The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-07-22
tx.President FiIlmOre-His Views OF
fhe Political Situation.


Buaalo Correspondence of the New York Herald.
I called to-day upon Mr.. Willard Fill
more. ex-President of the United States,
to ascertain that gentleman's views on the
important public questions OF the time. L
found him at his office in Court street
for he still practices in his profession. L
was struck with the little change time had
made in his appearance since l saw him
ID years ago, and when he was the occu-
pant of the White House. His halr Is
whittier and little thinner, but be has the
same erect and full rounded form, smooth
skin. with scarcely a wrinkle, and all the
appearance of well preserved health. de
said he had not varied in weight more
than ten pounds since he was President,
and thought he might have been about
that much heavier when in the Presiden-
tial chair. | found him the same dignl-
fed, courtly, and affable gentleman for
which he was always distinguished when
in public life.
The first subject of conversation intro
duced was that Of Cen. Grant and his adj
ministration. Mr. Fillmore believes Gen.
Grant means well and wishes to do right,
but that through MS inexperience In poll
tics and public affairs. he has got himself
into the meshes of the politicians, and has
the country. He referred particularly to
Gen. Grants position Immediately after
the Inauguration with regard 10 the Ten
ure of Office act and the difficulties which
the politicians in Congress raised about
the Cabinet He thinks that had
Grant been firm in requiring the
repeal of the Tenure of-Office act and the
confirmation of his Cabinet as first formed,
the Senate would have yielded; for Grant
held at that time the confidence OF the
people, and would have been supported
by them. Besides, Senators as well as
members of the House wanted the ais
tribution of the offices, and the President
had, il the power of nomination, the
winning card. Had he refused to make
any appointments, unless this act were re-
pealed, the Senators would have been so
impressed by his firmness and so anxious
to get the offices for their friends and sup
porters, that they would have swept the
act from the statute book. Nor would
they have embarrassed the President about
his Cabinet nor have led him to change
the original cast of it to suit their political
views and ends Distasteful as were his
first Cabinet appointments and the policy
in making them TO these politicians, and
much as they wished to cling to the power
lueH udu ONC1 bAO -ACOobAfC,
they would have surrendered for the sake
of the offices, and in face of Grants firm
ness and popularity, had he been de-
termined and unmoved. 1t was glorious
opportunity to restore the equilibrium
which had been destroyed by the usurpa-
tons Of Congress, between the different
branches of the government. The eX-
President regards that issue as involving
the greatest consequences-an issue the
importance OF which Ger Grant failed to
comprehend, and which may change
forever the practical operation of the
government. Looking at the tendency of
all public bodies to usurp power, and the
tenacity with which they cling to it
when once acquired, it may be a long
time, if ever, before the opportunity oc-
ours to restore tie former equilibrium be-
tween Congress, the Executive, and Judi
ciary The danger is that, under the
name of a representative and federative
republic, the government may become an
Oligarchy OF politicians. When speaking
of this Mr.. Fillmore took from his library
Washin gton's Farewell Address and read
that portion of it in which the Father of
his Country pointed out the danger of
Congress absorbing those powers of gov
eminent which properly belong to- the
Executive and judiciary, and in which he
seemed almost to have y prophetic knoyvl-
edge of the present state of things
Washington said it must lead to despotism
In one form or another, and Mr.. Fillmore
fears that this may be the case, unless by
some extraordinary and prOvidential cir
cumstances the people should be aroused
from their apathy and see the danger that
insidiously threstens our public institu-
tons.
In speaking of the suffrage the ex-Presi
dent said the great mistake made by the
Radicals, and seemingly by the country,
Just now, is that this was natural right
and not political right of privilege.
Hence the suffrage has been given to mil
lions of benighted negroes who scarcely
know their right hands from their left,
and who can have no knowledge of what
they vote for. Having given the suffrage
to the negroes, it cannot be refused to the
millions upon millions of Chinese
who are coming to this country
and who are superior race to the
negroes This is a serious evil in the flu
ture to contemplate. But he does not see
how the suffrage is to be taken away or
restricted when once given. We are rush
and it seems that it must run its course to
4
be fortunate if this does not eliminate in
sans cshotte regime to be followed by
another kind of despotism or personal
dictatorship. When speaking Of this state
of things Mr.. Fillmore referred to one of
the old Italian republics, that of Florence,
think, where revolutionary and radical
equality was carried to such an extreme
that elections for office to administer the
government were done away with. and
officers were taken by lot from the whole
community. AS matter of course the
most ignorant became the rulers, for they
were the most numerous. The conse-
quence was that with this radical attempt
TO force equality where no natural or real
equality existed, liberty soon expired and
despotism succeeded. Mr. Fillmore ad-
mits that the suffrage should be on the
broadcast practicable basis, and remarked
that England and all other civilized cOun-
tries we're tending to that; but il should
be held only, as general rule, by those
who know how to use it. Still he had
hope that the evils of extending the suf.
frage to the ignorant masses of other races
would be corrected in measure by the
progress OF education, the preponderance
of the Caucasian race, and the enlighten-
ed patriotism of the American people
Mr.. Fillmore is hard money man, and
thinks that it would be a great blessing to
return to specie payments. He sees, how
ever, great difficulties in the way of reach
ing that object, not the least of which will
be found in the national banks. He holds
10 the old theory of contracting the cur
rency as the only means of coming to
specie payments, yet thinks il possible that