Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1865-12-28
STATES MANsETAP.

public, who can Gil the measure Of
true greatness and wisdom Of speei-
mems, such as they are, we can point
to multitudes but we search in vain
for such grand creations Of the heart
and soul. among our living, active
public men, as dignifed and adorned
those sages who figured III the earlier
periods Of the country and whose man.
ties falling upon the shoulders Of such
giants as Webster, Calhoun and Clay
oflater days, seem to have closed forever
around the forms of those intellectual
heroes and like their burial garments
to have descended with them 10 the
tomb. fp
What do we find in the National
Congress, the supposed embodiment
OF call the wisdom" Of the country, TO
compare in towering, grand and noble
craftsmanship with the characters just
named ? Leading minds and cunning
politicians there certainly are, who al
feet the virtues of the statesmen with
out possessing them; or, who revel in an
atmosphere Of sectioualsm inbaliDg
and exhallng its deadly poison and
glorying in the shame Of It's corrop.
ton. Heaven save the Republic from
such statesmen and their statesmen.
ship.
The true statesman implies one
who can soar above the groveling
passions and prejudices of section or
of faction; who discloses n mind
and soul capacious enough to take in,
appreciate and labor for the good of
n whole people; and who confines
withal, steadfast honesty and in
tegrity of character calculated to in
spire trust and confidence among the
people. Are we to look for the ex-
istence Of such qualities in the ranks
of the most prominent politicians
now before the Nation Can we
point to either one Of those--4to
Thaddeus Stevens, to Sumner, Will
son, Beecher, Phillips, and others Of
the same ilk, and say thou art the
man who fills the bill2 Alas, no
Like their radical instincts, theories
and practices, they are found radi-
cally defective when sounded by the
plummet of n wise, consistent and
patriotic craftsmanship. As com
pared with the iIlustrious hosts who
have preceded them on the stage of
political action, commencing with the
earliest dawn of the Republic and
ending with Webster, Clay and Cal
houn, they are as plgmies, mottled,
deformed and hideous, the essence
and impersonation of fanaticism, hate
and vindictiveness. Valorous knights
Of the Procrustean school Of moral and
political reform Sublime oracles of
the worshipers of lopg-Worded and
Iong- winded metaphysical abstrac-
lions Chosen spirits of the evil
yenii of discord and animosity /!
Cease your bitterness and revilings.
Leave off your idle pratings about
philanthropy and the principles Of
government as expounded according
o your contracted ideas and notions,
and if it be possible, turn over a new
eaf for the coming year, and reform
yourselves altogether. Instead of
oaltry, sectional politicians, strive to
,nact the better part of statesmen,
md let the world resound with some
hing more glorious and lovely than
1our inharmonious clashings with a
lation's veal and prosperity. Be
more than mere
"Bubbles on a sea of matter borne, |
That rise and break and to that sea return"
which yourselves and your reputation
must be in all that pertains to your
uture fame and history, save in the
ight of "bad eminence )" unless,
'erforce, you can change the consti-
utions Of your natures and give to