The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-05
Dinlomaov AT Loose Ends,

Diplomacy at Loose Ends.
"WITH his heart in his hand"--so runs the
quaint narration-the ''Minster to Mexico"
went down to the White Sulphur Springs to
drink the waters thereof, and try his skill at
diplomacy. The mission near the person and
Government of the Citizen President Of Mexico
is difficult one, and no man should essay to
fill it without first doing little in the diplo.
matio line elsewhere to test his powers. The
"Minister to Mexico' is supposed to have
leaning towards the emphatic in his every
day conversation. A good story once went the
rounds of the press concerning his part
ing interview with one Clement L.
Vallandigham, whom he had COCA
sion to pass through the lines of his army
to the tender embraces of ga body of brave,
energetic and seltsacrifcng men," who just
then were not remarkably representative" in
their reverence and regard for the Union"
Said Rosecrans to Vallandigham -"Vallandig-
ham, If you come this way again, - -
--, I'll hang you i" And now, when
this same Rosecrans goes down to the Springs
to drink the waters and try his unskilled hand
at diplomacy, just to get little insight into
the business, and there meets these same
'brave, energetic, and self sacrificing men," ii
is little singular that he is given such cor
dial reception. perusal of his letter, how
ever reveals the cause of it all. He carried
'his heart in his hand, " and ''the representa-
tive men" knew at glance that be was not
carpet-bagger.
Rosecrans fought as he swears, with great
energy and skill, and with unqualified success.
Few men who wore the loyal uniform have a
brighter record. But Roseorans, in an evil
hour, dropped the sword and TOOK up the pen.
Now "the pen is migbtier than the sword"
but with this important qualification, that it
be welded by the hand of man "eutirely
great" Perhaps the 'Minister to Mexico'
has not read the entire aphorsm. Certain it
is that, although as a soldier he is with
out fear and reproach, he is remark
ably weak in his syntax and
fearfully loose in his logic. A more admirable
specimen of ham-strung Euglish than his
letter, which we publish elsewhere to-day,
has never fallen under our notice. Nasby has
been outdone and undone, and that without
resort to eccentricities in photography. We
peruse his first estate paper" again and again,
in vain effort to select the paragraph which
is most characteristic, the most utterly defiant
of the rules of grammarsnd rhetoric. 1t is
rare morsel from beginning to end, and passes
into history as one of the most curious of the
curiosities of literature.
But the "Minister to Mexico'' gives US full
compensation for all his syntactioal vagaries.
A "body of brave, energetic, and self-sacri-
foing men" were SO unfortunate as to 'fnter-
pref State rights to conflict with national
unity'-a CAREFUL perusal of the letter leads
us to infer tn It this error of Interpretation was
their sole offense-and the minister to
Mexico" is so "fullof solcitude for the future
of the country at the consequences that he
takes "his heart in his hand" and with no
other baggage journeys to the Springs
to inform these "brave, energetic, and
selfsacrifcing men, that he "sees''
the results of this conflict in ga
violent reaction against them"-"Stste
rights and not the ''brave, energetic, and
self-sacrifcipg men''-"which is drifting us
towards consolidation" ''Consoldation,"
which is but another term for the "semi.
anarchy such as has existed for the last three
years in ten States of our Union" fills the
mind of Rosecrans 'full of solicitude." His
solicitude is natural; it arises from the fact
that he also "sees'' that $50 great country
as ours even now is-certainly is to bs-must
have State governments to attend to local
details, or 60 farther and fare worse.''
Furthermore, the continuance of this semi
anarchy"-why the "Minister to Mexico"
prefers semi to demi or hemi in this connection
we are not informed-'lsrgely increases the
danger of certralism, swells our national ex
penditure, diminishes our productions and our
revenue, inspires doubts of our political and
financial stability, depreciates the value of our
national bonds and currency, and places the
credit of the richest below that of the poorest
nation in Christendom." So Rosecrans de-
sires to have an end put to ''semi-anarchy,"
and thereby hopes to save the nation from
drifting towards consolidation" But he has
choice Of means. He is quite unwilling that
the great work should be accomplished by
'the poor, simple, uneducated, lsndless freed
men, and the few whites mostly men who
must be needy adventurers, or without any of
those attributes on which reliance for good
guidance or government can be placed.' He
desires that the task should be entrusted to the
hands Of "that body of brave, energetic and
self-sacrifoing men who, after sustaining the
Confederacy for four years, laid down their