The new party of the Farmers' Alliance has been holding
a Convention at Ocala, in Florida, which was attended by all the representatives of the party in the South, and some Western men. They wished for a certain measure of secrecy, and were exceedingly annoyed with the newspaper men, who, as usual in America, set their regulations at defiance. They passed a resolution, therefore, giving thanks to "all who had extended courtesies " to members of the Convention, " except newspaper men," a curious presage of the revolt which is one day certain against the tyranny of publicity. The Conven- tion organised arrangements for influencing the next Presi- dential election, and securing a candidate who will agree to their programme, which is, in brief, that the National Government should take up all farmers' mortgages at 2 per cent., and go on lending money on the security of crops at the same rate. At the same time, the amount of money in circulation shall be increased until it reaches £10 a bead of the whole population,—that is, £620,000,000. It is, of course, impossible that these wild proposals should be even con- sidered; but the farmers are in deadly earnest, and their voting power is so great, that we may yet see a National Land Mort- gage Bank established, and fed with inconvertible paper. That will be one of the deadliest blows Democracy has ever delivered against itself. Neither King nor aristocrat ever makes that kind of blunder with a view to general increase of prosperity, though Frederick the Great debased the coinage in order to collect materiel of war.
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