The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-06-22


Kentucky. and 10 Mr. Gentry OF Tennessee. before III
Department Of the Interior wasSreaied' we must agar
,sasa that this circumstance so far from being usii
cation of the present condition OF things is oil no conse
,usoce whatever When those offers made. iher
was no prospect of dangerous combination, by whiel
me portion of the cabinet mig break down the other
overshadow the influence of the President and give toni
and character to the administration Then, power an,
natronage were more equally distributed than now
Then the Secretary OF State the Secretary of War,
the Secretary of the Treasury, had enlarged powers
well as the Postmaster General. Then, any distribution
o the cabinet appointments between the different sections
of the Union, approxmatng 10 equality would, iron
the nature of The case have been accompanied by
thing like an equal distribution of power and patronage
which would prevent the dangers that General Tsy
from criminal design, from weakness and incompe
,ency scarcely less crimina-has invited and provoked
Before the 4lh of March last the Patent Office and the
district attorneys and narshas, connected with the
beusttn,en of State Indian affairs were intrusted ia
the War Department; and the Land Office and Pension
Office were inrused to the Treasury Department
These three departments and the General Post Office had
extended powers and patronage and distribution Of
these departments likely to take place. could fail to pre-
present condition of things But since the 4th OF March
the Department of the Interior has gone into operation
1t was created by taking the Patent Office and the officers
of the federal courts from the Secretary OF State,
the Indian Bureau and Pension Office from the Secre-
tary of War; and the Land Office from the Secretary OF
the Treasury, and placing them all under the control OF
The SECRETARY Of the new department Thus power and
pattonaae which were divided among three members OF
The cabinet became concentrated in the hands OF single
member leaving the three almost entirely stripped Of
That species OF patronage which can be made available in
our political contests by affecting our elections, or BY
influencing our legislation. Concentration of power, and
not its division and distribution, is dangerous to the
interests of the people This concentration OF power in
the hands of the Secretary of the INTERIOR and its plain
and papabe tendencies could have been foreseen and
might have been provided for 1t matters not who had
refused OF who had accepted cabinet appointments
The country has nothing 10 do with that. Mr..
Citenden and Mr. Gentry were not the only in the
South and contend that General Taylor is not to be
excused by constructing his cabinet he did cons,ruc,
hetarsc they did not wish to become heads of de
partment The one was Governor Of Kentucky, and
the other was member of Congress from Tennessee,
and the people of the Union had nothing 10 do with
them But should be borne in mind that the offer was
not made to either of them after the composition of the
cabinet became matter Of dTershadowing import
anee After the new department was created, which
swallowed up much of the patronage of the govern
r,ent il offered to Truman Smith of Connecticut,
ind en- his refusal to Thomas Ewing OF Ohio who &C
,eped il, and who fills it. Then the General Post
Ohce with all Its power and patronage, was given to
Jacob Collamer of Vermont-a man from the same Sec
ton Of the Union with Mr. Ewing and, like him, of no
fame a. siatesmana bitter and vindctive parsan-an
enemy to one portion of common country-and the
supporter of the ncenday doctrines of dangerous and
dsfepuabe faction Here were all the elements OF CO.
tldh and The means 10 make that coalition powerful,
brought together, and almost forced 10 tnte and he
must be skepcal, indeed, who doubts that they have
uned and have thus far shaped the policy of the gov
ernment and have given the administration its dstnc
tive character.
The Republic seeks to vndicate the motives which
actuated Gen. Taylor That matter is of but little practi
cal Importance in thus discussion We do not profess to
look into General Tayos bosom, and to read there the
influences which control his conduct We concerned
new with existing facts and their danEeros tendencies
And matter what Considerations influenced General
Tayor--no matter whether the present condition OF
things produced by criminal design, sprung from
ignorance nefciency its results will be the same
upon the peace of the people and the tranquility of the
country 1t is excuse for Chief Magistrate that he
has done grevous injustice dangerous wrong, be-
cause he did not oresee the plain consequences of his
acts, was too hskilled the art Of craftsmanship 10
prevent them. In individual actions, the motives
which prompt and guide are to be considered
and attentvely weighed and when they are up
right and pure, they go far to excuse, not to JUS
ty, the evil consequences of his conduct. But in the
actions OF statesmen and rulers the is different
A people are not to be expected tamely TO submit TO
wrong and injustice TO SIT submissvely and danger
Gus placed themto fold their arms Quietly and
see their happiness menaced, their prosperity placed in
jeopardy and their Institutions subverted by weak and
incompetent Chief Magistrate, because he is honest and
well-meanlng. We therefore have nothing to do with
Iea Taylor as man we know him only as President
should presume defend because of his incompetency
tor acompetency in him is high offence. Regarding
hun IN that light, we know csy that Gen. Taylor has
aggravated the dangers sprngng from the defects OF the
law; that he has set dangerous precedent in the
outset OF his administration and that he has made co
ahon between the most powerful members of his cabi
net well nigh certain by wrong and unjust selection of
the men which compose it, We have to deal with things
as they are not they might have been under different
circumstances Tits bat bitter mockery of well founded
arehensons to say tina, Mr. Crttenden and Mr. Gentry
refused cabinet appointments It but trAng with the
good sense OF the people to endeavor to reconcile them to