Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-08-17
RUTLAND HERALD
FRIDAY. AUGUST IL, 1868,
Generals ana Statesmen.

,,sp without being a lawyer OF " Soou
aanoraI without being statesman. rms
. soIcevident enough, yet very many
oonIe are so dazzled by Il brilliant mill
tarv reputation, that they are apt TO as
crihe TO its possessOr all sorts or knowl-
edoe and wisdom in reference to all sorts
az occnpations and professions, nom
grooming a horse to preaching a sermon
on ruling u great nation. Some OF our
colleges even, hasten to bestow upon
distinguished military men the degrees
which belong only to distinguished
scholars and Gen. Jones is dubbed
tdoctor Of laws" with the same propri
ety precisely that would characterize
the comforting OF IN. d. upon distin-
guished divine, or 80, D." upon distin-
pushed lawyer. 1t adds no honor to
Gen. Jones, and the indiscrimnate be-
stowal Of the degrees has detracted so
greatly from their value that some who
were eminently deserving of them have
declined the honor Men, too, who are
Successful as fighters, are sometimes in
clined to imagine themselves qualified
thereby to pronounce decisively upon
great questions OF national policy. An
extract from letter written by Gen.
Sheridan has lately been published in
relation TO Mexico, which has attracted
considerable attention. The letter, it is
true, was a private one, and injustice
r,,,InnhtallNy dana 70 II,
making it public. But it is singular
to note with what positiveness Gen. S.
speaks upon question concerning
which most thinking men are at least
in doubt He says;
There is no use to beat about the
bush in this Mexican matter We
should give a permanent Government to
that Republic. Our work in crushing
the rebellion will not be done till this
takes place. The advent of Macmillan
was portion of the rebellion, and his
fall should belong to its history. Most
of the Mexican soldiers of Maximilian's
army would throw down their arms the
moment we cross the Rio Grande."
Whether we should "cross the Rio
Grande, and in our present financial
condition involve ourselves in a war
with France, when Mexico will probably
Of herself soon get rid of Macmillan
and Napoleon altogether, is at least a
debateable question. Gen Sheridan's
opinion is entitled to the same weight
on the subject that it would be if he
were distinguished doctor of medicine
or preacher of the gospel certainly no
more. When it shall have been decided
to 'cross the Rio Grande" and the ques-
tion arises how to do it," then Gen.
Sheridan will be in his element, and up
4 on that military question the greatest
Importance will of course be attached
to the opinion of the distinguished gen.
eral.
n Again, Gen. Cox is the republican can
didate for governor of Ohio. He has
been Intercepted in regard to his views
upon the subject of negro suffrage. He
u opposes it as generally advocated, and
z further declares that there is such a
rooted antagonism between the white
and black races at the South as to rem
der their separation necessary. He ac-
cordingly advocates the colonization of
the blacks by themselves in some por-
ton of the Southern states. He says:
Suppose that without breaking up
the organization of any State, you take
contiguous territory in South Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama and Florida, and there
under the sovereignty of the United
States, and with all the facilities which
the power and wealth of the Govern
ment can give, we organize the freedmen
in dependency Of the Union analogous
to the Western Territories. Give them
. schools, laws facilitating the acquire
4 ment of homesteads to be paid for by
their own labor, full and exclusive po-
litical privileges, aided at the start
should it seem necessary, by wise selec-
ton from the largest brains and most
philanthrOpic hearts among anti-slavery
men, to join them, judiciary or execu-
. tive which would command their conf
dence in the first essays of political ex-
ist3nce."
The only difficulty that need be men,
. toned with reference to this scheme, is
its apparent impracticability. The gov
eminent has no right to drive the whites
out of any portion of the South to make
room for the negroes, to say nothing of
its right to drive the negroes into any
particular locality. The antagonism
spoken of as existing between the whites
and blacks, is the result of slavery.
Slavery is abolished and the antagonism
will be daily lessened. The theory of
this government is to confer upon all
citizens Of all races equality of legal
rights, and the only right course is to
carry out the theory in practice. Social
equality, about which the negrophobists
talk so much, is an entirely different
thing. 1t never has existed even be-
tween members of the same race, not to
speak of different races; and it is not a
subject for regulation by law at all. But
equality of legal rights, we repeat, is the
theory and should be the practice of
IL ~