Litchfield enquirer., 1872-12-19
pREsIDEMr GRANT.

4 managed to acquire it in greater or less degree who, hkes Senator Buckingham. Gov. English and Gov sJeweD ssarted in political life ..inarticulate. That a. man may hayesa very solid head, full of sound ideas. and yet.be no talker or writer, the American people fully recognize in busi- ness, but not soreadily in, politics. =
 The journals whose business it has been for four or five years past to depreciate a dangerous political opponent in Gen. Grant, have madefhe most of this point against him. The N. Y. World has rep resented him. with many subordinate va neties of villification, as coarse, dull, ob- stinate man, with little military and no civil talent. It isa noticeable fact, how ever, that honester political opponents, with better opportunity to judge, have expressed very different opinion. Alex. ander H. Stephens, the greatest thinker of the present generation of Sontherners, who met Gen. Grant at the Fortress Mon- roe conference in January 1865, bears tes- timony SO remarkable that we give it in Mir. Stephens own words: 4'' f ,L
 Twas never so much disappointed in my life. in my previously formed opinions, of either the personal appearance or bearings of any one. about whom had read and heard so much. The disappointment, moreover, was in every respect favorable and agreeable. was instantly struck with the great simplicity and perfect naturalness of his manners, and the entire absence of every thing like affectation show, or even the usual military air or nsien in his position. $ * * <
 His conversation was easy and fluent. without the least effort or restraint In this, nothing vas So closely noticed by me as the point and terseness with which he expressed whatever, he said He did not seem either to court or avoid conversation, but whenever he did speak, what whole matter in few words. 4 snac before be- jag lrih hiDe long, Hat he pds exceedingly qaick iR perception and direct in purpose, ooiH q east deal more Of brains Man tongue, as ready as dtaf scas 0t has c0mmdnd. t rs---fio&3 a!i1--Af .
 We were with General Grant two days, as the correspondence referred to shows. He furnished us with comfortable quarters on board one of his dispatch boats, The more I became qcquainted rsta hlns, the more Ibecdn,e Thoroughly impressed seitG dhs uesy extraordinary combination ofrare eSesaeMts of ch0ra acter lchich he exhibited -The Var between the States. Vol 2, PIP. 5s6,7. -
 So, also, Senator Blair, of Missouri, who fought under Grant in the West, in-. variably credits him with the dangerous genius and designs of Cromwell Any. attempt to reconcile such estimates with the stupid brutality of the usual opposi- ton portrait of the President, without making great allowance for malignant partisanship dealing in intentional mis- representation, is impossible. Neverthe- less, we may safely draw this. conclusion, partially consistent with estimates differ ing so radically: to the average observer seeing him on ordinary occasions, Presi- dent Grant gives little if any indication of ability; to the competent observer, seeing him on extraordinary occasions, he shows the quickness of perception, adirectness of purpose, fertility of resource, soundness of judgment, and iaturalness of manner, usually characteristic of genius. ~a" 'sl
 The popular notion that President Grant is an obstinate man has always seemed to us one of the agravest miscon- captions of his real character. In the first place, common opinion to the con- trary notwithstanding, no obstinate man can ordinarily be successful general.
 Readiness to see and remedy mistakes, to abandon carefully conceived plans that will not work and adopt very different ones that will work, are prime necessity of successful campaigning. Here lies the secret of Grants success as 8. general. Grand plans of campaign never ruined him. as they ruined so many others. The swing around Yicksburg most bril- liant and successful operation of the war was an afterthought, surprising MT. Lincoln as much as it surprised MT. D Da-T wis In his attack on Richmond fight ing it out on that linen was precisely what he did not do. Failing in the direct on slaught he resorted to an indirect, south ern approach that proved ultimately sue. cessfuL a1s fsSeaf 9soq1c5 os sl1sfELA3 |.
 The same power of adaptation to events, the same utter lack of the pride of opinion that ruins ststatesmen," has characterized l President Grants civil administration.
 He made great blunder at the outset in, the appointment of personal instead of q political cabinet. His military habits, his distrust of politicians, and the popu- lar outcry against them, led him into the error of selecting Cabinet in no sense representative of the great party that elect cd him. Here originated his difficulty with Charles Sumner, and, had he been an obstinate man like Andrew Johnson, a rupture would probably have ensued with Congress. So far from proving & ssquarreller, however, he accepted a modification instead of a repeal of the Tenure of Office Act, and by the appoint ment of MT. Fish Secretary of State, and
 MT. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury. both representative Republicans, ,remedied in great degree his original mistake. His frank and entire abandonment of the San Domingo scheme was also characteristic of the man. Indeed, Republicans have come generally to recognize the fact that while inexperience has led President Grant into many mistakes, his honesty, good sense, and modesty, have made him Sngularly free from errors of mere obsti- macy; and they are looking forward with q great confidence to his coming term for years of improved and constantly improY- ing administration dstlo laTfgft TOT fel E1
 That the Democracy have so greatly I misunderstood and under estimated the character of Gen. Grant is mainly the fault
 of their partisan press. Republicans who
 became most thoroughly disgusted with
 the five months abuse of Horace Greeley, i-now mostly retracted- must forget that
 President Grant has been consistently maligned by Democratic journals for as many years. They set up Juggernot