Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-05-06
THE AMERICAN MISSION.

The london Spectator d-votes a deal
of snace to An article ION the American
mission After announcing that NJ.
Reverdy johnson z-e sseeu reca''ei. and
that he would shortly retire frnn, the feld
nf English diplomacy. the iypeetator can
didly ssnfes.as tk~s ! Is nat az
&:at change has been mad, it does Mr.
Johnson. however. the Justice to say that:
Half his blunders have been dne 10 the
4 sople to whom he was sccr dited New
er was a man in snch a position so hes
pattered with senseless praise. Born
and bred a stakeholder. a demo r,t. a
"wirerullcr." and member Of the would
be aristocratic caste which the war has
struck down and which would gladly for
get the war, n,mines Of Mr. Andrew
Johnson. and at heart svmpsthizAr with
Maryland rather than with either North
or Sonth. it was certain from the first that
Mr.. Johnson would fail in his primary
duty of representing before the pennle OF
Great Britain the feeling Of the Unite I
States How could he do it without gro,s
intellectual dishonesty7 y The
Times aud the rest of their organs extol-
led Mr.. Reyerdy johnson to the skies. -
He was statesman, an orator, philan-
thropist, credit TO his nation, a true
gentleman and Lord Stanley. who. in
his cold harsh way. is not Indifferent to
popularity, achieved reputation by ac-
cepting the best terms he could get. and
shutting his eyes to any consequences
they might in the future involve. Mr..
Reverdy Johnson. whose shrew lness,
overlaid as it ia by his fucncy. has been
unierrated in this country. had complete
ly Won his game had really iniuccd
Great Britain to conceic everything with
out feeling either unilated or ANNOYED
He had forgotten nothing, except, in
deed :he grand fact that he was the agent
Of the people Of the United States, and
not merely of NJ. Andrew johnson that
the principal on his own side was a
nation as we'll as the principal on
this. He had cou-ted the latter while he
/ plunderei them, and the former were SO
wroth with the court.hip that they ang-
rily elected the spoil. To them Mr.,
j ohnson seemed almost traitor, his pleas
ant speeches insults, his courtesies to
Messrs. Laird and Roebuck derelictions
Of duty, his assertions of kinship humil;-
ating concessions; and they rose at last
into such ht of jealous irritation that
they would have nothing to say to the
4t-z,1.-- :. :. T.! I -. gained Ly oaz
ouing words. Like litigants in coun-
try court. they plancd not to obtain re-
dress, but to put their opponents in the
box and make them admit themselves in
the wrong The American nation felt as
monarchs in the Middle Ages used to feel
that their Envoy ought to sympathist
with their temper as we'll as their policy
that overmuch courtesy was suspicious
that their message was TO b, given il
plain words, that their messengers frs
business was not to secure success, but tc
assert his masters rank on earth Il i,
strange that such a recurrence to the an
clent IDEAS OF diplomacy should be need
full, but as between tn Z. States and Grea
Britain tits certainly needed Ifthey are
ever to be friends thcy must understand
one another, aud they will never do i
unless they are represented with precis-
ion by their diplomatic agents.