Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-01-23

has been uuder the care of Congress
s;onal COMMITTEES of Safety--the Joipt
Committee on Reconstruction. DC mo-
lion az Mr.. Wilson. ID the Senate, the
case Of General Grant has been referred
10 he Joint Committee on ketreuch-
ment This is o grim Joke. 1'he sans
cuioffes Of the great French Revolution
were fond of such jokes They be-
gan with poor Lsuis XVI, BY max
ing him wear the cap OF Liberty,
and they fnishsd him at the euiiio-
tine. The House passes bill Tor the
repeal of the Tenure-of- Office law by an
overwhelming vote. The repealis known
to be desired by Gen. Grant, although
recommended BY johnson and intro,
duced by Butler. Hence, on being called
70 the scratch, there are only forty-seven
Radicals in the House who have the
moral courage to risk the suspicion oil
suspectipg Grant. We like their pluck,
but we fear it means mischiefin the sar,y
camp. !,
The bill Of repeal goes over to the Sen
ate, where it is referred 10 smo,hering
com mittee, together with substitute III
the way Of compromise. They cannot
venture upon blind presumption to give,
the incoming President full vote OF
confidence, bus they will 60 half way.
They will release him from the shackies
of this officehclders' protection law IN
reference to his Cabinet, and they VIII
mot reonire him 10 give his reasons for
the suspe sion Of any ofiiceholdsr in the
absence Of the Senate; but that Is all.
If anv snch suspension, when laid before
the Senate, shall not be approves, 1t
shall not hold good. There is some
comfort in this to the whisky rings
President Grant may turn their
chief engineers out, but the senate,
with the assistance of the lobby, can turn
them in again. The retention oil TINS
check upon +" the man ct the other END
of the avenue" is urged BY the editor OF
the Radical organ upon the plea that IN
1872 Robert e. Lee or some other Old
Line Democrat may come into the
White House, in which event the only
security of the office-holdiDg Radicals
and carpetbaggers against general
clearing ont will be this needed !" con-
sent" Of the Senate. A poor excuse,
,bsy say, is better than none; but the
Jacobins are apprehensive not 80 much
Of the election Of Gen. Lee In 1872 as
they are of the detection of Gen. Grant
in the interval
This halfway repeal Of the Teuure-oi-
Office law proposed in the Senate is,
therefore, only an adroil flank movement
against Giant. The real design, no
doubt, is to smother the bill in the COM
mittee and to let this Congress expire
without any definite action upon IT, The
Jacobins want General Grant to show bis
hand. If Johnson protested too much
in advance Grant has protested too little,
aud that was the game of Captain Tyler.
To be sure, Grant has been the salvation
Of the Republican party. Upon any
other candidate, even against Seymour,
they would have been swamped last No
yember-President Congress and all. But
while Grant as the Democratic candidate
vould have beaten Chase as the Republi-
eaa, Chase as the Democratic candidate
would probsoly Laye beaten even Grant.
At all events, the kepabbeape ere. in
debted to General Grant for their success
in gaining the Presidential succession
ana the next House of Representatives.
He did not seek the Chicago nomination;
be did not want it As General-in-Chief |
of the Army, he bad the best oftce In the |
country Moreover. to the Radical Lead.
ers he was Hobson's choice The editor
Of the Radical organ, for instance, gave
signs Of following Chase even into Tam
-rfhs DEVILS fond C fsbingiu muddy |
wa,ersD So saVs the Rev. Father
Weems 10 bis !" Life Of Marion" and
his Satanic Majesty, we fear, has oiscoY- |
cred the weak points among the yacobins
at Washington-whisky, tobacco, petro-
loum, gold gambling, railroad Jobs aud
spoils and plumber in every shape. Like
Jack the Giant Killer, Grant is coming 10
to cus them down. Bot itthey can save the
Tennre-of 0fice law they can bold him.
Here, then, ig the chance for the Demo
Gratis 10 Congress 10 do something They
made sad botch of it under Johnson 10
playing into the hands of "0ld Thad.
Stevens" They were scultliog their
own ship in that precious trick Of stu
pidity. And where were Messrs James
Brooks, Fernando Wood spd John
Morrissey when the vote was taken
on Butler repeal bill in the House2 Fines-
sing, perhaps. They could have saved
johnson IL the beginning, and in saving
him could have gsinsd the succession
but they preferred the FOOLS experiment
of dancing 10 The fiddle of Stevens.
Nov if they baye any sense or ssgacity |
they sill assist the Republican Conserv-
atives. without hedging or lodging, to
give President Grant fres oonzss and 8
fair trial Little things make the begin.
nings of great revolutions