The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1872-01-24

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Dull November brings the blast, ...,.r
Then the leaves are whirling fast.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing. fire and Christmas treat. ~ la.l
Pendleton on the Crisis.
The Hon. George H. Pendleton sent
the following letter in reply to com.
mittee Of Democrats Of Wooster, Ohio
who invited him to attend their celebra.
ton Of the anniversary of the battle O,
New: Orleans. His points against the
corruption of the administration and its
centralized character, as also his opinion
of the passive policy and Of the duty o.
the dissatisfied Republicans to organize
all opposition against Grant in co-opera
ton with the Democrats, will be received
with the attention they deserve:
CINCINNATI, December 30, 1871"
Messrs. Eshetnae,a, Feristone, Ba.tgsnaan
Committee Of Invitation: ,rntilr.L .di
GENTLLdEN-I regret that I canno
accept your invitation to be present O
the next annual celebration of the 9Th o
January. It would have given me grea
pleasure to meet and take counsel, o
those who are 80 we'll grounded In th'
faith and practice of Democracy as th'
men of Wayne county, and with then
to recall the principles and example O
the foundation ofour party. ~ ar,n 4.
Two great dangers imperil free insti
tutions under the policy Of the party nov
in power. The spirit of centralized mil
itary government attacks everywhere tn,
constitution, and corruption in office de
stroys the civil administration. do no
speak merely or chiefly of special defal
cation, however startling, but of the gen
eral degradation of the standard of Off
cial integrity until the Offices in both th'
civil and military service seems to bt
be dispensed and administered primarily
for party aggrandisement or persona
profit, .a.I .t~....,sEf -. it,a-. J! .ol..r.-
These dangers grow out of and are in
Iseparable from the present organization
Of Republican party. It's foundation; it.
philosophy, its history, and it's leaders
recognize mility power and the corrupt
ing use of money by official patronage a!
legitimate forces In ordinary civil 'ad
min:stration, and now more than evel
are they brought into active exercise
The Democratic party cOnfronts this
theory and denounces these practices.
Founded upon the idea of local govern
ment, jealous of powers granted to au.
thority, taught that simplicity and econ.
omy are essential to the honesty 7neces
sary IN Republican institutions, 1t main
tains with more determined purpose that
the military must be subordinate to the
civil authority, and that offices are q
trust for tho people, not spoils for the
victors.
Its powerful organization enters every
village in the land, and numbers
among its adherents nearly onehalf the
people-as intellectual, as pure, as patri-
etic, as unsel6sh as any of their fellow
citizens. They are too numerous to be
cowardly. They are too patriotic to be
lukewarm. They are too sincere In their
purposes and convictions to, be driven to
dependency by ten years of reverses,-
They have shown constancy in defeat as
we'll as wisdom in victory. IT I under
stand their feelings, they will neither
disband their organization nor flee the
field before the contest commences
Either course, they believe, would give
undisputed sway to the present adminis-
tration, which could then give undivided
attention to the deserters from its ranks.
An advancing army, with the enemy
either dispersed or in flight, never loses
divisions or regiments, or even compan-
les, and is generally o bic to pick off or
pick up treacherous or thoughtless stag
glers. .......... T.
If there be, as is claimed, many men,
bers of the Republican party who dis
approve the ideas which dominate the
administration of President Grant, and
are prepared to oppose his reelection,
they should declare their purposes, or
ganize their party, develop and manifest
their strength, and il may predict the
future, they will have no just cause, even
the most sensitive and timid amongst
chem, for refusing to cooperate with the
Democratic party. When its authorized
convention shall speak it will remind its
adherents that the ultimate and highest
purpose of its existence is to secure the
greatest prosperity, in its best sense, of
every human being in the land; that
principles of government are true or un-
true as they contribute to this result !;
that parties and politics and Offices are
but means to this end; that principles
are of different application, andquestions
lose their importance in the ever shift
iup changes of human affairs, and dis
carding all narrow ideas, abandoning
the consideration of all questions which
have been decided or buried by the
events which have passed; recognizing
the accomplished facts of the present.
and appreciating the dangers of the fu-
ture, it will invite, both by words and
by deeds, both by resolutions and by
nominations, the Jealous, hearty co-ope-
ration of all men who believe that the
constitution is better system of govern
ment than martial law, and that reform
in the civil service is higher duty than
rcwarding prospective partisan effort by
distributing spoils. 49, -,
BY this course the party, I should
once more fnil, as an honest, faithful,
patriotic minority, 1t will hold an I'M
uortant position and exert an immense
moral power over the majority and 1t
NAV well wait with faith the inevitable
hour which will crown its fidelity and
patience with the success which IT. will
have deserved. b., .-.s.-,..,.u. /
I am, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, GEORGE H. PENDLEToN.
The New York World in printing the
above letter, remarks: :.... @Nt
Mr.. Pendleton makes 1t evident that
he is no doctrinaire, but a statesman.-
He has no prejudices which cloud his
perceptions. He regards as obsolete the
Questions which have become dead by
the progress of events, and is willing to
invite the cooperation of all friends of
honest government in the present emer-
gency, whether he has agreed with them
or differed from them in effete past con-
troversies. We have excellent reasons
for believing that nine-tenths of OF tn, the
Democratic party OF ONO snare the ~
eral views Of MIR. Pendleton and the
public avowal of these views by SO rep
resentative and popular a Democrat as
Mr.. Pendleton will probably secure
their unanimous adoption; not only by
other States where the name and fame
of Mr. Pendleton are cherished with