The daily gazette., 1876-09-18

Babcock found out but kept in by
Grant, which sent the gallant Custer
to his death because he testified to the
dishonesty which plundered the poor
soldier on the plains, and honey -cem
bed the whole system efarmy supplies,
which allowed one Cabinet officer to
subscribe thousand dollars to defend
Major Babcock at st. Louis. and an.
other to write circular letter to pro-
tect him, and pu an end to convictions
in all similar cases, but which earned
the writer'his post of Minister near the
Court of st. James's. Not that kind
of honesty which brings Shepherd, the
Tweed of the capital, and Harrington
to the Executive Mansion, and repays
personal service with the bestowal of
public office. Not that kind of hons
esty which, to use the words of that
able and enlightened instructor, David
A. Wells, has greatly impaired con-
fidence between man and man, in re-
spect to all financial and commercial
transactions while every department of
public administrative trust seems
stricken and pervaded with gangrene
of corruption and incapacity1"
The country needs and can now
ordain that honesty. capacity, and
economy shall once again be the essen.
tial features of administration, and in
the nominees of the St. Louis Conven~
tion we recognize men who have pro =
ven that they possess these qualities
and faculties. There is not q man in
the country knowing the character of
Samuel j, Tiden but would confide to
him the care of his private interests,
relying confidently upon his sagacity
and farsightedness, and equally upon
his personal integrity. As much may
truly be said of Thomas A. Hendricks,
who is beloved and honored by men Of
all parties in the State Of Indiana, of
which in his mature years he is the
governor.
There has grown up gradually under
the practices OF Gen. Grants admins.
tration, in almost every department of
the Executive branch, a disregard of
the laws passed in pursuance of the
Constitution, and the substitution of
a Bureaucratic system of decision-a
system of will, not of law-under
which, "having not the law, they are
a law unto themselves" This was
especially noticeable in the administra
tion of the Treasury Department under
Secretary Boutwell, and his successor,
Richardson, during which the greater
portion of the United States demand
notes, which had been paid and retir-
ed under provisions of law by Secre
tary McCulloch, were without warrant
of law and against law reissued as
money, thereby increasing immensely
the difficulty of returning to specie
payment. L might also refer to the
, practice of the settlement of revenue
cases wholly at the discretion of the
, Executive officers, in which the law
was as wax in the hand of the At
torney General Taft and the Secretary
of War in utter disregard of judicial
Interpretation and express decisions
give such construction to the acts of
Congress for the enforcement of the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments
as if carried out fully, would destroy
levery vestage, of State control over the
conduct of elections. So, too. if we
jmay believe his party organs. the
President whose oath of office dis.
Itinctly binds him ito execute the
laws" has assumed the power to
control operations of a law duly
passed by both houses of Congress apd
. approved by him, making approprias
, tions for the improvement OF rivers
and harbors. He is reported to have
decided not to allow certain portion.
of this law to be executed on ground
: satisfactory.to his own mind. Now
whatever may be mems opinion upor
the wisdom expediency of the appro
priations contained in the bill, it car
} never safely be conceded that the
discreation of any executive officer
J may be substituted for the law duly
, promulgated. 1t was the memorabl,
saying of Lord Camden, "The discre
tion of the Judge is the law of tyrants;
and we should never agree that thi
/, Government of ours, under the pretex
, of economy, or anything else, how
ever desirable, should be administrat
ed as Government of will.
1.-THE ChI,dren born of thee re yord an,
n 1re.
Red ruin. and the br ak'lg up of law"
Believing, nay, knowing that tn,
success of the Republican party il
, November will but continue the influ
, ences and practices of the presen
/ Administration, hostile, if not fatal
y w Gudt unity VI lutcICSL duu lctllul
, among our countrymen of all States
. which is our surest and strongest bul.
[ wark. have stated much less strongl,
r than I would desire some reasons VIII,
| a change in the Federal Administra
, tion is necessary for the welfare o
8 our people and the maintenance o
f our Government of limited powers
e The task of Government is the mos
. difficult undertaken by men, and in
4 this land we have no class who b.
y special education, instruction, o
J, privilege can assume it. 1t is, therefor
a to the broad sense of right and wroni
Y of justice or injustice, of patriotism o
a seltishness, which exists in the breast
: of our people. that the choice of thei
e rulers and the policy of their actiol
a must be submitted. Fellow country
= men, l believe the people of tn
: United States have emerged from til
r. period of excitement in which "
i. have been living since 1861, and ths
: at last they have come to what Fisht