Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-04-28
81 5kE OF THE ELEMENTS OF OPpOsI.
TAON To THE PRFSIDENT-

uPon d pollCy winch shall have the effect OF
speedily restoring the Union, despite the fears
entertained by moderate men that political
anlmosltes and an anxious regard as to the
"succession," may confirm those as malcon-
tents, who from the very first have been res
tive under his rule. And in contemplating
possibilities and probabilities in this direction,
the great American people must not expect
too much magnanimity from their fiercely am
bilious public servants, scores of whom have
for years had their eager eyes on the first
office in the gift of the people, and whose
aSplratlons-every one of whom thinking he
has better right to be there than the man
whom destiny fixed upon for the place-never
could fairly brook the disappointment.
When Mr.. Wade, in his anger, reminded
the Senate one day-that Andrew Johnson's
opinions could by no means be of any more
consequence than his own or those of any of
his colleagues on the floor of the Senate be-
cause 'he-the Predetermined sat amongst
them, and they had taken the measure of his
intellect, what was it but that old exhibition
of the weakness of humanity, where even
schoolboys cannot bear that Dick or Tom or
10 should be accredited with accomplishing
anything extra, because, forsooth, they have
been with him day by day; pitched marbles,
or played ball with him; been familiar with
him; and that, therefore, he could by no means
be anything more than themselves?
If we take the h istory of any great man,
the same exhibition of unwillingness to con-
cede greatness on the part of associates and
contemporaries is the rule with poor human
nature. When some one commended the
wonderful eloquence of Chalmers-the great
Scotch divine--to his own brother, the latter
sneered at it with perfect disdain. as if the
bare idea of such a thing was a good joke.
"But when did you hear him last?' queries
The surprised friend. II never heard him in
my life, " was the scornful reply-"and never
want to-" The great Edmund Burke's brother
held the same opinion of his illustrious rela-
tive, wondering why the world around should
coneede greatness to him; and the instances
might be multiplied indefinitely. where one
has little to expect from old associates in the
way of marked respect, or a concession to
conflicting ideas and opinions.
But when these men-these old rivals and
antagoniSts-sneer at the Executive as a mere
ly accidental President" how pitiful is the
discernment which cannot acknowledge the
designs of Providence in the shaping of the
destlnies of States and of rulers, by what per-
petually' appear to happen as accidents "
Perhaps it was in the nature of an accident
that some stupid citizen at st. Louis couldn't
see in the present Lieutenant General OF our
armies talent enough to make even county
surveyor; and connected with his amazing
rise to be the first General of the age. perhaps
1T was an accident that it was always so muddy
IN Virginia that the ''young Napoleon" whom
he succeeded, never got any nearer to Rich
mond than the banks of the Chickahominy.
The worlds ''accidents' are not unfrequently
the turning points in the histories of nations;
for had Cromwell or Hampden gotten off in
the ship on which they started for the colonies,
the history of England to this good day would
have been totally different; Charles the first
would not have lost his head, or George third
and his ministers provoked revolution here.
Let US remember, we say, that Congress
abounds with men, every one of whom con-
siders himself the peer, intellectually, of the
President, and is ludicrously puzzled to divine
why chance, or fate, had not crowned his high
aspirations with success, instead of pitching
upon the once obscure denizen of town in
Tennessee for the high position.
Let thaSa raptlaroap +o1 oo,,, G..
is more-take philosophy, to aid them in the
straits where too frequently they have been
driven by gusts of envy and selfconceit. One
seldom comprehendS the grandeur of the
greatest mountain peak when amongst the
forests and ravines at its foot; and the fact
that from the other side of the ocean, from the
oracles of old and cultivated Europe come
ceaseess tributes to the rare powers of Andrew
j ohnson as one of the earth's rulers, should
make his contemporaries at Washington rub
their eyes, and reflect whether they have not
been for sometime now, entangled in the fogs
of prejudice and short-sightedness.
Let US remind these gentlemen of one or
two great facts and incidents in the life of a
man who, whatever his contemporaries at
Washington say of him, has already made his
mark upon the worlds history. and whose
characteristics and deeds are destined to live
as long as the fame ofthe republic endures.
From the first-let it be noted-Andrew
Johnson was in advance in his political ideas
OF the men who from his own section were as.
ISOLATED with him in or out of Congress.
Three or four years before the rebellion broke
out, and when he ran for the Office of Cover.
nor OF Tennessee-to which he was elected
over one of the most eloquent men ever in
Congress, Col. Gentry-he, even at that early
period, proclaimed throughout the State, his
opposition to the "two-ffths'' representation
provided Tor IN the Constitution; a step-we
Will venture to say-9,ot another man in bis
position IN the 'chole South acould then hare
dared TO take. Even then he was denounced
TOR 1t as an 'abolitionist;n as the 'most dan.
gerous enemy of the South,' and so on: and
this, too, when scores of men now assailing
him, and prominent as ultras, went for the
most slavlsh execution of the Fugitive law"
and for any and everything which showed
W INC OpiulOuS dHu wishes OF the l
Calhoun school.
And for his subsequent record, whilst a Sen.
ator. No utterance ever heard on the floor
Oh either house, compares, or ever will COM
pare as great and towering landmark de.
of the spirit and purposes of the |
reDeiilon with his remarkable speech of the |
10Th of December, 1861. In effect # com.
prises all that has been uttered since; and not
Greeley history of the ''Great Conflict ;, ev.
haustive as it is intended to be, moro cloorI,,
Or comprehensively tells the whole storv of
cause and effect.
Then, we say-let Envy and Dizziness and
all their sullen broods stand back and cease
% make themselves laughed at by attempts in |
he interests of petty rivalry to decry him. He |
will hold on his way, the champion of popular |
lights; the enlightened leader of IDEAS to |
grasp which, others will continue to come
1alting. Having already made his mark upon
he country and upon the age, he can afford |
o despise the assaults which in the very nature
If events are tributes to his discernment-t |
lis great qualities as statesman. And curious,
perhaps, the people will see this sooner than
he politicians Then ara not haforrod Nv