F 124 .C55 Copy 1 SPEECH HENRY L. CLINTON, DELIVRRKI) nEFOUE THE Democratic Republican General Comnfiittee OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER Stli, 1878, .i^T T.^nvEis/n.^Kr'^r xi ..^ i_. i_. . IMPORTANCE OF ELECTING A DEMOCRATIC CON- GRESS, AND A DEMOCRATIC UNITED STATES SENATOR. IMPORTANCE OF HARMONY IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. TAMMANY HALL THE GIBRALTAR OF DEMOCRACY THE COURSE OF THE TAMMANY AND THE ANTI TAMMANY DEMOCRATS, DURING THE YEARS 1873, 1874, 1875, 187G and 1877, REVIEWED. \^ C5< ADDRESS OF HENRY L. CLINTON, CHAIRMAN OF THE Democratic Republican Genera! Connmittee OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, DELIVERED AT TAMMANY HALL, September 5th, 1878. Gentlemen of the GENEitAL C'oalmittee: As the jiSRembliug of tliis Committee is the opening of the Fall eani})aign, I have thought it not ina})propriate to the occa- sio]i to submit some views touching the prescnit condition of political aitairs. The ensuing cilection, in its far reaching con- sequences, is scarcely second in importance to an}' held within the recollection of any now prescmt. IMPORTANCE OF ELFGTINd A J)EiM()CUATlC CONGKESS, AND A DEMOCRATIC UNFfED STATES SENATOR. A new Congress is to Ije elected; a body that may have to decide the most momentous cpiestion which can ever arise in our national affairs, namely: — who shall be President of the United States. Such Avill be the grave responsibility cast upon the next Congress in the event of no election by the people in 1880. Questions of the highest importance, deeply allecting the interests and pros])ects of the xVmerican people must be passed upon by the Congress so soou to bo elected. It must be decided at the polls, in November, whetlier tlie next House of Representatives will have such a decided Democratic majority as to ensure a continuance of the system of retrenchment and reform, which has characterized the Democratic party there from the first session, after it obtained ascendancy, wlien it re- duced our national expenditures over thirty millions of dollars per annniii. With a Ilepublican Senate and a He]^)ublican Pres- ident, the only wonder is, that a Democratic Congress has acheived so much in favor of retrenchment and gocjd govern- ment. In former times the United States Senate was regarded as tlie most able, dignified and important legislative body in the world. The extent to which it has depreciated in public es- teem, because its roll of membership contained so many He- publican carpet-baggers and spoils men, I need not expatiate upon at this time. The reign of carpet-baggers at the South was as destructive as the plague at this time, depopulating many of her fairest and most important cities. Now that the United States Senate is so nearly purged (^f its worst elements, the coming elections must deiterminc whether the Empire State, wdth her live millions of population, her great industries, her immense enterprises, her vast business interests, exteiiding over every state of our Union, shall be represented in the United States Senate by two sterling Democrats, whose votes on all important measures will represent the views of the great major- ity of her people ; or whether we are to havi; in the future (as at present) one Republican and one Democratic Senator, the one ofltsetting the other, so that, to all intents and pur])oses, our great State will not be represented at all in that illustrious body. In order to secure the election of a Democratic United States Senator it is^^necessar}- that we have a large majority in the Assembly. With a view to the election of a Ilepublican United States Senator in 1879, the Republicans, last Fall, elected a decided majority of the members of the.present Senate. ■s.^ y/^ IMPOirrANCE OF llAUMOXY. If Democrats are in earnest, and Jesin," to overcome this ma- jority on joint l)allot, it beliooves them to see to it that not so much as one Assembly District be lost to the Democratic party by reason of feuds or quarrels or diiterenees of any Icind. Every Democrat througliout the State should, l)y all honest and honoral)lc means, ^vork to ensui'e success, as if the entire result depended upon liis individual exertions. The loss of a single Democratic votu may lose an Assembly District. For tlie want of one additional Deiuocratic Assend)lynian's vote tlie Le<'"isla- ture, on joint ballot, may fail to elect a l)(nuocratic United States Senator. No one can measure the Gonse([uences which may flow from the a])athy or ]iegK>ct of duly on the part of a single Democratic voter. Not many years since a Democratic Governor was elected in one of the Eastern States by a majority of one. Tlie Ek'ctoral Commission l)y n inajority of one, in elfect, decided that the present ile facto incumbent of the Presi- dcmtial office liad a majority of one electoral vote. Let every Democratic voter exert himself as though his vote woidd result in a majority of one in favor of evc>ry Democratic candidate for Avhom lie casts a baUot. In view of the momentous interests at stake in the coming election, I liope — I sincerely trust — tJiat all Democrats, in every j)art of the Stat(^, will heal u}) divisions among theinsclves ; cVr^se nj) f/ir i-anks an'/ j)f('ss on to lu'ctoru. The Democratic party stands so well with the people, is so powerful in numlxn-s, so strong in tlic; justice of its cause, that it cannot Ix; beaten by its legitimate! and ancient foe, the Ilepub- lican party. Tlie only question is whetlier the Democratic party will be guilt}' of the stupendous folly — the downwright in- sanity — of defeating itself. How much moi-e sensible ; how much more worthy the occasion for Democrats to act harmon- iously, and devote the next ( w o unmllis t<^ t)rganizing victoiy, instead of occupying perha[)s a twelve-month after election in wrangling over tlu; (jutstion as to what party o)- faction or clicjue was guilty of precipitating a defeat at the })()lls. It is the part of wisdom to l(jok e'xisting facts — ^actualities— s((uarely in the face. Two years ago 1,281,2(55 citizens cast their ballots in favor of the Democratic niuninees for President an 1 Vic3-Pro.si(lout. Our candidates were 'elected. They had not only a large majority of tlie popular, but] of the Electoral vote. By the nefarious conduct of lleturning Boards, and for the reason that a majority of the Electoral Commission, shut tlniir eyes to actual facts, and would not permit the truth to be proved, tlie great inajority of the people of the United States who had lawfully elected a President and a Vice-President, were cheated out of their choice, and, to all intents and pur})Oses, r()bl)ed of the )-ight of suffrage. The rights of the majority were awarded to the ininority. Those who brougljt tdjout this result acted u])on iho same principh; which goveruedfrweed and his contV(l(n;d('S in crime, in tli<> palmy days of repeating, bal- lot-box stuffing and false counting. When other attempts at frand failed, they gave the votes of the victorious candidate to his opponent who had been defeated at the polls, and thereupon certified that he had been elected. For the last four or live years the Democrats have elected tlieir state ticket by a large majority. Yet, with a single ex- ception, tlie Piepublicans have liad a majority in the Assembly. In 1S72 the Bepublicans carried this State by a majority of 5o/)'M. In 1871 a great Democratic tidal wave swept over the whole country. In tlie Fall election of that year the Demo- craiic majority in this State was 50,317. The Democratic ma- jority outside of the City of New York was 7,789. The conse- (pience was that, in the j^ear 187-1, the Democrats electeel a de- cided majority of tlie members of the Assembly. That victory at the polls resulted not only in the election of our entire state ticket, l)ut it e!ia])]e(l Democratic Assemblyinen, on joint ballot, to vote; against the nominee of a Piepublican Senate for United States Senator, and to send to the United States Senate the distijignislunl Democrat wlio, two years Ix^'on^, was our candidate for (T()V(>rnor. Had tlie election for United States Senator oc- curred in any other year, this great State, notwithstanding a large majority of her citizens vote the Democratic ticket, would b(^ at tlu^ present time misrepresented in the Senate of the United States by two liepublicaus. TAMMANY HALL THE GIBRALTER OF DEMOCRACY. In 187G, although the Dc^nocracy of tlio citj' did far better than in 1874, yet outside of New York the llepubHcan majority was 21,227. The New York Democracy (there being no other than the Tammany Hall organization), fought the battle of the Democratic party of the State and of the Union, and won the most splendid victory ever recorded in the political annals of this country. The Democracy of this city cast 112,530 votes for the Democratic ticket. Tannnany Hall was then, and is now, the Gibralter of Democracy. Although outside of New ^ork Democrats were vigilent, active and energetic, yet the com- parative vote of the Republicans, was so much larger than in 1874, that the fate of the State and National ticket hung upon the vote of this city. The Democracy here had to overcome the Republican majority above referred to, of 21,227. We advanced on our comparative vote of two years before. We gave the Democratic ticket the magnificent, the unprecedented, ma- jority of 53,909. Yet, although we advanced so largely on the comparative vote of 1874, the Democracy outside of this city receded to such an extent that the Democratic party lost the fruits of that victory, so far as tlie Legislature was concerned. With a Democratic majority in this city of over 50,000, the Repub- licans elected a majority of Assemblymen. So long as the present iniquitous appointment exists, thougli all tlie citizens of New York, entitled to the right of suffrage, should vote the Democratic ticket, but little headway would thereby be made towards electing a majority of members of the Assembly. New York will do all in her power, but she cannot do everything. If our fellow-Democrats throughout the State will second the efforts of New York City, and with the skill, energy and fidelity that characterized their efforts in 1874, organize in their respective counties, cities, towns and vilhiges, they will insure a triumph to the Democratic part}', that will result in giving to our distin- guished Senator, Francis Kernan, a colleague in the United States Senate, of whom the Empire State will have reason to be proud. For three successive years the Republican majority' in the State Legislature, has deliberately and wantonly, in de- fiance of the most peremptory mandates of the Constitution, refused to apportion the representation of the people of the State, in accordance with the census. In this way the Eei)ubli- can party has maintained its ascendency in both branches of the Legislature. Only once since 1870, have the Democrats had a majority in the Assembly. Under a fair apportionment, made in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the Democratic party would have no difhculty in electing a major- ity of members of the Asseml)ly and Senate. If this year, de- spite the present iniquitous apportionment, we carry a large majorit}- of the Assendoly Districts, we may be able (although there be a Republican Senate) to pass an Apportionment Bill which a Democratic governor can conscientiously sign. THE COURSE OF THE TAMMANY AND THE ANTI-TAMMANY DEMOCRATS DURING THE YEARS 1873, 1871, 1875 and 1870, REVIEWED. The party, iu this Cit}', is so large that whatever course is taken by the regular Democratic organization, there will be many Democrats outside who will find fault. To please all is impossible. Some who claim to be Democrats carp at this this, the regular — the only regular — Democratic organization in this City. They profess to doubt our good faith ; they see fit to question our devotion to tlie cause of Democracy and good government. If the veil of ol)livion could be drawn over the past, and loud-mouthed professions, now made for the purpose of riding into office and of oljtaiuiug political patronage, were the sole tests of devotion to tiic Democratic ]iarty, it would not be wise to attempt to define or limit tlie merit which would be ascribed to them. It seems to me that the fairer way would be to test tlie sincerity of our professions and those of our oppo- nents by the past. What is our record ? What record have they made for themselves? I would not forget the past. I would raise the curtain l])ul)li('aii caiuli(l;it(\ w;is elected ]\[;iV()V. His term of otlUce coiniucneed on the ih'st of Januai-y foUowiiiij;. In 1S73 tlu^ Anti-Tanuuiuiy Democrats orgaiii/ed. During- tlie I-'all campaign tlieir org-aiiizatiou joiiunl the ]ic])ul)li(;an party and divided nominations ^\■it]l them. TJu> combination was igno- ininiously (h'feated b}- Tammany HalL In LSTl tliis organiza- tion triumphantly ek'ctcd its umnici])al ticktit. The Anti-Tam- many Democrats did not unitt; with the llcpublicans thai, year, simply because the L{epul)lican paity would havt; nothing to do with them. The following year our Anti-Tammany op[)oiients made common c:ius(! with the Republicans. The consecjuence was, the l{e})ublicau party, aided by its Anti-Tammany allies, se- cured a great victory. A Kepul )lican i)istrict Attorney, a Republi- can Judge, and a liepublicaii Sui'rogate w<'re elected. In the fol- lowing year this organization, in a spii-it of great lil>cra,lity and niagnanimity, consented that a ])ortion of tin; Anti-TammanN- delegates should sit in the State; C'onvention and have a repre- sentation on the State ('ommitt(H\ We offered to divide nomi- nations for municipal offices with them if they would name for our consideration fit and proper candidates. They failed to agree among tln'mselves, and finally gave us to understand tlial, fliey Avould support oui' entire ticket on condition that it should contain flu; name of no Anti-Tammany man. Wo com])lied with their wishes and nominated none but Tammany Hall Dem- ocrats. Of coui'se our ticket was elected liy an o\ frwhebning m.-'.joi'ity. IX 1S77 TIM-: .WTl-TAMM.VXY DlvMOdtATS. TO ALL iViM<:XTS AXD PlKiM ).-h:S. .MHRdLD TiiHiii ()Ivm;axiz ATiox LX ^riiK i^KPrr,- LICAX TAiri^V. The next year (1877) the Anti-'l'ammany Democrats, while tin; Legislature' was in session, made no secict of their hostilitv to the Democratic ])ai'ty in this ( 'ity and in this State. The Democratic nu'inbcrs of the Assend)ly and of the Senate almost unaiiiuKJUsh' voted against (M'rtain Dills relating to this ('it\. 10 ^\lli(•ll \vcrc jilikc iiiicoDstitiilioiinl ;ni(l (Icstruclivc^ of its host in- terests. These Wills were made ])artv measures. The l^eiiio- cruiie party was i-a!!.ij;(Hl on oii(> side and the Itepulilican ])arty upon the other. A Demoeraiie (lovernor acted witli liis ])art_v .and vetoed these Bills. The so-ealh-d Anti-Taiumanv Demo- crats made h;!ste early in the contest to rang'e themselves on the side of the ll( ])ul)]ican ]nirty. Latei' h\ tlie year tliey organized ])rinei]>aliy on tlu^ basis of ojipositiou to (Tov(M;no!' liobinsoii. Por his Democratic and statesmanlike course in respect to these Bills, they diuiounced him in unmeasured terms. IN 1877. OIM^OSITION TO (JOVKIlNOil IJOIUN- SOX AND THE DKMOdJATIC PAIITY [N THE STATE. AS IJEPIIESENTED IX THE LEGISLATIRE. THE 15AS1S OF THE ANTI- TA^LMAXY ORGANIZATIOX. Last year there were two so-called Auti-Tauiinany Demo- cratic organizations — the so-called Independent Dt ni(X*iacy, and the so-ealled County Democracy. About the last of . Inn (^ or the ist ^)f Jnly, 1S77, the so-called Inde})endent Democracy professed to organize, and issued an oiliciad address stating the ])asis of their organization. '!'he following is an extract tVom that address : "To Tin: IxuKrKNnK.NT DiarocKAcv of the (^itv of Nkw York. — * * * '-''■ * * Till' fives <)/' /III' TainiiKiiK/ (roc- I'rnor \ fjiiciii.< Jlnhiiisou |, ii-In'n //if cause oik/ /he puf/M/.st: //ktco/' Ojipcar, mail ire// s/ur//e /lie /'riein/s <>/ Denioeya./ie Oovernnteii/, and shmi/d drive iii/o ac/irc emieer/ed ejjoii a/l idio ealiie /he jtrineip/es (jf free ijorern- )iiiui/, all vh" resjiee/ hoties/ij in j}ul>/ie and in prira/e /ife/' After referring to tlie vetoes of (lovervor iioWinson the ad- dress continued as follows : '• 'l\i)t satislicd with sliowin,^ liis suh.servii'iicy in Ali);niy, the (iovernor of the Jiliiipire State, iniiiiediaiely after cloiug TaiinnaJi} s bidding- by refusiiiLi,- to ap[)rov*' tlir Oinniluis Bilb and after a con- test l)etweeu the friends and fee.-; of refeirni abno^t Tinprecedented, comes to Ni w Yoi-k to rcciivc; and dues receive publicly the tli;inks of Joiiu Kelly and liis f((lU)wers for wlcit lie did or ne^^lected to do. And this is the result of the pled^cis made at our last State and Na- tional Conventions, 'i'liis is the manner in which the promises of 11 the plutform accepttul by oui* fandidiites for the vliUii executive offices of the State and Nation have been kept. Reform has given place to trickery and bargains, and the fair promises of the ]iast are forgotten in tlio race for the spoils of the future.'' The other orgaiiizatiou whicli placed itself in direct opposi- tion to the ])cniocratic party in this City and in this State was the so-called New York County Democracy, which according to the New York Times of September 11, 1877, organized on the previous day. That paper says : " The recent elected delegates to form the Anti-Tammany County Convention for th(^ ])r(isent year met last evening in the main hall of ('ooper Institute. Tiie Committee is composed of 530 delegates, elected in ]:)ursuance of a call of the old Executive Committee, and is to last until next fall, unless it should be determined to elect a new Committee early in 1878. Emanuel B. Hart, Chairman of the Exe- cutive Committee, called the meeting to order, auat ap- plause. Among other things Mr. Shafer said: Tammany Hall pre- tends to be the friend of Governor Robinson, and in favor of reform measui'es, and yet it op])Osed his nomination, but succeeded in ob- taining his veto of l)ills looking to reform measures, and then he belittled himself by coming down to N(!W York and accepting a re- ception from the corrupt Tammany leadei's. * --f * -X- * * * =!' " The Anti-Tammany organization must see to it that not a Tam- many Senator or Assemblyman shall be el(!cted from this City. They could do it, and he would rather, in order to see this done, that any one short of Satan himself, should be elected to the Legislature in- stead of a Tammany man." If the spirit of this address had been carried out, all or nearly all elected to the Assembly and to the Senate would have been Republicans, as Tammany Hall was the only Democratic organization in this City. In this address Mr. Shafer further said : "If any unbroken delegation was sent to Albany 0])poscd to Tammany Hall Governor Robinson would not dare veto any reform measure "that they might supjiort, and it was necessary to show him that Tammany did not rule this City. Anti-Tanimany men, Inde- pendent Democrats, Republicans, Bread AVinners and every such organization should combine against the common enemy and roll u}) 12 a majority of 50,000, and then John Kelly would suy as ho said on a memorable occasion before, ' I have tried to give you a good govern- ment but you would not have it.''' Among tlio resolutions read and unanimoush^ adopted, were the following : "Whcreax, the Tammany Hall organization is objectionable to the "Democracy of this City for the following reasons. * * s :f: * -;:• Fourth. — Pretending to speak for the Democracy of the City of New York, it uses its inlluence with a Democratic (governor, and Democratic members of the Legislature, to defeat all legislations tending to lessen the burdens of the people, by reducing the com- pensation and the number of our public servants." Another resolution ])roceeded to state, that tlio friends of that orgauizatiou deserved great credit for their '"uutireing ex- ertions, in securing the passage through the legislature of the several reform measures" for New York City. This refers to the bills which Govenor Bobinson vetoed. Another resolution was as follows : • "Jiesolvcd, That the Tammany Hall oi-ganizaLion '■'■ '■■ * * prevailed on the Governor to veto those salutary measures, thus pre- venting a large reduction of the tax leyj of this year." The Eepublican platform adopted at Rochester, September 26, 1877, stated as follows: In the affairs of our great State, always vital to the people, and at this time of paramount importance, Ave declare the Republican party the oidy hope of thorough reform and frugal government, and arraign the Democratic ])arty for tVJse pretenses, for perpetua- ting existing abuses, and for slavish subservience to the most cor- rupt and dangerous inliuences. In support of this declaration we appeal to these facts; ****** That in the last Legislature the Republican majority passed two constitutional amendments, and other important measures of munic- ipal retrenchment and reform, rechicing salaries, abolishing sinecures, simi)lifying the administration, and allecting an annual saving of hun- dreds of tliousands of dollars, every one of which measures was re- sisted by the Democratic minority, and vetoed by the Democratic Ex- ecutive at the behest of Tammany Hall, thus willfully continuing op- pressive abuses of local administration." 13 The so-callod reform measures referred to in in Mr. Sliafci's address, and in tlie platform of tlic llepuljlicau couveuticn at Ro(;]iester, were measures wliieli were op]')osed by the Demo- cratie party in both houses of the Legishiture. In the Assem- l)ly, with one exception, every Democrat voted against these measures, and every liepul)Hcan for them. The only Senators professing to be Democrats who voted for these bills, were Sena- tors Morrisey and Bixby. All the other Democratic Senators voted agaiiist them. IX 1877, THE ANTI-TAMMANY ORGANIZATIONS COMBINED WITH THE IIEPUBLICANS TO ELECT REPUr,LICAN ASSEMBLYxMEN AND UEIU'DLHWN SENATORS— TO ELECT A RE- PUliLICAN INITED STATES SENATOR TO JMH^VENl^ A JUST APPORTIONMENT BILL, AND TO DISERANCIIISE TWO-THIRDS OF THE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS IN THE CITIES OF THIS ST.VTE. In previous years it was pretended that the anti-Tammany and Republican combination related only to municipal affairs. But last year the Anti-Tammany Democrats threw oil* the mask and voted for liepublicans, not only for municipal olhcers but for the Assembly and Senate. The Republicans and Anti-Tam- many Democrats had but one ticket. There was no distinction Ijetwecn an Anti-Tahnnany Democrat and a Republican ; " they twain were one." The Anti-Tammany Deanjcrats did their utmost to elect Republican State Senators, to the end that they might vote for a Republican United States Senator. Had they not joined the Republican party last Pall, and by announcing tlieir intention to vote directly for Republican Assemblymen and Republican Senators, stimulated the Republican party throughout the State to great and unusual exertions, and thus exerted a discouraging and demoralizing inliuence among Dem- ocrats outside of the city of New York, it is quite probable that there would have been a Democratic majority in both branches of the Legislature. We should have had a Democratic Senate 14 to take part the next session in tlio election of a United States Senator. Then a just and rigliteons Apportionment Bill could have passed, which would have secured the ascendencj- of the Democratic party in both branches of the Legislature, and in all Departments of the State Government for the next twenty years. The Anti-Tammany Democrats, who now question the good faith, the loyalty of Tammany Hall to the party, were not only willing, in the way I have described, to do all in their poAver to elect a Bepublican United States Senator, to prevent the pas- sage of a just apportionment Bill, to the end that the Btepub- lican party, although largely in the minority at the polls, might, for an indefinite period, secure a majority in both branches of the Legislature ; but these Anti-Tammany Democrats did all in their power to disfranchise about three-fourths of the Demo- cratic voters in the large Democratic cities of this State. In 1875 a Commission was appointed to devise and report a plan for the government of cities. In 1877 that Commission made its Eeport to the Legislature, recommending certain con- stitutional amendments, by the adoption of which its plan for governing cities could be carried into effect. Although it con- tained some good points, mairdy of an abstract and negative character, yet, taken as a whole, a worse system of municipal government was never devised by the wit of man. It provided that a Board of Finance should be elected which would virtu- ally constitute the entire city government. For the members of this Board only those could vote who had paid an annual tax of a certain amount, or a certain yearly rent.' I can not ])etter express the position which the Democratic party and the Re- publican party, with their Anti-Tammany allies, occupied with reference to that subject than by citing a portion of the plat- form unanimously adopted at our County Convention, held in Tammany Hall on the 18tli day of October last. After denouncing the great electoral fraud, b}' which the Republicans stole the Presidency, and after denouncing the Rej^ublican majority in two successive Legislatures for not having passed an Apportion- ment Bill, the platform proceeded as follows : " Jlcsolfcd, That not content with thus defraiuliiJi;- over four mil- lions of voters of the rij^lit of suffrago in respect to the Presideii- tial election ; not content with nullifying tlie votes of over half a mil- lion of Democrats in tlie Empire State, with re^-ard to members of the Legislature, the lle})nblican \)iiYty has thrown off all disgnise and boldly avows the determination to disfranchise two hundred thousand voters in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, by limiting the riglit to vote for most important <*ity olii(;ers to those who have paid an annual tax of a certain amount, or a certain yearly rent. *' i?('so/c(v/, That inasmuch as all the llepnb ican members of the Senate and Assembly during the last session of the Legishitur*; voted for, and all the Democratic members, with one exce])tion, voted against the proposed constitutional amendment thus limiting the right of sullrage ; inasmuch as the recent Kepublican State Conven- tion, held at llochester, in its platform virtually sanctioned and adopted this proposed constitutional amendment ; inasmuch as it is advocated by the Rej^ublican newspaper's ; inasmuch as the Kepub- lican party, tlirough its press iind otherwise, has oi)enly avowed tlnit the main object in appealing to disaffected Democrats to form an al- liance with them, is to (jlect Rejiuijlican members of the S(!nate and Assembly who will again vote for this i)roposed constitutional am- endment (and tor otlier l)ills o})posed by the Democratic partly as represented in the Legislattire, and by the Democratic Governor ) ; the Rei)ublican party and all who in this campaign ally themselves with that party cannot escape the responsibility of seeking thus to disfranchise two hundred thousand legal voters in New York and Brooklyn. " 7fe.so/(Y?r/, That as the law now staiids the right to vote for all elective city oflicers can only be forfeited by a conviction of crime punishable by imprisonment in the State prison, this atteni])t of the Republican party to place two lunidred thousand legal voters in New York and Brooklyn on :i par with State })rison convicts should be rebuked at the })>)lls by every citizen wlio believes in a republican form of governnu;nt Jiesolvcd, That the attempt of the Re])ubli('aii party to form a combination with disall'ected Democrats, and all who are op})osed to the regular Dem jci'atic organiziitiou in this city, is a shallow device to induce Democrats to do the servile work of the Ri'puhlican ])aity, elect the Republican ticket and support RejMiblican ni(!asures. All Democrats who form an alliance with tiie Jiepublicans in this campaign cmisc to be Democrats and become Rej)ublicans. First- -They vote to elect or aid in the election of Republii;an members of the Senate and Assembly. Second — They vote for and aid the election of Repul)lican State Senators who will vote iov a Republican United Stites Senator. Third — By voting for and aiding in the electi