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 I went
myself to the Secretary of the Interior and
obtained the appointment for them. These
things 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 I do so state it.
This is paraded as almost 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 portion
of the dis4ualifcations 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 if
we only elect those who have no relatives, I
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
speech, would leave the impression on the
country that President Grant has appointed
men to Office who made him gifts because of
the fact that they did make gifts; in. other
words, that the gift was the consideration
for the office therefore it was a 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 a moment what this gift
taking is. Is it a 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
a 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 a man of small means, than by present.
ing him with that which would make him
comfortable income the rest of his life. They
did it because they were actuated by gener-
Gus feelings toward him-because they were
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-
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 a grateful people. Let me read
in reference to some other soldiers and great
men who have received presents, and why !?
Is %ho, %of,, of H. 49,
to them:
"When the Duke of Wellington returned to Eng
land from his victorious against Napoleon
not only honors of every sort heaped upon him
By the Government but as substantial testimo.
nia of national gratitude the mansion and estate of
Strathheldsaye, in Hampshire, were purchased for
him by subscription at cost of $263,000 Tor sl ,3l5
000 and presented to him the gift of the nation "
"After good many years of active and strenuous
agitation, Mr.. Richard Golden, the founder of the
British Anti-Corn Law League and one of the ablest
and purest of British statesmen, whose fame is as
broad the world, succeeded in securing the repeal
of the laws. In gratitude for their deliverance
through his efforts, from this great burden, his
friends and admirers presented Mr. Golden with the
sum of s350,0O0, raised by subscription, on the
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 salvng his wounded feelings with a substantial
cess with the spade, made him a present of fur
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"
If General Mcclellan, who had never won q
battle OF any consequence, and who had led our
finest army to succession of terrible defeats,
thought worthy of substantial recognition of his
military services by his Democratic friends it could
hardly be expected that Republicans should show a
less grateful appreciation of the services of the
and west, through long succession OF splendid and
decisive victories Accordingly, when General Grant
had smitten down the rebel power east and west of
the Alleghanies, by his tremendous and unerring
blows, the sum of ,0O0 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, a
house was presented to him by Philadephians. This
was in the summer of 1865 few months after the
surrender of Lee and johnson, when General Grant
had 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 laures of
hundred victories, richer for the war which
rched so many army contractors and eommissaries
than when, four years before, he had gone from
his Gaena 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
Questionable to apply to General Grant, we
would find that those who came home vic
torious received triumphs It 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
c,1sfor,, of tho auoiopf xuor1d folIor,aJ 1or-v