causes. grand error of the Convention. A test vote on Mr. Dickinson would at once have sifted the minority from the Convention, and have left the battle to be fought in the Assembly districts upon its true principle. The return of Mr. Dickinson to the Senate should have been made an issue in the contest. The result certainly could not have been more adverse than it is, and it would not have left the erroneous impression that the united democracy of New-York had failed to sustain that eminent statesman against Sewardism and Abolitionism. Besides, it had the effect of patching up a hollow truce between the two wings of the Whig Party, the Seward and Fillmore divisions as they are familiarly termed, com. posed of elements as discordant as those which pervade the two divisions of the Democratic Party. The result, so far as the Assembly is concemed, has been substantially a triumph of Sewardism and sectionalism-of a sentiment which we believe to be foreign and repugnant to the views of a large majority of the electors of the State brought about in this instance by errors, by misapprehensions, by mutual distrust, and by accidental It needs no seer to predict that the “ National Whigs” cannot long remain united in bonds of fraternity with the anti-slavery majority of that party. If the slavery agitation is to be renewed; if the war upon the Constitution is to continue, all loyal and patriotic men of all parties will unite upon broad national grounds in defence of our institutions as they now exist, and as our fathers made them. The war, perhaps, is inevitable, and let it come! Another striking fact in the late election is this :-Of the only two national democrats on the State ticket, one, Mr. Seymour, is defeated, and the other, Mr. Mather, barely elected, while Messrs. Church, Benton, and Angell, the other three, all of whom belonged to the Utica organization, have large majorities, and this, too, notwithstanding the vote against Mr. Church in New-York city is 4,545, and in favor of Mr. Seymour is 1,053. The inquiry is naturally suggested, what influence has brought about this result? In order to give an intelligible answer that may be understood beyond the confines of our own State, a word of explanation is necessary. In some of the most populous counties in the State, Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Delaware, and Schoharie, the subject of the manorial titles to large tracts of land, which tracts are held by the tenants under perpetual leases from their landlords, has furnished the ground of controversy, dispute, and in some cases of lawless violence. The efforts on the part of the tenants have been to impeach the title of their landlords, and to destroy a system which they profess to regard as a remnant of feudalism. In.. stead of pursuing this object through the courts, they have vainly looked to the legislature for aid, and have in some cases taken the law in their own hands. The tenants have refused to pay their rent.-Officers of the law have been assaulted in the execution of their duty by bands of armed and disguised men--robbed of their papers--and even in one or two instances shot down in cold blood. Instead of endeavoring to allay this excitement, and to bring back these misguided citizens to a sense of their duty, wicked and designing men have labored to fan the flame, to give impetus to the movement, and to organize a distinct political association on the basis of anti-rentism. This has actually been done, and startling as the fact may appear, the “anti-rent" party has almost controlled the elections in the State for several years past. In 1846, the whig candi. date, Gov. Young, having obtained this nomination, was elected over Silas Wright, while his associate on the ticket, the present Governor, Hamilton Fish, was defeated by a large majority. Even members of Congress are nominated and elected with reference to their real or supposed sentiments in favor of the lawless principles of this most abominable of all political organizations. The whig member elect from the Delaware and Ulster district, Mr. Schoonmaker, was elected by anti-rent votes; so of the whig member, Schoolcraft, from the Albany district; while in Otsego, that strong democratic district, Mr. Snow, a national democrat, has barely escaped defeat. The State election last year was entirely controlled by the anti-rent vote. Portions of both tickets, whig and democratic, were nominated, and the portions so nominated, elected. The following table will show the difference caused by the anti-rent vote in the nine principal anti-rent counties: FOR COMPTROLLER. Hunt (Whig) on anti-rent ticket........ 32,402 Lott (Democratic,) not on anti-rent ticket.... 30,226 Majority for Hunt...... FOR JUDGE COURT OF APPEALS. ..2,176 Jewett (Democratic) on anti-rent ticket.... 34,125 Majority for Jewett...... Difference caused by anti-rent vote....... .6,958 .9,139 The vote at the present election exhibits a similar result. The antirent ticket comprised the "Free-soilers" of both nominations. Messrs. Church, Benton, and Angell, from the democratic ticket, were adopted, and in place of Messrs. Seymour and Mather, the names of the whig candidates, Hunt and Blakeley, were substituted. The following table of majorities in nine anti-rent counties explains itself: The conse The difference in favor of Messrs. Seymour and Cornell, caused in NewYork by the Union ticket, but little exceeded half this vote. quence is, that the demagogues who controlled the anti-rent Convention, have defeated our candidate for Governor, nearly defeated our candidate for Canal Commissioner, and have elected the entire Free-soil portion of the State ticket. 1850.] The Late Election. 533 It is idle to attempt to disguise the fact that anti-rentism is but another of the isms which Mr, Senator Seward and his associates of the Tribune and Albany Evening Journal (with their natural allies of the Post and Atlas, and the minority at the Syracuse Convention who could not endure the resolutions) are endeavoring to engraft as an element into the Constitution of a new northern and sectional party, embracing all the isms, and based upon the one idea. The entire anti-rent vote is literally at the command of the Free-soil interests. The public would be surprised at the audacity of the proceedings of the Convention which nominated the anti-rent ticket, and the character of the men who controlled it. No national democrat, so far as we know, was present; no representative of that portion of the Whig Party who refuse to follow Mr. Seward. An editor or sub-editor of the Evening Journal, just returned as a delegate from the Whig Convention which had nominated Mr. Cornell for Lieutenant-governor, meets at this anti-rent conclave a “free soil democrat" just returned from the convention which nominated Mr. Seymour. The democrat sells out Seymour for Church; the whig barters away Cornell for Hunt. That staid and sober organ of the “Silver Grays"—the Albany State Register--and particularly of Messrs. Fillmore, Granger, and Duer, it is true, vindicated the character of Mr. Hunt, and declared, if he accepted the nomination, he should not have its support; but Mr. Hunt is a curious manager, as well as an ingenious letter-writer, and contrived at once to gain the anti-rent vote, and not to lose the support of the "Silver Grays." How long are these things thus to remain ? How long is this unnatural coalition between the friends and the enemies of the Constitution and Union in both parties to continue? How long is a lawless political organization in a few counties to be used by corrupt politicians as the tool and instrument of forwarding the fell designs of Abolitionism? It strikes us that the answer to these questions is plain. The remedy is in the hands of the people. The city of New-York of itself can rebuke not only, but entirely defeat the conspiracy, so far as it affects the State election. The action of the great Union meeting at Castle Garden was but partial. Had the Union ticket gone forth with the prestige that a full and hearty endorsement by that meeting would have given it, the effect would have been electrical. Sewardism, Abolitionism, and Anti-rentism would have met their just rebuke together, The ten thousand anti-rent votes can be met and counterbalanced by a majority of twenty thousand in the city of New-York alone. The time has come when an anti-rent nomination should be a brand upon the forehead of any candidate, unless that nomination be hurled back in scorn, and signally, and forever, and at once repudiated. No tampering, no evasion, no silence, as was the case when the late interrogatories were put by Tammany Hall to the free soil and anti-rent state candidates. Let the question be met boldly and at once, or the candidate promptly repudiated. He who courts, or countenances, this “higher law” influence, should be placed out of the pale of the true democratic church. Let him find his support, where his sympathies are enlisted, among those who justify the slavery and anti-rent agitations by 2 " higher law than the Constitution." MILITARY RANK.* "The prestige of military life is wearing away, and a new generation of men has found, that honor and respectability may equally belong to all professions."-" The Merchant :" An Oration ; by George R. Russell. AN evidence that "the prestige of military life is wearing away," is found in the vote by which punishment by flogging was recently abolished in the navy and commercial marine of the United States. Almost to a man, every officer of the line in the navy whose voice could be made to reach members of the national legislature, declared "that the abolition of flogging must destroy the efficiency of the navy, by depriving the officers of the most potent means of preserving discipline in ships of war." But their voices were unheeded; and in that fact they may read that the pres tige and influence of military men are no longer powerful over the judgment of legislators. They may read; but it is suspected they will not perceive, that the time has come when their prejudices alone cannot control the action of the representatives of the people. It is in vain they attempt to cajole the public by managing the head of the navy department, to pack a board of captains to decide a question which each is known to have prejudged before it was referred. A board of five post-captains has been convened to ascertain whether an assimilated rank, or a definite position in naval or military organization, should be given to medical officers, pursers, steam-engineers, and others in the navy. This board seems to be organized as a court, with power to decide the question submitted to it for investigation; for, it seems that a surgeon and purser were ordered to appear before it to advocate the claims of the naval staff, or as they are pleased to say, the “civil branch," and two lieutenants to advocate the claims of the line of the navy, or as they say, "the sea-officers or military branch," as if all officers whose vocation is to serve at sea, were not sea-officers. But the surgeon and purser declined to stand before a board, composed of men of the line, whose old class prejudices have been recorded already against the very reasonable demands of the staff, because they could not thus have a right to protest against any conclusions of the board which they may believe to be erroneous or unjust. Had those staff-officers been made members of this inquest, the reports of the board might have been received as the result of a fair investigation. As it is, Congress will know how to appreciate the labors of an ex parte packed junto, and probably ask to know why those equally interested should be excluded in the discussion and examination of a question, the sole right to decide which those captains seem to have arrogated to themselves. But the decision is not with them, it rests with Congress; and it is hoped, every member will look narrowly to the question before he records his vote. The pamphlet before us is well printed in clear, large type, and written A Brief History of an existing controversy on the subject of Assimilated Rank in the Navy of the United States. By W. S. W. R. 8vo., pp. 108. C. Sherman, Printer, Philadelphia. e t shed tos גל in a spirit of entire fairness to both parties. The author sets forth the meaning of several military terms, the understanding of which seems essential to a full comprehension of the subject he is discussing. He urges, that “precision in the use of terms is essential to perspicuity ; no law can be explicit if stated in words of uncertain meaning. The author shows that the navy consists really, though not in name, of a line and staff corps, like the army; and is in fact an army trained to fight in ships, instead of forts on land. It appears that for many years the staff of the navy, which includes sur. geons, pursers, chaplains, engineers, professors, &c., have been asking to be assigned a definite position in the navy, in order to know what are their rights and privileges in common with the line of the navy, erroneously. called “sma-officers.” They do not claim a right to interfere in the duties or command of these “ sea-officers,” or to be excused from any kind of service. But the engineer thinks he should be entrusted with the management of the engine of a war-steamer, and be independent of the lieutenants and midshipmen in his own engine-room. He supposes that he does not require to be ordered by a lieutenant or midshipman to oil this or that part of the machinery; but that as long as he keeps the engine in running condition, and obeys the legal orders of the captain, he does all that is necessary on his part for the efficiency and discipline of the vessel. So, the purser thinks that he can keep his accounts and settle them at the proper time and place, without being required to obey every lieutenant and midshipman in the ship: he urges that, within his limits, he is the fiscal agent of the people, and as such he gives heavy bonds, that the money entrusted to his keeping shall be honestly disbursed. And the surgeon believes he can care for the wounded, and prescribe for the sick, without being ordered by lieutenants to use this or that splint, or give this or that medicine. The author of the pamphlet before us contends, that efficiency only requires that the head of each staff department in a ship should be subject to the orders of the actual captain of the vessel, or his deputy, when he himself is absent. It appears, however, that at present these staff officers are subject to the orders of almost every commissioned line-officer in the navy, which does not seem to be necessary. The object of assimilated rank, a military technical term, is to determine the degree of subordination of staff officers to officers of the line, while it excludes the said staff officers from any right to command lineofficers, or in any way interfere in the sphere of their peculiar duties. Several secretaries of the navy are quoted in favor of establishing an assimilated rank; but the attempt to do so by executive regulation, has failed, owing to a spirit, either of insubordination, or a disposition to quibble on the meaning of the orders issued on the subject, by officers of the line. This is clearly established by the statements of our author, and the quotations given in the body and appendix of the pamphlet. While the question remains undecided, it is likely to disturb that harmony which should ever exist among members of the same brotherhood. Whatever concerns the harmony of a military body, concerns its efficiency; and under this view, the question becomes one of much greater importance than it appears at first sight. It is hoped Congress will, therefore, during the approaching session, find time to decide it forever on equitable grounds, without regard to prejudices, or the mere dictum of old captains, or old surgeons. |