Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1862-11-25
Gen. scotl,n Letter.

The London Times, in article on General
SCOTS letters in regard 10 his interviews with
Buchanan, and his advice to Mr. Seward, uses
the following language:
General Scott is Americas Wellington
He is the only General Of age and authority,
and be seems to have been endowed with q
certain degree Of military foresight When
the revolution, which is now in progress was
but looming in the distance, he alone saw the
magnitude and certainty Of the storm. His
first cry was to garrison in force the arsenals
and iorts, which commanded the rivers and
strategetic points OF the Southern States.
Neither President nor Minister would listen
to him, and the opportunity was lost Then
came the electoral victory Of the Republicans
and the overthrow OF the Democrats. To the
new President and his new Prime Minister
General Scott addressed himself with re-
newed urgency. II is now known all over
America, that while Messrs Lincoln and
Seward we're, in their civilian concsit and ig-
norance, talking lightly Of this secession as a
movement to be put down In sixty days, and
with seventy thousand men, they had, locked
away in their desks, and carefully concealed
from the public knowledge, report from the
Commsnderin-ehief, telling them that three
years and three hundred thousand men, and
two hundred and fifty million dollars, formed
the least price at which these seeded States
could be reconquered.
7 While Mr.. Lincoln was talking in sprightly
parallels, and while Mr.. Seward was entertain.
| ing his hearers with assurances that il it had
been necessary for the preservation Of the
Union, he would have fixed slavery In Massa-
chusetts, and would have made il grow there,
they had before then General Scott warning
that to hold the South when conquered would
require generations of armies of occupation,
costing four times the tribute they could ex-
tort, and destroying the Constitution Of the
country which employed them, When the
destinies Of great nation are given up to
the guidance Of two loquacious attorneys, we
have no right to expect large views Of public
exigencies; but it is only now we learn that
these men, while they were acting according
to their folly bad received eounses which were
just those that would have been given by the
wisest statesmen of the Old World.
With this (Scotts wise estimate Of the cri-
sis before them, Messrs, Lincoln and Seward
went to work with less caution than the Lon
don police would show in dispensing an Irish
mob. There was noparley. no offer Of peace
no submission to arbitrstion--it was to be all
sudden brute force. These civilians thought
they knew better than the old General how
light and easy was the task before them. Let
the Commander-in-ehief talk OF his hundreds
Of thousands Of men, and his hundreds Of
millions Of dollars, and his generation of
slaughter, here were two attorneys who we're
confident thai the whole South could be tram
pied into subsection in three months with TO-.
900 undisciplined volunteers Since then the
North has lost before one city more than the
number of men which Mr. Lincoln and Mr..
Seward thought sufficient to tread out the re.
bellion. Since then the North has spent
more than four times the $3.50, ,000, 900 which
General Scot estimated "a the bill OF the war
And yet there is no end even in sight
These are the consequences Of cheap and
simple form of government, having rural
attorney for sovereign and city attorney for
Prime Minister We have already said that
If such terrible exposure of inoapacity had
happened in England, we should ct the ear
Hest moment possible havssent the incapables
about their business, and put ourselves in the
hands Of better men. But the Constitution OF
the United States makes no provision for the
choice Of the people falling upon an incompe.
tent President. There stands Mr.. Lincoln,
and there stands Mr.. Seward General Scott !
letter contrasted with their acts demonstrates
that both the sovereign and the minister are
ht for no higher work than little pettifog.
giDg in district court There is Q vast fed.
GRAFTON dissolvlHg in fire and blood, yet there
is no help for IT,