Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-01-10
Senator wiI.o On Gen. Grant.

In an article in the Independent the
Hon, Henry Wilson writes:
The Presidential contest of 1858, with
1 its vast issues Yvtir the nation to its
/ pEOfoundest depth ahe Democracy
! without responsible lIssy under the Lead
1 ership of men Of talent, tact and ex-
| perience, will put l8Efh q gigantic effort
I To win back lost power. The Repu5lf-
eaa party, upon WsQch rest grave re-
spOnsibilties, has 10 Its ranks able,
/ tried and true naen--6fYil and military
men whose names are hOnOrably asso-
/ ciated with the C0uutry's struggles for
/ unity and liberty. Who among these
| hOnored men, Of proved capacity and
/ tried fidelity, shall b selected to mar
/ shall the Republican hosts to victory p
] Whose nomination VIII, in advance,
/ make the assurance OF victory dOubly
| sure? Above personal aspirations and
| ambitions, above local pride and attach
] ments, above all associations and inter-
| ests, there comes from the body of the
| three millions of Republicans, to whom
the success of the old cause is so dear,
/ the prompt and emphatic response,
/ <tUlysees S. Grant, These masses see
with the clear instinct of patriotism,
THAT the great soldier would bring into
I the impending contest the weight of his
! great name and 1iustriOus achieve
/ nneuts, his solid ard practical Judgment,
D g
never Yaunts his own deeds, and his
rare magnaniunity tha6 ever gracefully
recognizes the deeds Of other generals,
soldiers and civilians, These unselhsh
masses see, with thsir practical sagac-
ity, that the ranks Of the Republicans,
in the struggle through which duty has
led them, have beeH weakened by ti-
nidity and treacheEyi that their sacred
cause now needs to Do reinforced, as it
so often has been, BY drafts from the
most advanced men Of the Democracy:
and that the selection Of Gen. Grant
viii rally tens of thousands to=the cause
their hearts love.
The military achievements of Gen.
Grant are gratefully acknowledged, his
administrative capacity is now conced-
ed, and his general views Of public poll
cy commended. Earnest Republicans,
however, whose fidelity to vital issues
cannot be questioned, but whose dis
trust of public men has been Quickened
by the shameful treaChsrY of men they
had trusted and followed, are anxious
concerning the sentiments Of Gen. Grant
upon those vital issues. the right settle
ment Of which can alone bring perma-
nent security and Eeposao to the nation.
The past and pTesent of the Republican
party, and the personal integrity OF
Gen. Grant, afford ample assurance that
their and his sentiments and opinions
will be distinctly aTOWgd in the coming
in the summer Of 1S63-Gen. Grant
wrote from his camp On the banks Of
the Mississippi, to bis tried friend
Washburne
ST have never been an anti-SlaYery
man but tfV- to- Hs Justly of what I
war commenced that the North and
South could only live together in peace
as one nation, and they could only be
one nation by being a free nation
H. @na=a
ed Confederacy, is knocked out, and it
viii take more men to keep black men
slaves than to put down the rebellion.
Much as I desire peace, I am opposed to
any peace until this question Of Slavery
is forever settled"
This emphatic avOWal fully commit
ted Gen. Grant to the policy OF emancl-
patton. He was, too, for the reelection
of Abraham Lincoln, declaring to his
nearest friends that his defeat would be
a dreadful calamity to the country
Since the close of the war, he has been
to protect the loyal, black and white,
secure the equal rights Of all, and restore
the rebel States to their practical rela-
tiOns. When the pending Constitutional
Amendment was before Congress, he
was for its submission to the people 81
and when it was submitted, he urged
the leading men of the rebel States to
vote for its adoption. After its rejection
by the Rebel Legislatures, he pressed
Southern men, who sought his advice,
to reconsider their action, adopt it, and
give suffrage to the freedmen. To lead
ing South ern men he said: f'You must
look to Congress; the Republicans have
the power consult them do not seek
the councils of men in the North who
opposed the war; the people will never
trust that class of men with power; the
more you look to them for advice, the
more ezacting Congress will and ought
to be; the rejection of the amendment
and the legislation against the freed
men, viii cause Congress to require
universal suffrage; and you should at
once give it," Some of these men were
wise enough to accept and act upon his
advice. To the Reconstruction policy
of Congress-the vital and overshadOW-
ing issue of the day-Gen, Grant gave
his earnest support, and he has jealous
Iy striven to carry the legislation Of
Congress into effect. On the Recon-
structiOn policy, Gem Grant has been
and now is in accord with Congress and
the Republican party. So anxious was
he to have that policy promptly carried
into effect, that he urgently pressed
upon members of Congress the impOr-
tance of so arranging the adjournmeuts
as to be able to meet at any time, should
the needs of the country require it.