The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-02-18
would. That's the kind Of game he has
been playing oil along.n

we'll enough to settle. 1t was this Some
time in the early part of the winter a
paragraph appeared In the Commercials
Washington correspondence to the effec,
that Colonel Hillyer, formerly Of General
Grants staff, had told member of the
judiciary Committee that he once was
present at q conversation between General
Grant and the President, in which the
former took strong ground in favor of .
white mans government aud against negro
suffrage, saying that this Government was
made for white mon, and none other should
have voice in it-and striking his fist on
an adjacent table to show that he meant
what he said. When this paragraph ap.
peared, 1t was extensively copied, and
about as extensively denied, especially BY
that large class of newspapers and "Grant
men who, having no means Of ascertain
ing whether it was true or false, felt all
the moro sure that it was false, and de.
nounced it as one of "Mack's" malicious
fabrications.
called the Presidents attention to this
Nbject-asked him if he remembered any
such conversation with Grant, and if so,
whether he remembered Grants remark
that this is white mans government. He
promptly replied that he did. He couldn't
repeat Grants words exactly, but the sub
stance of them was what / had stated, and
they were strongly against negro suffrage,
which, about that time, it was proposed to
introduce into the District of Columbia.
Among other things Grant said was that the
negroes didn't know enough to vote, and
that they would vote just as their employers
wanted them to. He illustrated by saying
that he had number Of negro servants in
his house, and that to let them vote would
be simply TO give him Grant SO many ad-
ditional votes, for they would vote just as
he told them. He was quite vehement at
the time in his denunciations Of the Radi-
| cal policy of negro suffrage.
The above, think, settles the question
| of veracity as to Grant being white mans
government man. 1t is pretty we'll anthem
| ticated now.
GRANTS POLITICS.
The above naturally suggested an inquiry
as to whether the President did not under
stand Grant to be on his side all along un-
til quite recently, and whether there was
any tangible reason for the Generals
change Of front. 'Of course, l under.
stood him to be with me all along, because
[ had his word for it," said the President.
He went down-South, and came back
more for me than I was for myself. He
wrote report that encouraged me more
than any thing else had done to persevere
in the effort to get the southern States
back into the Union, as I had started out.
| He called on me frequently for long time
| after the controversy between me and Con-
| gress had commenced, and if he meant
anything by what he said, he was my friend
and supporter. He never talked politics
very much, because Grant always pre-
tended he didn't know anything about it !;
but he didn't seem to regard reconstruc-
ton as political question. He suddenly
turned up as Radical candidate for the
Presidency and that was the first knew
of his opposition to me-"
FINANCES.
The subject of finances was next brought
up. The President seemed to have given
a great deal of attention to the subject,
and to have very strong convictions on it.
He thought the common sense view of the
matter was better than any of the fiue-spun
theories to which the country was so often
treated, and which only confused without
enlightening any body. "The fact is"
said he, "that before the war there were
three thousand million dollars worth of
property in slaves in the South, distribu-
ted so as to create an aristocracy, which
controlled the South, and, through the
South, the country. The war destroyed
both the property and the aristocracy.
But now we find that the property only
disappeared from the South to appear in
the North in another shape, and to create
an aristocracy and political power in the
shape Of bondholders, more destructive of
the Government than the slaveholding
aristocracy was, because o continued bur-
den upon it-drawing upon the resources of
the country to supportit, and adding not one
cent to the productive interests. The three
thousand millions of slave property, while
it was an evil, was at the same time good,
for it increased the productive resources
Of the nation. But now we find the four
millions of negroes charge upon the
country, instead of benefit to it, and the
three thousand millions of dollars which
they used to represent has taken the shape
Of heavy burden upon the taxpayers,
drawing from them all they can rake and
apo w pay q loi SCl LOW VI lutSiOoU lhaiA
can be got out Of any other investment.
I asked the President what remedy he
would propose for what he considered SO
great an evil. Would the Western Demo-
cratic theory of an illimitable issue of
greenbacks do? "No," he replied; "that
would only increase the evil, instead of
diminishing it, or remedying it. To issue
more money might make easy times for o
while, but they wouldn't last long. There
could be no true prosperity derived from
such course"
"Then, what do you think would bring
about the desired result ?"
"Why, the first thing is to release the
South from her present condition, and let
the people of those ten States have q
chance to recover from the effects of the
war, to engage in business, and to offer op-
port unities for absorbing some of the sur
plus capital which is now invested in
Government bonds. Let them have a
chance, and they'll go to work with will,
and do their full share. Then reduce the
expenses of the Observation-Disclosures the
army and the navy to peace basis, collect
the revenue, and take up these bonds as
fast as possible. Suppose we issue hun
dred millions, or thousand millions OF
greenbacks, how much better are we off
than we were before? The debt is still
before us, and must be paid. No advantage
is gained, but great evil is done to the
laboring interests of the country in the in
flation of prices, which laboring men will
feel only as it operates against them in
making their wages represent less than
they did before"
From the above the reader can judge
liz Gnnnraac this