The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-02-11

y"''' instant aIteAtIOn-"aS that time to
be spent 10 prosecuting plots like this ]
VIII not ask you to repent Of the wicked
ness 1t is not wrong in your eyes; it comes
up to your best IDEAS of loyalty, patriotism
aId statesmanship. Your witnesses think
OF 1t as you do; they take pride and pleasure
IN their guilt, and wrap this garment of In,
iamy about them with as much complacen-
cy as If 1t were robe of imperial purple
But was Stanton IN ii? Was the attor-
ney-general art and part in foul conspiracy
to kdnap the secretary of the navy, 'fhis
own familiar friend. his brother who trusted
IN him and with whom he ate bread 2" If
he had sent the paper which was read under
the street lamp, why do you not produce it,
or at least show it by secondary evidence
that 1t was in his hand dwriting2 If Mr.
| Watson was the medium through whom he
! communicated his verbal directions to the
! committee or other persons coufede:ates
! with him, why does not Mr.. Watson appear
/ and say so To fasten this great guilt On
stanton will require evidence far better than
| Mr. Howard's small aud silly talk about
"d"d which flew directly from some cabinet
| minister" and strong ger than his belief found
cd on the fact that Stanton was 2 ..suspi
cious character" especially rs Mr. Howard
admits his own participation in the crime,
AID Is therefore something more than a
suspicious character" himself, Bat it is
not merely the defects in the profit is the
| incredible nature Of the story which counts
| against you. Stanton knew, if vou did not.
that the contemplated crime could not be
perpetrated with impunity. Toucey breath
ed the deep breath and slept the sound steep
OF freeman under the guardianship of a
law which Stanton at that time Lid not dare
! to violate. a democratic administration
still kept ward and watch over the liberty Of
the citizen = vulgar tyrrauy which al
| lowed aOolitionsts to do such things uUou
! their political opponents was coming. but it
! had not come; the reign Of the ruftian aud
klauappeF was draw ing near. bUt it had not
| arrived the golden age Of the spy and the
false accuser were beginning to dawn, but it
had not yet risen.
! You may think it some excuse for this
| false charge against AIr. Stanton that is not
mucn worse than others which YOU have
/ proved to be true. But justice req uires that /
/ even bad uIeG shall suffer only Tor those mis-
! deeds which they have actually done. One
oi The greatest among American juriats Leid
/ s!ander to be aggravated by proof that the
/ victims character was bad before just as
/ corporal injury to sick man or q cripple Is
| worse wrong than it would be to one Of
/ sound limbs and vigorous health.
V.-3Ir. Stauton7s personal behavior and
! bearing in the cabinet have been much mis-
represented by others beside you. l am
| told that Mr.. Seward described the supposed !
scene" IN some speech, which have never
| read. Il was given at length, and very cir
! cuu.stantally, in a London paper, over the |
! signature of ~. W; Mr.. Attorney Gener,
al Hoar, in a solemn Grafton which he pro-
nounced before the Supreme Court. last
/ January, repeated it with suudry rhetorical
/ embellishments; nearly all the newspapers
| OF your party have garushed their poiutless
/ abuse OF the Buchanan administration with /
! aiiusions to it more or less extended and no |
( doubt the book makers in the service Of the |
! aboItionists have put it into what you call |
| ''cotem pCTaneOus history" SO far as ! have |
seen them, all these accounts differ from one |
another, ana none is exactly, oT even very |
nearly like yours. But they agree IN pre-
senting general picture of Mr.. Stanton as
engaged in some violent conflict with his !
| colleagues were too dull, too unprincipled, !
or too .imid TO undertake, though some OF
them afterward plucked uD heart enough to
follow his lead. They declare that Stanton
took the most perilous reSpomsi5 5ljties, bold
ly faced the most frightful dangers. and !
with heroic courage fought desperate fight. |
against the most fearful odds; that the other
members of the cabinet looked on at the |
| awful combat as mere spectators of his ter
rife valor, while the President was SO fright |
ened by the fierce and fiery" encounter
that all he could DO was to ''tremble and
turn pale"
Ali this is (ts use Stauton's own Ian
| guage) "a tissue of lies - a mere cock and |
| bull story +; q naked invention, purely fabu- |
| lous u falsehood as gross and groundless as
any in the autobiography Of Baron Mum |
! chausen. Gir. Stanton was never exposed |
| to any danger whatever while he was a
member OF that cabiDet; never had any &C
~
ed with any of his colleagues never de- |
nounced those he differed from, and never
| led those with whom he agreed. He ex-
pressed his dissent from the Southern mem |
ber5 on several questions ; but no man |
| among us took better care than he did to |
avoid giving cause OF personal offence lie |
| acquired no aecenGancy at the council board, !
and claimed none he proposed no measure |
of bis own, and when he spoke upon the |
measures originated by others, be presented |
no views that new or at all startling. |
He and Inever once differed on any question, |
great or small; and this though of course |
accidental. was still so noticeable that he |
said he was there only to give me two votes |
instead of one. He did not differ with Mr.. |
Holt on any important question concerning !
! the South more than once, and that was |
| when the compact afterwards called a truce, |
| about Fort Pickens was made. He must |
have agreed with the President when he |
agreed with Mr.. Holt, for the latte. gentle
man declared most emphatically that the
President constantly gave him a firm and |
generous support" He never insulted the
President Mr.. Buchanan knew how to main |
tain the dignity of his place and enforce the
respect due to himself as well as any man |
that ever sat in that chair. 1t is most GER
tain that Mr.. Stanton always treated him /
with the profoundest Difference. If he had |
been rash enough to take on the airs of |
bully, or had ever made the least approach !
to the insoent rudeness for which you de- |
sire to credit him. he would instantly have
lost his commission, and you would have
! lost your spy.