The daily gazette., 1874-11-21
A scathimg Review Of Grant And
This Law Instructor.
ATTORNEY--GENERAL WILLIAMS
From the Independent.

L GAAlh LAW 1nStructOr.
ATTORNEY--GENERAL WILLIAMS.
From the Independent.
Besides being an eminent LAWYER. not
likely to be wrong in his legal opinions
l about as often as he is right, the Attorn-
/ eey General OF the United States should
be sagacious statesman, broad in his
VISION OF things, non-partisan in his off,
| cial advice. and thoroughly versed in the
science of government. Does Mr.. Geo.
d. Williams fulfil these requirements
Let his record answer. All
Wltnin less than year we received
Senators of the United States. who ex-
planned the mistakes of the President in
dealing with the Louisiana question by
saying. The President is no lawyer.
ana has had very poor lawyerto advise
nlm. The kilograms which passed be-
tween the Attorney General and Packard.
Casey. Kellogg, and Pinchback, from the
90 to the 18th OF December, 1872, cannot
PC studled by any candid man without
General lent the powers of his once to
gain the end sought by these unscrupu-
lous politicians: 1t was his business to
understand the legal premises in which
| the PRESIDENT was called to act. and adj
yise him accordingly. If he did not un-
derstand them, he was blunderer Of the
| very worst kind, if he did not understand
them he allowed his official conduct to
ne controlled by political reasons. On
eltner supposltlon he misled the Presi-
dent into tho recognition and support OF
Pinshback as acting Governor of Louisi-
lana. when Governor Yarmouth was its
Governor in lawsand in fact, las truly as
John A. Dix, is to-day the Governor OF
the State OF New York. The lawful Gov
ernor OF the State was driven from Office
under the advice and counsel of Attorney
General Williams; and out of this prim-
airy wrong has sprung the whole series of
subsequent wrongs, SO far as the General
Government is concerned. One who can
or will commit 30 great a legal blunder is
not NJ Tor the position he dishonors.
When BROOKS in Arkansas drove Cover
nor Baxter from Office by mob violence. the
President. being called up BY the latter to
aid him IN putting down the insurrectiop,
handed the papers over to the Attorney.
General LOT an opinion as to which of the
!. Two was the lawful Governor Of the State.
IN Ine meautime ne placed Federal troops
between the two claimants. and preysntsd
each from asserting his claims by force. The
sagaclous Attorney General took a whole
month TO solve the legal problem. While
le was thinking, the President was using
!. reoerai troops In preventing Governor Bax-
t Ter from maintoining his authority by the
a exercise OF the power Inherent in his Office
q he should have at once told the President
a tnat unui ne himself determined who was
by saving him from the anomalous and iIle-
gal posltion OF oDstrusting the State author.
lsy py federai forces. The action of the
n General Government for whole month was
u entirely unauthorized by the Constitution
% and laws OF the United States, and IL Attor-
>, ney'Generai Williams had been as good a
lawyer as he ought to be he would have
seen it,and advised the Presidcnt to do moth.
ing unathe was ready to do the thing which
legal spectacle presented was that of a law
u fui Governor resisted in the Performance OF
- ms oincial duty by the President of the
T. United states; and that, too, for whole
- month, while Mr.. George H. Willimans was
y studying the question. Ii there is any law
~ m ior thls we Will be obliged to the Attorney
re General to show 1t.
On the sd OF September last this same At
~ t0rney- y-Generai, having the troops Of the
=" Ohited states placed BY the special order
i, the PRESIDENT under his control, issued a cir
eular addressed to all the marshaIs and dis
trlct attorneys OF the United States at tn
AZ South. lie informed them of "outrapes @
ei various descriptions, and in some cases at
y, rocious murders" as having been committed
''s he quoted simply by their titles the seyera
Endorsement acts of Congress; and then tolt
"a these officials to 90 ahead "with all energl
y d and despatch, to detect, expose, arrest, an.
~ punish the perpetrators of these crimes,
~ assuring them that United States toop
u would be on hand to aid them. ,et pivin,
M m them no light as to the specific laws to b
'so executed or as to the crimes to which thos
re laws were applicable. The trifing auestio,
~ whether these crimes were such as properl
IL IL fall under the Jurisdiction Of the State Gov
aIre W ernments is little matter of which he too
H. no notice. Aud when Governor Brown, q
Tennessee. called the attention of the Pre-
as sldent to this question, protested against th
.S course pursued by the Government, he wa
ne at last informed by the Attorney.C len era
Wor W that 1t was all right and that the FEEDERS
as officials would keep going ahead.
Ihe consequence has been a system c
W " governmental terrorism by arrests, In mos
40 40 cases, on charge OF crimes with which,
~ real, the Federal Government has nothin
to do: We have not space to particular,zs
yet wsgivs three conclusions to which W
have come after reading the reports fror
the South especially those published in ,h
Times and Tribune ofthis city. First. Thes
a ss-caiied outrages have been greatly exaggt
10 rated. Secondly. The most OF them, ii nc
"a all OF them, are crimes against State law
GU and should be left to those laws for pun,sl
" ment. Thirdly. The course pursued b
Is United States Marsbals, acting under th
he direction Of the Attorney General, is itss
no system of legal .outrages upon the righ
by OF q free people, and, as we are strongly il
he clined to believe, for political ends. W
he apply these conclusions particularly to Tel
nd nessee, Alabama, and Louisiana. We r.
as. gret the necessity Of coming to such concl,
\; sions, and have been slow Is do SO; vet til
vi facts have forced them up us. Had th
like facts existed In this State, or in an
on State in New England, the blood OF the pei
m, pie would long since have risen to3ie ever hea
yer Their protest would have made the heaven
nd ring with the thunder of public indignation
II men are Knocked down or murdered |
the streets of New York, it is the businei
of New York authorities to attend to til
er- crime. And the same is true OF Teanesse
oc- Alabama, aud Louisiana, If o similar criu
nc. is committed there. f
Or-t We have come to another conclusion =.
ere deed, one that we have long held--apd thi
nes is that the President would do himself an
ab- his administration very essential servit
ad- by selecting as his official counsellor In leg
att matters an incumbent more "learped in Il