Daily American telegraph., 1852-05-29
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH.


Held Scott.
To The Editors Of ire american Telegraph:
GENrLEMrN 1t has been the habit of some
persons who call themselves Wings to speak Of
General Scott simply as q military man, and to
limit the praise conferred upon him to his
achievements as soldier In this they have as
l think, done this distinguished individual gross
injustice Although :" a soldier" in every sense
Of the term, and perhaps one Of the first captains
of the age, General Scott is not mere soldier.
1t should be borne in mind that he commenced
life as professional man. after having acquired
scholastic and legal education which entltleu
him to hope for high distinction as CIVILIAN
Scarcely had he, however, commenced ms career
as a LAWYER, when his country became emorolied
with Great Britain and, in obedience to his pa
trotc feelings and military tastes ne entered the
army. of his military course it is unnecessary
here to speak, as it is most honorably identified
with the history Of his country for the last forty
years a#
While his galantry and successes have become
as familiar as household words, there have been
several occasions upon which he has been called
upon to act in civil capacity; and no occasion
has he failed to acqut himself Of the obligations
imposed upon him with infinite honor to himself
and the greatest benefit to his country In illus
traton of this fact it is only necessary to refer
to the difficulties which took place in the State OF
Maine, some years since with reference to the
controversy between that State and the British
Provinces respecting the boundary line between
the two soyereignties Added to this, we have
his skiful management during tho excitement
caused by what is called the Mcleod affair on
the Canadian frontier, by which, in all probable
ity, he prevented war between this country and
Great Britain his course during the nego-
tiations arising out of the Black Hawk war; and
the very satisfactory manner in which he dis
charged his duties as civil governor of Mexico
during the occupation Of that country by our
victorious army.
No man of sense and candor can look back to
the history of the times, and inform himself as
to the tact and signal ability with which he met
and overcame the difficulties by which he was
embarrassed without concedng to him the high
est commentator as q negotiator and admins
trative officer.
I, as an old Wing, have, in common with those
with whom / have acted, uniformly objected to
dency. The reason for the objection is obvious.
Men educated for the army-accustomed to the
despotic rules Of military discipline, and unused
as they must be, in the great majority of cases.
to the intricate details Of civil government-can-
not be supposed to be qualified to conduct with
success the operations of our foreign and domes-
tic policy. A soldier has to rely upon his own
resources in effecting his ends, and must be
governed by the circumstances of the moment,
which frequently not only Justify, but render in
dispensable, measures which, under a different
state Of the case, could not be sustained or ap-
proved.
A statesman, however his own master in shap-
ing out general course of policy must always
attain his object through the instrumentality Of
laws passed for his guidance by the legislature of
the land. Whatever may be the aspirations OF
the individual man, he can, in his public rela-
tions, be governed by no rule except the " ia ler
scrptd est" of the country, or, in other words
the will of the people, expressed through their
representatives.
Hence it is that the objection to mere soldier
cannot apply TO the case of Gen. Scott, who was
bred up a civilian, and was made soldier by
circumstances; and who, moreover, on no single |
occasion during most successful military career
of more than forty years, has been known to act
otherwise than in submission to the will of his
civil superiors and the fixed laws of the land.
These reasons, and many others that might be
adduced, have led to believe that, whilst a
countrys gratitude is about to bestow on the
distinguished individual named the highest re-
ward Of devoted patriotism, the laws of the land
will find in him an able, fearless, and faithful
administrator. .a. AN OLD WING.