The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1862-03-21
Military partisanship.


This country has so long been split into par
ties, that it seems utterly impossible for those
who have used these weapons of partisan strife
so long, to lay them aside even in the most deadly
peril of the country. Many honestly thought
when the North arose as one man at the call Of
the Government after the fall Of Sumter, that
party lines were obIiterated. But they were
only for a little while buried out of sight. The
last New Hampshire election showed them as
clearly defined then as ever and there can be
no doubt chat elections everywhere except whelc
Democrats or Republicans are in such hope
less minority as to make contesr us less, will
develop the existence Of the same party feeling
hereafter, as Of old. This political strife is,
however, carried on much after the war style.
1t is coming to be poitico-military conflict.
Not much is said about the talih' The subject
Of internal improvements is dropped. The Ma
tonal Bank, at last, is u de!unct issue. No
mention is made of the annexation Of Cuba.
The stctus of the Territories is mt much dis-
cussed. But there is great activity on the
and as great liberality as ever in denunciation
Of opponents.
For the last few weeks the battle has been
mainly fought over Gen. Mcclellan, especially
since the Presidents message on the subject of
gradual abolition for the moment placed all
parties 50 nearly in accord on the subject Of the
best way to get rid of Slavery. Here the COM
bat has waxed exceedingly fierce. One extreme
is quite ready to deny to Gen. Mcclellan any
ere torany of the successes of the Federal arms
for the last six weeks. The opposite extreme
is quite as unreasonable in claiming for him all
the glory, and pralsing him as the one man who
has planned and brought to perfection the move.
ments Of the forces that have wrought such
change in the aspect of the war and the coun-
try is in just about as much danger from one
kind Of craftsmanship as the other. 1t is not
the good Of the country that either extreme is
seeking but the elevation or depression of
single man and while they work with this
purpose, the laudation and the censure are alike
miscellaneous to the cause we are all seeking to
advance.
There is no style of criticism easier, or more
inviting than indiscriminate praise or censure /;
and in the present embargo upon all news re-.
spectng the movements of troops, the field for
conjecture is SO unlimited, that 1t requires but
small ingenuity to make every movement of tho
war straight or crooked, as suits the fancy of
the writer. Whether the Government has done
wisely or not in withholding from the people
the means of forming an accurate judgment, it
is not worth while now to discuss. But the
Knowledge having been withheld, it is not quite
fair for the newspaper friends of Army Gener-
ais to Insist that no fault shall be found with
what appears to be wrong, provided the com
plant IS made in proper spirit and with an
earnest desire to assist in bringing the war to a
speedy conclusion. The press, in this Govern
ment are the sentnels on the watch tow ers of our
iiberties and neither Generals, President, Cabi-
net, nor congressman are, nor ought to be, ex-
empt from the sciutinizipg gaze Of these guar
dams Of the peoples rights. Implicit, unwa.
verng faith in officers, either civil or military
is no more a duty in time OF war than in time
OF peace, and wherever INDUCED, or compelled
is either inconsistent with Democratic nstitu
tions or hostile TO them. Take, for instance, the
attempt to make Gen. Mcclellan tho one hero o.
this war, and what good result can be secured
by it in anything but political sense l,
might be useful in advancing The suggestion
made some time since by the New York Herald
in laying the foundation for military dynasty
by using the Army to adjourn Congress at tn,