Litchfield enquirer., 1867-02-07
Hopeleasly Degraded T

"Hopelessly Degraded"
 "A citizen of the United States has addressed a letter to the President from Pars in which he rep resents-
 "s.* That you do not pretend to conceal "your disgust" as he says you style it, at the Presidents whole conduct; that you despise Amer ican Democracy and loudly proclaim that an En- that the President has deserted his pledges and principles, in common with Mir Seward who. YOU say, is "hopelessly degraded" Your denial or confirmation of these reports is requested"
 Such language, we venture to say, was never before used by an American Secreta- ry of State to an American foreign Minis ter. As N. Y. journal most pertinently remarks, if Mr. Seward desires room abroad for politicians hopelessly broken down at home, he has only to address such letter to each of our foreign Ministers, and there will forthwith be as many vacancies as there are gentlemen among them.
 The purpose of MT. Stewards letter could only have been that ofinsult Had he intend ed to take MT. Motley's word when he asked the question with which his letter closes. he would not have accepted that gentle mans resignation. Sung by the manifest disrepute into which he has fallen with nearly all those who once honored him SO highly, he wrsaks his vengeance upon any one who may happen within his reach; and most pitiable of all, his bitterness is so great and his dignity so small, that he can not forego the insult as well as the injury.
 The obscure hbeller, upon whose testi- mony our Secretary of State drives out of the service with words of contumely, one of our most honored and patriotic citizens, and one of our first writers, has said that of MT. Seward which many of his old friends have thought, but which few would express in SO harsh a form. We do not understand that his words refer to private habits, of which we have heard something more than rumor; but spoken of Mr.. Stewards political position, they are absolutely true. Six years ago he was the first man of the lar gest and noblest party this country has seen since the formation of our Constitu- ton; and from that position he has been hopelessly degraded. One of the foremost of the pupils in that evil school of New York politics instituted by Martin Van Bursn, he first became noted by most skillful use of such political accidents as the Anti-Ma- sonic, Anti-Rent excitements-later by a skillful use of the political principles of Repubicanism. As long as it was merely necessary''to enunciste those principles clearly and historically, he stood at the head of his party; when called on, how ever to act on them, he who was supposed to be statesman, turned out mere poll tician. .
 The first great indication of the hollow ness of the man was in the winter of 1860- 61, when the people, perplexed and de- spondent, looked to him in vain for that guidance which from his commanding position they had Q right to expect We shall never forget the disappointment with which we read Mir. Stewards great speech of that era, and found nothing therein but rhetorical chaff and "glttering gene
 
 Then came that Administration in which Abraham Lincoln grew into greatness and into such a place in the hearts of his coun- trymen as few have occupied. Under the heat of that terrible test, the reputation of William H. Seward shrivelled into some thing worse than nothingness. At some period just before the war, his mind seem ed to become impervious to new ideas. In that terrible four years, of all Union men, not even excepting Andrew Johnson, he alone learned nothing. Not only did he fail to foresee what was about to happen, but he even signally failed to appreciate what actually had happened. He managed our foreign relations cunningly rather thar wisely, and his talent, most fertile as it has always shown itself, of temporary expedi ents, failed to rise to the conception of 6 policy based on great principles. Hence he came to be considered an incubus on MT. Lincoln's administration, and the con. vention which renominated that gentleman III Aoo4, pialniy indicated their desire thai ms Secretary of State should retire from the conduct of public affairs r
 For the shameful exhibition of last falls electioneering tour, almost as disgraceful on the part of Mr. Seward as on that o1 MT. Johnson, the former has escaped with comparatively light censure. In fact, Un. ion men have been trying hard to think oi what Mir, Seward was, and to forget wha, he is !; but when the most able and courte ous champion of freedom against slavery of ten years since, stands before us, tht spiteful dfiveller of to-day, neither hi age, nor former services, nor his late suffer ings, can altogether restrain an expression of tho universal opinion concerning him.