National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-01-12

Mr.. Williams was supposed 10 lack - re-
CARDS age and experience, and certainly Is
beyond reproach as regards his acl,ovl-
edged ability As lawyer. = b true ttlat
in the multifarious connection Of his iegal
praaice b has, had OCCASION % sppesf as
counsel In many nses shs issues a which.
though successfsito him, may Aave been
distastefbl to others, and It d also true that
in the same capacity b has had occasion
to oppose the Government Of the United
States. At the same time no man
in the country alive to-day has 80 thor
oughly and irrevocably made his mark upon
the history of the Government As its friend
IS he has. As the tried and trusted friend of
tho State Department through different Ad-
ministrations he has acted in behalf Of the
Government with an exalted patriotism
which overshadowcd the dictates of partisan
feeling. and has secured for him name and
fame in the history Of the civilized nations
of the world second to no man Of the pres
ent age If he had not been . man Of
genius, man of almost unequaled acquire
ments, and a man of sturdy integrity. he
would not have been called upon to per
form those great and historic acts. For
similar services the Government of Great
Britain has conferred distinguished honors
upon its representatives, as in the Ala
hama case. Why, then. should not the
United States do as much for Mr.. Cushingi
As the Attorney General of the Gov
ernmcnt under Mr.. Picrce's administration
he made a record which is unimpcacllablc,
and against which no breath Of suspicion
has been venturcd. These are facts which
his detractors cannot gsinsay. What. then,
is the basis Of their opposition to himi OF
course we know that truthfully it is desire
that some one else shall be nominated in
his stead but they mouth their grayest
charge in the single word, 'Seccssionist. |"
1t is 50 easy while the recollection of the
late war is still SO comparatively fresh in
our minds, to excite the people with such q
charge, that its frequent repetition just now
has had the effect desired by the authors of
it. But ct Is q Iie! An ardent and honest
believer in the rights Of States, he may be,
and undoubtedly is. In this respect he
does not differ from any of the leaders Of
the Republican party to-day, who, previous
to the rebellion, acted with the Democracy.
In fact. the leaders of the party today have
been in times past more earnestly pro-
nounced in favor of the rights of the
States than he has ever been,
ana searching his record in this regard We
fnl that it compares most favorably with
that of any man who up to fifteen years ago,
whe, Mr.. Cushing retired from politics,
hal reached any prominence in public life.
1t is only few days ago that Senator
Norton, in discussing the Louisiana case in
the Senate. reiterated these ante-bellum
views of the Republican leaders of the day,
d clariny that he believed in State rights,
ald drawing the just distinction between
that belief and the one which is entertained
by the Democracy of State sovereignty.
Mr.. Cushing believes in a similar distinc-
ton. Mr.. Morton, abiding to the case re-
ferred to. declared that the States have
rights to judicially determine questions
arising under their respective constitutions
which do not conflict with the Constitution
of the United States. No palmer or more
unqualified assertion Of adherence to the
doctrine of State rights could have been
made than this; but it was accompanied by
the further declaration that he did not
believe in the sovereign power of the
States to act independently of and in con-
flict with the General Government. Mr..
Cushing will not disagree with this defini-
ton of tho two terms, and is to-day as earn
estly opposed to the theory of State sover-
eighty as Mr.. Norton. We repeat, then.
that the charge that he is a secessionist is
false, and we demand. in behalf Of justice,
that the Senate. in its consideration of the
nomination to-day. shall remember that it
is a faisehood-a falsehood born of malice
and uttered for the selfish and unpatriotic
purpose of securing the rejection Of Mr..
Cushing and the consequent nomination of
some other person.