The Portland daily press., 1867-12-05
General Grants Testimony.
From the No., W

rai si Grants Testimony.
lfrom the New York Nationl
Tue puDiished testimony ofGeneral Grant
Deioie tiie 1uuIoidIy committee is in every
the good sense TO perceive, at the monant ",
victory, both the duty OF the Government IN
to show magnaBimity, in abandoning the
right to punish the military leaders of the re.
bellion, and his own duty to abstain from
committing the Government TO anything fur
ther than this. In this he proved wiser than
MS time. Mr.. johnson, with the apparent
approval OF the nation, desired to punish
bon% t"0se whom Grant had pledged the country's
Nv .p'o 70 spare, while General Sherman, err ing
oni -; sno opposite side, sought to arrange by
nihtary convention the terms of civil ,oo1n
as:iuSStion. 0enefal Grant il verv nx,lc;, Ia
olsclalming all idea, either tben -. i,n,, ~
10 regulate political atr,irs or tn H.
sly !. I;,., rights upon those who surre,,J-
was matter for Congress Co dew" says that
simply his duty to leave italone; bn, !, ~ wa, was
rarely that any man docs his duty and iso iS 90
tent TO do it, that General Grant merits nrsia.
for this humble virtue The bane of Mr.. .Jobn-
son has been his hunger to do more than his
duty, by which we mean not merely to do
more perfectly than was essential that which
he was bound to do after some fashion, but
rather to do that which il was not his place
to do at all. Ii General Grant can adhere in
the future as in the past to the simple rule of
mnding his own business, he will not lose
reputation by any tasks that may be imposed
upon him,
OF the same simple but unusual order of
meEIt Is the Generals statement thai he did
not assume TO originate any civil policy, and
~ ieFer % was Wiling TO suggest any plan for civ
II government, although he freely exnresseJ
us anxiety that some kind of civil oovern-
ineht shoul1 De set up as quickly as possibIe.
1t is obvious that he differed from most of hiS
countrymen in this, that he did not believe
himself capable OF doing Or devising eyery-
thing. His experience as military com
mander had neither weaned him from tie
love OF civil law and peaceful government,
nor infected him with desire to retain SUI
perfiuous power in lis own hands, nor intox-
icated him with the notion OF his own supe-
rlor wisdom. All this is, speaking in an abso-
lutte sense, evidence of only humble virtues.
There is nothing magnificent in it, nothing
brilliant, nothing indicative OF genius, notlf~
ing which ought not TO be true of every man.
But OF how many men is it true?
This testimony shows very clearly that
General Grant was sound In his views of the
relation of the President and of Congress re-
spectively to the work Of reconstruction; and
II he is correct in the impressions he formed
OF the sentiments OF others, it shows that MIR.
johnson and all his advisers looked upon the
governments organized in 1866 as dependent
Tor validity upon the subsequent action OF
Congress. Every consideration of reason and
probability points to the same conclusion;
and the great change which came over MIR.
Johnsons views in this respect is an impress
siye proof OF the danger which attends any
usurpation of power, even under the most
pressing necessity. There is no doubt that
Mr.. johnson sincerely believed, and had
much reason to believe, that he was pursuing
the path which MIR, Lincoln had laid out.
But no sanction OF this kind, and no eneour-
a2ement from his party, could alter the fact
that he was doing that which no President is
elected TO do; and he soon began to care far
more tor the personal triumph Of SEEING his
policy successful than he did for the accom-
plshment OF the purposes which we presume
he, as well as Mr.. Lincoln, had in view when
that policy was devised. When we have
President who Is capable of minding his own
business, and content with doing so, we shall
have some guaranty against this miserable
personal vanity which is costing the nation
so much. -
The straightforward answers OF General
Grant to the questions of the committee give
satisfactory reasons for the reticence on poiti-
cal questions which is so freely charged upon
him as fault. Precisely the same argument
which justified his abstinence from sugges-
tons to the cabinet upon matters pertaining 10
NV Si'i "uihlll1oudlioHJ JuSltueS Ills Siience
before the people now. His present business
is military, not political He is General in
Chief-not President, senator, or representa-
tive. 1t will be an evil day for us as a peo-
pie when military commanders are liberal
with political advice and criticism for the
public ear. We-know of nothing more ofien-
sive in General McClellan's career than the
impertinent counsels which he despatched
from Harrison's Landing. And even the
open disloyalty of their opponents could
scarcely reconcile us to the direct interference
OF Union generals IN the political campaigns
Of 1868 and 1864. Many incidents Of the
time proved the moral impossibiIity of a mil
itary commanders limiting himself to mere
words in his active support OF political par
ty. We are glad that General Grant does not
add to mischeivous precedents in this direc-
ton. Our main objection to him as a Presi-
Dental candidate is that he is the General of
the Army. II he were political general also.
our objections would be nsuperable
OF course we do not mean TO say that Gem
eral Grant ought to be accepted as a candi-
date upon blind trust, or without a distinct
avowal upon his part of his political sympa-
tnies and doctrines. But it is enough for
him to maize this avowal when called upon by
nrnnna, a,,thartu at raes@..-tf--4.
the nomination OF caadidate can be made.
Whether that avowal will be made, and
whether it will be satisfactory when made,
are questions that can afford to wait a little
longer. iu '' ID p ''