Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-13

81 am in favor of peace, and think
the definition of Mr.. Burke the cor
rect one. Peace means reeoncilia-
ton. In my final report of the
operations of my armies, 1 express
ed the hope that we might live in
perpetual peace and harmony with
that enemy whose manhood, how
ever mistaken the caues, drew forth
such herculien deeds of valor. AS
we are compelled to live together, it
is far better that we should forget our
differences and strive together to
eradicate all the i'll feelings engen-
dered by the war"
| Strange as it may seem to those
enthusiastic persons who have an
exalted idea of popular intelligence,
the fact is indubitable, says the St
Louis Republican, that the single
sentence at the head of this article
had as much or more to do with the
election of Gen. Grant than all the
stump speeches made in his behalf
Every possible charge was rung on
the rhetorical bell which the distin-
guished chieftain affixed to his letter
Of acceptance, and four little words
were never used more pcrsistently or
to better advantage, since the Eng
lish language had recognized ex-
istence. They expressed the pre-
dominant feeling of the whole
country and of all parties, and those
who opposed no less than those
who supported the successful candi-
date, are now anxiously awaiting
the fulfllment of his implied pro-
mise. Peace-sound, substantial,
real peace - is what the ma
ton Graves, and what it
must have, unless we are prepared
to abandon the idea of popular
government as magnificent failure.
Without placing too much conf
dence in the story of the Worlds
correspondent, it is certainly safe to
say there is nothing in Gen. Grants
past history to render the expression
of the opinions attributed to him at
all improbable. He has never been,
in any sense of the word, Radical
Indeed, previous to, and al the be-
ginning Of the war, his political bias
was decidedly conservative. We
net only have no special reason to
suppose that his opinions have
undergone material alteration, but
some reasons to believe that they
are still unchanged. The terms die
tated to Lee at Appomattox, when
the crumbling fortunes of the South
ern Confederacy were wholly at the
mercy of the Federal army, were
not such as a Radical would have
forced upon helpless foe. "The
whitewashing report" as Senator
Sumner sneeringly termed it, was
not such a document as a Radical
would have prepared in regard to
the condition of public sentiment
at the South two years later Nor
did the violent opposition of Phillips,
Greeley d Co., to his nomination,
elicit from this consummate master
of reticence a single word calculated
to place him fairly and squarely
upon the Radical record. Gen.
Grant goes into the White House
two months hence more thoroughly
uncommitted, more nearly his own
master, than any President since
Washington.
1t is no straining of probabilities
then, no catching atpOlitical straws,
to assume that the incoming Exec
utive defines the peace which he dc
sires as reconciliation ;" and that
he intends so to conduct his admin
istration as to cause all sectional an
imosities to disappear, and make
North and South " forget their diff
ferences, and strive together to Grad
icate all the i'll feelings engendered
by the war"
Such q course, should it be de-
velOped by future events, would evil
dence not only the purest and most
exalted patriotism, but statesman
ship of the very highest order. A
peace which does not embrace the
use of such influences as these;
peace which does not look toward
final and perfect reconciliation, and
the utter Punishment of fraternal
jealousy and strife in a common re
public, is the sheerest Of mockeries.
The flattering semblance of it would
be but an abyss covered with flow
ers, a delusion which would assured
ly lure US into disappointments and
dangers hereafter.
History is full of such examples,
drenched with blood and tears, and
there is no necessity of our repeat
ing the wretched lesson in this day
and generation. The chief mental
attributes ascribed to Gen. Grant by
those who claim to know him best,
are genuine honesty and strong com
mon sense. That honesty and sense,
coupled with the knowledge of hu-
man nature, which his military ca
reer has given, must lead him into
the right path; the path alone by
which we can ever hope to reach the
goal of all our wishes and our pray
ers-a restored Union.
That Gen. Grant will meet with
bitter opposition from a faction Of
his party, should he advocate such a