The daily gazette., 1875-01-12
From the New York World. "
GRANTS SELF.IMPEACHMENT.

II men are TO be FOOLS" says Sidney
Smith, lit is better that they were fools
IN llttie matters than in great" because
dulihess turned up with temerity is a
livery all the worse for the facirps.
and the most tremendous of all things
"is magnanimous Ounce" We have
NO doubt that among the political sup
porters OF General Grant, or at least
among thos. who until recently may
have bsen not unwilling to classify Them
selves rs such, there are many tho have
quieted their conscientious, repugnance,
TO the coarse and brutal methods Of his
administration by the reflection that in
his frequent and precipitate resort TO the
politics of the barrack he has Mt the bot
tom rather evinced the dullness of nat
lrally stol;d intellect than consciously.
practlsed the temerity of an unscrupu-
lotIs soldier charged with high civil func-
tions. Even If this apology for his mill
tary usurpations could be admitted, il
would none the less remain for all patrio-
tic citizens to deplore that in the high
concerns with which the Chief Magis-
! trate of the country is charged they
could look for nothing better than the
stupendous incompetence of one who,
whatever may have been his military
merits, had proved himself only mag
hhiAtuouS III CIVIL uUAlrS, a.
But IN point OF fact this damning apo,-
ogy cannot be honestly pleaded in ex-
tenuation Of the nonchalance with which
the present occupant of tho White House
| at Washington plays the part alternately
OF King Log and of King Stork. When
the future Tacitus comes to write the
| history OF our current annals he will be
called to paint in the person OF General
Grant the portrait of y character which
| draws rs many of its most prominent
| traits from the eccentric and savage tenn
per OF 1iberius as from the sensual
self-indulgence OF the voluptuous and
| horse-loving Verus. The Republican
Cesar, who has just trampled under foot
the Liberties OF a sovereign State, can
claim no exemption from the exeQrations
of his countrymen on the hollow pretext
that he did not know the crime he was
committing. Unversed as he is in the
| arts OF practical statesmanship, and ig.
norant as he may be of the compiler the
oretical polity which defines the rela-
tions Of the Federal Government to the
several and co-equal States Of the Union,
he knew full well that in directing one
OF his minions to control by force Of arms
the organization and membership of a
State Legislature he was usurping o pre-
rogative in palpable violation q the Con
stitution and in open defiance Of the
oath ne hes taken to protect, preserve.
and defend that Instrument 80 60 q
General Grant addressed eommunica-
tion to President johnson under date Of
October "a. 1866, from which we take the
following extract. THE whole letter may
be found in the " History of Reconstruc-
tlon" as compiled by MIR. Edward Nc
Pherson, the Radical Clerk Of the prsss
ent House of Representatives, and oc-
ours on page 297 Of that political manual
| Military interference would be in
terpreted as giving aid to one of the fac
tions, no matter how pure the intentions
or how guarded and just the instructions.
IT Is contingency hope never to see arise
an this country. schile occupy the position
Of Generdl-ia- CHIEF of the Army, to haue to
send troops into a State IN faa reintioss
arith the General Government, on the eve o,
da election, to preserve the peace. If ihsur.
rectioa does come, the latc prorides the meth
Od Of calling out forces to suppressn. M
| such condition seems TO esist noar.'
1t will thus be seen that however
dense may be the political ignorance
OF General Grant, he has not erred in
this latest phase of the Louisiana bnsi
ness from any want of knowledge al
to hi- constitutional duty in the prem
A ises. He showed eight years ago
while he was General in Chief, that ht
had correct conception of this prima
ry question in constitutional law ant
in official ethics. 1t Is true that thu
fact, does not rebound very largely L
his praise, for we suppose there il
hardly school-boy m the county who
has not advanced far enough IL thu
horn-book of the Constitution tl
know as much as General Grant wa.
found to know on that occasion.
II Ii mattars not how n man .liae 1n,t