The Placer herald., 1872-07-06
THEODORE TILTON ON GRANT.

The following is document issued from
the Golden Age office by Theodore Titon.
1t is good reading for all, and especially Re-
publicans.
THE SUCCESSFUL FAILURE AT PHILA-
DELPHIA.
Now that the Philadelphia Convention has
hushed its shoutings over the Presidents re-
nomination. and submits itself in silence to
the sober-second thought of the American
people, let us consider what was its duty,
and how it left this undone.
1t ought to have resented and defeated
the Presidents attempt to re-nominate him
self, instead Of which it became the very in
srument for accomplishing this scheme. 1t
ought to have impeached him at the bar of
public opinion for his numerous violations of
law, instead of which it suffered these oura-
ges to go uncondemned. 1t ought to have
exposed the frauds perpetrated in his custom
houses, instead of which it blindly shut its
eyes to these enormities. 1t ought to have
denounced his double-dcalng with civil SER
vice reform instead of which it made this
reform impossible 10y enactng the two-term
principle 1t ought to have protested against
his federal ntrusions into local affairs, instead
of which it made high-sounding declara-
ton in favor of both Staterights and their
violater 1t ought to have denounced the
corrupt incumbents whom the President has
retained in office, instead of which it became
an accomplIce for their retention III power
during another four years. 1t ought to
have oommiserated the country on the Ad-
ministration's ignomnious surrender to Eng
land, nstead of which it calls this shameless
ness an "honorable compromise. 1t ought
TO have laid bare the ia lure of the Fresi-
dents policy with the Indians, instead of
which it took no notice of the recent bloody
massacres on the frontier, or of Gen. Sherl-
dams report of widespread Indian hostities.
1t ought to have rebuked the Presidents at
tempt, through his partisans in Congress, to
stretch martial law over the South, instead
of which it silently joined in the scheme to
carry the next Presidential election at the
point of the hayonet 1t ought to have given
singing rebuke to the Presidents eXtraor-
dinary lavishness of public offices among his
relatives, instead of which it sees in the nepo-
tism of a ruler no crime against the state.
Three-fourths of the Philadelphia dele
gates consisted of those Republicans who once
svmpathetcally aided and abetted the i'm
parchment of Andrew johnson for violating
the tenure-of-office law. But Grants Of
fenses against the laws have been more nu-
merous ,Ean Johnson's. If there was legal
ground for the impeachment of the one, there
IS far more for the impeachment of the other
We challenge even Mr.. Boutwell,, with his
celestial rhetoric borrowed from "the hole III
the sky" to prove Grant less guilty than
Johnson of naked violation Of law. 1t was
in violation of law that the President, with
out the authorization of Congress, employed
the navy in a warlike action against Haytl.
It was in violation of law that he sold arms
to one European nation TO be used against
another. 1t was in violation of law that he
disposed of the Secor and Chorpenning claims.
1t is now in daily and notorious violation Of
law that he surrounds himself with military
instead of civil secretaries.
These are types of his violations of the
plain letter of written statutes. Scores of
cases can be added where he has violated
what Montesquieu calls "the spirit of the
laws" lie has violated the spirit of the
Supreme Law by usurpng for himself func-
tons which that charter reserves to the
States alone. He has violated self-govern-
ment bv suspending the operation of local
law. He has violated public liberty by in
truding himself into political conventions to
control them in the interest OF his admins
tration and denomination. He has violated
the moral sense of the people by such arbi-
trarv dSpacements from position as that OF
al, hin of fhp
Committee on Foreign Relations, and by
such retentions in Office as that Of Leet and
Stocking, and other leeches on the public
revenue. He has violated common morality
bv taking private giiw and rewardng the
givers with public emouments. He has
violated the decent usuges of gentlemanly
breeding 10y entering newspaper offices and
demanding the removal Of offensive editors
who have fallen into his dislavor by criti-
cisms on his maladmnistration lie has
violated the common standard OF private
character bv over-addiction to the wine-cup
The shallowest of all answers to these
charges is that he was re-nominated unanl-
mously, But unanimously by whom Not
bv the Republican party-whch he has sew
cred in twain, like house divided against
itself. Every man who has partisans-and
no public man is without them-can get
unanimous vote from his own friends Three
years ago the President had party; now he
has only part of one. That noble. royal
nvincibe party no longer exists. The Pres-
dent has put an end to it. Almost any
other man could have united it; almost no
other could have divided it. To its chosen
chief was reserved the sad distinction OF
destroying it. He has wrought more mis-
chief in our politics than ten Andrew John
sons. Nay, more-if the House and Senate
had continued in the same sensitive and in
famed temper towards law-breaking d;s Es-
ecutive as they manifested in May, 1868,
President Grant would have been impeached
at Washington instead of being re-nominated
at Philadelphia. -, =.
There are two aspects in which this re-