Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-15
THE sWEAKNBSS OF POWER,
As Illustrated I'm the Administration
1888 OF Grant.
From the London Times. March Is.

AS Illustrated I'm the Administration
l OF Grant.
From the London Times. March Is.
President Grant already points
one of the most familiar morals OF
European history. 1t is the weak,
ness of power He has had to re-
| wise his cabinet in subservience to
general wishes, prejudices and cir.
cumstances, and to substitute for
the ministers he most desired others
less to his liking, or less in his way
of thinking. The names of Wash
burne, Stewart and Schofeld sug-
gested broad and genial rule of
selection; and one began to think it
might be possible to govern an En-
pire by taking a dozen good, sound,
hearty, practical men out Of ones
own acquaintance, supposing it to
be fairly extensive, and putting them
at the head of affairs. 1t is the old
dream of honesty and coed sense
being all that is necessary to good
government. But, as the judicious
critic advised the literary novice,
General Grant has had to strike out
the fayorite passages of his compo-
sitions. He has had to supply their
places by three men more qualified
by experience or professional train
ing, or some other safe and gener-
ally recognized merit. OF Mr..
Hamilton Fish, the new Secretary
of State, and Mr.. George s. Bout
well, the new Secretary of the
Treasury, the first thing we are told
is that the President will not be able
to control them at will, and that so
far he has had to surrender the illu-
sion of governing as he himself
thinks best for the Union. MIR. Bout
well is protectionist, and if we
could measure American politics by
our own British views, we should
say that the sovereign ruler of
the United States has had to
accept the resignation of a free.
trader, and to deliver the seals of
of Office to some statesman of a
species now happily extinct in the
British Isles, and only known in
fossil state. 1t appears that the
politicians in the Union are mostly
proteetionists, and the politicians
really command the situation. They
may not be strong enough TO tell
the President whom he shall put
into this Or that Office, but they are
strong enough to say that the Of
fee shall not be filled out of their
own class. They are the rank,
they are the quality, and he must
select from them for his staff ap.
pointments. Mr.. Stewart was not
one of them. He is in trade, and
is able, they say, to make by trade
an annual profit so stupendous that
we forbear to state it. Nobody has
mastered so thoroughly and so eff
fectually all the commercial relations
of his country and the whole field
of finance. Nor has trade, in fact,
been a disqualification hitherto.
There is a law, but it is obsolete.
MI. Stewart, however, is eminent
ly tradesman, very prince of
tradesmen and the politicians have
revived the old law against him.
He was ready to hand over his
business to others, but this would
not avail when the object was to
exclude him. So there is Gen.
Grant, his best arms Topped off, and
his best weapons thrown away.
What is worse, he has now to fight
with limbs which, we are told, will
refuse to obey the central will, and
with weapons that fly, or burst or
recoil.
To us of the Old World this is no
novelty. We have, indeed, been
apt to regard it as anomalous com
pared with any good theory, and as
! morbid by any rules of political
health. But, be the fact what it
may, the fact has been recognized.
1t has often been said that, at
almost any given period of our po-
litical annals, there were never more
| than about forty persons out of
whom cabinet could, by any pos
| sibility, be framed. Including the
doubtfuls, the youthfuls and the ex-
perimentals, there were never more
| than forty men, if so many. For
any one place the selection must be
vastly more circumscribed, the
choice often lying between one man
and smother, and one man having
often an absolute right to insist on
being selected. OF course, minis
ter must have a head, a tongue,
quick and sharp eye, temper, and
enough of heart to be capable of
friendship. He must have knOwl-
edge of his subject, and some prac-
| tical experience. He must have
friends and followers. He must
already have a place in the game,
so as to have the public eye and
expectation upon him. Many other
requisites might be mentioned, such
as tolerably good manners, respect
ability up to the mark, average ap-
pearance, and competent circnm-
stances. But it is evident how
very few combine all these ne
cessary conditions; and it is noto-
rious that a man may combine
them all, and yet find him.
self beaten by some otherwise
less qualified rival. 1T is battle !;
one man beats another nobody can
say how or why; but the world
and its rulers have no choice but to
accept the victor, or the survivor,
as it may be. Two men fight for q
crown or an Office. Perhaps the
conqueror ought not to have con-
quered, but he has conquered and
we all have to accept him, whether
We like it or not. All this may
J seem to limit overmuch the scope
of political development. 1t seems
to place us in the hands of small
! oligarchies, divided by differences,
but still with a common basis o.
, exclusive habits and selfish aims
Lower down in the ranks of power
or employment it can not be so
/ But it is so, quite as much. w
entertain no doubt that MIR. Glad
stone and his colleagues would b.
! | delighted to be able to superannuat
; or to relegate to some happier shor'