The New York herald., 1862-08-08


wifi the exception Of shat made by freslcent
Lincoln, they were by No means out Of the
common way, and require no especial coai-
ment. Most Of the speakers toncied upon tie
! dark ard obscure subject of the inevitable
negro, ard the opinions e. pressed in regard to
! this Individual we're somewhat conflicting. On
| the whole, however. rs one speaker answ cred
| the other, AID Cnittc:dcl balanced Boutwell,
| and as the audience was quite large, very eu
! thusiastic and very rroiuse OF applause, the
| meeting was satisfactory, and may be called
| success.
President Lincoln, it appears. did not intend
to speak, and only came forward in response to
the impatient demands Of the audience, and
after brief consultation with the Cabinet
officers who sat near him. His remarks were
very brief and exceedingly amiable. He never
mentioned the negro, and referred only indi-
rectly to the war. Leaving these popular
topics to the other speakers, the President
"could think of but one thing, just now, not
likely to be better said by some one else, and
that was a matter in which we have heard some
other persons blamed for what he had done
| himself" This matter was he trouble said to
exist between General Mcclellan and Secretary
| Stanton, and the President proceeded to explain
that neither Mcclellan nor Stanton was to
blame, and that he had no fault 20 fnd with
either of them. This is very generous and very
characteristic of our kind hearted President.
He throws his mantle of charity over his pre-
sent Secretary Of War just as he did over Secre-
tary Cameron. If there has been any dirty
| lpan in tho Coh acbo bo5 a1
nicely ironed at the White House, and when it
came to be exhibited to the gaze of the multi
tude in East Capitol square it seemed as pure
and white as any laundress could make it. No
one who sees this beautifully clean linen, how
ever, can fail to believe that it has been recent
ly washed, and that it was once very dirty.
The President says that General Mcclellan
has sometimes asked for things that the Secre-
tary of War did not give him; and that General
Mcclellan is not to blame for asking for what
he wanted and needed, and the Secretary of
War is not to blame for not giving when he had
none to give" This looks very spotless; but
it would appear differently if the President
had added that Mcclellan "asked for,
wanted and needed" more men; that
the Secretary of War chad none to
give" because he had foolishly stopped recruit
ing, and that he was led to do this by the in
trjgues Of the Jacobin Club of Congress. This
is really the dirty linen Of the past which the
appointment of General Halleck to the Office of
Commander-in- Chief has washed clean for the
present.
President Lincoln, therefore, though he
means to. say very little, reveals enough to
show us where the difficulty has hitherto been,
and why he has entrusted to General Halleck
he chief practical control cf onr armies in the
field, leaving Secretary Stanton to raise re-
cruts, contrive contracts, and manage the rou-
tine business of the War Department We can
afford to initiate the charity of the President.
and speak mildly and compassionately of Mr..
Stanton now that we are sure that an able and
experienced general is managing our war mat
ters and that no able and expe renced lawyer
will be permitted to interfere with or annoy
him. Indeed, as the President insinuates, Mr..
Stanton may not be so much to blame after all.
Undoubtedly he meant we'll, and tried to do
everything for the best; hut, unfortunately he
was weak enough to listen to the voice Of his
Jacobin tempters, and the result was that his
achievements by no means squalled his good
intentions. 1t is to the Jacobins of Con-
gress, then, that We arc indebted for
the disasters for which so very many
persons have blamed Mr.. Stanton. This the
HERALD has rep atedy asserted before, and
President Lincoln's endorsement of our opinion
settles the matter beyond doubt The Jaco-
bin Club, under the leadership Of Senator Wade
has neutralized the best efforts Of this govern
ment from the very first. II hurried General
Scott into the defeat 1T Bull run in spite of the
remonstrances of the noble veteran. When
Mcclellan took SCOTS place, this Jacobin Club
hurried him off, Also before he was prepared to
move, and the result was another defeat. In
vain General Mcclellan endeavored to resist
the Influences of the Jacobins. If General
Scott with all his yecrs, services, experience,
fame and authority, was p0werless against the
Jacobin intrigues, what could young Mcclellan
du? lie went to the peninsula, as Scott's army
advanced to Manassas, with his plans disar-
ranged, with his army not fully prepared with
too few men for the work before him, and with
Mcdowell held back to be his Grouchy or his
Patterson.
The other results of Jacobn intrigucs ar.
well known to the public. We see them in the
increased duration and expense of the war. We
see them in the draft soon to be imposed upon
men who volunteered and were refused few
months ago. Every man now suffers in his
own person, property or pocket from these in
trigues, just as our generals and soldiers have
already suffered. The public may forgive and
forget Mr.. Stanton; but they will neither for
give nor forget the Jacobin Congressman. The
security for public confidence now is that the
President understands the real state Of the
case and will not permit General Halleck to be
disturbed, his plans to be disarranged, his ad-