The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-18
-PHLADELPHA TUESDAY 1870

with men who. If the wardrobe out, could not
n, unit horse'-alluding to General Scott,
whose age and infrmities precluded him from
active duties"
The new expedition was got ready and was
about to sail, when, says poor Mr. Welles:-
Il congratulated myself on the energy and ac-
tIcity with which this work had been accom- pshed,
was prepared TO await results Mr. seward and
his o Frederick called at my-rooms at wlllard's,
ab ut II O'Clock at night on the 9th of April, with
auleg an from Meigs and Porter at New York the
pu porr nf which wa that there was difficuty in
ni ting orders froH the Secretary OF the Treasury.
asked an explanation, for i knew OF no movement
with which my orders conaicted."
In naval phrase, ''all hands were called to
eel topsail." They rushed to the President,
but he was, or pretended to be- more per-
plel ed than they "He looked first at one
aud then at the ether; read and re read the
t9lt g am, and asked if [ was not in error as
to the flagship. He said he had become con-
fused with the names of Pocahontas and
Pow hatan"
1t may suit Mr.. Welles theory of Mr.. Lin
Colu S integrity to believe, if he can, in this
siml licity; but to our mind it is abundantly
clear that the President was playing game
with consummate art for at the time he thus
appeared confused he knew he had issued the
orders which frustrated the whole, and had,
At the instance of Seward, actually appointed
Iavid d. Porter to command and Montgomery
@ Meigs 10 engineer the absurd and useless
defect' n to the Gulf.
The whole matter is simply scaudalous,
d, eply duplicating Mr.. Lincoln and Mr..
S, ward. TO the latter it is creditable in one
+, spect only. 1t tends to show that he
cant to keep faith with Judge Campbell,
and through him with the South Carolina
authorities; and there is nothing in the
antecedents of the officers, young as they
weIe, whom he used as his instruments to
conflict with this theory. Noisy and trucu-
lent as Mr.. Stewards Gemtni Meigs and
Porter, have latterly been, they were then
u oroughly sympathetic with the South.
Mr.. Davis had been Meigs' kind and
considerate friend, at a time, too, when he
needed friends, and Porter moved in that
Coburg sphere of the District of Columbia
which, then as now, is tuned in sweet accord
with The dispensers of patronage and office
| The proof is conclusive that Lincoln, Sc
ward, and their subordinates never ser-
ously contemplated the rescue or relief of
ior Anderson, and that down 10 this time
the people of the North have been victims
OF huge delusion. The ECeniRg Post grimly
says
"Any other man, finding5himself bound by
promise given under Misrepresentation to
the enemies of his country, might have
thought it his duty to resign office, rather
than by indiscretion and conspiracy to thwart
the first important act the Government he
belonged to had undertaken for its own pre-
servation. But Mr.. Seward doubtless thoug ght,
as polite statesman, that his own services
were more important to the nation than the
Sumter expeditions and feeling that his per-
sopal honor required that the country should
lose one or the other of them, he chose to
render the relief of the fort impossible,
rather than deprive the nation of his future
labors. History will decide whether he chose
wisely for the country and for his own fame. .