National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1876-07-17
SEWARD AND HIS cALUMN1AToRs.

When William 81. Seward was Governor
of his native State of New York, and
candidate for reelection, great many
harsh things were said about him by his
political adversaries, and among other
things he was accused of being mixed up,
contrary to the interests of the public, in
what was known as the Holland Pur-
chase" a large tract Of land in Western
New York, which had been secured by a
Holland corporation, for which Mr.. Seward
had acted as attorney. This with many
other accusations was brought against
him in the political press of the times, but
in the midst of it all Seward preserved
logged silence. His friends were greatly
annoyed at this, knowing, as some of them
did, that a word from him would set mat
tiers right. Mr.. Morgan, warm friend of
Stewards and a politician of some note,
took occasion to protest with the Governor
against his silence under such severe and
unjust accusations, and asked him why he
did not, when he could so easily, retute
the charges, and particularly the one relat
ing to the Holland purchase. Mr.. Seward,
after listening attentlvely to his friend,
replied: If | answer one of these calumnies,
shall have to answer them all, or else
those not answered will be taken as con-
fessed. l have many thousand political
enemies, and it is possible for each one of
them to make a charge; yes, each can
make several charges against me, and ii l
enter upon the business of refuting ISLANDERS
it will take all my time. OF the thousands
of opponents there are enough standing
ready, like gadfies, to annoy me, if they
can once engage my attention. Besides,
if l once begin, 1 shall have to disprove
every accusation, no matter how baseless
or how much it may be wanting in
affirmative proof. l shall have to sus
tain the negative of propositions which
have no affirmative beyond what any
lying person can give. When the
affirmative is made out by such evil
dence as will be looked for in my
answers, it will be time enough for me to
reply. AS long as l know that the ACCUSE
lions are false why should l notice them2
Furthermore, those who are anxious to re-
gard me as dishonest or criminal are my
enemies, and will believe me guilty upon
any shallow pretext, and he who concurs
in such opinions simply because of my
silence is no true friend of mine.
But, said Morgan, these ISLANDERS unre-
futed will defeat you. Disagreeable as it
is, and conceding all that you say to be
true, you are compelled to answer them.
By no means, replied Seward. I can
better afford to trust to time for my vindi-
cation than my enemies can afford to do
me injustice. The perpetrator of an I'M
just act does himself more harm than is
done to the one he aims to iujure.
You have heard it said, Governor, re-
torted MIR. Morgan, that lie well stuck
to and often repeated becomes equal to the
truth, and you will suffer irreparable in
jury by maintaining silence.
No, said Seward, that view is neither
sound nor philosophic. In the first place,
you cannot check the speed of falsehood,
but slow plodding truth is sure to overtake
it al last. Though temporarily crushed it
will rise again. Truth is a law of God
and eternal, while error is a mere phan-
tom, and will vanish away. In the next
place, it will not do for me to proclaim my
own innocence, for even my friends might
say l am not disinterested witness, and
certainly my enemies will not believe it
sooner for my saying SO. never heard a
person vaunt about his honor and his
gentility but that l Immediately doubted
his possessing either, and the person who
prLclaims his own honesty only renders it
the more questionable; just as the woman
who boasts of her virtue raises a doubt
about it.
Stewards course did not altogether sat
isfy his friends; but he made it rule never
to take any notice of what might be said
against him as public man, and he ad
hered to it as long as he lived. His
philosophy Is as correct to-day as when he
announced it. When public man begins
to explain his fate is sealed.