The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-04-30

=
looked YOU say 10 be dismissed from the service Of
oup country" II your recall can be regarded as a dis
nssa you are entitled TO all the credit of the iudmen Of
your own early prediction
10 presenting IN its true light the Presidents comp
ahee WIN your own request to be recalled, which you
now denomnate your dismissal may be Obliged 10 strip
II oil The embellishments You have ingenously thrown
around i thong h, IN doing this you may be deprived of
much upon which You depend sustain your claim to be
considered prosecuted man.
AS early as June, you begged to be recalled You al
ege that this application 'rebukngy declined !"
ns Is not saying Inc exact thing The reply to your
g elusive reference to the public good. When that
shall render i proper in his 1.-THE Presidentsl opin-
" ION 10 withdraw you from your present com
" mand, ms determination To do will be made
4" known to you" This not denial, but a suspen
sion OF present action accompanied with assurance of
future action on the subject Your request still pend
ng regard 10 The public good then stood IN the way OF
the Immediate qualification of your wishes but the Pres
dent promised TO act dehnivey on the question when
that obstacle should be removed Judging from the
OF things at the headquarters OF the army January he
concluded that was removed, and that he ought lon
ger to require OF You reluctant service commanding
general This certainly cannot be called persecution or
punishment do mol deem II proper 10 comment on the
state OF things at the headquarters OF the army TO which
ausion is made in the letter granting your request nor
express opinion to the share OF responsibility there
for, which rests upon yourself others; that matter is
to considerable extent, involved in the Investigations
before the court OF inquiry now sitting IN Mexico Your
request to be recalled. thus ultimately granted was pre-
faced with imaginary complaints, which could not be
passed without notice, nor noticed without exposing their
groundessnes4 If the exposition has given offence you
blame only yourself for introducing compl ANTS
entirely unfoundcl.
The GROWING outrage you regard it, is the simple
TACT that lnd the three arrested officers "are all to be
place together before the courtthe innocent and
the guy-ihe accuser and the accused; the Judge and
his prisoners are dealt with alike" Most impartial
lustice"' YOU exclaim And why is it not impartial
Justice? On what ground of right can YOU claim to have
your Disseminated from theirs Ii is true you have
assumed to be their Judge, and have pronounced them
guilty; and complain and repne that the laws of the
country do not allow you, their accuser, institute
court to register your decree But you not their right
ful Judge, although they your prisoners Before
that court you all stand the level, and all have
equal rights Though you may have the self satisfying
conviction that you are innocent and they are guilty
the government could act upon no such presu npon
BY becoming an accuser you did not place yourself be-
You'd the reach OF being accused; and unless YOU are
clothei with the immunity OF despotic power and
claim the benefit of the maxim that the King can do no
wrong" know not why your conduct, when made the
subject OF charges. may not be investigated by of
inquiry; can perceive what other better right you
have to complain of and arragn the government than the
other officers whom you have accused and whose cases.
with Yours, were referred 10 the court If yours
hard CASE theirs is not less If you nghtfully
complain OF persecution by the government so can they
with equal JUSTICE and an equal claim TO public sym
pathy
The charges against you did emanate from the gov
ernment nor did they relate to matter in which could
feel any peculiar interest Not believing it impossible for
you to do wrong or that you were exempt from all
sponslbity for whatever you might have done, the gov
eminent deemed it proper when charges preferred
against you, ing from entitled to respect,
TO them to be investigated AS the usual and mild
est mode of proceeding, they referred to court of
inquiry Until you show that you enjoy the tran
scendenta privilege to have your official conduct exempt
from all examination IN any form whatever, you have no
cause to complain OF the course taken in regard to the
charges against you.
support from your distinguished services in the field YOU
ought to be mindful that the three accused officers put
under arrest by you have like claims for distinguished
services o. the pages of impartial history, their
mn lam with md No,
monopoz'ns claims, seeking malignant exclusions al
the expense OF the ruth of history" will be permitted
to rob them of their fair share of the glory by our
gallant army while under your command
With your assault upon the character OF your "erratc
brother" shall not interme ide but must repe your
charge that he has been favored for being political de-
serter "to the true faih"-for signalling his apostacv
by acceptable denuncations of one "to whom he had
formerly" professed and not without cause) the highest
against Brevet Major General Worth to the court OF in
qury set forth in my letter of the 18th OF January
regret that they are so entirely unsatisfactory to you but
am consoed with the that they are in other
quarters more favoraby received The errors of your
commentary my letter have arisen from your msap-
pLehenson OF the text The principle there laid down is
respect impars the rights the authority of those in
chief command AS the principles which you arragn are
the creations OF your own fancy, and have coune-
nance or support from my letter. am in way implicated
by "the fatal consequences" You deduce from them |
Whether Legitimate or anciful, they do not disturb the
positions laid down in my letter.
1T
support OF discipline TO be osenialons than pro-
found. When general at the head Of an army of free.
who do not lose their rights CITIZENS by becom
ing soldiers, sets up pretensons 10 dctaoral power
when he conemns the authority OF his government and
much ready to than execute its orders
and INSTRUMENTATION he denounces as an outrage and
punishment the attempt to submit his acts, charged to
be an offence against subordinate officer, nvesti
CATION IN the mtldes form-when he administers an in
dsnan repooi TO his superior for upholdng the sacred
right TO appeal upon which depend the security and pro-
lection OF all under his command such general sets an
example OF lnsubordnaie conduct, of wide and whitening
influence upon sound military discipline.
BY extending my comments upon your letter, might /
multiply proofs 10 show that your accusations against
the head of the War Department are unust-that YOUR
complaints are unfounded--hat the designs imputed by
you to the government to embarrass your operations
impair your rlghul authority commander and TO offer
outrage and insult to your feelings, all the cea
tons OF d!stempered fancy; but TO do than have
done, would, IN my Judgment be work of supereroga-
ton.
In conclusion, ] may be permitted to say, that as
one of the Presidents advisers, | had fuv share
IN the responsibility of the act which assigned YOU
10 Inc com nand OF our armies in Mexico felt I
II sled, even more than mutually appertaned to nv
ohcI POSITION thai success and glory should signalze
your operations II was my duly to bring your aid the
efficient cooperation of the War Department never
had feeling that did not harmonic with the full and
fair discharge of this duty Iknoc has been faihfuy
peforH,ed There are some men for whom enough can
not be done to make them grateful Just, unless
acts OF subservency and personal devoedness are super
added From you expected bare justice, but have been
disappointed have found you my accuser In nv vim
dcatlon have endeavored 10 maintain defensive line
and If | have gone beyond it al any lime, Il has been
done to repel unprovoked aggression. To your fame