrians
and the French. His habits and mode
of life are characterized by the great
est simplicity and regularity, his time
being divided and spent strictly ac
cording to the rules he has previously
laid down for himself. During the
wiuter half of the year the Field-
Marshall, in his dressing-gown and
with bis head covered by a little
round smokiug-cap, enters his study
or working-room at 7 o'clock every
morning nnd takes his early cob of
coffee, over which he smokes a cigar.
Then he commences the regular work
of the day. He writes very quickly
and regularly, but not uufraquently,
on reading over his manuscript, makes
alterations and additions. His hand
writing is flowing and very legible, i
the characters being clear, firm and n
uniform. At this work he goes on t
till !t o'clock, when his offii inl letters 1
are brought in and laid before him. <
Alter reading these he proceeds to put j
on his uniform and finish his toilet for i
the day. At 11 o'clock he hears the <
daily reports of his adjutants, and i
then takes his luncheon, which is s
generally of a very simple character, i
After this he is generally engaged in i
his study till 2 o'clock. At the stroke i
of 2 the Divisional Chief of the great I
General Staff'appears and makes his I
report for the day, the time he oc- i
cupies varying according to eircum- I
stances. When this work is finished i
the Count as a general rule takes a <
walk, and on returning home dines t
with the members of his family. His i
favorite wine at dinner is Moselle. 1
After the principal meal of the day he : i
takes coffee and a cigar in his study, i
where the members of his family or
friends generally find hint ready to i
engage in a cheerful conversation oil i <
the topics of the day. From sto 7 I
o'clock* in the evening, however, the I
Field-Marshal is again at his huoks 1
and papers, writing letters and finish- I
ing up his official work of the day. I
Between 7 and 8 o'clock he looks at |
the evening puppra, und at 8 P. M., tea ' .•
is served in the family circle, after j 1
which Count Moltkc is very fiiml ofji
joining in a rubber at whist. Then, ■
towards the close of the evening, there | i
is a little music, and at 10 o'clock p. j ]
M., the Field-Marshal retires to rest, j
to rise again at G.JO for a similar day's I i
work on the morrow. During the'!
summer months Count Moltkc spends ,
most of his time on his estate at Krei- i
sail, near Schweidnitz, in Silesia. At j i
the entrance to the forecourt there are ]
two Greeiau athletes, and not fur from
them, resting on large flat bases of i
stone, two cannon taken in the late i
Franco-German war und presented by
the Kmperor to his victorious Chief of
the General Staff. TJie Count's favor
ite spot in his park is a seat under the j:
shadowy branches of a giant oak, i i
whence a fine view of the hills of the i
Eulengebirg is obtained. In the pnrk, 1
too, is the tomb of his deceased wife,
to whom he was greatly attached.
S\\ .MA It I NO.
THE MOST DKI.IOIIiri'I. LITTLE KEITIII.IC
OUTSIDE Or FAIRY-LAND.
John Bijtflow in Harpr'a f* Fphntary.
The Republic proper stretches over !
a territory seventeen mile* long and j
about half that width, nud has a popu
lation. all told, of about G,OOO people, j
the capital, where we were, having
about 900 of them. They arc govern
ed by a council of sixty, which is m
close corporation, nominally composed |
of twenty princes, twenty of the mid- i
die class and twenty of the peasant,
class ; hut in point of fact, as I after- j
ward learned —and, indeed,,as might
t he inferred from the fact that they '
themselves filled all vacancies, and the
people had no more to do with the ;
; choice of the members of the ir Council ;
than of our meml>ers of Congress—all '
were nobles, and if you were to ad
dress one otherwise than "nobilissimo," ;
you had better not have addressed him
at all. I gathered that the real dis
tinction was that twenty were tnkco j
from the lauded gentry, twenty from ,
the town gentry and twenty promiscu- j
ously from any part of the territory.
This Council, independent of all!
human control from aliove or below. (
' elects two executive officers, who are
called Captains-Regent ; it designates j
all executive committees, imjioses tax
! es—in fact, conducts the Government, j
When I asked if the people had no
i elective franchise of any sort, the
| Count B said, "N'o, none ;" i
i hut they may respectfully address the ;
Captain Regent by petition. If I had
; known him better I should probably j
j have taken the liberty of sayiug to the ;
prince thnt the privileges of the people
of San Marino reminded me of those
which the Miuister Calonne proposed |
to yield to the Assembly of Notables
near the close of the last century, and j
which were cunningly caricatured by
the picture of a ministerial orator ad
dressing a flock of turkeys as follows ;
"Gentlemen, I have called you to
gether to ask you with what sauce you
would prefer to be eaten."
"But we do not wish to be eaten,"
was the ungracious reply of the honor
able birds of freedom in Congress
assembled.
"Yon dodge the question," was the
retort of the imperturbable minister.
The government of this so-called
republic, therefore, is simply a close
corporation, vested with indetermina
ble power to fill all vacancies occasion
ed by death or otherwise. Their Coun
cil is even less popular in its composi
tion than a hereditary legislature, be
cause no third power, like that of a
sovereign, to which the people have
access, nas anything to do with filling
the vacancies that occasionallyr occur
in .its ranks. Two Executives or
('aptnins Regent, one for the town and
one for the rural districts, are chosen
by the Council every six months —in
April and in October —and may not
be re-elected for two consecutive terms.
They may be, however, and frequently
are, re-elected after an interval of
three years. Home of them have thus
been re-chosen four or five times.
Count B told me he had him
self been Captain Regent three times.
It must be remembered, however, that
Han Marino is a small republic. The
Regents receive no pay —anotfier evi
dence that Han Marino is not a repub
lic, after cisatlantic ideas, at any rate.
My readers are doubtless already
impatient to know something of the
army, which for 1300 years has defied
the munifold elements of disorder that
have been fatal to many dynasties and
dismembered so many larger uud more
populous territories in Kurope. The
military defence, then, of the Republic
of San Marino is committed to a
regular army of thirty men, who are
supposed to he always ready to re
spond to the calls of honor or of patri
otism. A jsjlice, consisting of five
or six persons, protects the property of
the territory and gives peaceful slum
bers to its honest burghers. In emerg
encies the militia of the country may
be called in aid of its uuconquered
regular legions. They have two judg
es, who are, however, required by law
to he taken fjHim.without the territory
and are changed every three years.
Hut all cases of appeal are decided by
a court of cassation, or review, in the
neighboring cities of Hologna, Padua,
Turin, or wherever that tribunal may
chance to be sitting at the time. The
currency in use among them, also, is
that of the Italian government. They
had once some sons coined, the equiva
lent in value of our cent —my host ut
the inn gave me two or three of them
hut they were not coined in the Re- !
public. Their number was very re- j
stricted, and they are rarely to lie met
with except in the collections of numis
matists. it is certainly one of the ec
centricities which distinguish Ban Ma- ;
rino from all other countries that it 1
puts out its litigation as some families :
put out their washing and trades ex- j
clusively with the currency of foreign i
States. The country which buys and
sells with a currency over vfliieli it has
no control ami submits its differences
to foreign tribunals for adjustment,
gives pretty heavy bonds to keep the
peace with its neighbors, whatever be
the title it gives to its form of govern
ment.
The expenses of their government
will not scein large to an American.
They never exceed 25,(XK) francs —say
s•>,oo0 —army, navy, post-office, edu
cation, prisons, police, diplomatic serv
ice, representation, all included. This
revenue is raised out of the profits
realized by the government from the
purchase of some $600,000 pounds of
tobacco in the leaf, which it manufac
tures to sell at a small ndvance; from
the sale of about *<>o sacks of salt, and
a trifling stamp tax of three cents on
notarial,judicial and other legal docu
ments. The health of the republic is
looked after by one physician and one
surgeon employed by the State, who
are required to ntteud and prescribe
for nil who send for them, hut
who arc not expected to resent the
offer of a gratuity from those who can
afford to pay for their advice. These
functionaries receive some SSOO a year
each from the Btate. The Judges re
ceive the same. Ban Marino has not
only never Iwc.i afflicted with a news
pnjier, but no printing press has ever
stood upou its territory.
Ail Inhuman Mother.
MX7KIXG ILEA I.ITTI.K BOV L*P WITH A CAT
TO STASVK TO OEATII.
1 Fr>i Pp*rtal U to th*
NKW York, Jan. 22.—The details of
the shocking brutality of a mother to
a four-year-old babe transpired in the
Police court to-dav. The mother, Mrs.
('arrie Kmmerson, was drunk, ami was
arraigned by the jadice. An occu
pant of the same tenement told the
following story:
Mrs. Kmcrson took her apartment*
about four months ago, bringing her lit
tle boy, Freddy, about three and a halt
years old. For the first few days she
acted respectably and look care of the
child. After this she would go out in
the evening and come home drunk in
the small hours of the morning. Mean
while Freddie would be locked in the
room. .She would leave in the afternoon
and be gone until near noon of the fol
lowing day, and would have men visit
her and, until they left, kept the child
in the yard, I have fed the child mnny
a time during its mother's absence. On
Tuesday morning I was awakened by
the bowls of a cat in Mm. Kmmerson'*
rooms, continuing during the morning.
Towards noon 1 beard the child's cries,
followed by a rushing noise, as if some
savage animals were running around a
cage and trying to escape. The in
; mates of the house assembled around
1 the room, which is on the ground floor,
having a door and two windows opening
into the yard. The windows raised up
and a large padlock fastened the door.
A cat was heard in the room. The
cries of the child grew louder and loud
er, and the cat inside began to hurt
itself against the window* in its en
deavors to break out. It would strike
the closed shutters, snd rebounding to
the floor, would tear around the apart
ment to the terror of the child, whose
screams were heartrending. An officer
was called in and broke open the door.
A large black cat, with biasing eyes,
dashed past him. Inside the room was
Freddie, wholly nude, and shivering
with cold and fright. The officer car
ried him into my apartments, where I
dressed him, and he was taken to the
police station.
HEW YORK'S ELECTORAL VOTE.
Tns ntorosiD SSITBUCAX STIAI. IS BI
SECT COXri.ICT WITH Till •■OSSTITinriON.
From th* Horltmtrr Union.
A* the legislative report has already
advised the reader, a Mr. Potter, of
Baratnga, has introduced iu the asaeiti
blv a bill to take from the people the
right to vote for Presidential electors,
which they have enjoyed since every
voter now living cast a ballot, and so
abridge it by parceling out the choice
of electors among Congressional dis
tricts as to defeat the will of the people
of fhe State. The scheme is put ror-
ward by the (Irani manager?, with a
view of wearing to the third term
aspirant electoral votes from Republi
can Congressional districts. It in, of
course, a confession that the Btute a? u
whole is and will be at the Presiden
tial election Democratic in majority.
Whether the Republicans at Albany
will seriously attempt to carry out the
revolutionary programme proposed is
doubted.
Hut if they should carry it out, they
may make some mistake that will re
sult in throwing New York's electoral
vote out of the court. There arc a
number of points involved that are
less technical and of more strength
than those upon which the Republi
cans are seeking to set up a State gov
ernment in Maine.
In the first place, the question has
been raised whether it is competent
for the legislature of a State, after
having directed the appointment of
electors by vote of the people, and the
people have for generations appointed
them by vote, to change the manner
of appointment—whether, when the
legislature gave the directions to the
people and lodged in their hands the
power to choose, it did not exhaust its
authority.
In the second place, one of the late
amendments of Federal Constitu
tion recognize* what the original in
strument did not —the right of the
jH-ople to vote for Presidential elect
ors ; and it attaches a penalty to de
nial or abridgement of that right.
"When," it says. "the right to vote
at any election for President and Vice-
President of the I'nitcd States * * *
is denied to any of the male inhabi
tants of such State, being twenty-one
years of age HI. s of the United
States, or in any manner abridged, ex
cept for participation iu rebellion or
other crime, the basis of representation
therein shall be reduced in the pro
portion which the number of such
male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one
years of age in such State."
The male inhabitants described now
certainly have the right to vote for all
the thirty-five electors of New York.
The (Irant scheme proposes to deny
that right, to take it away, to abridge
it, by allowing them to vote for only
the two at-large electors, and hv Con
gressional districts to vote for only a
single elector in each.
Consequently, the basis of the StateV
representation in Congress must be re
duced in the proportion <lM*orit*e<l.
lJut as the right would he denied or
abridged to all the male inhabitants
described, of course the proportion
would be such as to wipe out the en
tire Congressional representation.
And a the right of the State to
thirty-three of its thirtv-five Presiden
tial electors rests upon its basis of rep
resentation, of course the loss of the
latter would carry the loss of the form
er, and New York would have only
the two electors who stand for its two
Senators. The Republicans who are
in earnest in the Grant scheme have
no comprehension of the muddle in
which they are trying to involve them
selves.
- ■ . - -
The Birth of the New Conspiracy.
From Hie Wilkabam l,r.!ir.
The Republicans of this country are
in a desiieratc strait. They fully rec
ognize the fact. The States they stole
to achieve the Presidency three years
ago, they cannot steal this year. 'They
know this. And they have long been
contemplating the theft of others. It
was at first suggested that the Legis
lature of New York should enact a
law taking to itself the right to choose
the Presidential electors. Tnis propo
sition was informally broached to the
country,hut it elicited such indications
of popular rebellion ngainst so mani
festly a dishonest proceeding, that it
was concluded if not to abandon it al
together, at least to make no show of
positive intention to adopt it, until all
other possibilities of achieving the de
sired result shall have failed them. It
was then agreed among the wicked
few with whom the conspiracy origi
nated, that a bill should he put through
Uic body named. wiving the choosiug
of the electors to the Congressional
districts. On Tuesday such a bill was
introduced. It was presented by a
Mr. Potter. It provides that two clec
tors-at-large shall be chosen and that
one for each Congressional district shall
also be chosen —that is, that each elec
toral ticket placed in the ballot box
shall contain the names of three elec
tors. It is belie veil by the schemers,
that should this act become a law, at
least tweuty-three of the thirty-five
electoral votes of the State are certain
to lie carried for the Republican can
didate for President,
The mere introduction of this bill
is confessing that the Republicans de
spair of carrying New York on the
popular vote, and the claim in the face
of that confession that voting by dis
tricts they would secure 23 out of the
35 electors, shows how unfairly the
State is districted in the interest of
their party, and how grossly dishonest
that fact would be in its results to the
mnjority of its people, even if the
method of choosing electors by Con
gressional districts were in vogue iu
all the States.
It ia a desperate and damnable panic
that ia thus being played. The wonder
ia that in thie enlightened age and free
country the boldest men would dare
even to whiaper of aueh an outrage.
They would not, bu for .the fact t hat
years of the moat corrupt rulo the
world has ever known has made the
people familiar with political wrongs
of the most audacious character, ami
to a certain extent callous to them.
We are yet unwilling to believe, how
ever, that in this latest endeavor, the
Republicans ure not daring too tnucli
—are not imposing too much upori the
endurance of a too patient people.
The Way to Win.
From lb* Ifailiititore
During the present year the Ameri
can people will again lie ealled upon
to select a President whose term of
office, if his life lie spared, will extend
for four years from the 4th of March,
18*1. In a few months the two great
political parties of the country will
put their candidates in the field, aud
then the struggle for supremacy will
begin. Which will lie successful will
depend entirely upon the candidates
nominated, for, strange as it may seem,
the old maxim, "principles, not'men,"
seems to have lw*en reversed in modern
politics. An improper or unpopular
candidate cannot la; elected by eith
er party on the ' soundest platform.
Though fairly representing his party,
he must lie sound himself, thoroughly
trusted by the rank and file as well as
the leaders, ami enjoy to the fullest ex
tent the confidence of the masses, not
only liecause he is a standard-bearer,
hut, for the lietter reason, that he is
altogether fitted to lie one. Just now
[ there seems to lie an unhappy conflict
of opinion in the Democratic ranks as
Ito who should he their leader. We
are afraid that the conflict is based
more upon the desire to promote indi
vidual interests than to secure party
success. This is perhaps natural in
the present construction of parties.
Candidates are named as available
. merely because they represent factions
and not because they are supposed to
be acceptable to the whole united
I Democracy. This preference is found
ied quite as much upon the hope of
1 prospective plunder as upon the real
merit of the candidate. We are aware
that it is a difficult if not an impossi
ble thing to find a man acceptable to
! every one. George D. I'reutice once
said, with great force : "It is in vain
to hope to please all alike. Let a man
stand with his face in what direction
he will, he must necessarily turn his
i hack on one-half of the world." As
with men so with parties, and hence it
j is a fact, which must he looked square
ly in the face, that whoever is nomi
nated will be wade the candidate in
! opposition to a large number in the
Democratic ranks. In this view of the
<-ase the National Democracy should
I earnestly strive to find the very best
man for the crisis, without reference
to sentiment, or prejudice, or individ
ual iuterests, or the promptings of fac
tious. Such a man may not be eay
jto find, but he is worth diligently
looking for. Without him the party
will go into an utterly hopeless con
test, with no chance of success, and
the same political organization that
has ruled the Nntion since 1860 will
again reap the fruits of victory. The
s Democracy can elect a President this
coming Kali if wise and prudent coun
sels prevail, but thev need not hope to
do so unless they show that they are
worthy of public confidence by nomi
nating a candidate whom the people
respect and can trust after the election
as well as before the battle is fought.
Partisan Interpretation of Law.
A Hartford Times reporter in look
i ing over the vote cast lor Rcpreseuta
[ tive in Farmington, Connecticut, in the
j spring of 1862, found it officially re
| corded as follows :
i llorry L. Rood, Republican s3l
| Allen G. Brsdv, Democrat 825
I A. O. Brsdv, Democrat- 6
| A. Br adv. Democrat 1
Although the votes against Rood,
\ defeated by one majority, the Republi
can moderator, according to law, just
as similar cases were decided in Maine
by Governor Garcelon aud Couucil,
declared that R<iod was elected. Dem
ocrats submitted without a word. Four
| teen years after the records show
another vote, under the same law, de
-1 eided by a Republican moderator, in
the same town. The vote is recorded
as follows:
Charles F. Church, Democrat 232
Qideon H. Welch, Republican 22W
O. H. Welch, Republican 8
G. Welch, Republican 1
—233
We would naturally look for a de
cision electiug the Democratic candi
date. The law had set changed ; but
the moderator reversed the law and
declared that the Republican candi
date was elected. Christian ministers,
reform newspapers and professed
friends of equality before the law,
made no cry of alarm, attended no
indignation meetings, wrote no flam
ing editorials on the sanctity of the
ballot. The reason was obvious. The
enforcement of the law worked to their
iuterests in the former case, while ig
noring its provisions accomplished the
same purpose iu the latter. No won
der Democrats at times criticise the
ambassador* of Christ, and writers in
the religious press.
Ca i.KB Ccsh i Nil's remarkable words,
uttered iu 1861, are now being recall
led in many journals. He said : "I
would give a great deal to know the
nafbe of the subaltern in the Northern
army to-day who will eventually rise
to the command of the armies of the
Union aud become President of tho
United States when the war is ended,
and maintain himself in that office
just as long as he pleases to hold it."