American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-06-08
Governor Palmer on Grants Admin
iStratfOn.
We take the following extracts from a
speech recently delivered at Decatur, Ill,
by Governor John NJ Palmer:

IL, L III
by Governor John NJ. Palmer:
| THE PUBLIC DEBT.
General Grant is proposed for reelection
to the Presidency. / think those who sup
port him will find it difficult to say that hi
civil Administration has been successful.
know that told that during his AID
ministration large amount of the public
debt has been paid that the public revenue
have been collected, and the taxes have beer
reduced. But l had supposed, in the light o
| just and fair reasoning, that very small
| proportion of the credit of these things car
be attributed to General Grant. You recol
| lect, in his inaugural address, / believe /
was, he said he would have no policy, and
think General Grant has originated no meas
| ure, certainly none of the measures thai
have contributed To those results. l do moi
1 merely mean to say that he has not don,
| so, and it ought not to be urged to the
American people that he has paid the debt
| or that he has reduced the taxes. He has ns
| other claim than such as is involved in very
| moderate degree of attention to the enforce
| ment of the laws.
WHO PAID OUR STATE DEBT?
| Now, what would You say if l were to tel
| you that l have paid three millions of the
public debt of Illinois since have been Gov
| ernor? Did you ever hear of that before
| Do you know that last winter we paid off all
| the State debt that was due, and had money
| left do not remember that any enthusias-
| tic friend of mine has told you that Governor
| Palmer has paid off the State debt, and the
| reason why they have not done is simply
because it is not so did not do It. Laws
were passed to impose taxes upon YOU to
raise money. The Sheriffs and Collectors
collected it. paid my proportion just like
you. paid as little as | could get along
with, and never paid cent unless 1 was
paid into the State Treasury, and under a
law it was passed to the public creditors
1t seems to me that 1 ought to have some
credit for it, and yet my modesty is such
that do not urge the claim, and my friends
have been so forgetful that none of them
have thought proper to urge it in my favor
GRANTS MILITARY QUALITIES.
General Grant, then, has had that connec-
ton with the payment of the debt that
have mentioned, but General Grant has be-
yond all doubt, substantially failed to en-
force that sort of scrupulous fidelity in the
administration of public affairs which is de-
manded by this effort of ours to return to
pure government l do not believe that
General Grant has been more neglectful than
some of his predecessors during the late war
of the rebellion. Mr.. Lincoln was overwhelm-
ed with affairs and did not profess to be able to
give his attention to the details of admins
tration. Mr.. johnson, during his term, was
engaged in a controversy with the Republi-
can party, and his powers were, substantially,
taken from him. Those were times when
other questions were engrossing the public
mind. The results of that controversy have
all been secured, and the object which
have now in view is to return to first princi
pies, and to correct the abuses that grew up
during the war; and, / think, nothing is more
important In that connection than to secure
the services of some statesman, who is able
and willing to lead us in the direction of
tional reform. l hope that nobody during
this canvass will charge me with improperly
depreciating General Grant. l served under
him during the war, and | regard him in
many respects as its most eminent soldier.
He possessed resolution, and, by the way,
you will allow me to say that resolution and
courage very different things. Courage
will risk itself when engaged in struggle,
but it requires resolution, different quality,
to hang on, and that General Grant possesses.
He discharged his duties, not, perhaps, as
Napoleon did, but certainly he exhibited as
high qualities as any other military man con-
nected with the late war. General Grant, [
am ready to concede, is soldier entitled to
the highest credit for his services, but it
seems to me that it is too much to insist
statesnian. lie trH,,,in., al ...~t:-- nan
a statesman in republic is not the training
of the camp. Experience has shown that to
be true.
THE STATESMAN WE NEED.
statesman in free Government must
have the most profound respect for the laws.
Military life is unfavorable to the growth of
that feeling. War is violence and force. 1t
is controlled byits own made laws, but they
are not laws adapted to the government of
a refined, cultivated, Republican people. A
Republican Government, differing from a
monarchical one, is complex and difficult |
Under our system, which, as you are aware,
has been the subject of almost endless dis !
putes in regard to the distribution and limita- |
tiOns of its powers, We have the State Gov
with all their departments and
and have nation
al system, with its departments and
divisions. We have also the question to
their relative powers and duties, and each |
man is interested in maintaining the Govern
ment precisely as it is according to written |
because it is contrary to the |
genius of Republican Government that any
thing shall be left to the discretion of mere |
rulers and magistrates. According to our the
Dry of Government, every officer, from the |
President to the lowest official of the State |
has his own exact boundary of |
duty defined. Each officer, the President, |
the Judge, the Senator, the Representative, |
the Marshal, and in our State Governments, |
the Governor and each agent and subordi- |
nate officer down to the lowest, has his exact |
place assigned him. Nothing is left to the
of anybody. Each man has his |
exact functions defined, and he is not at lib |
erty to transcend the sphere assigned him by |
the Constitution and the law. Such ex-
RENE care is demanded for the security of |
popular liberty. The moment that you as
sumo that any man has discretionary author
ty, except in u very modified sense, YOU
break up this beautiful and harmonious sys-
EN-, and, if you concede discretion, it may
DC extended to such limits S to overthrow
liberty and enslave the people.
Such system as that requires talents of
he highest order. 1t requires profound
tudy, large experience, and, more than that
possible, requires an earnest, honest, self
e crificinG spirit, to realize the highest idea
# a Republican statesman. A negligent,
ndOlent temper, an unwillingness to en-
ounter and discharge duties is inconsistent |
With this high idea, and ignorance either of
he measure of his powers, or of the powers
# others, blurs and defaces such charac-
er as l have described. Such statesmen,
crhaps, are not always easy to be found.
ut then, in seeking fer statesmen you ought
o exercise the same care that you employ in
eekIng for men in seeking for men in other
Ocations of life. If you need the profess
ional services of lawyer, you select men
Tho have devoted their lives to that profess
ion. If the wife or little child is burning
With fever or racked with pain, you do not
o and take the carpenter, the blac k smith, or
he lawyer to assist you in affording relief,
ut you give some man who has given pa
lent, thoughtful life to the of human
isease. So in the selection of a man to
ischarge these highest public functions.
GRANTS QUALIFICATIoNs-HIs CABINET.
Now those who seek the denomination of
General Grant have undertaken to show to
on that, with his four years of experience, |
e is success. am not speaking to part- |
ans, because there is no well-founded reason
-hy there should be any parties to-day ex- ,
ept the parties that are formed with re- |
renee to the duties of to-day. Then adj
ressing you, gentlemen, who have been
18th me through those long weary years of
rife over slavery, secession, and the civil
ar, addressing those gentlemen who have
lffercd with us during this dark and I.
loody period in our history, appealing to
tch one of you as citizen and man, |
'k the question of you, can it he
firmed of General Grant that his Admins
alton has realized your idea OF what should
a Ip lvtpiv ti.n tnf Rar, b1 ctnt,