The daily union., 1852-10-06
The civn qualifications of General scott

neny qualified for the duties OF the presidency. These
eenhers Hon. John c. Spencer, of New York. Hon
Mr. vinton. OF Ohio. and the National In,sRigsnesr
MIR Spencer made his declaration that General Scott
an eminent civilian early in the canvass and coming al
the moment when almost the whole national whg press
of the country giving loud TO its disaecion and
its disrus of the nomination. Mr. Spences certificate OF
qualification fell dead from the press, and has since
been heard Of
Mr. Vinton's certificate is recent In speech deliv-
cred short time since at Marietta, Ohio this gentle
man had the tementy to say:
He believed General Scott be in every respect en-
tirey qualified peorm the duties of The office OF Presi.
DENT with high honor to himself and with great einess
u the country"
| The National intehgsncer, doubtless feeling that,
such statement demands coroboraion. rushes 10 the
rescue in its issue of Monday last follows:
"Nothng be strictly within bounds than all
those assertions of Mr.. Vnton, especially the last for
not only will tho known and civil qualifications OF
General Scott bear the advantageous comparison with
those Of his admittedly respectable competitor. General
Piece, but may be fairly measured, that Mr. Clay
and his great compatrot Mr. Webster, excepted,
with those OF any Of our living public Even his
friends in the enthusiasm which his dazzling military
pos excite forget that General Scott originally
Of high civic education that he has for full twenty
sve years face face with this government of
all its changes has with that activity of mind
for which he is kabe, and patriotic interest in
which surpassed him. canvassed in private, along
with all our leading of both sides, all the public ques
tons which have agitaed well agitae the country;
has come TO know personally the value of everybody
public who has done is fit for anything of i'm
porance and besides all this has participated in many
of the most important public counses of his tme whether
wings were in power or democrats in power"
We mark and claim part of our case in this ISSUE
what the fnttgeneer says of the attention and study
which General Scott has bestowed upon political affairs ;
and in testing his merits and claims as statesman we
assume that his recorded opinions have been carefully
formed and published upon mature deliberaon Let us
see. then, wha, kind of statesman those opinions,
published prove General Scott 10 be.
In his letter OF lsal he tells us that he started in
life a supporter of the administrations of Jefferson
and Madison and we have no other record of his poll
tics till the year 1895, when he tells in another
letter Of the year, he began 10 be natve,Amer
lean.
We hear nothing further from him. political sense,
till 1899. when find him brought forward for the
presidency with his full assent. Jacksonian
bard money democrat, who carried General Jackson's
administration on his back" and who utterly epudiated
the idea of being whg
This his political position till 1884, when he pub
shed his circular letter. declaring himself be in favor
OF all the odious and condemned whis measures OF the
extra session Of that year-every one of which was in
the teeth OF the policy of the Jacksonian admnis a,ion
which bu, year before he professed have carried
his back and, still in the teeth Of the rd.money
democratic platform on which he standing when his
letter appeared
But the same letter of ls4i gives still other revelations
OF General Scoii's craftsmanship Ii informs not
only that be is 10 favor OF the bank, the bankrupt BILL
and the Standardization scheme OF sll bat it goes
TO say that he is in favor OF changing the constitution
extend the presidential term 10 six years. and TO make
The power OF the President conrollable by major
ity vote OF the two houses OF Congress
ln another letter. about the period, learn
his signature, ha, at this time his progress native
Amercanism rapid as his conversion from hard
money democracy to bank-whiggery had been sudden
n this letter he tells US thai he "fully concurs in the
principles Of the Philadelphia movement which resulted
in the burning Of the Catholic churches there and in
the course Of the year, find his nave-Amer-
icansn blossomng out in December, 1914, into a care
fully y-digested plan, published under the signature Of
Americus" deprive, BY Of Congress- all foreigners
who should here Of the right OF suffrage, unles,
they should enlist and in the army or navy
In this posture and at this crisis, OF Geo Scots po
cal opinions, find BY the recent statement OF his fol-
lower the editor OF the New York Courier and En-.
quirer, which statement published short time since
that his friends 10 the Whg Convention, desiring 10
present him presidential candidate, found that his
political record, and especially his native
disqualified him for such post and that therefore, the
purpose oil running him abandoned until he could
get up phase Of statesmanshp at least in so far
as the rights and interests of foreigners concerned
Accordingly, in isis, have the Robinson letter. re-
pudiating the nstive-Anerean opinions which he had
cherished since 1895, and digesed into complete sys
tenn of dsfranehsement in iSi4 In this letter TO Robin
of s4s Gen Scott only proposes to let the natura
yaton laws alone but the subsequent four years throw
new light upon his mind; and in his letter OF acceptance
Of 1852 ind him proposing shortcut to adopted
citizenship by two years in the army or navy
This of his repudated creed OF prescription
which his craftsmanship IN 1914. ye, remains among
bis living convictions
Meantime. Gen. Seors political studies which the Ia
tehgeneer parades profound and exensive. bad
developed few incidental and 50 10 speak, cpl
sodcs, beauties OF sIatesmsnshp Between the years
ls45 and ls49 he had written upon slavery and upon
annexation, both subjects then prominent 10 the public
thought lie had declared himself in favor Of annexing
Canada and the British provinces generally He had
declared himself against annexing any Mexican terri
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