Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-10-27
Butler vs.. HOar.


lgsed radical nominee for Congress in the Low
ell District, Massachusetts. Judge avar ii
Tho boiling candidate, aud is supported b,
what is termed the kid eio7ed portion Of the
par,y, Who cant abide the low yulgar;ty Of tht
doughty general. We have iong knowo Butler
10 be utterly devoid of even spark of moral
ty, sad distinguished for being incapable o.
approaching courage or courtesy, but the fol
loving abstract of a letter be has just writ
Tn ru.s bis competitor 10 worse light even
than that IN which be stands. The abstract i:
taken from the New York Herald
Gen. Butler has written six.columa letter
to Judge Ebenezer lockwood Hoar, in which
he gives his official and political bio sra ply,
With reply to the Judges imputatons upon
the General" The first halt of the letter is
occupied with reply to the following passage
IN Judge Hoar's letter of acceptance of the
nomination OF the Seventh Congressional dis.
:rct Il have never held public office by my
o1a desire, and certainly VISA for uone now. "
Gen. Butler gives 10 detail the history OF the
persona! efforts made by Judge Hoar for GER
ssio Offices, and has The following reference to
the Judges temper Il am bound by caudor
to say that never heard any criticism upon
your conduct as q judge, save that the iDfrmity
of your temper, the popularity OF your mind
and the state of your stomach were so uofortu.
nate that II vas said OF you By very distin
gui5hed member Of the bar that you were 10 a
continual condition of Ill manners on the bench,
both toward your associates, the members of
the bar aud the suffers before the Court. be-
cause you could not CRAFTY the bitterness Of
your heart by giving JUDGMENT against both
parties 10 every case. am afraid you do not
qults understand your own nature. You will
pardon mc, therefore, if hold the mirror up
before You Tor little while aad let you see
yourself as others see you, aod thereby con.
vince you hoW little you have realized the
graud Old Greek apothegm, know tbyself. "
He then sketcht the efforts of the latter 10 OBJ
tain the Chief Jus,iceshlp of the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, as follows:
Indeed, with all hese iu6rniti ties, sm free
10 sAy that you made very passab!e judge to
Try small olses. wherein thcro were no clEcuD-
am impeed to this observation to d, moustrate
that | have 100 personal hostility" toward
Judge Hoar, which might Da suspected teom
the severity of the facts reluctantly narraty.
Upon the retireneut OF Chief Jusrc, Btee
Justiceship of that court? and We're you no. so
auraged that JUICE Thomas Was nominated for
that position Dy Governor Bullock that y, u
put your res'gnat!on If your seat ou the B.ocn
into the hands OF your rouoc''ior, Mr.. Talbot,
10 bo presented 10 the Couacl lu ease Judge
Thomas should b. c,nf n .'i, to show that,
should the cou oil coufrn Thomas, the State
would lose Judge Hoar from the Betch-an
argument, however, which was Very danger
on, ooeI sm intorued, as both your asso"
elates Ut the Bench and your brethren at the
Bar we're anxious to be relieved trom he bur.
den of bearing your i'll temper and worse nau-
uers as q judge, that to & t I'D OF you and get
Thomas, both at once, came very near over
coming the political preiadices Of the couucl!
against confirming him, and guess would
have done it if | had b3en at the t!ue in full
Practice before tho Supreme Court.
DID not your friends, ae'ips with your knowl
edge, bring every inaueuos to bear On the
council to prevent that confirmation, 10 which
they suocceded2 Did net your friends ap
Drosch by telegraph and otherwise the humble
writer OF this letter to advise one OF bis per-
lonal frieuds, who vas member cf the coun-
c!l. to vote against Judge Thomas, aud did
Got go advise ?--not because | doubted his
ability rs lawyer, uprigbtness as q judge Or
Integrity OF life, but because felt that he Was
not quite sound on the constii1tionailty OF the
Legal Tender act one of the great measures OF
the war, against which he argued 10 the case
Of Parker md Davis. 10 which | was of coua.
sci. Aud did uos my friend, yielding to such
advice as he received from Others more capable
rs Well as myself, vote against Judge Thomas
IN your favor, giving the Determining majority
Of one On that question: Were you not urged
by your friends, with your knowledge and cou.
nlyance, upon Governor Bullock, tor the place
OF Chet Justice? Now, my dear Judge, as a
man accustomed for many years to weigh evil
deucc, does not all thi, imply on your part
some slight desire for public Office? You see
that any desire for oth,o, however slight, will
convict you of not knowing yourself.
Aod when fortified by the representations OF
SoMe OF your associates upon the Bench, that
you were not qualified tor the place OF Chief
Justice. because the iDhrmites OF heart aud
body OF which have spoken make you liable
10 take Unjust prejudces against one party OF
The other, iu cases where undoubtedly you
think yourself unbiased, did not Governor Bull
lock peremptorily refuse to appoint you and
appolut the late lamen.ed Chief Justice Chap
mao! AS sooa as sou lost the Chief Justice
ship were you not, through the recommends
ton of your Representative in Congress- Gov
Boutwell,, nominated as Attorney General, an
other aud mere lucrative Office, upon he frs
formation of the Cabinet OF President Glaut
Your next objection is, that am "a scvife
otcirl service relolm." No, Judge, you mis-
take; am only softer at hypocrisy. Ii
understand civil servics reform it msaos mem
osrs of Congress shall not interfere with ths
executive departments 10 the selection IF thei
sabordiuates, by which those departments or
to be carried OF. Am ,igat 10 that as par
Of the scheme of civil service reform? Yer
vel; let me state fact, Judge, which illus
irates the difference between preaching an
practice.
w ben the Secretary Of the Treasury direc.
Cd the cutting dowa Of the expenses of ,h
bosIoo Custom House some $40 900 by the dis
mlssal, among other things, of useless officers
never iuterfered or advised in the selecti >
OF the officers ,hat.were to b, dismissed, 10
did ! ask TO lave any friend or supporter {
lnirs retained ssSumad thpk the (Ioll.c orr