Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-07-16
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER
THE DIssENsIoNs IN MISSOURI.

take the liberty Of laying before our readers, with
holding the writer's name. The communication,
II will be SEEN is elected by the commentator we
bestowed on the letter of Mr.. Lincoln to General
scho6eld in which the President stated to the lat
ter that he had removed Gen. Curtis from the COM
mand in Missouri Z" because of conviction that
the Union men Of Missouri, constituting, when
united, vast majority of the whole people, have
entered into pestient factonal quarrel among
themselves-Gen. Curtis, perhaps not of choice,
being the head Of one faction, and Gov Gamble
that of the other" The President added that,
after months of labor to reconcile the difficulty, ii
seemed to grow worse and worse until he felt it his
duty to break it up somehow; and as he could not
remove Governor Gamble he had to remove Gen.
Curtis He concluded by advising Gen. Schofeld
to undo nothing merely because Gen. Curtis or
Gov Gamble did it; but to exercise his own judg
ment and do right for the public interest 1t is to
our remarks Introductory of this letter that our
esteemed correspondent takes exception in the fol-
lowing communication:
ST LOUIS, July g. 1868
To the Editors Of the National InteUigencer
SRs The National Inteligencer has for many years
been my guide and instructor political matters well
informed upon all political events of the country upon
which it became your duty to treat and wlthal so indie
pendent and fearless the defence of the right that felt
perfectly safe in my political position when sustained by
the arguments set forth by It,
/ commended you for your courteous and respectful
treatment OF the President whenever you had occasion to
differ him in his OF what best for the
try And whenever occasion in which you could
bestow just praise upon him for any political act 1t graft
fed me to note with what skill and you welded
your mighty influence in bis defence. 1t may be from an
aiable weakness and desire to find our Chief Magistrate
always in the right when lie is not glarlngy IN the wrong
that you prepared the editorial introduction TO the pubca
Of the Presidents letter of instruction to Major Gen
Schofeld at St Louis, published the lnelgencer OF
the 4th Of July instant You high praise and there
give the authority OF your name TO cast undeserved cen
upon who deserved better treatment from your
self and the President.
cannot suppose you ignorant Of the public that
marked the course Of the State of Missouri in maintaining
her position in the Union you cannot be Ignorant OF the
prominent part taken by Governor Gamble in the struggle
that ensued and his success IN conducting the
up this time; yet you commend and publish in the Ma
tona Ineg encer uncaedor gross insult perperated
by the President of the United States upon that gentleman
The President calls him actionist and intmaes that
he would remove him from his official position if he had
the power but lacking that he obliged to remove Gen
Curtis for the sake of peace between the factions with M
sructions to his not 10 be good terms with
either faction OF Gen. Curtis refrain from speaking
further than say that he and the Governor formed
upon exactly opposite moral attributes and could not well
act in harmony.
If you will take the trouble inform yourself Of the
condition of things in Missouri you will find that there is
party for law and order and party almost avowedy for
revolution by force they at this moment engaged in
schemes looking to revolution aud violence. No conces
will satisfy them This is the party the President
would place upon the footing Of the good citizens
and nmated to his General that they must be protected
believe that the article Of which complain writ
ten without due consideration and without perceyng it's
bearing upon individual character and that when the time
for the Governor to set himself right before the
public in reference to that letter Of the President
hope he will do that then you will show your usual mag
nanmty and undo the injury done by your eulogy upon
the Presidents unwise not to say dangerous letter to
the Major General
Our correspondent does us no more than justice
in characterizing the rule of duty and propriety
which we have habitualy prescribed to ourselves
in all our comments on the course of the President
at this difficult juncture. Only too glad to praise
him where we could, we have not been afraid to
blame him-always, of course, with the respect
due to his character and ofhce-when we thought
duty to the public required it at our hands;
but as in our expressions Of dissent We have never
consciously been inspired by disposition to find
him in the wrong just little, in the bestowal of
our concentrations, have we sought to find him in
the right at the expense Of truth and justice. If
we have not properly divided our praise and blame
we must plead in extenuation the infrmity of hui
man judgment when called to pronounce its opin-
ions under the limitations attaching to all human
knowledge
As regards the particular matter to which our
Missouri correspondent calls attention, have
to say that, in expressing approval of the ad.
vice given by the President to Gen. Schofeld, it
was no part Of our purpose to give judgment on
the merits Of the controversy between the uphold
ers of Gov. Gamble on the one hand or the adhe-
rents Of Gen Curtis on the other. We have our
own opinions on this subject, and we presume they
do not essentially differ from those Of our friend,
as we have marked with admiration the straight
forward course of Gov. Gamble, and are not unap.
priced Of the violent and revolutionary counsels of
many among the men by whom his administration
in Missouri is assailed. But the President, form
ing his opinions from the data before him. conceiv-
ed il his duty to arbitrate the differences between
the two contending parties in Missouri on the as
sumption that they both entitled to be called
" factions J" and, as he took this view Of the mat
tiers in dispute, his decision in the premises and
his advice to Gen Schofeld seemed to US entirely
Just and wise II he had shared the views Of our
correspondent with regard to the origin and merits
Of the controversy between tho supporters Of Gov.
Gamble and the partisans by whom that magistrate
is assailed we should have expected that his deci-
sion in being perhaps the same, would have been