Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-09-11

through the many storms which ave heretofore
threatened to engulph her.
The Cincinnati Gazette, the leading Republican
organ of the West says of the popular demand
for change in the Cabinet"
city contemporary states that petition, of
which it gives the form. is in circulation in this
city Cor the removal of Simon Cameron and the
appointment of Joseph Holt in his place, which
our contemporary says will receive thousands OF
signatures here, and that the public sentiment
must make itself to be felt at Washington.
| There is undoubtedl~a very general feeling, like
that of the bows in the thunder storm, that some
thing ought TO be done, and this might be turned
into vast number Of signatures for breaking
down almost any man; but such pressure does
not always result in the most intelligent meas
ures-
Petitions for the removal of the Presidents
clerks or adyisers-for they are nothing more
than clerks except insomuch as he allows them to
advise-are a novelty in this Governments, and
may well be- This is not Government where a
responsible ministry receives the entire blame and
| penalty for administrative errors, and thus COM
bines the beauties of a responsible Government
with the beautiful idea of the divine ordination of
Kings, who can do no wrong. As far as the out
side world can know the Administration Is a unit,
and the President himself is the only responsible
1 man IN H. a pettlOn IOr the FeIuONdi Vi u Otoi-
net officer is merely petition to the responsible
party for the removal of an irresponsible one.
People who have drawn their notion OF this meth
cd Of administrative reform from England, have
not stopped to think of the different formation OF
the two Governments, and that there it is the
Ministry that is held responsible, while here the
President himself is the only responsible person
that the people can know.
By waving this inconsistency, it is very well in
1 a Al.
complaint, to see whether one will fit the
other. The great want in the conduct of this war
has not been in department details, but in com
pretending the magnitude of the occasion and in
| planning operations accepting men and devising
means on a scale adequate to meet it. A gene
rous enthusiasm on the part OF the people OF the
/ North, which if taken at the hoodb the Admin
istratie2, would have enlisted an overwhelming
force and swept on to continual victory, has been
repressed, insulted, abused and thrown back. and
now the Government after a defeat which is
without single excuse, finds itself helplessly
| thrown upon the defensive in every quarter, and
apparently glad to compromise for its own safety
from day to day.
All this is the result, not Of departmental de-
tails. but of the general policy. Can this re.
sponsibility be thrown upon the Secretary OF
War; He had no more 10 say in deciding upon
it than any other member of the Cabinet. He
had not so much to say in deciding it as the Sec
rotary of the Treasury had, for he, in addition to
his views as member of the Cabinet-that we had
troops enough, when only about one hundred
regiments had been accepted, had also to back
his views, the peremptOry argument of the treas
ury inability. an inability growing small by de-
grees as this policy depressed the confidence OF
the country.
A little reflection will show that the remedy
proposed is one that does not fit the complaint.
One member of the Cabinet could not have been
responsible for the inadeQuateneSs of cOmprehen-
sion of the emergency, and insufhciency of plan
and preparation to meet it. The responsibility
can not attach to anything less than the whole
Administration, except so far as individual mem
bers may be relieved from it by their known adj
vOcacy of a more comprehensive and vigorous
policy There is evidence that Mr. Cameron
was in favor of greater vigor and preparation, at
least in favor of more troops, and this has been
attributed TO corrupt motives-that larger force
would make more subsistence and transportation
contracts. That will hardly be said now, although
it has done its work in exciting odium against
him.
There is evidence that another member of the
Cabinet did from the first oppose the increase OF
the national forces, and preparation on an ade-
quate scale 1t is we'll known that this opposition
was made with fatal effect, even when the term
of the three months volunteers Just expiring.
This opposition was made in Cabinet meetings,
and there decided the action of the Government.
Hew can the Secretary of War be held reS-'on-
sbe for thatl Furthermore, that member OF
the Cabinet was more than an Assistant Secre
tary OF War during all the time while this made
quate policy was eliminating in the National dis
grace. We speak this from knowledge learned
from those who have had business with the AID
ministration connected with the conduct of the
war and the raising of troops.
We have no faith in the efficacy ofscape goats
The nations have come out of the wilderness, and
nothing can be made now by taking responsible
ty from heads where it belongs and packing il of
into the desert on the back of n ram. But while
we declare for even handed justice we desire nc
man to escape his just liability. We have shown
how comprehensive consistent petition tor a
Cabinet reformation must be. We should be
affecting the sham decacy of declining, out Of
regard for the public good, to say what is in ev-
cry ones mind, to refrain from saving
that the people are impressed with the idea that
the Cabinet is not equal to the occasion. That
belief is a heavy weight upon the determination
and enthusiasm of the people. IL would be well
for the President to ponder and consider whether
he can afford to have his Administration weight
upon the popular energies, at time when the
country demands their utmost vigor and enthus
asm.
Since our hand is in we will also remark thai
after the Manassas disaster every member of The
Cabinet should have held his office only till hi:
successor was appointed. His resignation should
at once have been placed ut the service of the
President. The disaster was too great, the dis
grace too eternal and the responsibility too direc
to be shuffied of with the imbecile consolation
that defeat may be better than victory. Thi:
would have enabled the President to have formet
a Cabinet that would have revived the hopes o.
the country, and then defeat might have beer
turned to good. This would not have placed thu
responsibility those members of the Cabine
who opposed the fatal policy. for their appoint
ment by the Preside would have indorsed anC
indicated their previous course.
1t Is very proper that the members of the Cab
met should recognize their responsibility for III,
events of their policy, although the people, Justly
can only hold the Administration responsible, a
unit, for faults of general policy. 1t is our I'M
preston that great advantage might be gaineC
to the cause of the Government by u change il
the Cabinet; but the President knows better thai
these petitions where the great fault lies They viii
better know themselves on reflection. He know
that to grant such petition would only commi
injustice without touching the real seat of the re
sponsibility for the disasters, which small polio,
in great emergency has brought upon the coun
try The laundering way in which the public
press has pitched upon scapegoat has probabl,
prevented public opinion from having any effec
on the Presidents course in this matter. HaC
pubic OPINION Deen lnteillgently ultecten, tn'
general feeling that change IN the Cabinet wa
needed could hardly have failed of effect. Butt
went eff on false scent md the President coult
only wait for the sober second thought, and tina
has not come yet.
The petition in circulation hereis merely tryin:
TO put the common newspaper error into operation
after il has about exploded The President knows
that such petition does not touch she seat of it
complaint. The request of the Board OF Bank
that ignoring party or personal consideration
he ,rl.,lh 40 nnnd,,nf HI. Adrnn.fra tor, IN n,rnr,