The Portland daily press., 1871-12-28
uueIixibiIity to Reelection of the Presi-
dent and Senators.

dent and ScmHtOrss
To the Editor of the Press: ~
For reasons which have seemed to me to be
of weight, / have for many years been OF opin-
ion that it would be well for the country if the |
President were ineligible to a reelection. |
was a convert to the arguments of MIR. Clay
and his compeers on this subject And yet
there has been time when the country was
fortunate in that there was no provision inhibit-
ing the reelection of President. And have
no doubt that it is doubly fortunate in the fact
that it will be able to secure at next year the
return of Gen. Grant to the Presidency, for
second term, for believe there fare yet open
questions arising from the rebellion, that can
be more judiciously and happily settled by him
than by any other man living. And yet, not
withstanding the exceptional cases that have
been developed by the civil war, l am an ao-
herent to the general doctrine, and shall nope
to see Mr. Summers amendment become part
of the Consultation. shall also nope 10
see this amendment supplemented by announcer
prohibiting the election of a Senator to more
than two TERMS or, what would be BETTER to
more than one term of eight years. When l
observe how soon after their election Senators
ant to ScU tutiuSCifOS w WIN AoA " ~ WV
tion: how their time, talents, thoughts and Ia
bors are frequently employed to this end as the
great aim and work of their official lives; when
1 see how much that is evil in fact and in ex-
ample, is done by them; when L notice that
Senators, after three or four elections often
fall into the way of looking upon the country as
made for them as its final cause, and become
impatient of contradiction and even of advice;
when find them generally becoming candidates
for the Presidency, and showing themselves as
weak, silly, impracticable, domineering, unprin-
cipled and ungrateful, ready to deny the Master
who created them, to go back on all the princi-
pies through the advocacy of which they were
able to obtain the people favor, to rush into
coalitions and alliances, no matter how prof
| ligate and monstrous, so that they can
| find some ray of hope from the star that
shines over the Presidency; when remember
what Mr. Calhoun once was, the idol of his
| country, and what he became after his long
| term in the Senate; when / remember that that
massive pillar of the Democracy, Thomas I'll.
| Benton, after quarter of century in the Sen
ate, lost, by his ambition, his intrigues and his
inconsistencies the confidence of the great party
which had delighted to honor him, without
| gaining the deep respect and confidence of any
other party; when I remember how that no
blest Roman of them all, Harry Clay, lost the
hearts of his followers, and how he caused
their confidence in him and in human nature
to be shaken, by his conduct towards General
Taylor and his administration and the old
| Wing party which had loved him SO well and
| had labored for him SO faithfully, though it
| could not make him President; when recall
| the conduct of Daniel Webster ON the same
| occasion, and that 18th of March speech and all
| that succeeded it in the mournful history OF
this great man; when 1 consider these things
| and review the lives Of these men and of
| others, cannot help thinking how happy
how more than thrice happy it would
| have been for them, and for their fame, and
for their best success if the constitution of the
| United States had not permitted their remain
| ing so long in position in which their ambi-
| ton was so intensely stimulated and which
furnished so many occasions for feeding and in
| flaming it. Nor can help considering how
many bad measures, supported from ambitious
motives, would have been defeated or never
have been inaugurated, how many wise and
wholesome ones would have been adopted, had
there been no such thing as the ambition OF
Senators, of long service, for Presidential hon.
ors.
Of all the evils the country has suffered from
the re-elgibility of officers none can be compared
| with that which has grown out of the success
| i've returns of the same man to the Senate of
| the United States. This real and palpable evil
which all the world sees, ought to be and can
be abated and now is the time,
when another and cognate but lesser evil is
| about to be removed, to introduce measures
| for the accomplishment of this most whole
| some reform.
Representatives are elected to shorter terms
than Senators, and so have not so great oppor-
tunities nor equal temptations for intriguing
for reelection; yet, / doubt not that it would
be wise to provide by an amendment of the
constitution, that no Representative should
hold by successive elections more than six or
| eight years in all The first two years in the
life of a congressman may be necessary for his
| information and education as a member. At
ter that experience, he may make himself as
useful as an older member can be.
There are exceptions to the rule have men-
toned, as there are to all rules, and there GER
tainly have been, and are, Senators, whose long
service has in no way impaired their usefulness
or gle-mindedness-menl like our own Sena-
tors-Fessenden and Hdnalin-whose ambition
for promotion never got the better of their good
sense and level-headedness, and whose ability
and purpose to do their duty to the country and
their constituents, suffered no loss as the years
of their service went on. But cases like these
and they are by no means confined to the gen.
tlemen named, are the exceptions. The rule is
as have stated. CIvIs.