The New York herald., 1871-01-07
General Grant and His Cabinct-The
Crisis mt Washington.


What is a crisis? Webster defines II as 'the
point of time when any affair, movement or
course of action must terminate or take new
course, or be turned back; the decisive mo-
ment the turning point" Thus we may
say that Napoleon's declaration of war against
Prussia marked a crisis to Napoleon and his
empire; to France, Prussia and Germany to
Spain, Italy and the Pope; to England, Prussia,
Austria and Turkey; that the siege Of Paris
has approached crisis; that the fall of Paris
will bring crisis to the French republic, and
that recent events around us indicate a
momentous crisis to General Grants admins
tration and the republican party. Indeed, a
| Cabinet crisis seems to be impending, and
| from the fact that Mr.. Fish has made up his
mind soon to retire from the cares and per-
plexities of the State Department we may
| partly conjecture what is in the wind. A
crisis has come in reference to the future policy
of General Grant as the head Of the govern
ment and as the head of his party, and in this
double capacity we are called to consider the
necessities OF his position.
| 1t was only the other day that the philoso-
pher Greeley expressed the opinion that it
was too soon by twevemonth to talk yet of
General Grant as the republican candidate for
the next Presidency; but on this point he is all
| right now. He has made the important dis
covery that Grant is the man for 1872, and no
mistake. Fresh from little diplomatic visit
| to Washington-for Greeley, like the Chevalier
| Wikof and the venerable James Watson Webb,
| has weakness for diplomacy and hot water
the chairman of the Twenty-second street repub-
on Thursday evening last :-"As to the admin
istraton Of General Grant, recognize no one
as republican who is not grateful for its judi
cious, energetic and successful efforts to pro-
cure the ratification of the fifteenth amend
ment-that keystone of our political arch,
whereby the fruits of our great triumph over
rebellion and slavery are assured and per-
| petuated. That the President has made some
| mistakes in appointments is obvious" but the
responsibility belongs to the party, and the
| blame, says our thoughtful philosopher, ssfalls
| rightly on US, who took him from the head of
the army and made him our civil Chief Magis-
trate, fully aware that he had never voted a
republican ticket, if, indeed, he had voted at
all. But here comes in the saving conclu-
sion :-"Whie asserting the right of every
republican to his untrammelled choice for
next President until nomination is made, /
venture to suggest that General Grant will be
far better qualified for that momentous trust
in 1872 than he was in 1863"
Now, as the result of one short visit to
Washington this is better, much better, than
all that Greeley knows about farming For
months past, however, we have been telling
him and all the other republican trumpeters
and managers that General Grant is their only
man and their only hope of salvation In 1872.
But, meantime, the mischief they have done to
their chief, his administration and their party
is almost as serious as the troubles brought
! upon Napoleon by his greedy, selfish and un-
| scrupulous understrapppers in the late empire.
| And if in these republican discords our pro-
| fessor of agriculture has not openly revolted
| against the administration, like Gratz Brown
| and Carl Schurz of Missouri, nor declared war
to the death against the President, like Sum-
ner, his sympathy with the cause of the
Fenton faction has been anything but advan-
tageous to the republican party of New York
or to General Grant as candidate for the
succession. 1t is surmised, nevertheless, that
| as a reconstruction of the Cabinet is demanded
from the necessities of the time, and that as
reconstruction may soon be expected, the late
trip of our sub-soil cotemporary to Washing
| ton may have had something to do with this
important business. We infer, however, from
| this mission was to reconcile Fenton to Gene
| raj Grants appointment of the amiable tom
Murphy" as Collector Of this port, and that
the mission was failure.
Perhaps our phosphate philosopher may
have had this case of Murphy upon his mind
in speaking Of the obvious mistakes of the
President in his appointments. But if we
come to that, every man who expected an
Office or several Offices which he failed to get
| is Of the same opinion. Still it is true that
| General Grant has been unfortunate in his ap-
| pointments as well as in his disappointments,
beginning with his Cabinet. In the very out
set, like Old Zack Taylor, he should have
called the wisest heads and shrewdest old
politicians of his party around him for their
advice and assistance in reference to his Cabi-
net, his foreign Ministers, his principal Col
lectors, Postmasters and Territorial Governors
and other officers Of large political importance
or influence. But what's done is DONE The
question is, what is General Grant to do to re-
lieve himself and his party of their present
embarassments to get the party ship off from
the shoals and breakers into which she is
drifting
| The best thing, in our judgment, that he can
do for beginning is to make up new Cabi-