hubert howe bancroft - Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History ...

POLITICAL HISTORY. 327
the whole democratic ticket/ 8 except in the case of
Higby reflected to congress. 14
It was with unfeigned sorrow that the founders of
the union party beheld it in extremes; not because
their political hopes went down with it, but because
it represented the most unselfish, patriotic, and pureminded
political organization which the state had ever
known. For a short time they flattered themselves
that at the judicial election in October their candidates
might be elected, but such was not the result,
and the conviction was settled that the " dear old
party " was dead. The first impulse was to lay all
the blame at the door of the self-constituted party
managers; but unscrupulous as they had shown themselves,
this was not all the cause. There were no
longer any but local issues except the one of the quarrel
between congress and the president, and the democrats
sympathized with the latter. To strengthen
their party they had taken up the cause of the workingmen,
who were clamoring for an eight hour law.
This forced the unionists to adopt this plank in their
platform also. But as the majority of workingmen
belonged primarily to the democratic party, this was
little to the advantage of the opposing party. As to
other issues, they were chiefly those which affected
San Francisco, in which the voters in distant counties
felt little interest. Thus the politics of the state were
settling back into their ante-rebellion footing.
The legislature of 1867-8 consisted of seventy
democrats and ten republicans. 16 It selected Eugene
u Haight's majority over Gorham was 8,546; Fay's vote was only 2,088.
14 The congressmen serving from 1865 to 1867 were John Bidwell, William
Higby, and Donald C. McRuer. Higby was born in Essex co., N. Y., in
1813, educated at the university of Burlington, Vt, and read law for a pro*
fession, practising in his native co. until 1850, when he came to Cal., settled
himself in Calaveras co., and was elected dist att'y in 1853; holding his office
until 1859. In 1861 he was a Douglas democrat, and aided in forming the
union party in 1862, which elected him to the state senate. In 1863 he was
chosen memW of congress from the state at large; in 1864 he was reflected,
and for the third time in 1867, participating in the action of congress through
the most interesting period of its history.
"The senators elect were R L. Brady, Placer; Horace Beach, Yuba and