The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-08-20
DENT ON THE VAR PATH
Another Poutieal Letter from Judge
Dent-Pungent Critietsm OF secretary
Boutwell, and hts Political Course.

well pangent letter, OF which the following is
WAsH1NeroN. D. c.. August II.
To Hon. George s., Bomsoe4. Secretary Of the
s1aNI a1''i shsil make little apology for asking
your attention to my letter. and less for the
nsture Of its contents. You we're the drst to
| deny the political orthodoxy ofmy friends and
myself, and by all the rules Of the forum I auI
entitled to defence. Again, you hold an Office
Of the republic, and your acts, therefore, are
legitimate subjects of criticism. by the hum
blest citizen thereof. But in come respected we
are alike. For instance, We are both aspirants
for place, with this difference: You aim to be
the next President, with every assurance OF
success, 'except" in The opinion Of the people.
While l seek an humber place, with my
hopes iu disastrous eclipse, Except" in the
Judgment Of Mississippi. 80 in the probable re-
suits Of the future we both stand adverse to
the judgment of the country. In the pursuit
OF your ambition you are ungrEteful and un-
scrupulous as to the means of success. Your
organ, the New York Sun, in the same breath
ridicules the capacity OF your master AMI
daelIs with emphasis upon your peculiar fit
ness for his Office. Your tool, Mr. Bullock, be-
came 80 reckless in the manipulation Of your
department. in the interest Of your ambition,
and 80 defiant OF the wishes Of the President
and the country, that to save yourself from an
convenient to transfer him to another sphere
of scandalous activity, where his talents might
be exerted with equal effect and less effrontery.
Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas
not to mention anything 80 humble as myself
were distractions 10 the way OF your success;
because through President Grants interven-
ton in excluding the proscriptive clauses
from their organic law, these States are
brought iptn tha-I -IIniA'> and s--''--'--''-'''
Now this is in direct conflict with your syste-
i'm the txt presidential election, clearly MIR.
Boutwell, win not get, and therefore have you
denounced the conservative Republicans who
ar. for Grant. That you may obtain the pro-
soriptive Republicans who are for Boutwell,, and
by some strange, dexterous management and
occult political strategy. you hive so worked
upon the confidence of the President as to
cause him 10 flourish the club with which you
intend to breat his head, by inducing him to
join you in denunciatlon of the conservative
Republicans, party created by his magnanim-
ity and triumphant through his encourage
mept.
But, sir, "your purpose is easily dlscerni-
BILE, and has two.fold object, namely, to de-
stroy the national Republican party ID tne
South, and then to reconstruct from the shat
tered fragments a Boutwell, party, with one
Richmond IN the field to strike for your crown:
But il you cannot succeed in this scheme OF
desperate enterprise, you mean 10 ruin, re-
suit. from present appearances, much more
likely to be reached.
Your Official Intervention for Wells, for in
stance gave thirty thousand majority for Wal
ker. Your letter to Stokes gave Senter Ten
uessee by an Overwhelming vote OF seventy
thousand. Your marvellous political sagacity
now active in Mississippi and Texas will repent
your calamity and agnn over"helm you with
discontinue and defeat. Superadd to these
n,oh 10
sition on these States Of your ron.clad oath
and the alienation is complete. landing the@
all in the outsiretched arms Of Democracy.
But the consequence OF your folly does not
stop here-Ohio and Pennsylvania and Others
will follow. Decide their political status IN
October, and the North will echo back the
condemnation OF the South, and peal in your
ears this fact, that there ls still LETT enough of
the incorruptlble virtue OF the republic TO re-
buke YOU for wanton repression OF that most
sacred right-the elective franchise. But, Sir,
this will not deter you from your mad course;
you will still persist until every prop that sup
ports our party is stricken away, and the whole
grand superstructure tunlbles about our cars
in hopeless ruin.
When YOU were appointed Secretary OF the
Treasury and unanimously confirmed by q
Senate Of every shade OF political opinion, did
you take IN oath to administer your Office i'm
partially aud for the exclusive objects OF lts
creation-"To collect the revenue and control
the finances OF the country 2" Is not that office
the property If the nation, and yourself only
/ clothed for time with little brief authority2
Then, sir, how do you explain this perversion
of its legitimate uses and functions into o
means and instrument OF oppression to force
and compel an election Of obnoxious rulers
upon the people Of the South.
Is such q course consistent with your oath OF
office, or do yon call this great moral idea !?
But, Mr.. Boutwell,, though you have thus pros.
tituted the power OF your Office for purposes OF
oppression. without the warrant of con-
science ordaw," it may be that you can tell me
by what authority you assume TO pronounce
upon my political orthodoxy. Who constitnt-
ed you the iufallible hope Of Republicanlsm
Who gave you the authority to hurl the pelit-
ical anathem 10 OF the party2 Agarn, what
right had you to com nit the administration to
Your policy? Have you to learn yet that you
are only part Of the administration, and not
the whole OF 1t though your friends believe
that monomania has seized your mind on
that subject, and that you verify believe your
self 'tbe State" Very respectfully.
LOUIS DENT.
Judge Dent goes to Mississippi on the 5th
of September. The convention CONSERVATIVE
convenes on the 9th of that month, and the
campaign commences on the 1st of October.
Judge Dent is confident he will be nominated.
THE CASE OF MAJOR PRATT.
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