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THE DAILY RECORD-UNION.
- . ,i KI»A1 JIXK Hi. IHSO.
THE WEEKLY UNION.
With the opening of the campaign the Wkkkly
Union will be of still greater interest to the people.
While it will in no respect lessen In the variety of
its matter, it will present also the current political
news in such manner as to enable its readers by its
perusal to be constantly well informed on the issues
before the people and the positions assumed by the
respective political parlies. The Wkekly U.mox
presents each week more and better matter than
can be bond in any j jurnil of the Pacific coast, it
jives the current news and criticism in art, science,
agriculture, trade, mechanics, the social world,
tashion, discovery, invention, mining, sporting af
fairs, literature, et«. It appears iv semi-weekly
parts, each part consisting of ei^'lit pages. Thus it
makes up weekly an aggregate of sixteen 7:aife6 of
select matter. It goes out twice a week instead of
once, as is the rule with the old-style weeklies. It
thereby reaches i'.s readers with fresher news than
the ordinary weekly can furnish. The reader of the
Ckios will find that he is three days ahead in in.'or
matUm regarding con ent news of the world, than
his neighbor who adheres to the once a-wcek jour
nals of the day. lhe Union presents the latest and
fullest telegraphic advices, has a large corps of cor
respondents, and devotes itself to the development
of the State and coast, the opeuinpf up of the re
sources of the country, and the advancement and
elevation of the people. The Union h: s had an un
precedented addition to its subscription lists during;
a year past, and the extension of its circulation con
tinues with unabated vigor. The Union is tarnished
by mail, post-paid, for 52 per year.
NEWS OF THE MORNING.
Id New York yesterday Government bonds were
■tooted at JOSS for 4s of 1907; 103? for 5s of 1831;
1098 for ile ; sterling, $4 86(84 Hi!,; silver bars,
US) ; silver coin, J discount buying, i ar selling.
Silver in London yesterday, ft- , ■ 1 ; consols,
93 916; 5 percent. United States bonds, 1051; 4s,
uoj; Us, 112}.
In San Francisco half dollars are quoted at par;
Mexican dollars, 93 buying-, 93J selling.
At Liverpool yesterday wheat was quoted at 9s
sd<stS)s lOd for good to choice California.
There was ansther 25- minute session of the San
Francisco Stock Board yesterday morning. No
large amount of business can be performed in so
short a lime, but there was apparently all the op
portunity (riven that was wanted. Prices, as a rule,
were a little better than Thursday morning. Union
Consolidated was SI 25 better, and most other Coin
stock shares were from 10c to 75c higher.
David .Miller committed suicide at Virginia, Her.,
yesterday.
Philip Palmer, a pioneer of Suisun valley, died at
Suisun yesterday, aged SO years.
Fears are entertained at Portland, Or., of a repe
tition tif the flood of 1576.
Prices of wool are advancing slightly at Portland,
Or.
Two fishermen— Peter Anderson and Chris. Henk-
Icr— were drowned Tuesday in the Columbia river,
near Astoria, Or.
The report that General Grant had expressed an
intention to vote for II incock is emphatically denied
by the ex-President.
Fire at Elizabeth, X. J.. resulting in two men be
in,' killed and two injured.
Two Moonshiners were killed in GeorgU Thursday,
while resisting revenue officers.
Sear Maxwell, Colusa county, Thursday, Michael
Welch killed Henry Bismarck.
Mrs. Nancy Mills dropped dead at Grass Valley
last evening while trading in a millinery Otore.
During the twelve months ended May 31st the
excess <>f exports over imports in the United Stute*
|,162,153,895.
The funeral of General Suttcr at Litiz, Pa.,
Thursday, wai a very imposing uffair, and largely
.S d.
The Prussian Diet has adopted the tenth article
of the Church bill.
The Texas Greenbackers have nominated W. 11.
Hannon for Governor.
M. O. Heath has been nominated fur Governor
by the Qreenbackera in Vermont,
Harden Brown was hanged at Huntsville, Mo.,
yesterday for killing his mother-in-law.
The famine fever has appeared in Kilhran, Shgo
c lunty, Ireland.
The Bradlaogh case will be discussed In the Brit
ish House ot Commons Monday.
The President has returned to Washington. He
will go to New Haven today to attend the com
mencement exercises of Yale College.
The Democrats held a grand ratification meeting
in San Franc^c * last nifrht.
Three men were hanged upon one scaffold yester
day at Canton, O-, for murder.
The English House of Lords had rejected the bill
legalizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister.
The Egyptian obeiisk left Gibraltar yesterday for
New York.
A singular :iff.iir occurred yesterday in tho Italian
Clumber of Dcpu ies.
Disastrous tire near bndford, Pa.
Much that will interest readers of the Recokd
i nos will be fuuuJ this morning on the inside
EITHER SUITED.
The happy pliability of the avenge Dem- j
oeratic disposition was illustrated amus- j
ir."lv when the Cincinnati nominations I
were received here. By some mistake the I
telegraph first stated that the choice for
Nice-President was James E. English, of ,
Connecticut. This intelligence was re
ceived with a great deal of satisfaction.
:md good Democrats at once began to ex
plain how admirable a nomination it was.
In the midst of their congratulations the
statement came that the real nominee was
\V. 11. English, of Indiana, but this an-
nouncement made no difference to the
Democrats, who at once proceeded to de
clare that though the first named was
the best Domination that could be made,
this was a great deal better. In fact it
was perfectly evident that they were de-
termined to be pleased no matter who the
candidates proved to be, and that one man
was as acceptable a3 another, for general
'purposes of jubilation. No doubt any
man who could guarantee them the offices
would suit the Democrats equally well, ami
the last thing they would trouble theni
■<■ tvea about would be his fitness, so long a»
the party iia 1 placed him on the ticket.
This amiable disposition certainly tends to
the development of a healthy party disci
pline, but it does not contain much assur
ance of that discriminating judgment which
is supposed to be dema.idi.ii in the brat in
terests of the country.
SPANISH AGGRESSION.
It appears that our Government has at
last concluded to remonstrate with Spain
upon the insolent aggressions which her
cruisers have for some time been practic
ing upon American vessels. As England
and France have also suffered indignities
from thi9 source, and as those powers join
in the diplomatic note of protest and
warning, it is probable that redress and
explanation will be forthcoming, for Spain
knows that whatever the Washington Gov
ernment may be prepared to stand, those
of London and Paris will put up with no
insults, but will upon very slight provoca
tion take the law in their own hands, and
give the Spanish cruisers a sound drub
bing. Unfortunately for the protection of
American honor our navy is in so lamenta
ble a condition that we cannot venture to
resent insults even from so feeble a Power
as Spun, and it is quite possible that the
Peruvian navy might bully us with im
punity. In fact, unless some serious steps
are taken before long to give us the means
of self-defense, there is no telling what
petty principalities may flout us, and fire
into our merchant ships upon the high seas.
THE MORAL EFFECTS OF EATING
CROW.
When there is difference ot opinion
among members of the same political
party as to the eligibility of candidates
for oflice, and when after a more or less
strenuous resistance to a certain candi
dature, thos; who are opposed to it are
overcome by a hostile majority, and
! are forced to accept the obnoxious nomina
tion, the disagreeable obligation of affect
ing content and satisfaction with the out
come of the controversy is compared to
the compulsory eating of boiled crow, as
suggested by a well-known and venerable
story. It is vtry seldom that any political
action of consequence takes place without
obliging some people to perform this un
pleasant task, and, sometimes the circum
stances are such as to render the crow
eating a very remarkable and significant
phenomenon. Since compromise is the in
dispensable condition of nearly all political
action, it is impossible to avoid the neces
sity of occasioaal violations of conviction,
and concessions to party exigency. But
there occur situations in which it becomes
necessary to inquire whether any conceiv
aVile advantage derivable from party cohe
sion can offset the patent and flagrant
injuries to public morality involved in the
observance of factional traditions in this
connection. It fortunately happens that
at the present juncture the most
serious evils of the kind referred to have
been escaped, and that the necessity for
crow-eating has been comparatively slight.
But it is only requisite to point out what
might have easiiy occurred, to demonstrate
the extent of the menace to public morals
concerned in the eating of crow. Let us
suppose, for the purpose of illustration,
that Grant had been nominated at Chicago
and Tilden at Cincinnati, instead of Gar
lield and Hancock. It will at once be
apparent that the effect of these nomina
tions must have been to produce a distinct
and appreciable degradation of the press
throughout the country, and a correspond
ing debasement of public sentiment. For
while some few journals might have re
fused to surrender their convictions, and
to support candidates they had persistently
opposed, it cannot be doubted that the
greater number would have held it neces
sary to put party policy before principle,
and would have sought to cover the moral
disgrace of their stultification by parading
their partisan subserviency in the light of
a virtue. The journals, for example, which
had opposed Graut's nomination on so
many and such strung grounds ; which had
insisted that it would be a menace to the
country and a discredit to the party ;
which had elaborated the most powerful
arguments in support of their position ;
which had vindicated their antagonism,
and convinced their readers ; what would
their situation have been in the event of
his success at Chicago ? In such a case
there could have been no evasion. The
issues had been made too distinctly and
clearly for that. These journals would
therefore have been compelled to swallow
their own words, to repudiate and trample
upon their own mo»'. convincing arguments,
to stt an example of dishonesty and want
of principle, to stand conspicuously for
ward as illustrations of the deadening ef
fect of partisanship upon the conscience and
the sense of honor and self-respect; in
fact to put their souls to open and
shameless prostitution. Among savage
tribes it is customary to beat drums
and make loud noises to hide the cries
and groans of those who are being
tortured in the name of religion or to satisfy
some barbarous conventions. In like man
ner the degradation of American journalism j
is sought to be concealed by the loud sound
ing of the party drums, and the shoutings j
of affected admiration at the base rora- |
pliance with partisan behests. But for all
these attempts at concealment the shock
given to public morality is great and last
ing. For it is not possible that such ex
hibitions of contempt for truth and prin-
ciple and conviction should be made, with
out at once producing disdain for the pro
fessjon that is liable to these .periodical
debasements, and weakening the popular
reeverence for the attributes so held up to
I scorn aud ridicule. It is the party that is
made Fetish of by these f easts of crow, and
in exact proportion the attachment to
i country is diminished aud enfeebled.
And it is scarcely possible to limit the
i ill effects of these practices. l'"or how can
I the people continue to put confidence in
' the advice or the honesty or the cjnscien-
I tiousness of journals which find it so easy
to repudiate their moat earnest positions,
j and to support the very propositions they
have declared most dangerous and objec
tionable ? And how can the people believe
in the necessity of honesty aud truthful
ness and sincerity in candidates for any
i office, when they are made to perceive that
I the utter renunciation of all these attn
j butes is indispensable to the proper per
| fc.rmance of the function! of faithful par
tisanship ? The conventional theory is that
the eaters of crow somehow support their
pirty by their manifestations of venal
callosity. This is a grave mistake. In
effrct they weaken their party, for they
spread abroad and confirm the belief
that all politics is void of sincerity
aud principle, and that the first
requirement for a public carter is enfran
chisement from moral restraints. The
practice of crow-eating, moreover, tends to
the establishment over parties of the con
trol of the worst elements, for it is a most
effectual process for tufting out the scrupu
lous elements of a party, and leaving be
hind only the coarsest and least moral con
stituents. It must also drive out all who
hold convictions, for these cannot change
their attitude like automata, at a given
signal, but will withdraw when they find
themselves overpowered, and proba
bly abstain thenceforth from iiiterfer
ence in politics. The crow-eaters
themselves must become completely de
moralized. For them there can no longer
be any firmness of belief. Their expressed
convictions are recognized both by them
selves and by their readers as the argu
ments of hired attorneys. They have
ceased to represent a free and inde
pendent snd intelligent constituency,
aud have become the mouthpieces of a
faction which is as soulless as the traditional
corporation, and as unscrupulous and
careless of decency as utter irresponsibility
can make it. The services which such
journals are capable of rendering to their
parties are by no means to be desired.
They disseminate a corroding cynicism
which must eventually be fatal to the organ
ization. They discourage earnefetnow and
principle, and encourage their opposites,
in politics. They deaden the sensibilities
of voters, and teach them to think lightly
of fraud and subterfuge and stultification,
and to count partisan loyalty as above
truth and honor and integrity. By instill
ing these ideas they lower the standard of
the party, force its control more and more
into bad hands, disgust the best elements
of it more pr«!'oundly all the time, and at
length so corrupt the organization that it
falls an easy prey to the first serious as
saults from without. The crow-eating
evil has thus the seeds of its own destruc
tion within it, but it produces many inju
rious consequences to all concerned before
it readies the point of reaction.
It is not probable that this debasing and
enslaving custom will be allowed to sur
vive much longer. It seems probable that
if the worst had h'appeued in the present
campaign, there would have been so for
midable a secession from the ranks of
party journalism and partisan submission
as to overthrow the schemes of the
conspirators. But as the demands of true
journalism become better understood, and
as popular intelligence expands, the abject
party journal will possess less influence,
and the incentives to this kind of
moral debauchery will so diminish that
comparatively few will think the end
worth the sacrifice. Of course such a
change would presuppose the elevation of
party itself to a higher plane, and this, too,
■ is among the necessities of the future.
For while there must always be parties in
a free State, and while the majority of
citizens can never hope to utilize their
power save through party machinery, it
by no means follows that parties must be
controlled by their baser elements, or that
they must be indifferent to moral require
ments. It is in fact the advocates
of crow-eating who support and main
tain party corruption, for we may
rest assured that the bold out
rages upon honesty and principle which
are so frequently attempted by politicians
would never be thought of but for that
pernicious theory and practice which sub
jects all issues to the same mechanical
determination, and compels men to abandon
their most settled convictions at the com
mand of faction. Independence in politics
is necessary to purity. The traditions of
party which insist upon unreasoning sub
servience on all occasions are fatal to the
preservation of in tegrity in any organization.
Such rule 3 and doctrines have always been
used by the worst elements for the enslave
ment of the best, and for the perpetuation
of evil and mischievous policies. In jour
nalism more than any other profession the
usefulness depends upon the honesty.
Journals which are believed to be merce
nary, which have been suspected of chang
ing their opinions for money, which are
known to follow party dictates blindly and
unquestioningly, must lose ground more
and more as public intelligence grows. As
in a democracy everything depends ulti
mately upon the ripeness of the pop
ular judgment, and as despite all
hindrances the tendency of Amer
ican progress is steadily towards
the expansion and strengthening of this
indispensable national attribute, we hold
that the drift must be away from partisan
and insincere journalism, and in the direc
tion of that which rests upon conviction,
whether that conviction be well or ill
grounded. The world has not outlived,
and will never outlive, the influence of
earnestness in all human affairs, and it is
not mistaken in holding that even the
wrong, when earnestly and persistently
maintained, is more respectable than the
right when insincerely and coldly defended.
Reality of belief and purpose, genuineness
of conviction, honesty of course, sincerity
of utterance, and adhesion to the general
rather than the particular good, are and
will be the requirements of influential po
litical journalism in the future. The prac
tice of tating crow on a large scale will be
presently abandoned, and those only will
continue to believe in its efficacy or its de
fensibility who have already ceased to be
guided by principle, or who have projects
to urge which can only be carried by the
resolute repudiation of all honest and self
respecting views.
STATESMAN VERSUS SOLDIER.
The Democrats, as a proof of the sin
cerity of their opposition to military rule,
have put in nomination for the Presidency
a soldier, whose only record is military,
and who cannot from the very nature of
his career be qualified for civil adminis
trati.Mi. Whatever distinction General
Hancock has gained has been in a field
which has no analogy to that for which he
is now a candidate. The most conclusive
proofs of his military achievements and
capacities must fail to justify the inference
that he is fitted for the Presidency. All
that can be said of him apart from his
purely army record is that he is free from
all imputations upon his integrity. The
profession he has followed, however, is one
which recent experience has shown to be
peculiarly ill fitted for the development of
the qualifications needed in the Chief Ex
euutive of the Republic. On the other
hand tho Republican candidate is a states
man of unquestionable ability and well
earnnd fime. While no one knows what
General Hancock's views are upon any im
portant issue ; while it is not even known
that be has any political convictions ; his
opponent possesses a singularly clear and
consistent record upon every measure and
question of weight w hich has come before
the country during the past twenty years.
Nor are General Garfield'a veiws
those of the ordinary politician. He has
given repeated evidence of having studied
and mastered every topic he has been
called on to treat, and in all cases he has
shown a ripe judgment and a courage of
conviction very agreeably unlike the com
monplace positions of political hackneys.
On the currency question, for example, he
has always been right, and has always pre
sented his views with firmness and pre
cision. He has given an amount of care
and thought to all issues sufficient to
separate him from the ordinary Congress
man of the times, and to justify us in
characterizing him as a statesman. Of
course he has erred sometimes, but even
when he has been wrong it has
been equally clear that his mistakes were
not those of mere ignorance, but such as
all men are liable to, no matter how
conscientiously they may endeavor to at
tain the truth. The Republican party has
never had a candidate who more fuily reprcv
sentcd its intellectual strength and tend
encies, or who more faithfully illustrated
its highest aim*. He stands for the rery best
•
the party policy has ever produced, and his
own speeches can be taken in illustration
and explanation of every weighty measure
the party has made itself responsible for.
The purest, most patriotic and progressive
elements of theßepublican party, can there
fore accept him unhesitatingly as their ex
ponent and exemplar, for he may be re
garded as a faithful embodiment of the
spirit of the party in its loftiest manifesta
tions, and no Republican need be ashamed
of being represented by such a man.
General Hancock, on the other hand, is
a mere figure-head. He does not stand for
any principles of his party. He has no
civil record. He is in fact without polit
ical connections, and it is necessary to go
behind him, and to deal with the record
and principles of the party which is seek
ing to cover itself with his military rep
utation. The name of General Hancock
will not seem so good a one to conjure
with when the real significance of his
nomination is- recognized. The, want of
relevancy between his position and that of
the Democracy cannot be concealed. His
merits as a soldier will be conceded,
but when that is done it will be
asked how his gallantry or his knowl
edge of tactics can help him in a
civil office, or can be regardtd as demon
strating his fitness to perform the
duties of such an office. General Grant
was a much greater soldier than General
Hancock, and he was believed to posses a
firmness which would guard him against
the dangers of political intrigue. But his
civil administration was a conspicuous
failure, and he was rejected by the Repub
lican party at last, not because any diminu
tion had occurred in the general admira
tion for his splendid military services and
talents, but because the party had become
convinced that he was unfitted for the work
of civil administration. The country has
no desire to repeat that experiment. It
knows what must be expected from putting
a professional soldier into the Presidency.
It has learned by experience that the mili
tary school does not produce statesmen, and
that the latter alone are qualified for the
executive office. General Garfield has
proved his capacity to fill the highest
political office in the State. He has
shown abilities which rank him with the
early statesmen of the republic. He
knows the issues which are before the
country thoroughly, and he has a most
creditable record upon all of them. To
elect him is to take the most satisfactory
development of our political institutions,
and put it where it is best fitted to be use
ful. To elect General Hancock would be
to take a man who has proved his capacity
in one sphere, away from all his familiar
relations, and place him in another sphere
of which he has no knowledge or expe
rience. To do this would be to elect the
leading Democratic politicians, practically,
and to give them General Hancock as a
figure-head. When the country has so
magnificent an opportunity to honor itself
by the election of a statesman it would
commit a grave mistake if it should pass
him by for a mere soldier.
A MAGNIFICENT PIECE OF IMPUDENCE.
Tlie most magnificent piece of impu
dence we have encountered for a long time
ia that plank in the National Democratic
platform which affects to approve of a free
ballot all over the United States. If the
ballot was free all over the Union the
Democratic party would stand no show
whatever in the coming campaign. If the
ballot was free there would be no hope ot a
solid South, and no possibility of defeat
ing the Republican party. What can the
Democratic leaders think of the intelli
gence of the American people when they
have the ineffable audacity to insert this
insolent mockery in their national plat
form ? Slave owners affecting a passionate
love of Liberty never cut a more preposter
ous figure than do these Democrats while
pretending to admiration and concern
for the freedom of the ballot. And
after declaring that the ballot ought to
be free everywhere, the delegates from
the Southern States will return to
their homes and take immediate steps
fur suppressing the colored vote through
out tliat region. We think the Democrats
might have spared the country this gra
tuitous insult. We are going into a cam
paign which is only uncertain because of
the notorious fact that the Southern Dem
ocrats refuse to respect the sanctity of the
ballot, and because they by force and fraud
suppress the vote of their colored fellow
citizena. They know and we know that
the Southern States will not be carried
honestly this fall. They know and we
know that the ostensible results in those
States will not represent the untfammeled
will of the majority. And considering
the undisguised effrontery with which they
have flaunted the " solidity " of the South
before the face of the country, they might
have had the decency to abstain from
adding insult to injury by talking about
tho freedom of the ballot. A3 well n/L'ht
a gang of pickpockets solemnly protest that
honesty was the lodestone of their exist
ence, or a band of horse-thieves declare
that the lifting of stock was their particu
lar aversion.
PARTISAN FINANCE.
Now that both the great parties have
made their platforms it is possible togiuge
their positions on the mout important pub
lic issue, which is finance. And as we ex
amiuc their positions it becomes apparent
that neither of them have had the courage
to deal with this question honestly and
boldly. They have, iv fact, both under
taken to be ag obscure as possible upon the
vital question of the currency. The Repub
licans boa9tof their work in bringing about
the resumption of specie payments, but
they entirely avoid the silver question, and
they do not mention the fact that a law is
now in operation which, if suffered to con
tinue, must ultimately restore the premium
on gold, and give the country once more
a depreciated currency. As for the
Democrats, they declare vaguely for " hon
est money," but they do not undertake to
define what they mean by honest money,
and though they speak of "gold, silver and
"paper," it is in such a way that the
Greenbackers might without much strain
upon their views accept the plauk. It is
in fact clear that both the great parties
have been afraid to deal with this issue
boldly, lest they should alienate some
voters. This is one of the ineradicable
follies of the average politician, and though
all experience proves its futility, it seems
impossible to drive it from the brains
of the "managers," Again and again
elections have been literally thrown
away by the cowardice of those who
made the platforms. Afraid of offending
this, that and the. other element, these
timeservers only succeed in removing
every evidence of life and spirit from their
platform, and end by disgusting all who
have convictions, at the same time that
they do not satisfy the others. It does not
seem to occur to the managers that Green
backers have positive views, however ab
surd and mischievous they may be, and that
they are no more likely to be attracted by
mealy-mouthed sham declarations than are
the friends of honest money. The most
curious circumstance, however, is the cau
tious abstinence of both parties from any
reference to the silver question. It is
known to all who follow public affairs that
owing to the operation of the Bland-Allison
bill an immense quantity of silver has
already accumulated in the Treasury.
During the last Congressional session
it was found necessary to make
a special appropriation to provide further
accommodation for this gr»at mass of
metal. Now the more of this silver accu
mulates the greater must the dauger of
its being substituted for gold become. A
comparatively slight change in our foreign'
exchange, a commercial condition liable
at any time to supervene, may caii3e the
export ot gold, and open the door for the
throwing of this mass of silver upon the
market. This is a positive and present
danger, and it involves the moat serious
aud calamitous consequences. Yet neither
party has thought it necessary to allude to
the subject at all, and the public cannot
gather from either of the party platforms
that auj' silver has been coined, or is being
coined, in the country.
OLD FOES WITH NEW FACES.
The Democratic nominations have been
hailed with satisfaction by the Democrats,
and this is odd, for the thing which seems
to please the party most is the unlikeness
of the candidates to ordinary Democratic
selections. In fact, this gratification is a
tribute to Republicanism, however uncon
sciously it may be made. It is an evidence
that the highest ideal of the Democrats is a
nomination as closely resembling a Re
publican as possible. The Democrats at
present are going about chuckling, and say
ing, "Look at General Hancock! You
wouldn't know him from a Republican,
would you ?" And this is absolutely all they
have to rejoice over. We are free to admit
that the nomination is very unlike the
average Democratic choice, but though the
Democrats have particularly sound reasons
for wishing to be taken for something else
than what they are, their attempts at
disguise are destined to failure. Nothing
can be plainer than the real inspiration
of their present joy. They believe
they have at last hit upon a ticket which
which may very well pass for Republican,
and that consequently they may be able to
worm their way into power under cover of
it. It is an ingenious device, but unfor
tunately it has been employed before, and
has been found out. General Hancock is
well enough in his way, but he is not the
Democratic party, and- he does not repre
sent that party. His record is clear
enough, but it is not his record that has to
be examined and passed upon. The coun
try cannot be deceived into forgetting who
stand behind the head of the ticket, nor
what sort of a record they havo. The Dem
ocratic party will have to come forward
and take the witness-stand, notwithstand-
ing its shrewd device to put in a substi
tute, and it will not get off so easily as
the head of its ticket. If there was any
ground for believing that the pres
ent device to make the Democratic candi
date as much like a Republican as possible,
arose from a sincere wish to bury the
past, and a disposition to acknowledge
the supremacy of Republican principles,
we should hail the change with profound
satisfaction. But there is no warrant for
such an interpretation. The Democrats
want oifice and spoils, and they are willing
to appear all things to all men for the
sake of success. But their convictions
remain unchanged. They are going into
this campaign with the deliberate inten
tion of stealing the electoral votes of all
the Southern States. They hope to win
by fraud and force. Their Southern allies
are willing to use General Hancock as a
figurehead, but they expect through him
to regain their lost political prestige, and
to govern the country as they did beiore
the rebellion. The leopard does not
change his spots, nor the Democrat his
ideas, and however much General Hancock
may resemble a R-publican, no Republican
will be deceived into supporting him.
THE FRAUD ISSUE.
The Democrats who drew up the Cincin
nati platform must wish they had known
beforehand who was going to occupy it.
The platform appears to have been orig
inally framed for the special U3e and be
hoof of Mr. Tilden, and when it was found
that he was out of the race it seems tv
have been thought desirable to insert the
plank eulogizing him. But in refusing to
put him in nomination the Convention
made all the tall talk about fraud ridicu
lous, for it is plainly impossible to conviuce
the country that the party believes in Mr.
Tilden's claims, seeing that it thrust him
out of the succession so cavalierly. As
Dana shrewdly observes, the only way to
retain the fraud issue in the campaign wai
to nominate Tilden and Hendricks. That
would have made the platform as it stands
consistent, though it would have necessi
tated the excision of the plank about hon
est money, or have made it absurd. As it
is, the rhetorical flourishes about the
fraud issue sound ludicrous in view of the
actual nominations, and it seems quite a
pity that so much space should have been
wasted to such little purpose. It is true
that the Democrats have no genuine issues,
and perhaps that is one reason why the
platform was suffered to remain without
any modification after the failure of Tilden
was apparent, but the embarrassment of
the Bourbon press will be great when it
comes to discuss the "issues," and finds
that the principal planks in the national
platform are as dead as Julius Cajsar.
AN AWKWARD ILLUSTRATION.
In speakiog of General Hancock before
the Cincinnati Convention, the point most
insisted upon by all his eulogists was the
assertion that he had acknowledged the
supremacy of the law over the sword, and
had recognized habeas corpus and civil
rule. The fact that General Hancock re
fused to recognize the writ of habeas cor
pus when it was sued out in the case of
Mrs. Surratt, appears to have been com
pletely forgotten by these enthusiastic gen
tlemen. No doubt the General did his full
duty on that occasion, and as the President
suspended the writ ol habeas corpus in
order to put an end to the conflict between
the civil and military powers, the dispute
went no further. ■ But it would certainly
seem that if the General had been the
kind of man depicted by his friends in the
Convention, he would hardly have taken
so linn a stand on the supremacy of the
military over the civil power in the case
referred to : and the case wiy a somewhat
important aud notorious one, too. A good
deal of allowance may perhaps be made
for political excitement, but it is doubtful
whether General Hancock's veneration for
the supremacy of the civil power will cut
a very large figure in the present cam
paign. i'- - . \
DEMOCRATIC MASS M EETING.
The Democrats of Sacramento held a rati
fication meeting last evening in front of the
Capital Hotel. There was first a display of
fireworks and the burning of a large bonfire.
There was good music, and in attendance
fully I,'JOO people, and there was manifest
much enthusiasm. W, L. Herndon, acting
Chairman of the County Committee, called
to order, and the following officers were
elected : President, R. O. Cravens ; Vice-
Presidents— Presley Dunlap, Geo. F. Bron
uer, Erokine Greir, John Q. Brown, 11. S.
Carey, Win. McLaugblin, Fred. Cox, 0,
Weisel, Charles W. Brigys, Thomas Gttinean,
J. K. Comp, L. W. Blenir. E. Klebit;. .his
McGuire, li. 15. 0.-ler, J. F. Whyte, W. I>.
Comttock, D. EL Alexander, .T. J. Gtoason,
Wm \iiuis, I). J. Considine, E. G. Blessini.",
Jos. Hahn, P. Flaherty, A. h. Nichols. H.
M. Bernard, .!. G. Davis, W. W. Cary, Win.
H. Frye, .lames M. Short, D. H. Cantrell.
Charles Harvey, Marion Bigga, John lvxmey,
T. C. Perkins, Charles Traiuor, T. W.
O'Neil, Kay Barton. Secretaries— J.S. Mer
edith, G. W. Nichols, M. li. Bend, P. A
Byrne, D. F. Beverid^e.
After a few brief remarks by Mr. Cravens,
which were applauded, D. S. Terry i>f Stock
ton was introduced as the tirst speaker. He
c ingratulated the people and fie party on
j the nomination of Hancock and Ei gush.
[Applause. l It had been objected that Han
cock is not a statesman. He held that un
true. Hancock's whole life showed him t<>
be possessed of statesmanlike qualities of a
high order. His celebrated military order
ai d his letter to Governor Pease proved him
to be a statesman. He was a solaier who did
his duty without malignity and without
hatred of his countrymen in arms against
him. [Applause] He thanked God that
there was a difference between the two Gen
erals—Garfield and Hancock. To the
palms of the latter clung no stain
of Credit Mohilier ; no back-pay
steal, no fees for fraudulent wooden pave
ments in Washington, no certificates from
Oiikes Ames' red pocket-book. [Applause.] No
i oTic can poll more votes in t!ie South than
Hancock, noue can appreciate but the soldier
i how well we love men we have fought in
I war. [Applause.] The Republicans have nom
i mated a man whose record will not bear in
spection. Had tue Chicago Convention
known Gartield's record, its Domination J
would have been the boldest act on record, as i
it was the indorsement of the bark -pay steal,
and of the greatest of all frauds, the stealing
of the electoral vote of Louisiana. He re
cited a history of the election of 187t>, and the
contest over the disputed electoral votes.
The Republicans sent the fathers of the party
to Louisiana to watch the count of the vote.
Oiher gentlemen went there, such as Palmer
and Tiuuibull, who proposed a plan for
overseeing the count that would prevent
fraud, but it was declined, because fraud was
contemplated. The Returning Hoard met in
secret — two white men and two negroes.
They were villains — the white men. The Re
publcans stood by and saw the vote stolen.
Gatfieid was down there, and must have
known all about it. To avoid war and save
the nation from blood.-hed the Electoral Com
mission was raised equally from the two
great parties, and Garfi-ld was on that tribu
nal. There were Supreme Judges on it also,
but no one supposed even from that august
bench that Judges would connive at fraud,
They sat there and decided that all that they
were" there for was to see if the face of the
returns were properly tallied. Every one
knew whit the returns showed. It didn't
need an Electoral Commission to find that
out. So they decided not to go behind the
returns, and the people were defrauded of
their choice, aud the excuse was that there
had been bulldozing, but it was without the
shadow of foundation, and was the story of
the miserable carpet-baggers. So soon as*
the Commission decided the case we heard no
more of whippings or bulldozing*. But now I
they have beguu again ; already we hear of
alleged outrages in the South, and last week
came the story of the rotten-egging of speak
ers at a Republican meeting in the South,
aud now it turns out that no meeting was
broken up, because tliere was iio meeting
held at all. [Laughter;] The Chicago Con
vention, by delegations violating their in
structions under orders of the Convention,
defeated General Grant, who was otherwise
the «hoiee of the body. Had the
delegates known Garfield's record, they
would not have nominated him. The
speaker here quoted Oakes Ames alleged
testimony against Garfield, and claimed that
tiie motley passing between the two was nut
a loan, and that a Republican Congressional
committee found a verdict against Gjrh'rld
and Culfax alike. Colfax was disgraced, but
Garfield it nominated for the Presidency.
[Applause.] Tliat is not fair. "Smiler"
Colfax ought to have 1 c -n nominated for the
Vice-Piesidency. [Applause.] Republicans
would call that mud-slinging, but it was the
truth, and the records of Congress showed
that Garrield took a bribe, while a member of
Congress, from Oakes Ames, for the Union
Pacific Railroad. Is such a man fit to be
President? [Cries of "No, no."J Boss
Shepherd had control of the Washington city
government. l)e Goliyer invented a pave
ment, and Shepherd gave him a contract to
lay it, and it was to yield some §400,000.
Gartisld was Chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations, aud every item had to pass
through his hands. An agent of De Goliyer
was to get $15,000 to itet the bill through for
the pavement. He offered Gai field half of
it to push through the job, and it looks as if
he went to him as a member of Congress,
and not as an attorney. What did Garfield
do for the ?7,. r )ooas a lawyer? No one knows.
But Shepherd, when it was intimated that
Garfield would go back on him, produced a
paper, it is said, an opinion by Garfield, and
suid, " This fixes him." The anti-Chinese
plank in the Republican platform is weak
and wi.-hy washy, but the Democrats
have come up square to the mark
and declared openly what they will do.
The Democracy had always held to the
doctrine of the superiority of the white race ;
it dues not admit equality with the Mongoli
ans ; it never invited the hordes of Chinese to
come here. If the Democratic President is
elected the people can rely on it that the Chi
nese slave invasion shall be rolled back. [Ap
plause.] The Democracy has passed no bills
for the transfer of money to the pockets of
monopolists since having power in Congress.
On the other hand, the Republicans had
boldy put at. the head of their ticket a man
mixed up in dishonest and thieving legislation.
[Applau.-e.] He (the speaker) had been named
as a Democratic Elector before the Cincinnati
Convention met, but he was satisfied with its
work and ihould labor to win. It was a wise
choice made by the party in selecting Han
cock ; all party breaches had been healed,
and in all sections the Democrats are banded
together for the soldier and the statesman.
[Applause,] Victory is certain. The enemy
yields the 137 votes of the South, and there
remains but 47 votes to gain, and he believed
the Democracy would get them and 31) or 40
more. I Applause.] The next speaker was
w. B. 0. BBOWN.
He declared thafthe legislation relative to
the regulation of elections and the super
vision by United States officers, as fostered
by the Republican party, to be destructive of
American principles. He reviewed the main
features of the election of President Hayes,
and coming down to the advocacy of Han
cock and English he said the forn>er fought
nobly for the principles he believed in, but
he did not believe anyone of the Radical
leaders ever did or will fight for a principle
of a constitutional Union. [Applause.) He be
lieved Hancock to be not only a soldier but
a statesman [applause], and the people are
weaving for him a crown of victory to be
placed on his brow on the 4th of March next.
He believed any man whe would tamper
with the integrity of the ballot- box should
be sent to prison and always kept there.
Hancock is not to be voted for because he is
a soldier only, but because he holds that the
military arm is second to the civil power.
He will resist all centralization of power •
he will cherish arid preserva the lair
fame of the people of every section
of the country. [Applause.] The people
of the United States are bound
together by the indissoluble tic* of interest as
as well as fraternity, and when vilification
crushes ne section the liberties of the others
j depart. I Applause.] For years the South
has been lied about. Who believes thet-e
stories of outrage? No one. I Applause.]
Property and life is as secure there as any.
where. [Applause.] The elections »re as
fair there as here. [Applause] There is as
much bulldozing here us there at every elec
tion. The people have not forgotten Mare
Island, the tapeworm tickets, ami the acts of
the Federal officials there, and though the
attention of Congress was called to these
frauds, the Republican party never meved a
ringer to riirht tie outraged people. [Ap
plause.]
A voice — I was one of the victims of tbat
fraud.
Mr. Brown paid he didn't chargo all Re
publicans as ignorant and base, but many
are ; they won't read both sides ; they won't
read even the Kecokd Union's telegrams of
the truth, but read what it says and swear
by it. Then it a large number of Repub
licans whose consciences are quickened, and
they are awakening to the truth. The solid
South will not only go for Hancock and
Erglish, but he believed nearly the solid
North will follow suit. [Applause.] They
how] about the solid South, but solidity at
the Korth it- a virtue. [Laughter.] Any
man who has ever lived at the South, and
felt the irou hand of tyranny, would be
worse than a fool to vote the Republican
ticket. [Laughter and applause.] An out
raged people are about to put the seal of death
on that party, and tuck it away forever
in its little bed [Applause.] It is necessary
that the Republican party should .lie thai the
government Washington fought for shall be
preserved to the world and saved from eternal
destruction. [Applause.] Ho held that the
Republican party created the tramp nuisance.
It lias given the public domain away until
there is scarcely any decent land left to settle
on. [Applause.] There have bean more Re
publican Senators and Congressmen who have
gone to Washington poor, lived beyond their
means and came away rich, within the last
sixteen years, than ever before in th« while
one hundred ytnrs of the life of the nation.
[Applause.] The Republican party ha« in
creased the taxes, given away the homes of
the people and sold out the country. | Ap
plause. | They say Hayes I, as sent a Com
mission to China. Why that is the biggest
piece of taffy ever given. [Applause.] The
Republican party never goes wild over the
wrongs of the white man, but weeps over all
black and tans. [Laughter.] It wants a cen
tralized Government, and the best way
to get it is to till the land with Chi
nese and make 'em voters. If
they had enough Chinese votes to-day the
Republican party would defy the people,
[Applause.] It was their expectation to use
the negro, but he Went back on the party.
What did its Convention do for Bruce? How
many votes did he get for Vice- President ?
They tickled him a 'lttle, and that is all. [Ap
plause.] The Republicans claim this is a
nation. It is not a nation. The father*
created a federal Government and gave it
certain express powers, but the great rights
and powers rest in the States and are retained
by them. The colonies fought against a cen
tralized Government, and when they set up
the Constitution, never intended to set up
another one. He referred to the recent Vir
ginia jury case and the federal election law, as
evidencesof the intent of the Republican party
to effect centralization. Any one reading
the Declaration of Independence and the ten
years' history following must conclude that
the colonies fought no greater wrongs than
the Federal election laws and like acts of
usurpation on the part of the Republican
party. [Applause. J He believed that as a
California Elector he would be sent with
others to Washington to cast California's vote
for W. S. Hancock. [Applause] With a
brilliant and truly eloquent peroration Mr.
Brown concluded in the midst of enthusiastic
applause.
Mr. Cravens said Judge Curtis, who was
announced to speak, was unavoidably absent
in the country. The meeting had demon
strated that the people of Sacramento are
he.".rt and soul for Hancock and English and
constitutional iiiierty. Two able and elo
cpent speeches had been delivered, mid he
thought as the eveuing was cold it would
not be well to call on people to
stand in the chill longer. He pro
posed three cheers for Hai.coik and
English, which were given with a will, and
the meeting adjourned. Durin« the evening
rockets were sent up, a band of music on the
Capital Hotel balcony played pleasing airs,
the Stars and Stripes flouted over the stand,
which was dressed in national colors, and a
general feeling of euthusiasm was made mani
fest among the people, who gave close atten
tion to the speakers and frequently and
loudly applauded them. Just prior to the
meeting 100 guns were fired from the R-street
grade by a squad under command of gunner
Ramsay.
SAN FRANCISCO ITEMS.
[From San Francisco exchanges of June 25th. ]
To-morrow will be the last day for re
ceiving fine bullion at the San Francisco
Mint for coinage until July (kh.
Imports of treasure by the Mexican
steamer yesterday amounted to $143,000,
of which 575 000 was in silver dollars and
the remainder in fine silver.
Twelve thousand children met and en
joyed themselves at Woodward's Gardens
yesterday on the occasion of the sixth an
nual Sunday-school festival.
. In the estate of Paul Morrill, the Supe
rior Court, Department of Probate, today
issued letters testamentary to W. L. Me-
Cormick, W. H. Dinsniore and Mrs. Susan
M. Morrill. Mr. Morrill's estate is not
large, having administered upon the bulk
of it himseU in his life-time in making pro
vision for his family.
The United States steamship Pensaeola
returned to port last evening in distress.
Following is a memorandum of the disas
ter : Left this port 14th instant for Vic
toria and A'aska ; ou the 18th, off Colum
bia river, broke crank-shaft and proceeded
under sail, but on examining the other
crank-shaft found it cracked. Secured it
as well as possible and returned for repairs.
Previous to the accident encountered heavy
weather ; since then fair weather. The
Pensacula will proceed at once to Maro
Island.
Fourth of July Celebration at Galt. —
There is to be a grand Fourth of July cele
bration :.t Gait, to take place on Saturday
the 3J. In accordance with the programme
a procession will form at 10 o'clock A. M.,
which will be participated in by the Orders of
Odd Fellows, Good Templars, United Work
men, and last but not least, the Gait Horri
bles. After marching to the grove, about one
fnurth of a mile in tlistance, an oration will
be delivered by Hon. W. A. Cheney of
l'lirii.-is, after which the tal>l< s will be spread,
and a grand barbecue dinner served sufficient
for 5,000 or more celehrators who may attend.
A pavilion for dancing will be erected, 40 by
100 feet, with a smooth finished floor, and
music, day and eveuiug, will be furnished by
the Harris Silver Cornet Band of Stockton.
Dancing will commence immediately after
dinner, and all will be free during the day.
There will be plenty of shade and ice-water
on the grounds, and every citizen of Gait will
enter upon the agreeable task of making it
pleasant for everybody who attends. There
will be fireworks in the evening, and at night
a grand ball will be held in the pavilion,
which will be brilliantly lighted for the occa
sion, and to which an admission fee of $1 per
ticket will be charged, admitting gentleman
and ladies.
When Barnum's show was en route from
Albany to Uticaa week ago, the car which
contained the largest lioness took fire
about half way on the trip. The lioness
was quite badly burned and nearly suffo
cated. Everything possible was done for
the beast, but she died in Auburn.
No, son, no ; you needn't be afraid of it.
Just drink a tubtul of it if ycu wish. No
man ever got drunk, or learned to be a
drunkard, drinking Sunday-school picnic
lemonade. You might get the dropsy, or
you might drown yourself with it, but it
will never make you drunk.
A woman in Rutland, 111., lu rely escaped
death from poisoning by the dyes employed
in coloring a rag carpet, but she proba
bly has the carpet as a compensation.
Isn't there such a thing as overdoing
economy, considering that wo live in a
state of civilization ?
Tbt Hammer's Cascara^Bitters for billionth
ness.
