Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1874-04-09

The Anim,,s of.the President.

Ene EahlhletS VI the ffcSlaeIts -
From the NcV YorkIaIbupe, Republican,
The account we print Of the interview
between The Presid, mt and the representa-
t.ves OF the South Carolina taxpayers
may afford some further information, to
any who are in want Of it, of the strictly
private and personal character our gov
ernment has assumed. This body OF gen.
tlemen, representing the intelligence and
dscency of the State all Of them people
who have honestly accepted the results of
tue Wal, and who are striving with l pa
tlenee and energy worthy OF all praise to
save Something Of their States existence,
f,iroa itl,vis hands which arr rapidly dc
stroylng il, s,ngllt an Interview with the
President un Friday last to la, before hln
the deplorable state oi aii;tirs among them,
a,.I 10 ask ii any aid could be given by
the General Government. They were
treated hy hlm with gross rudeness and
discourtesy, for reason so trivial that 1t
is almost incredible During the recent
s=syiuh Of the Taxpayers Convention ~
Svath Carolina, an obscure and rattle
Drained delegate got the floor and made
o. speech personally disrrspecuul to the
President. There is no pretence that he
embodied the views OF the Convention, or
that his haransue met with their approx
al But this speech, deSterously thrust
into the Presidents hands by one OF the
Ring politicians just before the delegat.on
calleu upon him, was enough 10 make hln
forget his own duty and dignity and in
suit aD important body Of citizens who
were 10 mors responsible for it than the
President himself
| We do not mean that we are asking for
anything practicable. On the contrary,
we can see nothing but evil.in any inter-
ference of the government, so long as 1t
relnsius in the present hands, with the
administration at the States. If Gen.
Grant had nu5 made Tho incident the occa-
sion for an Hnaecorous oatbafst OF AFRO
ganc- and passion, We should be inclined
! to congratulate him upon having made a
long step forward in the theory and prac-
tlce of constitutional law, since the time
when he lent ,ths whole power Of the Fed
eral government to the klayes who were
throtlling and robbing the Stats OF Eopls
lana. But the animls which psrvaded
his refusal to aid the honest people Of
South Carolina was such as to render 1t
impossible for any one to believe that bis
action proceeded from anything but the
same passionate and selfish caprice which
induce him to do precisely the contrary
thing. when Casey and Kellogg wanted
their hold frightened upon the thrGat Of
Louisiana. In fact, in this performance
we see once more what has been so long
evident, that President Grant has never
associated any idea of duty or response
bility with his acceptance Of Office. He was
elected the first time to pay hlm for his
services in the war, and The secsad time
| he thinks, to answer the criticisms of those
;! who thought him unfit for the place. He
regards all criticisms as disloyalty, and
looks upon sharp attack, like that of the
hsrum-scarum South Carolnian, as q
thing 80 monstrous as to faint and dis
! qualify for the time being the State II
which it occurred. We cannot say there
is anything new in this. Two years age
Mr. Sumner made great historical Gpssch
| in which the Presidents character was
drawn with fidelity rare III cotemporane.
GUS writing. He was there held up as
habitual trsasgressor of the command
msnt most binding upon Presidents
"Thou shalt not quarrel" It is too hard
a lesson for the present incumbent 10 laarp
BE has not magnanimity enough to over
look controversies; ne has not public
spirit enough to avoid them in the inter
eat of the country; snd he has not taste
enough to know when to faarrel with de-
ctrum.