The Portland daily press., 1871-04-01
Letter from Washington.
WASHINGTON, D. c., March 10th, 1871.
To the Editor of the Press:

3. Aettef from W usmhmSsVns
WASHINGTON, D. c., March Goth, 1871.
To the Editor Of the Press:
THE GREATNESS OF RHETORIC.
This has been amply illustrated during the |
past three days. Equally as ample an illus
tration OF the power of common sense has
been given on. this last one of the trinity.
Messrs. Sumner and Schurz, after twelve
months of preparation, amid the firing of
rhetorical Swamp Angels and columbiads,
have made their attack on the administra-
ton. The vote this afternoon on .tablng is
the result-39 Republicans, to 10 Democrats
and three Republicans, two of whom were the
orators themselves. OF course the opposltion
will declare this is the result of administra-
ton "whipping in ,";but they should bear IN
mind that the list of Alternatives contains the
names of Senators not known to be very
friendly with the administration and who sew
eral times during the caucus resolutions de-
bate showed by votes their Independence
For instance, Buckingham of Conn; Tram
bull; Hitchcock of Nebraska; Sprague;
Wright Of Iowa; Pratt of Indiana, Window of
Minnesota; Kellogg OF Louisiana; and Saw
yer of S. c., voted the majority.
Certainly if the elaborate attempt to i'm
peach the President of the United States of
having violated in any decisive manner, the
constitutional limitations applied to the war
power, had been able to maintain itself, Mr..
Trumbull at least would have been likely to
enter the arena, armed for further encounter
as to the truth of the allegation. The last
three days in the Senate Chamber have been
intellectually Great; whether they have been
intellectually as sincere, is at least question
able. l say this with full knowledge of the
Iact that Mr.. Sumner occupied at least one
third OF the time, and that Mr.. Schurz occu-
pied at least one half of the balance. The re.
suit has been triumph for the President
ajustifiable one too, in spite of the fact that
there may be difficulty in avoiding the tech
nicaI point of the charge made-that in issur-
ing the orders now on record to Admiral
Poor, to do certain beigerent acts in GER
ain contingency, that the President did put
Q operation events which tended to war;
hat in fact ii the contingency had arisen, he
would have declai ed war, without waiting for
the action of Congr ess.
Both the assailing orators were compelled
to assume that under no circumstances other
than to suppress internal disorder or repel in
vasion could the executive have fully been JUS
titled in doing any act which might result in
belligerant collision, unless he first obtained
the warrant of Congress. This was the point
and the whole oft.
HOW IT WAS ENLARGED.
Mr.. Summers role was easily seen. He had
as usual "evolved from the depths of his inner
consciousness" whole. theory of facts and OBJ
jects which he proceeded to demolish Re.
ddced to simple English his position was that
certain Dominican adventurer "Baez"-or
as he is jocularly termed by the journalistic
observation-disclosures power, and then
begun negotiations with this country for the
annexation OF his own to it. That the exec
utive consented. That in pursuance of this
scheme the executive of this country had or
dered the vessels of war to do two things; LIST,
Protect while the inche ate treaty was pend
ing, the adventurer's Government from inter-
nal foes; and I'd, To declare to ne,ghboring
power that we would not permit it to inter-
fere with the "adventurer's' government
while results were still pending. This last
act is the one on which such results were still
pending. This last act is the one on which
Mr.. Summers wrath was expended. 1t was
BLACK Republic" that was assaied, weak
one that was threatened. This he declared
to be true as he put it, and being true that it
was monstrous Infringement of information
al obligations This doomed up under the
mrage-like influence of Sumnerian rhetoric.
into monster as huge as the giant of the
Hartz mountains, and as hideous as vice is
said to be when first made visible to the nm
sophisticated mind of virtue.
To Mr.. Schurz was assigned another role.
1t must be acknowledged that the pupil more
than bettered his instructions. As an INTEL
lectual effort, as magnificent plea, an argu-
ment, granting the premises of massive ma.
terial and texture. the speech of the German
Senator was as much greater than Mr.. Sum-
ner's in all that constitutes title to such a
judgment, as the latter's labored three hours
Grafton was superior to the hasty and rather
crude impromptu reply of Gov. Morton there
to. Schurz's part in this "tempest in tea
pot" was to establish the violation of the con-
stitutiOn by usurping of the war power, and
that done to 90 to work and prove the enor.
nifty of the offence, aid the great danger to
Republican institutions which must ensue, if
such an act was left unchecked and unrebuk-
ed. Gen. Schurz undoubtedly established the
gravity of such an offence, and the danger
| likely to follow submission to such an act. but
did he establish the committal of such an Of
fence? After listening to his maenifcently
conceived and well made argument, 1 cannot
believe thathe did. It is quite true that he
gained great triumph in the technical de-
tails over Morton, it is equally as true that he
showed his thorough acquaintance with the
subject, and per contra almost established the
ignorance OF his antagonist, but as Senator
Harlan showed it, his premises did not justi-
fy either the weight OF attack or conclusions
reached.
PRICKINa THE BUBBLE.
1t must bp acknowledged that the admins
tration has been poorly defended un til to day,
and 70 some OF Us the least likely man tv meet
and overthrow such doughty champions, was
the one who accomplished the feat Senator
Harlan, not lawyer-certainly lily read in
the international publicists-but a Western
Methodist preacher and College Professor
punctured the bubble completely.
Vigorous common sense was the first ele.
ment, and as was apparent to all, an equally
as vigorous critical faculty, backed and sus-
tanned the ample supply OF the first article,
Mr.. Harlan possessed. HIS reply was i'm
promptu, made without notes, with no au-
thonties, with no grace of rhetoric.-thoush
there we're one or two singing lllustratioLs,-
with no looks, and only Mr.. summers speech
to guide the reply by. he first stripped the
speeches mace y, cry thug but tue one
puint-waether technical, it was an unIaw-
Jul exelcise Of Executive power to issue the
oroers giveassio Admiral Poor, aud il So, how
much cIminaiity there was in the same,
judged by the surrounding circumstances and
the result that flowed theretrom. He then
Analysed the motives Tor the attack on Gen.
Grant as show ia the condition OF affairs
Mr.. Harlan, IS be did not quite move that
there was not doubtful exercise OF the
doubtless powers, mos. clearly established
that discretionary precedents sustained the
President; that there was no evil bnt good,
resulting from the action arraigned BY the
Senators; that there could be no crminality
attack: and that certainly the motives of tho