New-York tribune., 1875-02-03
SHIFTING RESPONSIBILITY.


lican politicians in their present embarrass-
ments to settle the responsibility for the oc-
currences of the 4th of January in New
Orleans, or to agree whether Gen. Grant IS
to be excused on the ground that his soldiers,
not being lawyers, innOcenty exceeded their
authority, OF commended for the reason that
The Wilt Legislature was bowling mob
which the Executive was bound to dlsperse.
The President himself entered the former
plea; Mr.. Logan and some other lusty de-
tenders made choice of the latter and Mr..
Conklng proppcd himself upon both. 1t
would facilitate discussion, however, If the
Administration party could be prevailed upon
to make its choice, and it Is possible that
certain documents published last week may
hasten 80 desirable q conclusion. The New
York Senator declared on Thursday: mo
responsibility for the dongs in w-Orleans
" on the 4th of January touches the President
" of the United States. The first information
" he received in regard to them was stimuli
"taneOus with the information given to all
" the citizens at large. The newspapers of
4" the following day were his first informers.
off there were those in Washington who
"knew that revolution was to be attempted
" on the 4th of January, the President of the
United States was not one of them" Gen.
Grant intimates very nearly the same thing
in his Message. Let us see how it was.
On the 18th of December Gen. Emory tele-
graphed to Washington that the action of the
| Returning Board made conflict highly prob
able, and he added the following request +:
"To avoid future misunderstanding in the i'm
"pendng disturbance which may happen at
Z" any moment, or may not occur until after
q" the meeting of the Legislature in January,
" ask to be informed if the instructions con-
tanned in your dispatch OF Sept. IS are to be
4" considered in force, or If | am to await the
result of another application from Gov Kel-
"logg to the President" To this the Adju-
tant-G General returned the evasve reply
"The President desires you to make arrange
"ments to be in readiness to suppress vio-
"lence, and have it understood that you will
do it," "That," rejoined Emory, is perfectly
&" well understood already" Still the President
refused direct answer, and on the 10Th Gen.
Emory sent the following remarkable dispatch,
which we commend to Senator COnkling's spe-
cial consideration
beg TO refer to my cipher dispatch OF YESTERDAY and
beg that the question therein asked may b. answered
In the absence or Information On
ton that the instructions in the dispatch OF the Au-
tan General OF Sept IS to continue TO govern me III
the event OF another outbreak here in tho country
and in following these instructions grare results may
foloc uAich il my not be The intention of The General
| Government should occur.
While it may be a fact, therefore, that the
President did not actually know that ga rev.
"olutiOn" was to be attempted, he did know
that the fraud of the Returning Board was
likely to be resisted, and that the army was
almost certain to be called upon for the very
work which has filled the country with indig-
nation He knew that SOLDIERS were not
"awyers," and could not always decide
Alright in emergencies and yet, when the
commanding officer foresaw and pointed out
the emergency and asked for instructions, the
President refused to give any. He preferred
that Gen. Emory should act under the orders
of Sept. IS.
| What were those orders? They were con-
tained in a dispatch from the Adjutant- Gene
raj, nstructing Gen. Emory that the McEnery
rising was ian Insurrection against the State
Government of louisiana" to aid in the sup
preston of which the Federal Government had
been "called upon in the forms required by
the Constitution, and laws Of Congress
" Hereunder" The dispatch also contains this
passage: "The State Government existing at
q" the time of the beginning of the presentinsur-
"rectiOnary movement must be recognized rs
" the lawful State Government until some other
Estate Government can bo legally supplied.
"UpOn the surrender of the insurgents you
Z" will inform Gov. Kellogg of the fact, and give
him the necessary support to reGstablish the
authority OF the State Government" The
military commander was simply ordered
30 recognize Kellogg, and give him the neces-
sary support" to rcGstabish his government.
Gen. Emory says in effect: If this order is
still in force l shall consider it my duty to
repeat that support whenever Kellogg calls
"upon me for it, without waiting for HIM to
"apply to Washington. There is dispute
over the organization of the Legislature if
al am to take my orders from Mr.. Kellogg
grave results may follow, which the Presi-
dent has perhaps not contemplated; | shall
interpret silence an intmation that
he wishes the orders of Sept. 18th executed
in the sense in which understand them, and
"is prepared for the consequences" And Gen.
| Grant was silent
Now it seems to us perfectly clear that under
these instructions. extended by the subsequent
action (or inaction) OF the Department, Gen.
Emory could not have acted otherwise than
he did; and the attempt to throw upon him
the responsibility for the interference of Janu-
ary is in the last degree disingenuous and
cowardy And We may add that the state
ment of the President that he did not know
that any interference with the Legislature
was contemplated, and gave no orders in
anticipation Of such an occurrence, while it