Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1866-09-01
"That's What's the Matter"


Drawn on by the almost irresistible attrac-
ton of "Bread and butter" poultice, men
forsake the time-honored principles to which
they have clung for years, and while pursu-
ing a course which their better natures tell
them is wrong, try hard to reason themselves
into the belief that they are actuated only
by the most unselish and patriotic motives.
Selfshness is one of the cardinal principles
of mankind; and that person who can sue
cessfully resist the temptation to secure the
advantages which place and power offer, and
adhere to what he believes to be the right,
in defiance of all the allurements which Of
fetal patronage can bring to bear upon him,
is indeed an exception to the great mass of
mankind. There have been cases, however,
where men have been raised from the lowest
positions in life to the very highest, and after
having concluded the service which they
were selected to perform, have voluntarily
relinquished the high station to which they
had been so Unexpectedly elevated, and re-
sumed their former avocations. Cincinnatus
was taken from his plow and made Dictator
of Rome, when danger threatened, and after
defeating all her enemies, returned to his ag
ricultural pursuits. General Washington,
the Father of his Country. could have been
proclaimed king at the close of the Revolu-
tionary war, had he desired it; but he pre-
ferred returning to private life, although an
idolizing people would not permit him to do
SO until he had served two presidential terms.
Men. nowadays, do not appear to be actu-
ated by any such unselfsh motives. On the
contrary, they seem to be inclined to pursue
that course which promises a speedy self
aggrandizement, no matter how great the
sacrifice of principle. The truth of this as
sertion cannot be better exempli6ed than by
reviewing the acts of the Executive and some
of his subordinates. Andrew Johnson. when
by the pistol of the assassin, Booth. he be-
came President of the United States, was a
sound, conscientious, uncoppromising Un-
ion man. Born and reared in a Southern
State. of obscure parentage, and laboring
under the disadvantages which surround the
poorer classes of whites in the slaveholding
States, he became imbued with spirit of
opposition to slavery and was in favor of its
abolition. Upon the breaking out the re
bellion he was one ofthe few Southern states
men who took firm stand in favor of the
Government and in 1864 was elected Vice
President on the Union ticket. No sooner
however, had he, by accident, become Pres
dent, than he deserted the principles and
party by which he was elected. DESTROYS of
being reelected, and conscious that there
were men in the party which had placed
him in power whose chances for the nomi-
nation were superior to his, he has made
bold attempt to destroy the Union party and
found one upon its ruins which would rec
ognize him as its leader and at the expira-
ton of his present term of office, re-elect
him to the Chief Magistracy. He has sig
nally failed to carry out his programme 80
far as the Union party is concerned. and
there is not the least danger that he will
again occupy the position which he is now
disgracing.
Another notable instance of the inability
of some men to resist the powerful influence
of "bread and butter" is that Of the editor
of the Register. Ever since the formation of
the Union party, until few weeks past, he
has been firm and consistent supporter of
its doctrines and as a reward for his devotion
to the cause, received the appointment of
Post Master at San Andreas, under Lincoln's
administration. For short time past the
air has been rife with vague rumors that
those Federal officials who did not endorse
"My policy" would be mercilessly guillotin-
ed. and their positions bestowed upon men
who would assist the recreant johnson in
any scheme he may undertake. Then the
struggle between self-interest and principle
commenced. "Long time in even scale the
battle hung" but at last principle wavered.
Two weeks ago the Register was ION the
fences" from that elevated position full
view of the scituation could be obtained. On
one side the fair fields and green pastures of
Federal patronage stretched away as far as
the eye could reach, forming one of the most
allurng prospects imaginable; on the other
nothing pleasant could be discovered. A
barren waste, which promised nothing but
toll and hardship to the weary traveller, was
the uninviting sight which met the eye in
that direction. 1t is, perhaps, needless to
add that "bread and butter" conquered, and
the Register fell on the johnson side of the
fence. Speaking of the address issued by
the Philadelphia Convention. he says:
at is an ably written document, and rea-
sons from premises eminently sound. 1t
takes the position fer which we have always
contended, and has always been advocated
and sustained by the Union party and Union
men during the rebellion. that is that the
States in rebellion were never out of the Un-
ion, and that notwithstanding their acts of
secession. and rebellion they never could get
out of the Union"
You have got "Post-ofice on the hrain,"
"that's what's the matter"
STATE FAIR.-We acknowledge the receipt
of complimentary tickets to the State Fair,
to be held at Sacramento, commencing on
the 10th and ending on the 18th of Septem-
Der. The State Board of Agriculture are
making Great eff,rts Tn secure a creditable