The New York Herald Newspaper, July 23, 1872, Page 3

@uty. Let us 16 the evidence Tinay throw io renponsi ty forthe titre apn the the accomplishment of the that Fr more than for which I charge ministration and those who control the re- Southern ag ‘attad pebiteant Party that by their partisan selfishness oe m thew hearts to the of thia Union. | they have shown thernesives utterly unfit to encour- : For let us not bay ee delusion Fg R Fe ane Sereiap the spd wmpaiace pampering bes e G ina eae pn wh ie can ate eat or ong | problem. ofbe jonal” envi or'y ge amert that W: . It requires bond whic! is togetier us far they have disappointed the hopes and for- rathfal Mood. Fr of the people, and not their bodies gay; felted the confidence of the American people, and if and Lo create that bend for us the that the power they wield ha become barren of ject of stateem: We read of King Frederick | good and fruitfat of danger in hands. “os. . ‘Wilder U, of Prussia, the. father of Frederick the angporiey Ah, OTHER ABU SHE mae OIVLL SERVICE, PRESIDENT GRANT FIERCELY ASSAILED, | Great that he was fond of occasionally cudgeliing | | The partisan selfishness deed the = | such of his subjects as leased him. One day, | great o} uty if paslopaltzing fe. South has wage mentee. While wa.”tng in the streets of Berlin, he saw a | shown F it qn les laviig Poon ‘ man hurriedly tu: 4 corner at his approach. The | aiothor fiol deo looked to this adminis- King overtook hin and asked, “Why did you run het Lint \oroug reform of the abuses which A Th h Review of the Po- | ayay from mer” “Because I was arraid of your | had crept into the public service. Corrupt and un- oreng: 6 Majesty,” replicd the trembling burgher. “Well, wo oMcers had to make way for better men. enn you rascal,” said the “ay ‘ou know that I | Public servAnts were to be made aware that the “litical Situation. Want iny subjects to love me and not to fear me?” | interests of the should be the highest object . a And to produce that love he gave him a sound |.of their action; that to the republic they owed drubbing. Such methods of creating senti- | their undivided devotion and their best etfor ts, and Thana eutiry. ago in’ a. despolie: Eingiom, | irom their omeo. beyond the sietce atiowatce pe mu a century ago in @ despot ingdom, | fro eir office. bey e 8 WRN RA AN. but in a count like love is not | the law, Honor and duty should be their SCHURZ, G NT D ST. DOMINGO inspired by carensen, of that kind, and even fn Watchwords. It was expected of th lent Prussia they have long since come to the conclu- | that he would inspire all. with his ex- sion that it requires very diterent methods to build | ample. The frst Borla of the administration, up and hold together a great empire. In order when the government. patron: was 80 conspicu- Grave Charges Implicating the President | Made by the Senator. The Light of ‘the Liberals, the Sage of the Hatehet, the Hope of the Country. SENATOR SCHURZ FOR GREELEY Civil Service Reform To Be Really Inaugurated by the Liberals. Schurz to Horace--Horace to Schurz. ‘ Coy yas or og Great Meeting in St. Lonis in Honor of the Nominees of Cincinnati and Baltimore. gr. Louis, July 22, 1872. Fifteen months ago Scnator Schurz meade his Qrst speech in this city in vindication of his position of opposition to the administration he had helped so greatly to place in power, It was not very largely attended; and beyond the significant fact that the most numerous portion of his audience were democrats, | that he was weicomed by a leading democrat, who had been but just previously a prominent candi- date for the democratic Senatorial nomination, there was but littie to excite interest in the cir- cumstance. The speech was carefully worded, and, while justifying hig own course, did not assail with any virulence those wio still sustained President Grant and his policy. | The burden of it was Civil Service reform and the failure of the party in power to redeem its Pledges concerning it. To-night Mr, Schurz again spoke his first public address since the Cincinnati Convention. There was absolutely nothing done in the way of drawing out a crowd—a mere two line item in the morning papers announcing the hall and the hour was all there was in the line of preparation, and yet 0 great was the anxicty to hear him that every inch of space was occupied two hours before the time announced, ana thousands, finding it impossible to obtain admission, turned away. The speech was delivered under republican auspices, all the officers being for several years prominent mem- bers of that party. On the platform, and included among the Vice Presidents, were some of the most prominent republicans in the city, imciuding General John McNeil, Lieutenant Governor Gotts- chalk, Felix Coste, the late Collector of the Port and a former fast friend of President Grant’s, and Many others. The specch, {t will be seen, is a very powerful one, and contains some most serious | charges against the administration in reference to | its St. Domingo policy. It is consitered here as being one of great power, and likely to be of incal- Culable effectiveness in [ilinois and Indiana, SPEECH OF CARL SCHURZ. FESLLow CiTizeNs—Standing before my constitn- ents I deem it my duty to give an account of my public conduct, the motives which have governed it, and the ends it is intended to subserve, I can do this in no better way than by cxpressing fully and frankly my viewe of the events which have produced the present extraordinary situation of our public national affairs—events in which I took ® small part—and also to state what I consider it my duty as a patriotic citizen to do in order to Piomote the best interests of the republic. It has been my misfortune to displeage many with whom I co-operated on the political ficid for many years, and from whom I now, with great regret, find my- welf separated. To the attacks with which some of them endeavor to overwhelm me, J have but one answer. Ihave never considered my party the su- preme arbiter of my sense of duty. 1 have always seen 1n politics aims far higher than the success of the organization to which I belonged, and 1 have never belicved that a party, even if it be my own, has a right to stand m the way of public good. This has throughout my public life been my supreme rule of action, and I trust it will always be, to whatever consequence it may lead as to my politi- cal fortunes, On this ground I shall appeal to your gover judgment. RETROSPECTIVE. When I was honored with a seat in the Senate of the United States I expected to support the adimin- istration which then came into power. The tasks it was called to perform were of unusual import- ance. The civil war was over. Its logical results, the abolition of slavery and the organization of free labor society in the South, were just being reduced to political form and imbedded in the constitution ofthe republic. It remained to fortify these results by reconciling to them the minds of the Southern onle, so that their devclopment could be securely it to the working of local seli-government instead Of tue rule of jorce. To this end a wise and generous policy, appealing to the best instincts oi human nature, Was red to assuage th, passions and animosities the war had left behind it, and to make those who had been overcome in the conflict of @rms a8 muci as possible satisfied with the new order of th During a period of great public dauger the constitutional restrictions of power had not unfrequentiy \ nt to commanding necessity. Tue law bad en overridden by the exi- gencige of the moment, and the people had ecome accustomed to a government of force. It Was necessary to restore the integrity of the law and make it respected by the governin, party ag well as by those who were governed. Grea abuses had crept into the public service, aggravated by the irregular practices of warlike tines. The Res we iy? imperatively demanded a thorouga form, 2 people were loaded down with enor- mous burdens, and, while willing to bear ail for their country, they looked for reasouabje reljet through a sound Gnangial policy, 6. Qs we a NaS 6 Patines, ie While these problems were mncommonty perplex ing, the incoming administration was favored with extraordinary opportunities, The ruling party had Wielded almost undisputed power. It had a great history behind it, froin which it might have drawn a nobie Inspiration for new eiiorts, alming at some- thing higher than selfish advantage. aT} had con- quered under a banner of peace. There was an gvundance of character and talent in its ranks to fit it for the work of reform. The newly elected | Prealdent had the confidence of the country in advance. The masses of the people were well dis- posed. The greatness of the tusk to be performed, as well aa of the possibilitics presented, could ecarcely fail to excite the noblest ambition. A suc. cess great bo a to be the envy of the world ‘was within reach. It did not require very great to see and appreciate such ‘opportunities, ‘but it required what 1 mig call the genius of smaliness to lose them all, More than threo years of that administration sre now behind 98 part of the history of the republic, aud what has become of our hopes? A disappointment which makes further ape appear like mockery, This ad- ministration, which commeuced its career uuder auch happy Suspices, has in so alafriing a degree develope some of the very worst tendencies of Fr political iife that its continuance in authorit ator} rhaps, tie selfishness of power and the grasplug greed of Party stood more insidiously, stubboruly and con- ) | | | party. | studiously put off until it could no longer be de- revive patriotic feeling and national attachment in the South we had to convince the people that we were their fends, and not their conquerors only; that we had their welfare at heart, and not our ad- vantage. @nly when we made them believe in the parse and unselfishness of our intentions could we ope to regain their affections, Let us see what was done by the administration and the rullug party. ‘The great social revolution grown out of the war had regulted, by Jogi necessity, in the enfran- chisement of the colores People, ‘Only by the exer- cise of political rights can the free laborer maintain his independence; but the colored voters, untutored and inexperienced, fell under the leadership of WNGCRUPULOUS ADVENTURERS, that this could have Deen entirely prevented, was one of the usual consequences of great social revolutions, but its effects might well have been limited in time and extent by a wise policy. As it was, a system of robpery and ruinous misgovernment ensued which has hardly @ parallel in history, Most of those States were, with in- credible rapidity, burdencd with enormous debta without any equivalent, Scores of millions apse peared, as if by magto, in the capacious dark- ness of private pockets, Impovertshed as these States were by war, they were now stripped naked, The public expenses became absurdly extravagant; the taxes unbearable, Under such loads industry | was discouraged and ba aed Enterprise gan! down with rt appt roduction ed, | and, incredible as it may seem, while the rest of the -conntry was progressing prosperously, the valué of real property in many of those States ap- peared in the census of 1870, after five years of peace, far below the figures exhibited by the cen- eus of 1860, Such have been the effects of s0- called carpet-bag the South. wap responsible jose governments were and are at this inoment carried on in the name and under the auspices of the republican It was through them that the Southern eople felt the touch ef degrading power. It was hem that they saw the spirit working. Was that Impression wrong Consider impartially what reugons they had for it. hile the most reckless and rapacious of politi- cal bDloodsuckers were thas plundering those com- munities A SYSTEM OF POLITICAL DISABILITIES was mainta:ned which excluded a large number of the intelligent aud property-holding men from eli- buity ta office, and thus from active participation in the administration of public affairs, A large number of those who had the atest ‘stake Rees. government were thus told thatit was no pusitess Of theirs. While in this way on the pne side the work of the plunderers was facilitated, it was not wonderful that on the other the summons, “You — shall love _ this government! did | not mee wit enthusiastic response. The Yemoval of political disabilities, although its good effects could not have been doubted, was | Edo not overnment fi nr this ? nied—aye, until “the Cincinnat! Convention had shown that the question could be trified with no | longer; and when amnesty was granted it was done with such useless restrictions and with such & grudging grace as to make it appear that those who gave it would much rather have withheld it, It was simply the first victory of the Cincinnati movenent. Look over the legislation of Congress touching the late insurrectionary States. Study attentively the bayonet law, the Ku Klux law, a3 they now present themselves in retrospective view. The ends that legislation was to reach were apparently good. Grave disorders had occured in | the South. Voters had been terrorized in the exer- cise of their rigats, Innocent and inoffensive per- sons had been crueily persecuted, oppressed, mal- treated, killed by organized bands of marauders. The laws I spoke of were ostensibly intended to rotect the rights of citizens and to repress such jicorder. Wel!l-meaning persons, to whom, even when opposing the passage of those laws, I always: Rave credit for good intentions, were drawn into their support by their generous sympathies for those whom they considered jn perits ‘but what was the character of those laws, what thetr effect, and What the secret aim of rome of the master spirits ‘who designed them? Not only did they, while protect- ing the rights of some, break down the bulwarks of the citizens against arbitrary authority, and by transgressing all constitutional limits of power endanger the rights of all. Not only did they awaken in the breasts of many, however weil dis- posed, the grave apprenension that a government or rullng party assuming so much would stop at nothing, but such measures served directly to sus- tain in power the very adventurers who, by their revolting system of Yap) were violently keep- ing alive the spirit of disorder which that legisla- tion was to repress. Some of the very worst of that thieving fraternity have been ‘constantly hanging around Congress, bawling and pressing for the extremest measures, with no other view but that every such act would be likely to give them a new lease of power and extend their freo- | doin to steal. How much they care about the protection of the rights of citi#ens and the lives of innocent persons ido not know. Butlam certain that they vaine such laws especially as A POLITICAL MACHINERY TO CONTROL BALLOT HOXRS, as securing an extension of their Pont wba Mcense. How will these laws serve that purpose? You will learn by studying the history of the South during the last few years. 1 have informed | that at this moment, in a certain t of North | Carolina, over five hundred indictments found in some way. under that legislation, are held by the United States authorities én terrorem over the heads ofs0 many voters and their friends to make them vote and exert their Influence at the impending State el.ion as the managers of the Grant purty direct. It is thus that the ruling part; makes itself felt in those States. It is im this light that the majesty of the national government appears to those peopie, not as p iriend to lift them up from their prostra- tion, to guide them out of their errors with a gen- | erous hend avd to make them look up to the | national flag as a symbol of justice and fairness | be a to all; not that, but as the ally and abcttor | of the robbers who suck their biood, as the main- | etay Of o aystem which drains their resources, | blasts their hopes, emascuiates their energies, | mocks thely ente: rise and condemns them to utter poverty, distress and ruin. You honest republi- cans whose ears have been assiduously filled only | with horrible Ku Klux stories, and whose mind is | unversed in the mysteries of party management, | you may look with surprise at this picture. You understand that the ction of these people can- not be successfully invited by the cry, “You must love us if it takes your last penny.’ THE PROSTITUIION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. You ask, how is it possible that so wicked a game should bs carried on by the leaders of a party wont to boast of its LS ii ew did Me It would be im- | possible, had not that party fallen under the control ; of a selfishness so unscrupulous as to put party | success above the best principles it ever profenaed. You must know that carpet-baggerdom is excced- ingly faithiul to the party, except, perhaps, when | its leading spirits, quarrel i over the spoils, fall | out among themselves, lives upon rhy fidelity, and it preaches it as its political goape: |. It relies upon the virtue ‘of arty idelity to cover @ multitude of sins, It sends its representatives to Cougress strong enough | in number to make up majorities. They are | the stanchest and most zealous supporters of the administration for value received. They are the household treops, always ready to march forward and backward and to wheel to the right and to the | lett aa the administration managers direct, There | are exceptions, aa there are white crows—but they i are few. Whatever ie slative scheme the adminis- \ tration may fet up, by whatever ineans of partisan tyranny in crucus or in Congress the opposition of | independent men is to be put down, those household | Lae he can be counted on, They faithfully aid the administration in governing the country, in gov- erning you. For that they receive their patronage aud by that patronage the adminisiration aids and sustains them in their States. They distribute the + he among (heir retainers, who dre equally faith- al, gs they organize their home forces through whom they rule the party at home Abate, forces are at their service, and, thron, he , at the #er- vice of the administration. us this aystem fur- nishes votes in Congress, delegations to national i conventions, boiling over with enthusiasm for the renomination of thé President, and if frexpectea to furnish electoral votes to continue him in power. T suspect, howeyer, it will n furnish enough. In the ‘Reaviing tht uRit Saini ts appa by the patronage of the government An: v countenance of the ruling party, luatily plies ita trade and fils Its pockets, and you hones! republi- cans wonder why the late rebcis will not become Joyal enough to vote the republican tick me this seems certain: as long as YY ascen- dancy {3 meintained by such means, as long a6 party SELPISHNESS STANDS IN THE WAY OF WONBST GOY- ; he nation as Jong us the national power appears as the all, and abettor of Lech and robbery inthe South, that hearty reconciliation, that universal restora: tion of cordial feeling which this country standaso mucen in need of, and which every patriotic citizen must desire with the whole ardor of his soul, can- not and will hot come, As longas a system pre- vails which sacrifices the welfare of a tof the people on the altar OS yd advantage, we shall be met with distrust alarm, for it is not from such sources that affection springs. I should ously employed to make provision for relatives and personal favorites, which we cannot think of with- out shame and humiliation, we should be glad to forget, remembering only the many good appoint- ments that were made, had the sequel been better than the beginning. But the di ce Of a nepotism more scandalous than anything republic knows of—a nepotism which taught Srey ubLC servant that in the opinion of the Cie Hroginera he might, without imp) exhaust. official opportunities to make himaelf and his kinsfolk comfortable, was followed by practices more dl- rectly touching the character and integrity of our institutions, I will not speak here of the cases of embezzlement, defalcatton, fraud and downright thievery which ocourred under this admin- istration and number and magnitude ‘of which, as they accumulated, have sturtied the tax-paying people. There were things more deep! affecting our public morals, Twill ice, The ive an instance characterizing the ident, who in his inaugural ad- ress had promised that he would have no policy to enforce against the will of Sie poole fell in love with a scheme which he pursued much longer than ‘was necessary to convince any sensible man that it ‘was not in accordance with the will of the people. THE ST, DOMINGO CHARGES AGAINST THE PRESIDENT, I mean the acquisition of St. Domingo. He pledged himself through his aide-de-camp—and it Tay be worthy of note that here for the first time the — President's —_aides-de-cam, appear as diplomatic agents of the United States—the President, I say, pledged himself through his aide-de-camp to the rwer of St. Domingo privatel: to use his imfuence in order that the idea of annexing the Dominican republic to the United States might acquire such a degree of popilarity among the members of Coaaren 48 might be necessary for its accomplish- ment. It has been said that the President did not autnorize such a pledge, but there is no reasonable doubt that he lived np to it; and itis no secret in Congress circles that sone, his efforts to make the St. Domingo scheme popular among members of Congress the patronage played its part. This is a rave assertion, ier, it involves an employment of ie patrotage which rolghe be called corrupt, but [ know whereof I speak. Twill not deal in suspicions, Dut mention a case which concerns myself. ‘fhe statement which J am going to give has long been withheld In mar of many provocations, J shoyld have withheld it altogether hgd not, as the paper recently informed us, the President himseif put forth the assertion ing published interview that! opposed him because pe would not give me as much patronage as I wanted. When the St. Domingo Scheme was pening two gentlemen in intimate relations with the White House came to me, each one separately, soliciting my papuott of the proj- ect. They assured me that if f would give that Support or abstain from opposition all the patron- age I desired would be at my disposal, making me in that respect one of the most influential men in the land. One of these gentlemen subsequently admitted to me in writing that the offer was made to me with the conerpe of the President himself. If the facts should be questioned by authority, the proof will be forthcoming, As to the President's assertion that f oppose him because I did not re- ceive all the patronage I wanted, His Excellency Knows that the boot # on the other log. I oppose him rather because I have good reason to think that I wight have had of his patronage even much more than I wanted had I consented to sell for it my convictions of duty. If one of us was in the market it was not!. How far such attempts were carried others may. be better able to tell than Inysclf, but the abuse of the alronsies appeared in its most hideous form when the nomination for the next Presidential term became a matter of urgent interest. COLLROTOR CASKY AND THE CIVIL ABRVICE. In the meantime the demand for civil service re- form had arisen with singular force from the people, and found a voice in the press snd on the foor of Congress. It threatened to become a soyuar cry, and could not with safety be disregarded. The President took it ap, and reform was promised, A commission was appointed, 9 gorgeous array of rules and regulations drawn up, the reform wis solemnly and with a grand flourish announced to commence on a certain nd now look at the condition of the civil service. General Butler, oneot the President's fastest frie ne. aeclared that civil service reform ts a humbug. The General does not, surpiise me, for this civil service reform is cer- tainly as great @ pede aa General Butler can make it. Show me the oldest man among as. Does he remember a time when the civil service of the country was more completely a political machine than it is now? Does he remember a time when the service appeared more like a thoroughly drilled and disciplined organization of poll 1 agents than to-day? Does he remember a time within the whole range of his recollection when the public interest was more shamelessly overruled by Elsen exigency ¥ Some time ago the President, forced by the public voice to make a show of de- cency, permitted it to go out that his brother-in-law, Casey, the Collector of Customs at New Or- leans, notoriously one of the worst officers in the rervice, had been requested to resign. The heart of the country was touched by so unheard-of a thing as the dismissal of a brother-in-law. It was a joyous surprise, for nothing secmed now impossible. Well, it turned out that nothing was Impossible, ws ifto make merry of uhe public, a few days ‘wards it was unnounced that a delegation of oliticians from Louisiana had urgentiy requested ie President to retain his brother-in-law Casey in office. The President succumbed, of course, with- out a struggle, for he has no policy to enforce against the will of the people. ‘The notorious Casey is Collector of Customs im New Orleans to-day, and the comedy of his resignation appears as a mere mockery of the public conscience. Why is Casey retained in spite of his bad char- acter ? Is it merely because he is the President's brother-in-law. That, uudoubt- edly, is a great virtue, but Lousiana poll- ticians know enother reason. Casey has filled the Custom House with the managers of the politi- ca! organizations, white and black, collected from all parts of the State, who draw pay from the gov- ernment, although their principal and, in some in- stances, their only occupation consists in running the political machine in the President's interest under Casey's direction, and Casey’s removal would throw the whole machinery into utter con- fusion, wid thus Casey stands there impregnable In his office, a proud monument of civil service reform. ivi service reform and this administra- ont for, after THE LORD DELIVER US! The pen which wrote the feta laying before Congress tie civil service regulations was not dry yet when it signed another paper ordering their suspension. The old trac in offices continued without a blush, For months and months, and from one end of the country to the other, the whole oficial force has been engaged in pullin, wires to dragoon the party into renomination ot the President, and at this very moment the whole civil service of the country, from the Cabinet Min- ister down to the meanest postmaster, is con- verted into a vast political mcy to secure the President's re-election. The Attorney General spent many weeks, if not montis, thousends of miles away from his office, to fix his State of Oregon. The Secretary of the Interior has almost hecome & steanger to the wails of his department, The Sec- retary of the Treasury has taken the stump in | North Carolina to sing the praises of his master. The Secretary of the Navy, if | am rightly informed, will aoon sive the canse of his chtef in like manner the moral support of his guns, and the money of the government, As we are assured on good author- ity, Is ponred like water Into the contested States, to effect what the eloquent urgency of Cabinet Ministers cannot accormplish. necd not tell You What the subordinate officers of the govern- ment are Low so arduously engaged in, Woe to the unfortunate placeholder who dares to cajl_his soul his own and to utter sah as to the perfections | of his master. He will soon learn that men can be reformed ont of ofice as quickly as into it. Civil service yeform! Never have worthless favorites or political agents heen kept in profitable and re- sponsible places lu bolder defiance of principle and Public opinion. | Never has the political conscience the oMce-holdey been more despotically con- troiled; never has the hand of Re pation! 'xeCu- tive, Cog the patronage, bet thore Insolently thrust futo tho hysiness of legislation, as well a8 into the local. politics of the State, of which we here in Missouri have an thtere.iing tale totell, Never have the oflcers of the repubitc ointed to tu geryjce of the country more SEROMA La. He oH St of a party ang of; aman, And when under Buch crenihatatces we hear of the civil service reform inaugurated by this administration, we lave aright to call tt an impudent mockery of the popular understanding; @ barefaced jugg'ery attempted upon an intelligent Peovle: the prostitution of a great canse. 1 trust American people will show their appreciation of it by commen ng the reform at the to) And yet, bad as all this may be, it is by no means THE WORST FRATURE OF THK CARR. 4 as that palicy may have been witch, throw- ; i agide those moral agencies apt to bring forth a fruitful co-operation of the best elements in the South and to reunite the country in national feel- ing, delivered the Southern peopie over to their plunderers and corrupters; bad as the frauds and abuses may have been which disgraced our Hg service; bad as the management of om patronage may have been, which in the 2 2 be the last man to’ exelic such distrust, and T may ony, witbous boasting, tint have’ done } set a demorall wxample of selfishn atrove to corrnpt legislation, and wansformed the whole eryjve into a vast political bn bad as the contempt of law and the vioia- ‘of the constitution may have been, whi into a most dangerot 5, Sarg qrews us habit under = tration, far worse and of infinitely more import Is the circumstance hat the re. publican ae the party o1 and 60 in nee #0 noble in its im- aad the 6 rit to discrimi a rey wrong, an‘ call things by thelr Hane au Wheat Seats eee Mee sectes seek the ah and = Palas it, “But a Political patty which fatls to recognize abuses as such has lost the moral ability to correct them, Its very ascendancy will Thenestorward standin the way of true reiorm, Is that the con- Gition of the republican party under this adminis- tration? Let us#ee. Some republicans undertook in @ conspicnous place to denounce the abuses of the government and to bring about their correetion, Yon have neard, perhaps, of certain debates in Con- t winter, which greatly disturbed the of the ‘party gress ias equanimity man: FLAGRANT WRONGS 1N YORE OUSTOM vs THE NEW HOURB Were revealed, and an investigation insisted on, What happened? The men who denounced the abuses were vilified as enemies and traitors to the republican party. But the voice of the people made iteelf S ane atte much moscinsing, ang wi ing the admi tion leaders perceived that serie an investigation wi Bn ould be dangerot nd it waegranted. But not one of the men who bad denounced the evili The investigation was put on the committce, . A mass of testi- mony put the exis! doubt, The efforts con. stituted themselves the seromeennet those in power were in vain, The truth could not be entirely ished that hatbory nd corrupt ma had revalled a jon had prey: on ® large scale; that the Onstom House, with its legion of oicers, had in the most and (rane way been used ag machinery to.corrupt the polities of the State of New York, and this in the name of the President; that a moat scandalous practice, called the general order » by which the mercantile community was mercilessly plundered, and which had been previouey | oe" nounced by the merchants, by Congress co! it tees and by officers of the Treasur: partment it- self, was sell in full operation, that the person moat, benefited by it was one of the favorites of the President, and, having acquired this source of ous guin on the atrength of a general in- written by the President himself, main- tained his position, with mysterious power and a mnost singular success against all efforts to correct the evil, All this the testimony made clear, What was to be done? The committee de ita report, which ie before the country. It is a wonderful per- formance. That there was bribery and thieving could scarcely be denied, Bribery and thieving were bad, but bribery and thieving had always ex- isted, and now there was nobody in particular to blame for it, That the Custom House had been con- trolled by tical influence, and had made itself felt in politics could not well he denied, but it had always been so, and beside, uty should not oficera take part in politics Thus the trausformation of the Custom House into a ___ political machine was right after all, and nobody was to blame, and, as for the icandals of the general order business, some little ‘regularities may have occurred, but the enemics of the administration and the republican party have been basely slandering the innocent persons involved, and, on the whole, nobody ts to blame, ‘This is 2 virtuous administration, and there is the end of ft. And all of this im the face of the most conclusive testimony, and Leet & Stocking, tle favored parties, are, With some modifications of the system, in the general order busines fo-day. THE FRENCH ARMS INVESTIGATION. An tavestigation Wos demanded of the sales of arms to French agente during the Franco-German war. ‘the men Who advocated the inquiry were held up as traitors to the republican party, as ene- mies of their country,.and as monsters of wicked- ness generally. in, not one of those Who denounced the scandal was appointed a mem- ber of the Investigating Committee. ‘Ihe inquiry ‘Was made, The testimony showed in the clearest manner that the laws of the country regulat- ing such sales had been systematically trampled under foot; that in direct violation of the orders of the War Department prominent oficers had indulged in indirect transactions with well- known French agents, and that under the very eyes of the department large quantities of ari had been delivered to such agents after they hi: been discovered—an act recklessly endangering tue international standidg of the government. All tl was proven so clearly that no sevsible man could doubt it. And what does the committce report? The officers of the War Department con- strued the law for themselves, and they knew best what was for the public interest, and as to their direct transactions with French agents, they bad a right to do what they did, and nobody to blame, Jn order to make go pleasant a conciusion oKnible we are told that laws may be violated, if in the opinions of the oMcers the violation 1s more es Deere the observance, and @ doctrine of international law is set up which, if applied to our Alabama claims, would throw us out of court amid the Jaughter of the universe. But atany cost the administration must be protected. AB NAVAL AND NEW ORLEANS INVESTIGATIONS. arteigcharges Were made against the Secretary of 'y. An investigation is ordered. it i6 clearly proven that he paid out a large sum of money iu direct violation of the express language of astatute. But wiat is the report of the Uom- mittee? He may have reasonably thought the claimant. cantehy entitled to the money and con- strued the law for himself accordingly. Nobody to blame, and the administration is virtuous. Cer- tain government officers at New Orleans, one of whom at least is dear to the heart of the President, are charged with scandalous abuse of official power, im interfering with the politics of the State, and other rascality. An investigation is had, Frag- ments of the testiony only have reached the pul Ne, making {it certain that the inquiry ts terribly damaging to those oficers and to the adininistra- tion. And what does the committee do? it does not report at all, an to convince the people that nobody ts to blame bv burying the truth in secrecy, ‘The same policy is followed with regard to the in- guiry into the Gieeppesrance of important otticial loctiments from the War Department. 1 venture to say that the report of neither of these two investiga- tions will see the light before the Presidential elec- tion. The people must restrain their curiosity and rest, meanwhile, in the belief that there is nobody to blame. And ‘now what does all this signify ? What does it mean that when the abuses of the Sovereces or the shortcomings of the administra- ion come into question, systematic whitewa: is cultivated as one of the fine arts—nay, as a ty duty? What docs it mean that the President can ever so flagrantly transgress his constitutional power as he did when ordering the navy to protect the ruler of St. Domingo by force of arms against = foreign assailant, and even against his own subjects; that the President may ever so wilfully violate the laws of the land and the commands of jublic decency; that the oMcers of the adminis- tion may do things ever #0 arbitrary and mischievous; that, the public service may be shown ever so gross, and that then independent criticism is etlenced with the charge of ty treason, and every source of ingenuity is ex- hausted on the floor of Congress, as well as by the party press, to justify the wrongs committed, to rotect the guilty parties, to conceal the truth and 0 throw dust into the eyes of the people? What does it mean ner Bs see even men of high public station, who might be presumed to respect thein- selves, openly before the people defend the scandals of Presidentiai nepotism, a thing so di ceful in a repubife that no man with the cits and pride of an American citizen shoald be able to mention, and far less to defend, the humiliating fact without the blush of shame tingle in his cheeks, What does it mean, this reckleas abandonment of truth and right and decency and duty and manly pride ? WHAT iT ALL MEANS. It means that the party is to be served at any cost. It means that a party 80 controlled and animated by such a spirit demands any sacrifice for partisan success. It means that neither the restoration of fraternal feeling between the different portions of the American people, so needful to our national existence and welfare, nor our abhorrence of that wholesale ie of robbery and scandalous misrule prevailing in the South, nor the sanctity of the constitution and laws of the countr; , nor the interests of the people as they are bound up in an honest and economical administration of public afiairs, nor even the pride and honor of the natio Must stand in the way of the effort td elec @ candidate and to retain partisan wer. it means that a republican musi not presume to serve his country py speaking he truth if he wante to remain in good party standing, It moans that a selfish party despotism has developed itself, which, by all the resources of reward and punishment, appeais to the low and sordid iustinets of human nature, dragoons the ambitious into obedience by the terrors of a falsi- hed and subjugated public opinion, and attempts to drag into its net the well-meaning by artful and systematic concealment of tne truth and by fraud and deception—a party despotisin which renders true reform impossible by making it a partisan duty to whitewash abuses instead of correctin, them—by obscuring our moral appreciation 0 right and wrong and teacling us to see im selfish advantage the supreme rule of action. Do ae want to discover the full power of demo) aulzation of frat despotism and the wholé ‘degradation of its victims? Look ahem AS they are lying at the feet of President rant, Ishonld prefer not to speak of him did he not stand there as the embodiment and personifica- tion of the fous system which derives from his jndividaality it+ pecullar character, Gratitude for his military services and respect for his ofMfce pave long restrained many from cape their val ioe copra ng é ll be the last man fo forget oF are hé great services h has rendered in the fleid of war. The honors has won, the lalirels ho has gathered shall not touched. But now he is a civil officer, and he asks us to continne him at the head of the clyi! government of this republic, With this question his laurels have nothing todo. There are no batties to be foug! ani no strong placea to be taken, and now it DLecomes our duty to tell the truth concerning him a9 we understand {t, I shall do so with frankness, but not without moderation, he Phi fits JPPORTUNITY, General Grant came into office under clreum- stances of extraordinary promise. He had, as Gen- eral-in-iles, directed the closing operations of he war. Hits success had centered tipon hin the grati- tude and esteem of the loya! people, an@ in grant- Ing to the defeated foe a generous capitulation he had in a high degree wou even their respect and ie 1e confidence, There was scarcely & man in the na- tion to whose voice they would have more willingly | megsage—that the productions of St. Domi la Pe 9 aia could Krave to revive eit om Ane most patriotic n'sess to quiet ay ensions and assure their minds as to tne 'Y of their rights as citizena; to make them feel hit: an, Rar them be’ oF Se epee of the repu 7 4 et Rew interest in its otunes {ua Redtrallatn thels oid héart-burn- 's and animositics, giving the peace of measurea- ble contentment to ir country and restoring the loug-lost cordiality of feeling between the different parts of the Union. President Grant’s ition was ES fortunate in other respects, He had never been identified with Party, strife. Its entangle- ments, arupositics and rerentments were forcign to him, He owed his elevation to no particular set of politicians to whom he might have heen bound by a debt of gratitude, He was not borne aloft on the shoulder of faction, while the very oppesition he had to encounter as a candidate was respectful in 16 Aprsieton, of the services he had rendered. ‘enident would have had less diMicuity to overcome in relieving the country of the curse of narrow-minded, selfish, partisan rule, in distributing the offices of the government with a single eye to the true interests of the public service, and in thus inaugurating his administration with arcform elevating the whole tone and te r of our political life, When he ascended the Presi- dential chair, it may be said that the whole people surrounded him with @ cordid offer of their con- fidence and willing aid in all he might do to give the country good government. There was not a statesman in this republic who would uot have ‘been ready, nay, proud, to serve him at his call. He m ve' willed it to ther the very fower of political wisdom and virtue avound the council board of his Cabinet to aid his inexperience, and the ctegoeltion of the popular mind in his favor was such that from the very ranks of the opposition he might have reinforced his supporters. ‘The nation stood ready to applaud every movement in the right direction. To supportan administration conducted on such principles and faithfully servin such ends would have been not omly the duty bu the delight of every patriotic citizen. Accidental mistakes wouid have been readily forgiven. The evidence of pure motives and honest efio:ta would have easily silenced factious clamor. Truly, since the organization of the government no man had more power for good. GRANT'S FAILURE. No President, save perhaps Washington himself, ‘war elected under move flattering augurics, and there ‘is probably not one whose performances stand in more glaring contrast to his opportunt- tics. There is nothing so apt to dazzle the eyes of the multitude as military glory. Even the most Gsceining minds cannot easily resist its charins, We are fond of believing that a man who has successfully commanded an army must be able to govern a nation, but that uni- versulity of talent is but rarely met with, I venture to say that it 18 not in this inst This isnot a kaish judgment, tor Gencral has Jus fain in common with some of the great- est captains in history. His career aa President warrants the conclusion that he has never been able fully to appreciate the difference between military command and the complex duties and re- sponsibitities of civil administration. I doubt whether tt has ever become quite clcar to his mind What the Presidency means in our system o1 gov- ernment, When that igh office was presented to him he took it as a sort of national reward, an ac- commodation, @ place in which, atter his military exploits, he wei make himselt comfortab'e. His mind seems to have been but little disturbed by the great duties and perplexing problems he was fe ike in haid. It ‘may appear somewhat Btarttiig at first sight thet as one of his friends, Colonel Forney, once informed the public he should then have stipulated for a second term, on the ground that one would not payin point of emolument. Tis financial view of the case was indeed quite unusual, bul if he did not jook on the Presticncy as an accommodation he naturally de- sired tlat it should not be a losing business, and #Ome of bis friends who have readily entered into his spirit actually use this mercantile argument in favor of his re-election. His first duty was to form his Cabinet. The exigencies of the times urgenly demanded that he should pick his constitut onal | advisers from the ablest and most enlightened Statesmen of the nation. He asked nobody's advice, but made his selection himself, When the Cabinet was announced it was the wonder of the world. The State Department was first given tO a personal friend by way of 2 compliment, soon to be exchanged for @ less responsible and more comioitable position. ‘The gentleman ap- pointed Secretary of the Treasury was at once dis- d¥ered to be acuatia d by Jaw, and as for the Secretary of the Navy, & wealthy burgher of Vhila- delphia, he guid of himself that he did not know What he was appointed for, and had good senso enough to insist upon being speedily relieved of this troublesome business, for which he had neither fituess nor taste. In the course of time some changes were made, Men who, by their indepen- dent spirit and their enlightened sense of duty threatened to become trouvlesome had to make room for others whose accession to the Cabinet made that great Council of State still nore wonder- fal. It is Impossible to draw from the traditions of the government or from the exigencies of the times a principle or theory of a political character upon which go curious @ Cabinet could ave been constructed. But how ever littie in its composition the greatin- terests of the country might have been consulted, the President, true to the accommodation {dea, consulted bis own conyenience and selected men for the most important posttions of the government whoni he desired to please and who pleased him with their company. He looked upon it as his per- sonal afuir, which concerned nol else, A PAINFUL BUT STILL RELUCTANT APPREHENSION was then dawning upon the minds of some that the conduct of this great government had fallen into the hands of a trifler, The distribution of onices ‘Was now in order, and the President began at once to shower the sweets of his official patronage upon his relatives and personal friends. He had prob- ably never heard of nepotism, and was undoubtedly the last man to feel the indecency of his conduct, Regarding the Presidency as an accommoda- tlon to him, and its appendages as a sort of per- sonal property, he did not see why he should not increase his own comfort with the offices of the repubiic, Likewise did it not strike him as scan- dalous to reward men who had given him valuable presents with high and responsible dignities, He simply liked to please those who had pleased him; that was all, He found it unreasonable, therefore, that, in the gratification of that desiie the opintons of others should stand in his way. He surely be- lieved that the tault-finders were meddling with things wiich belonged to him and were no business of theirs. Neither did he find it reasonable that the man to whom the Presidency had been given as a reward should be hampered by legal obstructions, and when he jound an old and wise statute stand- ing in the way of the appointment of his Secretary of the Treasury, and the tenure of office act troubled him in distributing the patronage, he simply sald to Congress, “Just repeal me these laws.” That the repeal of sich laws might lead to very mischievous consequences troubled him littie, They stood Jn his , aud that was enough for im, Soon aiter hia accession to power he gave his mind, not to the great problems the solution of which the people #0 anxiously looked for, butio a Broject of bis own—the acquisition of St. Proasings. subject of such importance as the incorporation with our political syste; of a tropical country, with an utterly heterogeneous people, called for the most careful and earnest consideration, It is belleved that the Secretary of State did not favor the scheme, and the state Department, whose office itis to conduct all the diplomatic affai:s of the government, was unceremoniously set aside. The President commenced a personal negotia- tion with Baez, the ruler of St. Domingo, which he entrusted to one of his young aldes-de-camp, whose seal he had reason to believe equal to his own. ‘The extraordinary character of this proceeding did not trouble him. He wanted to have the thing done, and to do it an alde-de-camp was better than a@ Secretary of State. The aide-de-camp made a sort of a personal treaty between the two potentates, in which tie,| President was Migs Me to propitiate the favor of Congress for the scheme of the lobby infuence. This disgraceful engagement would have revolted the sensibilities of any President Let: ips dignity of his high office and the honor of the nation at | heart. But President Grant was go far from disap- | proving of it that, instead of marking that alde-de- | camp with his displeasure, he continued to eimplo; him in confidential missions for the same object. Nay, in compliance with the stipulations of agree- ment, he actually did descend to the rdle of a jobby- ist. have seen him in that capacity myself, How could a President lower himself so far? Why, if nobody else wanted St, Domingo, he did. He em- ployed the means most congeniu! to his practical | mind. | | USURPATION AND WAR. He went further. Baez, the other party to the arrangement. being in danger of being driven from power—which would have spol the scheme— General Grant concluded that his friend Baez must be sustained at any price. ‘Ihe method was simple. He ordered the navy of the United States to belabor with shot and sheil anybody who might attack Baez, even if itbe that usurper’s own subjects, The war slips of the United States were virtually placed at the disposal of a foreign potentate. But could he order acts of war without the authority of Con- ress? Did he not know that the constitution vests he war-making power in Congises * Perhaps he did not know. At any rate he bot care, He con- sidered it his business. The Senate, bya solemn vote, rejected the treaty ofannexation. The Presi- dent, In his message, told the Senate that this was a great folly, and kept the war ships of the United States at isposal of Baez, with instrue- tions to shoot afid slaughter occasion might re- gaits. When it at last appeared that there was ab- rarely ie, hope for the project, its opponents being supported by the whole American people, he tempo- rarily abandoned it, undoubtedly to take it up in ifhe should be re-elected And now we sce | the constitution yiolated; a precedent set which, If taken as @ rule of constitutional oeatraction, will place the peace of the reputiic at the mercy of one m whims or ambition, the Presidential oe draggeu into the dust, the honor of the nation sul lied—for what? To further @ personal scheme of t, In which nobody took any ve interest; neither the Cabinet jor = Congress nor the A pres people— nobody ut tho President aldes-de- camp and. % fow speculators ‘of dark reputation, What the President's motives were iu so violently would pay the nationa! debt—was so childish as to make the very school boys laugh. he wanted it; and uejther the constitution nor the Gignity of ins ice, Bor the honor of the n: tion should stand in the way of a thing he wi IB PI ENT AND HIS SURROUNDINGS. Looking peesidencs. 88 a reward, an Pann Has should he not make the most of it? Thos the Cd gents itwell to the Preat- mind. le “Sceusionally recommended other ames! his il i ings in. messa: vil Service res “¢ on, Ha@ he es—pmnesty, ct form, financial muealiren’ ‘and ‘a R eased these thin; with half the seal de ‘oted £6 thé St. Domitigo scheme he might have ac complished much. But anybody could ridicule BY price, reform and call amnesty a national erimé without losing hts favor. There was the dit ference between a thing the President wanted and others he cared little about. Another fing he Wants is his re-election. According to his friend Colonel Forney, he must have @ second term ta make the first one pay expenses. He started out With a show ot ipdependence from_ political inftur ence which at first the people were inclined to ap+ plaud, Numerous pointed stories, some true and some » Were circulated about it, But it waa or cbs Mea ae his future success he needed organized partisan support, It was easily had. ‘The required alliances tormed themselves by natural gravitation. Soon we find mm surrounded by political managers, the Caméro. the Chandlers, the Mortons, the Counli the Butlers, &c., ready to do his work if he woul do theirs, It was @ matter of congeniality. The interests of the President and of such political chieftains identified themselves without difficulty, he aiding with the Executive influence in con- trolling their States for themselves, and hey giv. ing their aid in controlling the party for him. @ hand washed the other. is waa gradually de- veloped into a system, all co-operation being wel- come, even such a3 that of Governor Clayton, in Arkansas. There were everywhere people of some influence willing to work tor 2 consideration, and thus the system was gradually extended until at last the cancuses of Congress, a6 well as the ci service and the whole republican througho' the land, were completely under its control Then that cullar party despotism grew up which ostracised everybody who refused to obey its com- mands, It gave birth to A NEW SORT OF PARTY ORTHODOXY. whose first tenet it was that President Grant must be re-elected, The strictest fidelity to republican rinciples was worth nothing unless coupled with Rdelity to the man. Opposition to Grant consti- tuted high treason against the party, for which there was no quarter, Everything else could be forgiven but not this, Thus the republican organi- zation has become a personal party, absolutely sub- jogated to the interests of one individual. A re- pat lican administration degenerated to an alarm- ing extent to personal government. Let the President do what he pleases, he finds complete protection in his faithful party, and the sting of personal government is sometimes felt, very eenly even by the faithfal. The President does not spare their feelings. He tests sometimes the utmost capacity of their servile spirit, for his selfishness is distressingly nk and ingenuous. They want him to ap- pear to the best advantage, but he does not nnder- stand what they mean, and they have to submit. ‘They feel that his nepotism disgraces the govern- ment, but in spite of all the pretensions of refornr with whieh they seek to cover him he canpot be prevailed upon to remove any Of bis relatives from ofice, even under the ost argravating cireum- stances, He keeps his brother-in-law Casey in place, altliongh that man {3 universally known as one of the most worthless oficers in the laud. He keeps his brother-in-law Craine®, who made the diplomatic service of the United States ridiculous at Copenhagen. And so on, No, I will not wrong him, He did dismiss one of his kinsfolk, a Dr. Lampher, who had to resign a place in the reyenne service in consequence of some . groxs swindling operations. In spite of that the same man was then appointed by the President toa lace in alaud office in Washington Territory, where e had contro! of a considerable amount of govern- ment money, but when the same Lampher ajso in- dulged in a fraudulent use of public funds, even the good heart of the President could not hold him, and so one member of the family went by the board. But he isthe only one. Whether the faith- ful like nepotism or not, they must do their best to defend it. Neither did the most prominent of the faithful like the appointment of the celebrated Tom: Murphy as Collector of Customs in New York. f have nf on goo authority that) Tom Murph appointment was not pressed by political infuence. But the President liked Tom Murphy. Tom Mur- phy's nature was congenial to hin, and by way ot expressing his personal regard and friendship the President made Tom Murphy Collector of Customs. It must be admitted that Tom Murphy requited that act of Presidential tenderness by successfully pull- ing the political wires tor his friend Grant. THE FAITHFUL IN DISTRESS. ‘The faithful are ulso distresééd_ by the criticism the President Serene by his fondness for light amusement and his sporting propensities. But the President is not pera to the cares of govern- ment. The Presidency was, in his opinion, not ven to him that le should overwork himself. 0 sooner does Congress adjourn than he is off for Long Branch, a8.@ boy is eager to escape from his school room. He decidedly prefers the delights of # horse race to the tedious work of a Cabinet meet- ing. The Secretaries, inspired by his example, run ar also, and 80 we hear from time to time that the administration is out of town. I have actually seen foreign Miniaters in the capital of the nation looking for the government of the United States as for a lost child or @ horse strayed or stolen. Such a thing was never heard of in our ist history. The great business of the government as never been #0 cavaliorly dealt with. It ix the closest approach to the habits of reyal courts this country has ever witnessed, and the faithful do not like to'see the President use his office for his own comfort in so barcfaced a manner. But, as they cannot prevent it, they have to defend it, and they do it with seif-sacrificing heroism. Even Louis Na- joleon was not more slavishlv served than Grant is by his men, Neither was Louis Napoleon, in his misfortune, more eagerly deacrted than Grant will be as soon as he is beaten, But he wid be praised and obeyed and supported by his political troops as long as he holds ower im his hands, I will not wrong President Grant. He is by no means g@ monster of iniquity, He is simply & man who makes us9 of his high oficial position to suit his own con- venience, regardiess of other interests, He does not sit in kis closet a desiguing usurper, gloomily pondering how he may subvert the free institutions of the republic, Neither does he ponder how he may preserve them. He does not ponder at al. He sluply wants to carry a point; and when, as in the Domingo case, the const.tu- wh the authority of the laws. He simply. wants them not to hamper him in his doings, He does not mean systematical- ly to outrage the public sense of deceney by nepot- ism and low associations to corrupt the gervice and to degrade our political life, He ouly wants to make his relatives and favorites comfortable, to associate with men who are congenial to him, and to take the best care of his interest he can. He fs NOT INCAPABLE OF OCCASIONALLY DOING A GOOD THING. He prefers a good appomtment to 2 bad one, other things being egal. He undoubte desires that avairs shoyld go well, his own welfare Inetded. The cry for civil service reform growing popular, he came very near becoming # civil servi re- former. He started papetly with good intentions, and would, Perhaps, ave carried them out had he not found it to be to his interest to control the tical machine in the old way for his re-election. hen the absolute command of the civil service machinery appeared to him much more vee than civil service reform. He would probably have con- sented to let the Ku Klux law drop by its own liini- tation, but, considermg his interests in the ss campaign, he did not blush to urge his frieuds in Congress to continue in his hand the mest alarmi: wer to suspend the writ of habeas corpits wh is own re-slection is pending. He does not mean to be a despot, but he wants to have his will. Such is the character of his personal Sapir the We should be doing it too much honor by calling it Cwsarism. It is not inspired by any grand, lofty and long-headed ambition; by the insatiable destre of genius to do brilliant deeds and to fill the world with the splendor of a great name, like those of Ju- lius Cassar and Napoleon. It is absolutely barren of ideas and originality—barren of striking achieve- ments, void of noble sentiments and inspiring example. It Is po ed dull and tari stupid and stubborn in its selfishness. Those who submitted to the rule of Cesar and Napoleon could say at least that they were bowing their heads before the mag- nificence of towering intellect and wonderful ac- tivity. But here there is nothing to warm the heart or to seduce the imagination, and still less to lft up our moral nature, The viieat syeophant of President Crant cannot give as an excuse jor lis abasement that he finds in his personal jovern- ment anything toadmire. We see nothing but a man Who wanis to possess and exercise power for his own convenience, and submission to whose rule means loss of self-respect. And yet, such as it is, this personal vernment has snereeded in so throwing tts coils round the ruling party that the latter can neither breathe nor move apt by per. mission. It has so completely subjugated the will and conscience of that party that fn It criticism has become dumb; that respect for the constitution and laws; that love of truth, right and jnst.ce; that honest zeal for the public welfare and even the pride of manhood are paralyzed by the one supreme object to preserve partisan power in the hands of one Ft THE LIFE OF THE REPUBLIC THREATENED. Ask those who In Le party honestly strove to arrest the current of usurpation and corruption, and they will tell you that they found themselves running against & combination of despotism and submission a8 by or a wall, deaf to the appeals of reason, and inaccessible to shame. As one of them J have stood on the floor of Congress myself, and I know whereof I speak, Ihave stood there, startied at the stolid cyntciain with which, to shield those in power, the most evident facts were de- nied, the most obvious conclasions rejected, the ‘ht of truth itself turned into darkness. I have there, amazed at that cowardly courage born of desperate causes with which, to justify the abusea and misdeeds of the govern- ment, bie wing were set up and doctrines ad- vanced such as would make every friend of popular freedom grow pale und the fathers of the republic turn in their graves. I have stood there over- Whelmed with shame and sadness at the very’degra- dation of manhood I saw before me, bowed down by the conviction that under the pressure of such influ. ences the struggle for good government must be- come a vain folly, and that we shail soon have ta fight for the very existence of sepublican institu thf achome Ido not know, Certainly the fain fesson with which he advocated it fm bis Ingo CONTINUED ON TENTH PAGE,