New-York tribune., 1876-12-08

necessity for doing something, and that seems
nearest his hand.
We take leave to advise Mr.. Randall to stop
where he is. Any attempt to impeach the
President will injure no one so much as those
engaged in it. The TRIBUNE hardly needs 10
say that it has no great admiration 10r ffesl-
dent Grant as an administrator OF civil aialrs'
1t has had occasion to criticse his policy and
his acts frequently and freely during the past
eight years. Commencing frankly whatever he
did that deserved praise it has never hesitated 10
condemn whatever merited censure in bis admin
istrahOn, and there has been SO much OF inns
and so little of the other that the attitude Oh
THE TRIBUNE has been almost uniformly that
of opposition. But it has never lost slght OIL
the fact that with all his amazing bunders ne
has seemed to be honest in his beliefs, anu
sincere. if obstinate in his convictions OF duty.
More than that, the great mass OF the Amer-
can neopIe believe in him. They admit that
he has erred in judgment; that he has maze
bad appointments; that he has mistaken Ino
meaning of his election, and used the hlSh ONCE
he was called to as a personal belonging III
stead of an official trust, aud That III many
WAYS his administration has been anything
but q success. But back of all this they give
him credit for personal uprightness and in
tegrity, and they will not judge harshly, or
allow others to Judge harshly, the man VINO
led Our armies to victory and put down the
great rebellion. And we take leave 10 Suggest
further to Mr. Randall that his party Is not
vet sufficiently strong to take the FISK illVoiVed
in an effort to impeach the man who eleven
years ago received the sword OF Ger. Lee
and the surrender of the Confederate army.
There are q great many thousands OF men at
the North who. whatever their opinions may
he of President Grant as a civil officer, would
look over the list of Democratic mem
bers voting for impeachment and read'
NOT the names of conscientious pub
lie servants, but the names OF oihcers
and men of the Confederate army which Grant
vanquished. and supporters OF the Coniederacy
which Grant destroyed. Do we need REMIND
Mr. Randall that the people OF tins county
have a very kindly feeling toward President
Grant for other reasons than those connected
with his administration of civil afiairsl Upon
the whole, cannot Mr. Randall himself see
that the attempt to impeach Gen. Grant so
early in the game would be trihe abrupt
The Speaker may learn discretion from DIS
party friends at the South, who are under
stood to be opposed to any such rash
venture. They are too well aware OF It's
significance and understand too well the
effect it would have upon the public
mind to give it any countenance or encour-
agement. In this respect they show much
more sense than their Northern allies and as
sociates 1t is not strange that Mr. Fernando
Wood should support the proposition. But
before the Democratic party in Congress con-
sents to be led in this business by Mr.. Wood,
the thinking men in it, if there be any such, viii
do well TO consider for single moment the
record of Mr.. Wood and the record OF Gen.
Grant during the war, and the singular
significance of the spectacle when, in the
first Democratic Congress following the war;
Mr.. Fernando Wood presents and his party
adopts articles of impeachment against the
soldier who commanded our armies, and
brought to grief and disaster the rebel
lion with which Mr.. Wood sympathized. The
people of the North are not ready for that.
And what is more, the Representatives OF the
South. with clearer view of the situation
than their Northern allies, know they are not.
Mr. Randall and Mr.. Wood and the other hot
advocates of impeachment are making the
mistake of their lives. Impeachment under
the circumstances, would damage them and
their party, and rather help than hurt tho
President.