The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-01-29

A few days ago one of our Washington cor
respondents sent us an extract from letter
which he stated had been written to NJ. Soule
by Mr.. Pierce shortly before his departure from
this country Tor Spain, and after he had deliver
ed the flibustero speech which attracted so
much attention at that time. The authenticity
of that letter has been denied in the most en-
phatic terms by the organs of the administra-
ton. Journals generally supposed to stand high
in favor with the personnel of the White House
have not been content with denying that Mr..
Pierce wrote any such letter, but have given vent
to furious bursts of rage, and have once more
given proof of their sense and good breeding
by heaping coarse language ON our head.
To all this our answer is very simple. The
letter which contained the extract we published
was shown by NJ Soule to gentleman here,
who repeated its substance to our correspondent.
1t is quite possible that some slight variance
may have existed between the ipsissima per5a
of the letter as written, and the extract as pub
lished. But the evidence is too strong to sd-
NIT of our doubling for a moment that the
tenor, meaning and general wording of the
original letter were identical with the passage
sent us by our correspondent. We're the Pre-
sident different man, we should allow more
weight to his semi-official denial Of the fact;
SIS it is, we can only regret that the antecedeuts
Of the first magistrate of the United States do
not permit as to hesitate in preferring the word
of dispassionate individual to his own. We
believe that the letter was written and sent as
we stated.
|
But in truth it matters very little whether
Mr.. Pierce did or did not write such letter to
M. Soule. His appreciation Of the tilbustero
principles OF the Minister was as plainly implied
in his appointment to Spain as it could have
been expressed in any letter. NJ. Soule's
speech was read by the President long before he
left for Madrid. If Mr.. Pierce did not approve
of the sentiments it contained, why did he allow
Nj. Soule to leave? The latter announced in
the most unequivocal and emphatic manner
the course of policy he intended to pursue at
the Court Of Isabella IL; every ragged loafer
in New York knew exactly what M. Soule
would say and what he would do; surely the
President was not the only man in the country
who did not know what was going on around
him. To suppose such thing would be alb
with the filibustero speech before him, he al
lowed NJ. Soule to depart What stronger sane
ton could he have bestowed on his principles
| ifhe had written dozen letters?
| This, however, ia very small matter, which
we are willing to leave in allegiance until Mr..
Soule's return, which cannot be later than next
month. We have no doubt but that gentleman
viii find 1t necessary to set this and few other
matters in their true light before the American
people; and we shall then see whether or no it
be true that the administration is now trying to
make NJ. Soule the scapegoat for their follies.
Plain enough it is to us that the whole pro-
gramme of Mr.. Pierces foreign policy was Dor.
rowed bodily from Mr.. Dudley Mann. The let
| tiers we have published place the matter beyond
question Every conspicuous act Of the admin
istration, from the circular on diplomatic cos
tune to the Koszta letter and the demand of ten
millions from Congress, was the result of Mr..
Mann's suggestions. In fact, we may say that
during the first year at least of Mr.. Pierces ad.
ministration, the ruler of this country was none
other than Dudley Mann. He had O number
| Of assistants to aid him in the work-one Frank
| lin Pierce who assented to bills; William L.
Marcy who acted as his amanuensis and wrote
the letters Mann dictated; Caleb Cushing,
James Guthrie and others who unregistered his
DEGREES, Just as the chancellors and secretaries
and prinses do those OF the Gar Nicholas But
the real power was in the hands of Mann. He
was the head, they were the hands. He thought,
they acted He ordered, they obeyed. From
his room in Paris, with no other help than a
sheet OF fine French note paper, he governed the
United States; and 70 ably did Pierce and his
other subordinates carry out his designs that
really the thing could not have been
better managed had he been here in person
II was somewhat anomalous, certainly, to see
the country ruled by Dudley Mann, when the
people had elected Franklin Pierce to do the
work; but then Mr. Pierce knew himself better
than any one else knew him, and had calcu-
lated 10 nicely what he was fit for.
The exact period at which the administration
Of Mr.. Dudley Mann terminated cannot yet be
ascertained with perfect precision. The chances
are that the refusal of Congress to vote the ten
millions be demanded must have shaken his
authority, and led to insubordination on the
part Of Mr.. Pierce and his other clerks. Nor
can the foolish failure Of his war policy toward
Spain have been without effect. At whatever
time the outbreak took place, we know tina.
such an outbreak did take place, and that on
some certain day, Messrs. Marcy and Guthrie
sober, conservative men in all matters
wherein Central America is not concerned
overthrow the usurper, and seized his sceptre.
Poor Mr.. Pierce, like quiet puppet as he is,
submitted as unrepiningly to the second batch
Of masters az 10 the first. lie had been war.
Ike unGer KaDr; hc was lsnblike urder