The Shasta courier., 1872-09-21

tive OF President Grant. I say to the Senate
to-day, that that man was appointed on the
recommendation of gentlemen in Chicago
unknown to President Grant, and 1 weni
myself to the Secretary of the Interior and
obtained the appointment for them These
things I state so far as they go, because they
are within my own knowledge, and am re.
sponsible for portion of them myself; and
the portion that am responsible for it is my
duty to state here, and do SO state it.
| This is paraded as almost a crime, and
therefore man is not qualified to be Presient
if he happens to have father or relative Of
any kind, or if he happens to appoint few
of his relatives to Office. These are q portion
of the dis1ualifcations of President of the
United States as prescribed by the Senator
from Massachusetts, On this theory he
might stand better chance for President
than some other for aught know. But il
we only elect those who have no relatives,
fear we would all claim to be poor orphans
picked up on the street, and thereby fitted
for the Office of President.
The next proposition of the Senator is
"gift-taking recompensed by official posi-
tions." I understand that in slander there
is such thing as inuendo, and the Senator
from Massachusetts,, by the inuendoes in his
|
country that President Grant has appointed
the fact that they did make gifts; in. other
words, that the gift was the consideration
for the Office; therefore it was corrupt bar
gain between the President and the Office
! taker. So far as this intimatien, insinuation,
or inuendo is concerned, as any one may
please term it, say and take the response
bility for the President of the United States
of denouncing it as false, and basely false.
do so for the reason that men who have been
appointed to Office were appointed to the two
Offices he mentioned because of their friend
ship to the President, and their ability for
the duties of the office, and their fealty to
the Republican party.
Let us see for moment what this gift
| taking is. Is it crime for man to receive
gifts who has accomplished great deeds for his
country? If it is, let us examine the history
of the country for moment. President
Grant was great chieftain. He had achieved
great things for this Government. He was
great commander of armies and forces. He
was victorious in all his battles. When he
came home from victorious war, when
States had been joined together that had be-
fore been severed. and people were united
that had been divided by war, the people of
the country felt grateful to him for his
achievements and what he had done for
them. There was no way in which some of
the wealthy men of this country believed
they could show their gratitude to this great
chieftan more appropriately, inasmuch as he
was man of small means, than by present.
ing him with that which would make him a
comfortable income the rest of his life. They
did it because they were actuated by gener-
i Z L Il
loyal men, because they loved their country.
| Their country had been saved, their property
had been saved, and they were willing to
contribute to the benefit of this man. They
did SO. In contributing to him they con-
tributed to many Others, as was said by the
Senator from Wisconsin. General Sherman
and other generals that 1 could mention they
contributed to because of their gratefulness
to them for the service they had rendered the
country. These contributions were made to
him when he was soldier; they were made
to him when he was not President; they
were given to him and given to him with
good feeling, generous feeling, feeling of
kindness, without any hesitancy on the part
of the people who gave them, without the
expectation of any remuneration or any re-
ward that would be given to them by the
President of the United States.
When General Sherman and General Grant
| received presents, men, women and children
all over the land thanked God that some
persons were able to make them presents, be-
cause of the fact that they deserved 1.-THE
people being grateful people. Let me read
in reference to some other soldiers and great
men who have received presents, and why /?
Because of the gratefulness of their country
to them:
"When the Duke Of Wellington returned to Eng
land from his victorious pagns against Napoleon
not only were honors of every sort heaped upon him
by the Government, but, a substantial testimo-
nal of national gratitude the mansion and estate Of
him by subscription, at cost of f263,O0o Tor s 3l5
OO0 and presented to him the gift of the nation"
After good many years OF active and strenuous
agitation, Mr.. Richard Cobden the founder of the
British Anti-Corn Law League, and of the abest
and purest of British statesmen, whose fame is
broad as the world succeeded in securing the repeal
| through his efforts, from this great burden, his
friends and admirers presented Mr. Golden with the
sum OF sS50OO raised by subscription, on the re-
cept of which he retired from his business of cotton
printing"
"When General George B. Mcclellan was retired
| from the command of the Army of the Potomac
after the disaster inflicted upon it by his bad gen.
eralship, his wealthy Democratic friends desirous
| of salving his wounded feelings with substantial
evidence OF their apprecation Of his nestmasle sue
nished house in New, York which cost $50, ,000 and
considerable amount of greenbacks besides all raised
by private subscription and soon afterwards made
| him the Democratic candidate for President
" II General Mcclellan, who had never
battle of any consequence, and who had led our
finest army to succession of terrible defeats was
thought worthy of substantial recognition of his
military services by his Democratic friends, it could
| hardly be expected that Republicans should show
less grateful appreciation of the services of the
successful of our generals, who led armies east
and west, through long succession of splendid and
decisive victories. Accordingly, when General Grant
had smiten down the rebel power east and west of
| the Alleghanies, by his tremendous and unerIing
blows, the sum of Sl00 000 believe, raised by
subscription, among loyal and wealthy citizens, and
presented to him as testimonial of their and the
nations gratitude; and If we remember rightly,
house presented to him by Philadelphians. This
was in the summer of 1865 few months after the
surrender of Lee and johnson, when General Grant
had no more thought of ever being President of the
United States than of being Emperor of Russia. He
had, to his honor be it said returned from his
quest of the rebel South crowned with the laurels of
hundred victories, richer for the war which
riched so many army contractors and eommissaries
| than when, four years before, he had gone from
his Gaiena tannery to offer his services to Governor
Yates"
might go on and enumerate quite num-
Der of men who have received gifts because
of the gratitude of the people of their coun-
try for that which they had done. In fact,
if we were to search the pages of ancient
history for the purpose of finding something
Objectionable to apply to General Grant, we
would find that those who came home vic
torious received triumphs 1t has been from
time immemorial the case that men who
achieved great things in war were re-
ceived triumphantly by their people, some
with gifts and presents, some in one way
and some in another and yet, because the