The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-05

tempors in the House of Commons, and viii
probably give place to . stronger successor
before the liberal party shall And the govern
ment within their grasp.
The Defeat Or Senator Carpenter.
The country has always good reason for re-
gret when statesman of capacity Il re-
manded to private life and replaced by . COM
monplace successor. Mr.. Angus Cameron,
who has carried Of the prize of the Wiscon-
sin Senatorship, is . mere stick. . small
third-rate local lawyer. There is not county
in the United States whose Bar could not
furnish at least one man of equal fitness for
the high post OF United States Senator. If
Mr.. Carpenter had been supplanted by On ex-
tremely mediocre, wooden-headed democrat
there would be little to be said beyond an ex-
precision of regret that the democratic party
could not supply better man for 30 impor-
tant position. But when the choice lay be-
tween candidates of the same political party
1t Is folly, and almost q shame, that
small-sized local lawyer has been
preferred to q gentleman so able and
brilliant as Mr.. Carpenter. It is
for the public advantage that both
political parties should be represented in the
national councils by their strongest men.
Precisely as in . court Of justice case is
always better tried when both Of the litigant
parties are represented by lawyers Of the first
eminence, so in Legislative body it is great
advantage to have the discussion on both
sides conducted by well-equipped, Hrst-class
debaters. To say nothing Of the dignity and
responsibility Of the Senate, which always
degenerates in proportion as small, inexperi-
enced men take part in it's proceedings, the
public is deprived Of the means of forming
correct Judgment on great questions if both
sides are not presented with ingenuity, vigor
and eloquence. We are, therefore, heartily
sorry that Mr.. Schurz and Mr.. Carpenter are
to surrender their seats to men of small calibre
and no experience, who hold substantially the
same views as the statesmen they respectively
supplant Schurz and Carpenter have fought
on opposite sides in most recent questions,
and 1t is, therefore. no partisan preference
which causes us to regret their retirement
from public life. Had Mr. Schurz been sup
planted by Grant republican or Mr.. Carpen-
ter by democrat the loss Of talent would not
seem quite so deplorable.
Mr.. Carpenters standard Of political
morality has not been hlgh but he is entitled
to the praise of justice and independence for
his commendable course respecting the Louis
lana question, on which President Grant has
made the most fatal mistake of his admins
tration. Mr.. Carpenter is too good lawyer
not to have perceived the utter fallacy of all
the reasons which were urged in support of
the usurpation of Kellogg, and if his very
able and convincing speech on that subject
two years ago had been duly weighed and
needed by the President and Congress the
of the republican party would be
far more hopeful than they are at present
With that noble exception Mr.. Carpenter
has been . stanch party man, and
he greatly weakened and injured him
self by his unfnching defence of the
notorious salary grab in the summer of 1873
in defiance of the public opinion which COM
PEELED Congress at its next session to take the
back track and repeal that infamous law, ex-
cept so far as it related to the salaries of the
President and the federal judges, in respect to
which a repeal was constitutionally impos-
sible. That imprudent stump speech is the
only great political mistake which Senator
Carpenter has made, and his mastery argu-
ment against the Kellogg usurpation ought to
be accepted as o full atonement for that bad
blunder.
President Grant has more reason than any
body else to deplore the defeat of Senator
Carpenter. When so many of his supporters
are taken out of Congress by the political
revolution it is On additional misfortune that
in one of the few States carried by the repub-
icans in the recent elections he loses Sem
ator of remarkable eloquence and ability, who
is replaced by successor of no account and
who, even if he were o man of capacity,
would be hamstrung and crippled by the fact
that he owes his election TO coalition of
democrats with boiling republicans. The de-
feat of Carpenter, besides the loss of his Wig
orous talents, is an ominous indication of the
decline and foil of the republican party,
which loses in The Senatorial contest all the
of saving Wisconsin from the
Vie of this untoward result His Excellency
has more reason than ever to exclaim, ~ am
sick"
Tho War I'm spain-To BE Continued.
From the tenor of our special despatch from
villada there il scarcely o doubt that the