, 1862-12-24
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Senate Caucus and the Interview
with the President.
from Our Own Correspondent
WAsRMaToN, December 20, 1862.
NETanapFt1t

from Our Own Correspondent
WAsHNaTos, December 20, 1861
a nETRospEcr.
No body Of men approached disa.
grecablc duty with greater reluctance
than did tie thirty Republican |
Senators, to whose firmncss and patriotism !
these 1nomentous changes arc due. To com
preAend the full import Of what has been |
done, it is necessary to glance backward at
the military and political events Of twenty
months. At the outbreak Of the rebellion,
thc loyal States were nearly unanimous in
sustaining tie administration, and urging not
merely vigorous prosecution Of the war,
but, as Mr.. Douglas said at Springfield, tsthe
most stspe5t3oas preparations for war; No
sooner was this made manifest by the unex-
ampled rushing to arms after the lombard
ucnt Of Sumter, than the soothsayer Of the
State Department began to prophesy peace III
sixty days. At The end Of the sixty days he
added sixty more, (once only did he go as high
as ninety,) and so OIL till tile present time.
While engaged in exercising rebellion, it be-
came necessary to exercise slavery also.
Slavery having brought on the war, slavery
was conspicuous in I'll its phases. While in
carnations were being sung to one devil, its
twin was always present When its existence
could no longer he ignored and thrust out Of
view, the arts Of sorrcry were applied to it,
also, instead Of the arts Of war.
The spirit, which shines through Mr.. Sew
ards correspondence with our Representatives
s.broad, took possession Of the Governments
on the 4tl Of March, 1861, and instantly ren~
etrated every department Of the public SER
vice. It was more dtplorahle i'll its results,
{yet not more potent. in the War Office, than
elsewhere. It gave us for commanders IF the
three great military departments, Mcclellan,
Buell. and Halleck4 It imposed upon the vol
| is Fitz John Porter, Dixon s, Miles,
"Port Royal Sherman, "Bull' Mel
| son, Stone, Emory, Lockwood, Steel,
| Ble1ker, Major .heY, and 4 host Of others who
might be named, whose sympa1hies we're SO
the country, SO far as it knew the men, cried
/! out with one voice against them. All these
! hated an abolitionisI worse than they did Il
| traitor, and not unfrcqucnt1y, so boosted,
| Then there was another large class Of army
officers elevated to high positions, who affect
I model jury, selected because they had not
! former, or expressed any opinion as to the
matter Of issue. Buell. was the representa-
tive man of this class, Like the priceless
fi.ritcd or expressed any opinion concerning
dreadful NIL: der which had shocked and ex.
cited the country for months, replied that he
Lad not heard that any murder had bccn com
n:itted, so Don. Carlos replied that he adldnf
know What the war was about" Mcclellan
lunar months, observed jocoscly that he
was really beginning to feel malicious toward
these rebels" The Adiutant Generals De
partmcnt and the Quartcrmaster Generals
Department, the two great arms Of lie mill
tary service, were organized on the SAINT
| 1rlH .It1T1nrtsnf1V ff
| ibis hour.
THIS is :, lime for plainness Of speech. Thu
same spirit was manifest in the War, In
terror and postof1ce Department in the re
low, who were known to be bitterly ho5ti1
to the Administration, and, many Of them
7,;ottyes Of Davis, Floyd, Cobb, Thompsonan,
Torcey. Those who seldom or never ylsi
Washington, can have no conception Of tn
extent Of this nuisance, to call It by no harshc
; year ago. deals only with those who had pc1
: formed aets, or uttered sentiments, Of disloy
atty. There remained behind an u1lsounde
ocean Of cnmity 10 the new President, the ne'
! | Cabinet, the new Congress, the new idea
which had become dominant it the ballot DO,
: There il remains to-day, speaking as no1hin
t else can Of the weakness Of the President
:, constitutional advisers. point to it not t
!, | complain That this or that man, this or thi
d party, was not furnished with high station
and comfortable salaries, but to illustrate Il
spirit Which has ruled the country since Il
G scemre dropped from the hands Of Buchanan
c Its results are read in great national disaster
. great national debt, great national de1sgrac
y It began at Bull Run; let us hope that itssh
# c1.Ied ut Fredericksburg. It said tive sri
# c:ury on Il war and let our enemies condu
~ it-'' And so has it been done. Mr. Scwar
tile donincnt power in the Cabinet, Is chietl
::moNg seven Ineil, to blame for these result
hut tltese who stood By asserting, are Il
= 1Iancless- Tic President s advisers must Il
~ be noses Of wax in time Of war.
aI THE SENATE CAUCUS.
le The Republican Senators met in the recc
as tion room last Tuesday and locked the doc
They discussed solenn11y the condition Of t
is country 1t was argued that without a rat
tv charge in the iasas If the Administration
would be useless to prosecute the war-tll
er long ere il could be brought to snccesst
f. close the country, indignant At the awi
~ wearied with strife seeming to have no en-
n would put into the Presidential chair N
,o | who would make peace with JEFF. Davis on
basis Of new and appalling concessions
Mt slavery, or i1ual disruption Of the Unio
he The question was one involving absolute
the ruin or salvation Of free Institutions
to- America, They met it like men. A reso
1st tiun WAS Offered expressing the opinion Of
~ Republican Senators thai the Secretary
le' Stale should give place TO ] better NAH.
EE ! Ter UlEcISS1Ol tui1 Iu1puIl4uCl1t EtB
,ts 1utc was adopted at 4 meeting Il
40 the following day, declaring the unassina
ars opinion of the Senators that 4 partial rec
ifh | slrnctlUn Of the Cabinet was necessary TO
- safety Of tho country. 4 committed Of II
re- members-Messrs. Eol1amer, chairman, ]
The scudcn, Grimes, Harris, Howard, Pome'
IL, Summer, Trumb,ln and Wade-wereap appolr
LUZ to bear to the White House this rcsolut
yal Which had received tile vote Of every ReI
ted lican member Of the Senate except Pres
~" King, who DECLINED to vote from motive:
personal delicacy.. The gentlemen nal
went to the Executive mansion OIL Thur:
eat evening, and performed their duty in 4 81
tel | Of the utmost kindness to the Chief IL:
tratc Of the nation, who received them ;
Guy the dignity Of a statesman, and replie
no them With tic words Of an unselfsh pat
~ and I'LL honest 1nan Think what a nosl
eo' perple1ity hedges the footsteps Of Ahra
to Lincoln at every turn! I believe there
uca not one Of the nine Senators but retn
ue' from the interview with higher opinion
he the President and better hopes for the cou
ar than he felt before. H.