, 1864-07-01
Gbtcaso Gr1b11ne,
FRIDAY, JULY /, 1854.
n.uNCOXN,b wKAKF EsS.


IT. Ia mt unusual to 1nd estimates OF the
ch.r,cter Of MI. Lincoln, In which he is al.
1owcd the virtue of wishing to find out the
nonular will and OF seeking 10 embody that
n the policy Of his administration. But this
admlrsion OF merit is most always offset with
the assertion that he lacks settled principles
Of action, independent Judgment, and well
considered and deeply cherished conviction.
Though he Is granted to deserve we'll from
the people for his persistent and earnest ef.
forts to obey and enforce their will, the wish
Is expressed that he were more Of a leader,
md less Of q follower; thst he had more earn
est convictions, and = stronger will Of his
pwn; and could mould popular sentiment,
aud inspire it with higher purpose, rather
than be SO subject to It, and 80
afraid TO COME In collision with It.
We deem this hlsa and mistaken
view Of Mr.. Lincoln's character, and 1t
seems to rs that those who are 80 ready to
put il forward on oil occasions, do him great
Injustice, and would find, II they ever tried
1t. tie task most difficult one to
bring forward the fscts which would sustain
It. For however long Mr.. Lincoln may have
waited, and however impatient many may
have become while urging the immediate
execution OF measures which his judgment
compelled him still to postpone, it is not
easy to see how be can justly be charged
with nck Of resolution, or want OF firm and
vigorous will, who has thus stcadfastly rr-
mained true to his own Judgment Of what
was wisest and best in the midst Of most
clamorous and violent effort to move him
from his po.i ition-
The history Of Nh. Lincoln'e action On all
the leading measures Of his Administration
is alike in this particular, that he has always
anaugurxted each one in Just the mode, and
ut Just the time when in his own opinion 1t
was best. Very fe + public men can show q
career more distinctly marked with this
feature OF personal Independence and
thorough reliance on his own conclusions.
And rarely has any pnblic man withstood 60
long, and 80 immovably, every. effort, how
ever determined or powerful, to make him
yield his own views Of expedieney and policy
and adopt those OF Others The policy
rhich hir. Lincoln has pursued has been al
ways distinctly his own, and whenever be
has adopted measures which any party OF the
country has approved or demanded, !. 1t has
always been with suea differences OF form OF
lime from what Others have insisted upoa.
rs to make them eminca1s and peculiarly
his own. So far from Its being true that the
President has shown too great q Difference
TO popular sentiment, and has been
SO fearful to offend against 1t, a.
to make his administration timiu,
hesitatnC and vascilliating. facts prove Just
the contrary. All his policy and measures
hnra he.y1 frnynaH an coll @n
his own individual opinions, and inaugural
ed SO exactly at the time and in the manner
which best suited Mr. Lincoln, that they msy
truly be called entirely Ills own There IL
no party in the eQnatsy which has at all times
given hib policy lire approval. Those
who have approves esures have often
blamed his mode, a for introducing
them /; md as general policy, con-
demncd mud denounced Mt II b. has made
Its way to popular support BY its after re-
quits, and has received It's full vindIcatlou
only after lapse Of time.
So far from being a mere seeker for the cur
rent Of popular sentiment, that he might get
into and hoat along with it, be has been in the
estimate Of the very men who make this charge
always too slow for II; or else always SO
doubtful as to the course Of the public tide
ever TO launch boldly ont into It. The fact
is Mr. Lincoln has always been true to two
lending convictions or sentiments, that of
devotion to Liberty, and that Of devotion 10
the Union. These, always united, have been
the guide and the end Of all his policy.
Fromthese he has never swerred, and Of these
he has never been forgetfnl. The course of
his Administration has been precisely that