The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-12-30
HOW THINGS GO AT wAsING-
TON.
What Sort Of an Ad,aii,siistratiOn n Il.
Correspondence of the New York SUM-
WASHINGTON, December IL.

WAsHNGToN, December IL.
TIE entente eordidle between Robson
and Porter has been much disturbed of
late, as may be seen in part by the report
which the Admiral peremptorily publish
ed, and which the Secretary failed to
adopt In truth, no Secretary of the Ma
w who respects himself can submit to
the direction and assumption of power
which the Admiral takes upon himself in
the administration of the Department
The Secretary became nothing more than
a signing clerk during the regime of poor
Borie, whose weakness ought to be extern
uated, because he did not pretend to con-
ceal his incompetency. be urged that
disqualification upon the President as a
reason for not accepting the place when
it was first offered to him, but General
Grant replied that Porter would do the
duty" And so he did. Backed up by
the President, he has continued TO regard
himself as master of the situation, and to
carry out his ideas just as if there was no
superior authority.
This has at last become unbearable,
and Mr.. Robson, lazy as he naturally is,
has occasionally kicked in the traces with
a feeble muscular effort, but without any
material success. He is not the man for
resistance of determined kind, and the
instability of Cabinet places, as they now
are constituted, is not encouraging for
the exercise of moral courage.
President Grant intends that his Cabi
net shall be a sort of military staff, who
are to carry and execute orders, without
having either discretion or opinion of their
own. They are rarely consulted in the
large and proper sense, though by cum
ming and pertinacity any one of them can
FIRING the President to adopt his views on
any difficult question where General
Grant has no real opinion of his own
But no Cabinet days they merely make
routine reports to their chief, and in mat
tiers of mere administration are of very
little account, and have very little idea
what the President means TO do. When
General Belknak was recently appointed
Secretary of War, no member of the
Cabinet had the remotest knowledge of
the Presidents intentions, until the choice
was made and announced in the newspa-
pers.
General Grant inteferes even in the
smallest matters which touch his preiu-
dices, or partialities, or his family inter-
ests, and in a manner wholly unknown
heretofore. He and Butler have become
reconciled fully upon the ground of re-
ciprocal advantage. After that anything
else is possible.
Mr.. Stanton will not be named for the
Supreme Court vacancy because, the
President says, che insulted General
Sherman" That is a new reason for re-
jecting merit; but, it is worthy of the
White House in these days. General
Sherman is power behind the throne
He dominates Consuls by the wholesale,
and does pretty much as he pleaces in 9TH
er matters. His brother-in-law, Hugh
Ewing, whom Andy johnson appointed
to a foreign mission, is retained, while
many others more deserving, have been
dismissed for that alledged cause, alto
gether he is not at his post and is rarely
in condition to be seen. This fact is no
CoTio''@ here, and yet the amiable and art
Iul neclocrl'y at the State Department
shuts his eyes, but docs ~
his own kinsman as Consul TO home, any
more than on the vital question of Cuba
he forgets to control the President in the
interest of Spaniards and his own son-in-
law.
The Government is run as a sort of
family machine, where hungry incompe-
tents are fed, clothed and uniformed at
the public expense. 1t does not matter
in the least whether they have been rebel
sympathisers or not during the rebellion,
like cold man Dent" To be of the fam
lily, no matter how remotely, is the first
and greatest qualification, which super
sedes honesty, fitness and capabaity.
The Presidents house is no longer what
it used to be. The Chief Magistrate is
approached only through line of "Gen-
erals" There is General Dent, who is
sort of chief usher, and stands in undress
to admit or reject visitors, as they may
be of the faithful or suspected stripe
One class is handled by General Porter,
another by General Babcock, and third
by General Somebody Else, until the
President is reached. All these Gener-
ais are drawing pay, rations, horse feed,
servants wages, and other allowances, in
the most delightful way for themselves.
per? The Generals buy big houses, sport
fine carriages, live on the fat of the land,
and sing paans to the Commander-in-
chief, as the Kings friends ought to do.
General Badeau, who never set squad
ron in the field, but who, notwithstand-
ing, is fullblOwn General, takes his ease
at his inn, and lets diplomacy in London
look after itself While in England he
never pretended to do anything else than
ornament the legation duty for which
he was pre-eminently qualified. In
Washington he decorates the Palace and
draws his pay like a sensible and virtu-
Gus Second Secretary of Legation, who
has nothing to do but to air his official
graces at two courts. "Insatiate archer,
would not one sufice?" Certainly not,
says the redOuptable General.
When Mr.. Motley was at Vienna he
recommended that his mission there
should be raised to an embassy. But the
remorseless Seward would not consent,
and rather rebuked the suggestion in his
official reply. Now the cable sends over
a rumor that the British Mission here il
to be put up to higher rank, with the
expectation Of course that we are to recip-
rocate. The milk in that cocoanut is very
Viennese. Let us have magnificent EN-
bassies by all means, with the toggery,
funkeys, and swells to boot. And by al
means let the elegant Mr. Sumner, In the
pride of his Craftsmanship of Foreign Re
lations, design the uniforms and order
the gold lace for Motley. Washburne
Jones (not John of the War Office, Jay
Rublee, Shellabarger (Phoebus, wha
namesl), and Company. The modes
and retiring Sickles is partially provided
in this line, but could be persuaded t
undergo additional decoration for hi
country's good.
SPECTATOR.