The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-15 00:00:00

The Union League Club.

In the darkest hour of the great civil war
—at the opening of 1863—a few gentlemen met
in the rooms of the Sanitary Commission of New
York to form a body, bound by a loyal determi-
nation, to uphold and perpetuate the Union. At
that time treason was rampant in the commercial
metropolis. It was but two years before, in
January, 1861, that the then Mayor of New
York officially proposed the city should secede both
from the Union and the State. The spirit of
revolt vaunted itself in those streets as insolently
as at Richmond, and sought by every means to
hamper and overawe the Government, and to en-
courage the rebellion and its foreign abettors.
Under these circumstances it was that the assembled
gentlemen resolved to form a club, which they
termed The Union League. The first idea was to
give it a popular form, enlisting public sympathy by
mass meetings and addresses. Mature reflection
showed that the better ‘..tourse was to limit the
association to the leaders of the movement, who by
deliberation might be sure that they were right
themselves before teaching the public. On the broad
principles of unqualified loyalty to the Government
of the country, and unswerving support of its efforts
for the suppression of the rebellion, the Club took
its stand, and commenced a career which bids fair
to make it the most useful political institution
ever organised by a people. There is a broad dif-
ference between this club and the stately establish-
ments that adorn Pall-mall, such as the Carlton and
Reform ; and the difference is typical of the national
character. A London club is almost invariably an
elegant lounge for idlers, and an agreeable social
rendezvous for killing time pleasantly. The New
York establishment, on the other hand, is com-
posed of earnest men, whose social intercourse
is subordinate, and directed to strong practical
measures. It is not our object here to dwell
on the aid the Union cause received from this
Club. In one sentence its President records
this :—" We drove," he said, " treason from our
public marts, churches, and drawing-rooms to its
secret haunts, and we replaced it with a healthful
sentiment that radiated from our city, and re-in-
spired the country with loyalty to the Government,
devotion to the flag, and undying faith in the Re-
public." In a time of such turmoil and convulsion
an institution, national i❑ its character and able to
work so much good, rapidly became a power,
wielded by some of the best men in the Union, and
employed with generous and earnest zeal in the
promotion of patriotism, humanity, and justice.
The war ended in the victory of the principles con-
tended for by the Union League Club ; and this
great body found itself a power in the land, with
the main objects for which it was formed accom-
plished. But though the Union was maintained,
the promoters beheld, in the ❑umerous wrecks
around them, work enough in the process of
restoration, to occupy their best energies. The
Executive Committee, in their report in January,
1866, observe that the efficiency of the Club will
consist in the future, as in the past, in giving con-
tinued earnestness and scope to its advocacy of im-
portant public questions, and in promoting neces-
sary reforms; and, in view of these objects, they
recommend the following addition to the articles of
association :—" It shall be the duty of the Club to
resist and expose corruption, and promote reform in
our national, state, and municipal affairs, and to
elevate the idea of American citizenship."
We have given this sketch of a political institu-
tion which has become endeared to the American
people by vast public benefits rendered, by a gene-
rous, self-denying, and enlightened patriotism, be-
cause it has again steppel on the stage to perform
a duty which no private individual dared to face,
and through whose instrumentality only, it is pro-
bable that the end could be accomplished. The
Union League Club is pledged to withstand the
tide of corruption. That tide, like the first
trickle through the crevasse of a levee, increases
as it flows, till it tears away the embankment
and overwhelms the country. The Legislatures
of the States are each year becoming more steeped
in corruption. Men go into politics as into com-
merce,- and use all the means at their command to
realise wealth. It is said that not half what is dis-
cussed in private, as known facts, appears in the
newspapers, bad as are the stories told in their
columns. It is vain to suppose that an immorality
so contagious could long be confined to the Legis-
latures. It is whispered that the courts are as cor-
rupt. Men dare not openly proclaim the fact, for
they cannot tell when they may be exposed to the
vengeance of the administrators of the law. In
the face of these circumstances it is that the Union
League Club has come into the field as the most
independent, powerful, and trusted body. It has
been remarked with great truth that politicians and
political newspapers have been in the habit of de-
nouncing their opponents in such exaggerated terms
that the force of real and deserved denunciation has
been lost on the public. Gentlemen, whose career
is kuawn to be unstained by great crimes, have
been called " thieves" and " blackguards." Every
vice is ascribed to an obnoxious politician or to a
place-holder who has taken a prominent part in
opposition ; thus words have lost their force
and real meaning, and the people have learned
to regard with indifference, charges, which, if
known to be true, would excite the indignation
of the entire country. It. is not, therefore, so easy
to rouse the people to a just sense of the evil. The
truth of 2Esop's fable is being realised in this in-
stance, and the cry of " Wolf ! wolf !" when there
was no wolf, has made the people indifferent to the
real danger when a hungry and ferocious animal
really threatens the flock. It is fortunate for the
Unitcti tats in this enierzency that an institution

should he in active existence, that cannot be
blinded to the real danger, willing to take the mat-
ter in hand, while it is conceded throughout the
entire country that this body is actuated only by
patriotic motives—above fear, above reproach, and
above bribery.—Anglo-American Tinze3.