The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-04-20

The Washington correspondents of certain
papers drink spirituous and malt liquors, wine,
cider and absinthe, and eat opium and "the
insane root that takes the reason prisoner
all to infame their imaginations. This is not
announced as a historical fact, but as the only
plausible explanation of the phenomena in
producing which they are the immediate
agents. Baron Mpnchausen, Defoe, Dean
Swift and the author of the Arabian Nights
have been considered in their day ana genera
ton somewhat accomplished story-tellers.
But all the variations of these experts In he
tion became estate, fiat and Improbable" by
the side of the elaborate romances of the cor
RESPONDENT of the New York World, for in
stance,
According to this genius Grant is the origi-
nal and only genuine "man on horseback"
His first little plan is to annex the whole of
North America to the United States beginning
with Canada. He regards the administrations
ofJefferson and Polk as the most successful in
our history, because they negotiated the trea-
ties that gave us Louisiana and California
His scheme is very comprehensive. The Ala
bama claims give us Canada, Spanish out
RACES give us Cuba, internal dissensiQps give
us Mexico, while Central America, the i'm
mense British possessions outside the Domin-
ion and the West Indies naturally fellow the
the acquisition of Mexico, Canada and Cuba.
As precautionary measure he appoints his
personal friends to important offices; he puts
the army on a war footing and conciliates Lo,
the poor Indian; he has the navy made avail
able for purposes of offense or defense. Yet he
does not mean to fight if he can help it. He
will have all this real estate, any how-peace-
fully if he can, by force if he must Seward
first put the idea into his head, but the selfish
ness of President Grants nature was such
that he Immediately conceived the idea of
taking all the glory to himself; and he forth
with sent the apostle Of the ''irrepressible con-
Aict" posting eff to Auburn and oblivion, while
a personal friend became Secretary of State.
Butler lie in the secret Grant didn't tell him,
but he found it out by some sort of conjura-
ton Washburne is the only man who knows
all about it. Grant told him voluntarily.
But this isn't ALL Gen. Grant after taking
the trouble to acquire this immense estate has
no idea of relinquishing it to a successor. He
has no idea of leaving the White House at the
expiration of his term. Whether coup d'etat
is the means which is to be employed in the
great and hazardous enterprise, and whether
the country goes to Grants heirs, executors,
administrators and assigns after he gets
through with it, does not appear. But it is a
great pity that things have come to such q
pass. 1t is pity, too, that Grant, since he will
cherish such purposes, bungles SO fearfully in
reducing the army and in recommending an
amendment 60 the constitution limiting Presi-
dents to one term of four years. He must
take Butler into his councils-Butler, whose
exclusion from intimate association with the
President is another blunder.
The correspondent who writes the story of
which we have given the salient points must
derive great consolation from the news chron-
icled in the dispatches Of Monday: Motley 60
ing off to England with dispatches embodying
the new policy in regard TO the Alabama
claims, indicated in Summers speech; the de-
mand upon the Spanish authorities in Cuba
for theimmediate surrender of the American
Brig Mary Lowell and the annexation senti- |
ments of the Sonora rebels against Mexico. |
But it will take vast number of these swal-
lows to make the correspondents summer,
after all.