New-York tribune., 1868-08-14
cFN GRANT As A STATESMAN.


IN Cen Grants contact with political affairs,
aud tbe administration of civil Office, his con-
duct has been marked at once by vlgor, pru-
dence. Judgment, and sagacious aptitude for
discerning and following the policy which,
when developed into action, would h'eeC WIN
the approval of the masses OF Loyal men Ills
difference with President JohnSons auilllhiS-
tration dates from his protest against the re-
moyal of Gen. Sheridan. The wisdom Oh Ills
objection 10 Sheridan's removal has been Jusu-
fed by the fact that under his successors
Hancock and Buchanan, the average huuiper
of murders and other acts of violence Ill tlcSe
States has so increased as to amount 10
state of rebellion Gen. Grant stated ID MS
protest that Shelidan's removal would ohly
'be regarded as an effort to defeat the laws
"of Congress- Andrew Johnson had not then
developed his policy of annulling these laws
as void, and replied that he removed sheridan
because "ho has seriously mterfered with
harmonious, satisfactory, ana speedy eXecu-
tion of the acts of Congress" Gen. Grant
wrote then tha; lit is unmlstakably the eN-
q" pressed wish oi the country that Gen. Sheri-
" dan should not be removed" Tho Prcsideht
replicd that he was not aware that the qnes-
tion had ever been submitted to the people
for determination. The strong, plain common
sense of Grant pierced the fasehoods and
eyasions of the wOuld-be cunning civilian, aud
demonstrated that calm, honest jnds-
ment is wiser and deeper than superdeNtrous
and dishonest fnGSse. The unanimous vote
of the Convention of the loyal people for Gen.
Grant, and the reputation of Johnson by all
except few Rebel delegates in dlsloyal
Convention, show with equal force how faith
fully the former interpreted the will of the
people, and how completely the latter sold
himself for a song And yet johnson rises
above Seymour in every element, whether OF
experience or character, which would cons'i-
tute a statesman a. far as Grant rises above
johnson.
Gen. Grants contact with political issues
evinces determination not to carry any
"hobbyn or doctrine to such an extreme rs
interferes with other doctrines equally import
ant He recognizes the many nysidednes5 OF
truth and duty. Thus, on Nov. |, 1865, We ilnd
him instructing Sheridan I" to refrain from
"interference with the execution OF the
"civil law in Florida and that "the duty OF
"the military is to encourage the enforcement
"of the civil law and order to the fullest eX-
"fent" Yet, while these instructions wele good
| for Florida in November, we find him recom-
mending wholly different treatment for Texas
| in January following. Ho then writes to the
! Secretary of War: "In my opinion, the great
"number of murders of Union men and freed
"men in Texas, not only as a rule unpunshcd
"but uninyestigated, constitute practically a
estate of insulTectiOn, and | therefore recon-
"mend declaration of martial law in Texas
Martial law would give security, or
comparatively so, TO all classes OF
"ctizens without regard to race, color,
cor political opinions, and could be COLI
tnued until society was capable OF protecting
"itself or until the State is returned to It's full
"relation with the Union" The recent report
of the Investigating Committee of the Texas
Convention shows chat more than 1000 muir
ders have been committed in that State since
the close of the war, beside all other crimes Of
violence. very large proportion of these
were murders of freedmen by Whites. But,
while the "Ku-Kluxn negro-kllers of Texas
were thus at large, the anxiety of the (RcbeD
Provisional Governor, ThrOckmOrton, was di-
rected, not to the tual murder of the people
of Texas by each other, but TO casual alleged
murders by Indians on the frontier Ostcnsibly
to put down Indian hOstlities, he asked leave
to enroll 1000 mounted men, who would have
been composed entirely of ex-Rcbel troops,
and would have substantially organized the
Ku-Klux Klan into a militia. Gen. Grant for
warded additional regular troops sufficient to
protect the frontier against the Indians, but
refused to sanction the Rebel militia, instruct
ing Sheridan as follows:
"a, hat, fuat
cause of complaint can be urged gast thg army Tor not
Indian hoses. At the time. II Is equally import
ant that loyal and lawabidng citizens should have pro
lection against the violently disposed in their midst"
No parb of Gen. Grants political career better
illustrates his sagacity i'll detecting the wiles
and foiling the cunning of deceitful men, than
his conduct during the troubles in Maryland
attending the removal of the Police Commits
soners of Baltimore by Gov. Swami. The
removal was in pursuance of political plan of
the Governor to appoint such police as would
allow all the Maryland Rebels excluded from
the polls by the Constitution to vote, and so
transfer the power Of the State from the hands
of the few who had been loyal during the war
to the majority who had not. Had the loyal
minority followed the cOunsels Of Winter Davis
and given the ballot to the Blacks of Maryland,
the State could not have been wrested from the
control of loyal men. This not having been
done, the Rebel plan, through the active aid of
Andrew johnson, has succeeded, and the same
class of Maryland voters and politicians who
shed the first blood of the war now rule the
State. The constitutional power of the Cover
nor to remove the Commissioners was open to
grave doubts and, as no decision of the courts
could be obtained upon this question before the
election would transpire, each party was de-
sirous to SECURE possession of the offices and