The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-03-21
Tne New war Secretary.

HC INpW w Ga s~0SA Ss~nA
It is an inexcusable mistake ia southern
! ournals to argue that any man appotuted to
public Office Is not man of ability because
they are not familiar with his name. Perhaps
there is not . better lawyer In the Un!on than
Chief Justice WAITE, nor one more fully
qualified to fill the high Office which he holda,
and yet when he vas appointed to it the
New, York papers spoke Of him as nobody,
aud deelsred that some great lawyer like
WLL1AM u. EvARTs ought TO have been made
Chief Justice. Such articles are constantly ap'
pearing 10 the journals Of New YORK city,
which are really the most provincial Ia their
tone of all the papers published In the large
cities of this country. CHARLES O'CoNoR
aid WILLIAM n. EvARTs are the only great
lawyers they know. We venture to say that
&c Judge MoNcURE had been appointed At.
-korneg.Ganeral when PIxRasRoNT was, the
entire press of.New York city would have
expressed its surprise that so important an
Office had been conferred upon so undistins
guisbed q lawyer. The name of RAN. TUCKER
or Csuhr, or MEREDITH, or NELSON, or JON
GoopE, or JOHN W. DANIEL, would have
been hooted at by these journals Q
limited horizon. And yet there is not one
Of these Virginia lawyers perhaps who Is no.
superior 10 PIERREPoHT. So, too, Of oul
southern congressman. The northern Re
publican papers are struck almost dupb Will
anazement to find that the South has upon
the floor of the House Of Representatives s
half dozen men able to cope with BLAINE in
debate, either upon constitutional questions
or any others that arise. LAMAR has become
to our nortbera brethren we might say the
m ost distinguished man in the South simply
because he recently proved himself to be a
match for BLAINE.
These thoughts were suggested to us by
an article In Virginia paper, which spoke
sligbtipsly Of BELkhAP's successor because
he vas unknown to the country-that is, to
the writer of the article. Yet the fact Is
that MIR. TAFT is one of the most distin.
guished men in the great State OF Ohio. he
was not only leader at the bar for many
ears, but has been judge of high repute.
He proved himself, too, to be as judge fear
Less and Independent. One of his famous
opinions was that there was nothing in the
Constitution of the United States, or The
Constitution Of Ohio, or In any other part o
the law OF the country, written OF
uuwritten, which could prevent those
having the power from excluding tn
Bible from the public schools, If they deem
ed it best 80 to do. This opinion les! hin
the nomination for the governorship of Obi
last fsll, and thus lost him the governorshil
itself, as bis successful competitor, HAYES
was elected TO that Office. During the cam
paign in Ohio last fall he offended the elias
that his opinion had pleased By making
speech in which be took ground against an
division of the school funds of the STATE
though there is no inconsistency In occupy
ing the two positions at the same time.
We conclude that the new Secretary
War will probably prove himself to be capt
BILE, faithful, and honest. The fact that he
not known as statesman of abilities befor
his appearance in national arena is nothin
to his discredit.