V
a
SPIRIT OF TEE PRESS.
BOItobial oFimovR or thi M-amno jtorkaia
PrOH OURBBHT TOPICS COMPILED BVBHT
DAT FOB THB BVBNIH9 TUMtOBATB.
The Nomination of Or.
' t omtheN. Y. ffulton.
The humiliating experience which thU oonn
hss had on two oooaMoui of a 1'reslijnnt
bo deserted the party bjr which he wag
eoted, and strove to create a new part de.
'otedtohis pergonal interests, has male all
ten of decided political convictions justly
vAutious of heing again caught in the same
snare. No honest and intelligent citi.en,
whether Republican or Democrat, can thiuk
tfith complacency of the, possibility of repeat
ing in 1870 the disgraceful intrigues of 1842
and 18(G. Whatever error or wiukedueHS
there may be in the doctrinos of a political
party, there is, at any rate, some consolation
in the certainty that such doctrines must be
honestly believed by large masses of men
before they could receive the sanction of a
'platform."
The particular men who frame a party plat
orm may be utterly insincere; but the people
for whose satisfaction it is made must gene
rally believe in it, or it would not be supported
by politicians. This is true even of a platform
like that of the Whigs in 1852, which was
despised by a majority of the party in the
Northern Btates. It was not made to please
that seotion of the party. It was framed by
Southern politicians, and fairly represented
the sentiments of all Southern Whigs aul of
fully one-third of the party at the North.
Even if these did not include the majority of
the party (which is doubtful), it cannot be
disputed that the platform was heartily ap
proved by a very large minority, and was
adopted in deference to the wishes of the peo
ple, and not in servile submission to the will
of one man.
Not only is there a strong feeling in opposi
tion to all attempts to orgauize a personal
party, but there is a great deal of doubt
among earnest members of the Republican
party as to the policy of nominating a candi
date not unequivocally identified with its past
history. A majority of the party are disposed
to nominate General Grant, and probably have
felt disposed to do so ever since April, 1805.
But a large minority, including many of the
most worthy, conscientious, and zealous Re
publicans, are dissatisfied with the prospect,
find recall the names of Tyler and Fillmore as
melancholy illustrations of the same mistake
which has proved so disastrous in the nomi
nation of Johnson. It will not do to override
Such men without convincing them. And, as
ire do not agree with their conclusions,
although fully sympathizing with their ulti
mate purposes, we shall endeavor to point out
to them the distinctions between the cases
Which have caused trouble in the past and the
policy to which they now object.
In the first place, it should be borne in mind
that it has always been a Vice-President,
never an elected President, who has betrayed
the confidence of his party so far as to show
any tendency to go over to its adversary.
Messrs. Pierce and Buchanan betrayed the
confidence reposed in them by the people, but
did so only out of their extreme' servility to
their party managers. Their error was pre
cisely the opposite of that which has marked
the career of some Vice-Presidents. It is
Scarcely necessary to inquire into the reasons
of this difference while the fact of its existence
is admitted. The position of a Vice-President
' is very unsatisfactory to an ambitious man;
and when he unexpectedly finds himself pro
moted to the higher position, it may well hap
pen that his head should be turned by an
- elevation for which he did not look, and was
Hot qualified. He is selected, too, with refer
ence only to the lower place, and in many
cases is chosen purely from considerations of
'poality rather than with any regard to his
jbility or even to his national popularity.
He is never a man who has had any reason
to imagine that he could be a successful can
didate for the Presidency, and he knows as
well as any one that he is nominated for the
Vice-Presidency because he is not deemed
worthy, either then or ever, to be President.
Succeeding to the Presidency by an accident,
euch a man is not likely to feel any particular
gratitude to bis party, wuicn he knows not
merely did not mean to put him where he Is,
but actually meant that he should never be
put there. Sure to have a policy of his own,
he is less willing to defer to the wishes of his
party than he would have been had he felt
nnder obligations to it for his elevation. In
these and other respects there is an obvious
distinction between the case of a President
sleeted by the people and that of one succeed
ing to the office by accident.
In the next place, the three Presidents who
disappointed the expectations with which they
Were nominated were all notable politicians,
Whose past record was well known, and whose
speeches had been quite as frequent as was
desirable. Mr. Tyler had been in the Senate,
as well as in other departments of public lite,
before his nomination as Vice-President. Mr.
Fillmore bad been the leader of his party in
the House of Representatives. Mr. Johnson
had, as ia now pretty generally known, filled
every office in the gift of the people, from
alderman to senator. Nor were they silent
men. Mr. Fillmore was not actually loquacious,
but was never afraid to speak. It may be
remembered that in 1856 he "swung around
he circle" in anticipation of Mr. Johnson; and,
though his manner was that of a gentleman,
lis success iu that suicidal business was fully
Jiqual to that of our present Chief Magistrate.
Mr. Tyler was au active debater; and, as to
Mr. Johnson, everybody knows what he is and
Always was. It may therefore be inferred that
mere readiness to speak it not a material safe-
Eiard against the disappointment of a party's
opes.
But again, it must be considered that only
Messrs. Tyler and Johnsou actually deserted
their party; and that these men were both
committed by their past record against the
measures to which their party was inclined,
While they had never recanted their former
doctrines. The breach once made, they un
doubtedly went much further than was re-
quired by mere consistency; tut at the out
aet ther simply wished to stand against the
progress of thoir party. The Whig party of
1840 was not committed to the re-establishment
of a national bank, while Mr. Tyler was
committed against it. The Republican party
Of 18C4 was not committed to equal suUrage,
Mr.. Johnson was on record against it.
Tt ia tru that Mr. Johnson broke with his
uartr before it took final action in favor of
equal suiirage; Lui it is mu u ." ",
almost every one else, saw that the tendenoy
of the party was in tuai airecnou irresisnuio.
Mn l.r Iiavh determined to quarrel upon a
remote issue seldom wait until that issue pre-
sunti iisft fur decision.
Only two Presidents have been elected with
out having a decisive political record, and
these tfere Washington and Taylor. The po
THE DAILY 15 V E A'
litical history of the former la less familiar to I
Arnerlrarm than any othor part of his life, and
it may, therefore, not b known to all our
rradrrs that be eoromenoed his administration
as a rrry moderate Federalist, itrWingto hold
the balance between the rival parties, and
vinloBlly Wsma a decided supporter of
Federal, doctrines, doing more for the party
than was eipected of him at his election.
Mineral Taylor, who defined himself as a
"Whig, but not an nltra Whig," and from
whom, a large lvehollr, no shadow of favor
toward free-soil doctrines might have been
expw ted, proved himself as good a Whig as
anybody wanted, and a more eilective advocate
of measures whU-u could only remit in the
exclusion of slavery from the new Territories
thin any avowed Free-soiler.
Had he lived through his term, it Is almost
certain that the inlamont Fugitive Slave bill
could never have pafied, and that Texas
would have receivod no bril to induce her
to surreuder New Mexico, while it is not Im
probable that Southern treason would have
Wen sternly crushed by a Southern man.
A wise though severe decree ordered it other
wite. A Northern mm, formerly ia sym
pathy with moderate Abolitionists, anil univer
sally supposed, lfbre his election, to be a
Free-soiler, succeeded to the Presidency, and
by liis lnllueuce brought about all the humili
ating events of lk5i, thus leading the Houth
into the abyss of lfGl
Applying these lessons of hlstery to the
political ailairs of the present day, it appears
to us that the masses of the Republican party
desire a guarantee that the work of reconstruc
tion upon the basis of equal suffrage shall be
carried on to success, yet In such a spirit of
moderation as shall ensure good government,
and prevent the unchecked supremacy of
either race at the South over the other. The
majority of the party, in short, want to estab
lish equality at the iSouth not to give dominion
to either side. A large and important mi
nority would prefer to leave a qualified and
carefully restrained dominion to the white
race exclusively; while there is but a very
small minority in favor of giving exclu
sive dominion, or anything equivalent to
it, to the negro raoe. A Presidential nomi
nation is to be made which shall unite
iu cordial assent all wings of the Re
publican party, and secure the control of
pnblio affairs to men of Republican sentiments.
That General Grant will command the enthu
siastic support of all who are called conserva
tive Republicans, there is no doubt. That he
is the choice of a great majority of the party,
acting spontaneously and quite irrespectively
of the manipulations to which a well known
and veteran politician attaches such import
ance, is certain, liut the active interest taken
in the General's success by a suspicious class
of politicians, and his own reticence and non
political character, excite (as we have before
said) distrust in the minds ot some of the
most earnest and faithful Republicans. They
want a guarantee against a renewal of the
Tyler and Johnson experiences, and are unwill
ing to accept a candidate purely upon trust.
General Grant is in a position of great deli
cacy, and one in which he can better serve his
country than he oan as a mere candidate for
the Presidency, lie is in command of the
army, subject to the President, and to him
only. Would it be decorous or desirable for
him to make speeches, or write letters, or
enter into conversation for the purpose of indi
cating his opposition to the policy of his supe
rior officer f We do not admire the spectacle
of a President making 'speeches in opposition
to coordinate branches of the Governmeut; but
still less should we like to see the General of
the Army engaged in arousing publio feeling
against his own commander. The only thing
that, could be more offensive would be the
servility which should lead him to go out of
the path of duty to (latter his superior. Gene
ral Grant is at present a purely military- man,
and the less soldiers, as such, have to do with
dictating our civil policy, the better will it be
for us as a people.
But whenever, in the course of regular duty,
General Grant has had occasion to express an
opinion, his sentiments have proved satisfac
tory. Ilia views upon the admission of the
Southern States, in 1SG5, were not entirely in
harmony with those of the Republican party
in 1SG6; but upon the aspect of affairs, as he
then saw them, a majority of the party would
probably have agreed with him. The senti
ments of his correspondence with the Presi
dent during last summer must have been satis
factory to every radical "who was not deter
mined to object to him. II is acts are as un
exceptionable as those of any other publio
man. lie has selected ana sustained, so far aa
was in his power, assistants in the work com
mitted to him who were faithful, efficient, and
resolved to carry out the will or Congress. lie
has, therefore, a record; and it is one entirely
consistent with the policy of the Republican
party.
Again, mere is no successful general oi tne
war, still in service, to whom the same objec
tions, or more serious ones, could not be
made. Yet what radical Republican has had
reason to complain of Thomas, Sheridan, or
Schofield? There seems to be something in
their vocation which makes real soldiers more
obedient to the people, and more faithful to
the spirit of the nation, than other classes of
public men. They do not travel as rapidly in
political affairs as some other men, but they
are at least as certain to arrive at a sound con
clusion, and they make thorough work when
they reach it.
We have no such absolute faith in General
Grant as would lead us to favor his nomina
tion independent of party, or without any dis
tinct enunciation of principles, lie must,
when the proper time arrives, be put upon a
sound political platform, and must stand there.
Much will depend upon the men who gather
round him, and upon his own opinion of their
relative values. But this is true of every ser
vant of the publio, and only adds to the rea
sons why good men should take such a part in
his support as will entitle them to his confi
dence. All the disreputable politicians of the
Republican party are ilockiug around the
Grant llag not that they care for Grant, but
that they may secure the spoils of victory.
We believe that a majority of the best men
are satisfied of the General's integrity, ability,
and fidelity to the party ; and we hope that
they will exert such an influence as shall
ensure a victory which will require no distri
bution of plunder.
One consideration we must add before clo
sing. It would be an excellent thing to have
a President without a jwlicy. It is the business
of Congress to frame a policy, and the busi
ness of the President to execute it. For many
years the opposite theory has prevailed, and
has led to houudleus corruption. It is the
fact that a policy is the President's own, or
that he thinks so, which makes him so anxious
to bribe men into its support. This theory of
government .has, in the times of Buchanan
and Johnson, almost led to revolution, anl
has now culminated in the present discredita
ble administration of publio affairs. We
shall be heartily glad to see an end of this
mode of government; and we think an oppor
tunity is presented for putting an end to it,
by the eleotion of a man sympathizing with,
but not dictating, the popular decision, ami
who will carry it out fcecauve it is the will of
the people, and not because it is the will of
President Grant.
IN G ' TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY,
Reronr.trnetlon.-A Point Gained.
from the N. Y. Tmeir
There is hope for reconstruction Mr. Thad
deus Stevens, though not victorious, has ao
oepted an ultimatum and is satisfied. The
measure passed on Wednesday, divested of
Mr. Stevens' method of increasing the South
ern representation, received the unbroken Re
publican vote in the House, and goes to the
Senate with a fair chance of speedy enactment.
It changes that provision of the present law
which requires the vote of a majority of the
number registered to complete reorganization
substituting therefor a simple majority of
the actual votes; and further facilitates the
work of providing tor the election of members
of Congress simultaneously with the vote on
the new constitutions. This is all. And the
fact that no further conditions are suggested
by the extremists, but that, on the contrary,
Mr. Stevens abandons threatened obstacles
and declares himself ready to sustain the ad
mission of Southern representatives at the
earliest possible period under the law, shows
that the apprehension of disturbing influences
from that quarter need not be further enter
tained.
The circumstance is renderel additionally
significant by the causes which produced it.
Mr. Stevens would probably not desire to
have it understood that he voluntarily sur
rendered his position, or acquiesced in rational
views because of their superiority. He is not
the man to yield, even to reason. Rut lie
understands the folly ef kicking against the
pricks. And when the great body of the
Republican members supported Mr. Bingham
in his opposition to a proposition which
would have arbitrarily disturbed the basis of
Congressional representation, the venerable
Commoner wisely gave up the point, and took
his stand with the rest on the finality of the
law aa amended.
The party is then onoe more united on
ground controlled by the moderate element,
which has thus again proved its ability and
right to dictate the policy by whloh the party
shall be estimated. The extremists have re
ceded before superior force, and to day the
party in the House is harmonious and united
in favor of hastening the restoration of the
South. If impediments arise, they will come
from the South itself. Congress is evidently
desirous of facilitating reconstruction, and
will neither sanction fresh penalties nor tole
rate demands designed to prolong sectional
exclusion.
It Is not unreasonable to suppose that the
present attitude of the party, as indicated by
the action of th House on Wednesday, has
been in some degree influenced by reoent
manifestations of Northern opinion. The
Republican majority have learned from Mr.
Johnson's expermnoe the folly of attempting
to cultivate crochets aud persevere in preju
dices in defiance of publio opinion. They see,
doubtless, that the extreme radioals are guides
whom it is not safe to follow, and that the
future power of the party is dependent on the
practical success of its legislation. There is
no escape from the dictum, that by its fruits
it shall be judged. Nor is there any means
of evading the responsibility it has assumed
as the party by whose measures the Union is
to be restored.
From this assumed relation of cause and
effect, we derive the hope that the good sense
and moderation of the party will be further
shown when the results of the conventions
and the subsequent voting shall be brought
Wore Congress as the high court of revision.
The same spirit which has now restrained
Mr. Stevens will then find useful exercise in
pruning, correcting, perhaps in liberalizing
the constitutions framed by the conventions.
The anxiety now felt to quicken reconstruc
tion and render it easy will then take cogni
zance of its reality. The mere form will be
valueless. To le permanent and sure, it
must have vitalitythe life which springs
from justice and liberality as the guarantees
of lasting peace.
For this ultimate test of republican states
manship we wait patiently, with an expecta
tion strengthened by the course now taken by
Congress on the subject.
General Grant' Kttleence.
From the If. Y. World.
"I will not give you reason to imagine that
I think my sentiments of such value as to
wish myself to be solicited about them. They
are of too little oonsequenoe to be very anx
iously either communicated or withheld."
Thus wrote the greatest philosophical states
man of modern times (or of any time), in the
opening sentences of Lis most celebrated pro
duction. If hit opinions were not of conse
quence enough to justify his withholding them
when respectfully asked, we do not know that
it follows that no other man's can be. If the
comparative value of opinions were to be esti
mated by the greatness of the faculties em
ployed in their formation, we suppose there
are not many men who oould modestly refuse
to disclose what ruuh a man as Edmund Burke
thrught he could not modestly conceal.
The resolute silence of General Grant, which
bailies alike solicitation and artifice, must staud
on other reasons than the value of what it so
Sedulously protects from the profanation of
public knowledge. It U possible that he foils
the iuqnlsitiveness of his countrymen because
he considers their curiosity as impertinent;
but this theory is not without its difficulties.
If what he keeps so close were things told him
in confidence by other meu, aud not opinions
of his own which he is at full liberty to dis
close, we could account for au I appreciate his
reticence. His countrymen have not so eagerly
sought his views upou matters which concern
only him, but on matters of vital interest to
them ; matters ou which they need rectifica
tion and guidance if they are wrong, or con
firmation if they are right. Uy telling his
I opinions he would bntray no confidence,
violate no trust. If they are imoortaut, his
fellow-citizens feel that they have a
right to know them ; if not important,
they do not understand why, by the artifice of
a studied aud tantalizing mystery, they should
be clothed with factitious consequence. General
Grant's countrymen believe him to be alove
any petty quackery like that by which the
tribe of doctors, in so many modern comedies,
conceal their ignorance ly wise shakes of the
head and the learned jargon which is more
effeotive than silence, living too houest to
practise similar arts, he dees not hang out a
dumb reticence to screen mental vacaucy. Iu
whatever direction we seek the causes of his
obbtinate silence, we Hud only perplexity. We
can conceive why, when the commander of a
fighting army, he should conceal his military
plans; but we never supposed that the political
opinions of a citizen, or even of a caudidate for
office, were a kind of information he is bouul
to keep from circulation in his own camp lest
it should come to the knowledge of the enemy.
True, it la customary to transfer the phrases
of the oamp into politics, and talk of cam
paigns, battles, and victories; but opinions are
the very missiles with which we fijjht. A
dumb political canvass is as mu.h out of
nature as a noiseless battle.
Now what is there iu the public relations of
General Grant so exceptional as to impose
upon him this studied and-stubborn silence
on topics upon which every other man speaks
without reserve or myBtery T He Is Seoretary
of War; but we never before heard of a Secre
tary of War making a profound secret of his
political pinions. He is an officer of the
army; but other army officers do not feel that
they violate any of the proprieties of their
profession by telling where they stand in
politics. There is nothing then in General
Grant's ojirial relations that binds him to
keep silence. The only remaining supposition
is, that General Grant refuses to let his opin
ions be known because he expects to be the
candidate of one or the other of our political
parties for President. If the publio inquisi
tiveness annoys him, he has only to declare,
with such sincere emphasis as to command
belief, that he will accept no nomination from
any party, and nobody will persecute him iu
quest of his opinions. His silence cauuot be
accounted for on the ground that he is not a
candidate; for in that case he would hazard
nothing by frankness, and would have no
motive for conoealment. Every other con
ceivable hypothesis being excluded, we may
rationally suppose that Ueneral Grant keeps
his political opinions secret because he ex
pects to be the Presidential candidate of one or
the other political party.
Having by a pretty sure though circuitous
route reached this point, the motives of his
silence seem more impenetrable than ever.
Why should a candidate for the Presidency
refuse to tell his opinions ? It would natu
rally be supposed that of all men in the coun
try those who are candidates for its highest
office in times when opinions are greatly
divided, should be the moat frank, open, and
forward in declaring their sentiments, espe
cially if they have no political record to speak
for them. It is so inconsistent with manliness
for a candidate to secrete his opinions lest they
should damage his prospects, it is so incom
patible with a high sense of character to wait
before declaring himself till he is satisfied
which party will prove the stronger, that the
country does not think of attributing such
motives to General Grant. It is derogatory to
a man's estimation to let his opinions even
seem to depend on his chances of political pro
motion, or to be dictated by his personal in
terest. General Grant's silence is as paiuful
as it is puzzling. Certain it is, that he can
not be a Presidential candidate without de
claring himself for one party or the other.
The declaration is likely to come so late as to
subject him to unpleasant imputations. If he
cherishes a high and jealous sense of honor,
he would prefer to withdraw from the canvass
altogether rather than wear the appoarance of
concealing his opinions until he can adjust
them to his interests, or make them subser
vient to his ambition.
Presidential Pr(niei for Stanton'a
Ilemoval.
From the N. Y. Tribune. '
The President's statement of the reasons for
removing Secretary Stanton is disingenuous.
His real reason, as is well known, was that
Mr. Stanton would not remove District Com
manders like Sheridan and Sickles, who
aimed to carry out the Reconstruction acts in
good faith, and substitute' in lieu thereof
military tools like Steedman and Hancock,
who would attempt to counter-legislate, in the
interest of Rebels and reaction, against the
acts of Congress. To this, the real reason, the
President is utterly oblivious. Instead thereof,
he assigns, first, that Mr. Stanton would not
refcign when requested. But why did he re
quest him to resign ? A request to resign au i
a removal are so nearly one and the same
thing that to account for the latter the former
must be explained. Mr. Johnson's answer is
like that ot the urchin who was asked what
made yonder bell ring f "Somebody," he re
plied, "must be pulling on the rope." The
President's second reason is that the Secre
tary received at u o oiock on Sunday . a
despatch from General Baird relative to the
difficulty in New Orleans which, culmi
nated in a riot on Monday morning, and. had
the Secretary sent the telegram to the Presi
dent, the latter would nave ns infer that the
riot would have been avoided. Nothing can
be more insincere than to cast the blame of
that event on the Secretary. What were the
facts f Some Republicans, black and white,
who regarded the President's effort to form a
State Government for Louisiana as a failure,
had met in convention to take steps towards
giving the State a new State Government
based on untvereal suffrage without distiuction
of color. The Lieutenant-Governor and At-
toney-General of the State, and the Mayor of
the city, were jonnsonites, in favor oi a white
suffrage only. They were aiming, in connec
tion with some of the city judges, to have cri
minal process issued to prevent the assembling
of the convention, or to arrest the members
and break it up if it should meet. . They
were in correspondence by telegraph with the
President, and obtained from him an order
that the military should sustain the courts,
and by inference break up the convention.
As there was really nothing to indict or
arrest the convention for, this pretense of
obtaining process of the courts was dropped,
and thofce who Intended to b:eak up the Con
vention moved lorward in a mob, without any
process of a court, and, inspired by the auda
city imparted to them by the assurance they
had received from the President that he was
ou their side, they broke it up by a wholesale
murder and massacre of its members. Meau
while the Goveinor of Louisiana favored the
Convention, and he and General Baird were In
communication with the War Department, as
the ex-Rebels were with the President. Now,
let ns place the despatch received by the
Presidtnt and that received by Mr. Stanton
side by Hide, and see what facts are communi
cated to Mr. Stanton that had not been made
known to the President.
MCKPATCH TOT UK FKKSI-I DKHl'ATCIl TO MB. STAN
HUNT. I TON.
ly telegram from the! Ou the same 23lh of Au-l.ifOleiiMiil-iioveruor
and Knt. Hie IuIIuwiuk lele
A lUirney-Uuiif rtl of Lou- if rum wat sent lo Mr Hian
tniuna, unied I lie 27ih ttiul ton. by Mujor-Oi'n. llaird,
Stilt ni AiikukI, I wan ud- luen (owing 10 theataeue-e
vld inula body ul ileie- ot Uu. Hherldun) In o.nu
Ktr, rlitlmlni; to be maud of Uie military ul
( inn lluiionttU mi v ni li n, Nw Orli'nim:
wrf re mint lo icint-uible In j I'lie 11cm. Klwin M.
isrw Orli-aim: Hint tliu Stnntnii, bto'etary of War:
limllei tHH tieiore Ujh A I'onvmilluti Lai Iibhii
tiraml Jury, but dial H calleil, Willi I he nanotlon
Wdlll.l llH llll onr.l'jlo lo u f Uuv. W'flls, tu nit-el
eii U! civil ror-KS Willi- Iihta nil Monday. The
ouiarli t: and ihla mini Ion l.lnuUimnt-J.ivrurir aud
wua ahkrd: ' I Hie ml. I oily amliorlileH llilnk it
tarr lo liiiprTer to re- unlawful and proimia to
vt-nl proem of Court T", break It up by urru.-ulng
Tlilx ijiit-htlon wan afkfd Hie Ueleuuli'S. I uv
al a lima when ilia civ.l ylveu mi ordurn on the
0"uM w-r In the lull ex- Muhju-t, but tmva warned
ri'iH of tbrlr authority, Jlhe pirile thai 1 culd
ami Hid m" haul by net couno-nanoitor permit
telegraph on ihesaine JuhHich action without In.
ot AiikiinI waa Hi : "Tli Htruclioii 1" "ml i-ff.., t
m iliary will liu expected Iruni the Presldeul. I'leaae
lo auualn and nut Uitr-1 Instruct me at ouco by
frel.h the lnooi-edlugi, lolefcTaph."
ol Ihe court." I
Tie only fact communicated to Mr. Stautoa
which was not contained in the dispatch to the
President is that the Convention was sanc
tioned by Gov. Wells; and that fact he knew
abundantly from other sources, as Gov. Wells
was well known to the whole couutry to have
ten the prime mover iu calling the Conven
tion. The President knew that the Conven
tion was called to aid In reorganizing the
State ou the ba&ia of universal suffrage, after-
DECEMBER 21, 1807.
OLD RYE
TTTTi! T ATinTST AND
FINE OLD RYE WHISKIES
In tho Land Is now Possessed by
HENRY S. HANNIS & CO.
Nob. 218 aDd 220 South FfcOKT Street,
WHO OIIIII IIIF. SAME TO TUB TRADE, H LOT, ON VERY AU V ANTAUEOU
TEB9IM.
Their Stock of Bye Whiskies, in Bond, comprises all the favorite brands extant, and mna
through the various months of 16G5, 'C6, and of this year, np to present date.
Liberal contracts made fc lota to arrive at Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, Ericsson LI
Wharf, or at Bonded Warehouse, as parties may elect.
ENGLISH CABPETIKGS.
AtW COOIIS OT OVB OWN IMPOBTATIOK JUST ARRIVED.
ALSO, A CHOICE SELECTION OF
AMERICAN CAnPL-TIMCS, OIL CLOTHS. ETC.
English DrnggctlBga, from half yard to four yards wld Mattings,
Ruga Mftta.
Our entire stock, Including new good daily opening, will be offered at LOW
PRICES FOR CASH, prior to Reiuova in January next, to Htk Store, now
building, No. 1222 Chesnut street.
BEEVE L.
U Uthstu2m
wards adopted by Congress. The Rebel party
were seeking some means to break it up.
The President wanted it broken np by some
means, though he wished to dodge the re
sponsibility of a riot by assuming the pre
tense of sustaining the civil authorities, lie
well knew that the civil authorities, espe
cially the police of New Orleans, would be ths
authors of a riot, and that all he need do was
to bold off the military, and the riot, t. ., the
attack of the Rebel police on the Convention,
would begin. He ordered the military to let
them alone, and the riot began and culmina
ted virtually according to his commaui.
This being his attitude, the late pretense
that, had he received General Baird's despitch
he would have been found on the other side,
and sustaining the Convention, is unwarranted.
The remainder of his communication is de
Toted to proving that Seoretary Stanton ap
proved his reconstruction policy and dis
approved the Tenure-of-Offloe law as uncon
stitutional. It is not claimed that these views
of Mr. Stanton formed any part of the reasons
for his removal, and they are only brought
forward to impeach his politioal consistency,
and diminish the respect of bis iriends. The
President's efforts in this direotion are equally
disingenuous. Mr. Stauton stated in a public
speech a year ago, aud more recently in his tes
timony before the Impeachment Committee,
that he approved the reconstruction policy of
the President in all except the restriction of
the suffrage to the whites only; aud on this
he differed from but deferred to his superior.
Ue drew the Reconstruction proclamation in
every other respect but this, in which it was
illled out by the President and others.
This reliance on white suffrage only being
the vital blunder in the President's policy, it
follows that Stanton approved it wherein it
was well enough, and with considerable saga
city foresaw and disapproved its blunder. Ou
the point of the Tenure of Office bill, the Pre
sident's imputation is more severe if not more
just, provided the President states the o we
correctly. There is this apology for Mr. St in
ton on this point, however, viz., that, though
he believed the act to be unconstitutional be
fore it was passed, he may, as a lawyer, very
properly have held it to be his own and the
President's duty to obey it when passed until
it should be declared invalid by the Supreme
Court. The President assumes that, if an
officer believes a bill before Congress to be
unconstitutional, it is his duty to disobey it
after it has become a law by a two-thirds vote
over the President's veto.
PVThe true reason why the President removed
Stanton, Sheridan, Sickles, and all the Repub
licans whom he has removed, is one, viz.,
their loyalty to the principle of liberty, to
which the President is a renegade.
Kngland and tlxm United States The
Alabama Claims.
From the JV. Y. Herald.
History, it has been often said, repeats itself.
The saying, it is true, does not amount to an
absolute truth; but it is scarcely the less, on
that account, pregnant with suggestive les
sons. Pity it is that these lessons have been
so often neglected by nations and by indivi
duals. There is one lesson which history has
taught and which is likely soen again to re
ceive fresh illustrations, but which, like so
many of the others, has been little heeded
this, namely, that small beginnings oftentimes
lead to great and disastrous conclusions.
It will not surprise us if the present diffi
culty between England and the United States,
aribing out of the Alabama affair, furnishes
some such illustration. The original difficulty
between the Greeks and the Persians was a
small matter, but it led to a protracted strug
glea Btruggle which resulted in the humilia
tion of Persia and the building up of the mag
nificent empire of Alexander. It was so after
wards with Rome and Carthage. A . trifling
bicilian difficulty brought the Carthagiuians
and the Romans into collision. The bad pas
sions which this first Btruggle engendered
lasted long after the original difficulty was for
gotten. The Punio wars occupy a prominent
place on the page of history; and the third
Punic war ended only with the destruction of
Carthage and the conversion of the then Great
Sea into a Roman lake.
Great Britain and the United States have
allowed themselves to drift into a position
which, to say the least, is ominous of war.
The origiual cause of quarrel, if good sense
and reason had beeu allowed to prevail, might
easily have beeu got over. The stubbornness
of England, however, has mightily aggravated
the difficulty, and it is now extremely difliuult
to foresee to what disastrous conclusion this
small cause of quarrel might lead. To us the
payment of the Alabama claims is a compara
tive trifle. The money is nothing; the principle
is everything. The refusal on the part of Great
Britaiu to pay the Alabama claims may give
rise to a Btruggle which will assume propor
tions unparalleled in the past, which will sink
Persian and Punio wars into the shade, and
the only result of which can be the triumph of
the American flag, and the conversion of the
broad Atlantio into a grand American lake.
We can never regard the reongnitiou of the
South by the Governmeut of Great Britain iu
any other light than as an opeu and wilful
violation of the principles of international law
and as an insult offered to the great American
people. We have not forgotten and will uot
soon forget the oonduot of the British Govern
WHISKIES.
1JEST STOCK OF
KNIGHT & SON,
KO. 807 CHESNUT STREET.
ment or of the British pres3 during our late
oivil war a civil war which ended so glori
ously for the Union, and which so marvellously
revealed our resources and the power of our
republican institutions. France is scarcely
less culpable than England, but we have
already had our revenge in that quarter. We
have seen her eat humble pie quite to our
satisfaction, and there are few who will refuse
to admit that she waddled down the hill a little
more quickly and a little less to her own com
fort than she waddled up. It is England's
turn to eat humble pie now, and our advice to
her is to avoid a collision with the great
republic by paying down the Alabama claims
at once.
WATCHES, JEWELRY, ETC.
HOLIDAY PRESENTS
AT REDUCED PltlOES,
C. RUSSELL & CO.,
No. S3 North SIXTH Street,
Invite attention lo tliclr very large stock of
FIXE WATCHIS,
(iOLO JEWFXBT,
FRENCH OLOCkSMr
AND FANCY GOODS,
Or their own Importation, which they ofler at
PRICES UBEATLT REDUCED, IN ORDER
TO DIMINISH STOCK.
Jl'MT RECEIVED,
A very large Invoice of ANIMALS' HEADS, fjr
Halls and Dtnlcg Kooma.
AUo, VAfe-ES from Herculaneum and Pompeii, and
CnrloB'tlfg from the Pyrttm'rtn. 5 2-'j
HENRY HARPER.
No. 520 ARCH Street.
Plated Ware,
AT
12 wm
REDUCED PRICES.
tvns LA.D0MUS & CO.
. DIAMOND DEALERS & JEWELERS.
WATCHES, JKWELKY A SILVKtt ffillK.
vWATCKE3 and JEWELS.? EEPAIEEDV
Have on baud a lrt and beaulliul assortment of
WATCH.
D1AJIOXPS,
JA.tEf.RY, A WD ,
SILVER WARE.
A large portion of our Stock Is eutlrel new, made
ex pi taut j lor our
HOLIDAY HALES.
NEW GOODS CONTINUALLY KKCKIVED.
Our Stock oi WATCH KB AND DIAMOND Is on.
nsunlly large, and Oi price a low. If not lower, lu&a
LlifT can be pnrchaHd In this clt) ,
Bb.lv Al rHUMtLN lb iu great variriy. o ijip
We keep always on band an assortment of
LADIES' AUD UENTS' "EI ME WATCHES"
Of the bft American and Foreign Makers, all wax
raxi led lo give complete satisfaction, aud at
GREATLY K EDUCED PRICKS.
PARR A BROTHER,
Importers of Watches, Jewelry, Musical Boxes, eto.
11 Usmlbrp No. 824 CHESNUT St., below roar la.'
Especial attention slvrn lo repairing Watches and
Musical Boxes by ElllttT-CLAbrf workmen.
AMERICAN WATCHES;
tTb best In Uie world, sold at factory Prloss,
C. & A. PEQUICNOT.
MANDFAC1UKKKS Of WATCH CASKS,
NO, 18 Soutb SIXTH Street.
It Itanuttu-ttnM, Xo. VL H tflFTH Strm.
CTEKLINd SILVERWARE MANUFACTORY
WO. 414 EOC1KT KTBEET,
GEOltGE SHARP,"
Patentee of the Ball and Cube patterns, manufactures
very description of flue bTKULlNQ SILVK1U
WAKE, aud offers for bale, wholesale aud retail,
choke asHorimeut of rich aud beautiful goods of new
styles al low prices. ((2 Am
J. M. fell A RP. A. ROBS.H!U
ISoDUEUS' AND VOSTEn7u)LM'3 POCKKT
V KMVKS, pta-laud fa llau.lu-s. ; b"u u
liblxli. ltUDlil.U.V and WiHK A M' lt '";l H
HA.ORW, ami lUocmbratMl I.KCOUL1 Hh. ItA.UH
ferihbOUS of the lii.mKiimlUV. ,t.-n. ..
ItaKors. K Lives. fclh.-or and Table 'it'ery Oroii4
and Policed at 1'. MADfclUA'-t. No. IU IJNlli
bireol, oelow Cbenuuu 9JP
FINE WATCHES.
L2
i