The New York herald., 1876-12-02
Tho Administration Retreats.

W washington ueSpatcneS, tAat ~ WAS ucciutu
in the Cabinet consultation yesterday to
put stop to General Ruger's illegal inter-
ference with the South Carolina Legislature.
1t would have been better to have instructed
General Ruger in this sense at the outset
and have prevented the scandal and alarm
caused by his illegal action. Every
reason for stopping him should have
been an equally good reason for preventing
him. A government does not appear to ad-
vantage when it is 'swise behind time" If
it is compelled to retrace its steps and re-
trieve blunders such tardy wisdom is,
indeed, better than none: but it evinces
precipitancy and lack of foresight for an
administration to march into difficulties
from which it is forced to retreat After the
inglorious Louisiana blunder two years ago
and the emphatic public rebuke with which
it was visited President Grant ought not to
have been caught again in similar scrape 1t
is idle to say General Ruger's conduct could
not have been foreseen. The whole coun-
try expected him to act very much as he
did, and the President was aware Of that
expectation. He had only to give precise
orders to General Ruger in advance Of the
same tenor as those which it was decided to
send him yesterday to have saved the coun-
try from the great shock which fol-
lowed the proceedings of Tuesday. San
ounce Of prevention is worth pound
of cure" We rejoice that the admins
tration has retreated from a wholly
untenable position, but it is no compli-
ment to its prudence and caution that it
did not foresee on Tuesday the retreat it
would be compelled to make on Friday.
There could not be a more fragrant viola
ton of the constitution than that which was
perpetrated by the federal troops in taking
possession of the South Carolina State House
on Monday night and posting corporals at
the doors to deny admittance to men,
bers of the Legislature. The brilliant
idea Of ordering federal corporal
to examine and pass upon the credentials of
the members of State Legislature and
judge of their right to seats was as grotesque
MS it was illegal. 1t is thing which could
not have been persisted in without raising
storm of indignation and derision against
which no administration could stand.
President Grants Cabinet saw the signs Of
the gathering tempest, and has concluded
that it is not safe to pursue the dangerous
voyage. But if General Ruger had received
proper instructions in the beginning there
would have been no occasion for rectifying
his blunders and extricating the administra-
ton from false position.
What has caused this sudden retreat2 It
may be q recognition of the fact that
the course of General Ruger is utterly
indefensible. This is, indeed, a sufi-
cient ground for giving him different
orders but it was also sufficient
ground for giving him correct orders three
days earlier. With constant telegraphic
communication between Columbia and WASH
ington there is no excuse for not rectify-
ing the blunder within half an hour
after it was committed. It would be ridicu-
lous to say that it required three days for
the administration to find out that military
interference with a Legislature is unconsti-
tutional. The change of front may be
owing to the more moderate members of the
Cabinet. If this is the true explanation of
~
were not consulted sooner. Their advice was
not asked, or at least not taken, until popu-
lar indignation called on the administra-
ton to halt The earlier proceedings seem
to have been an experiment on the
public temper. Had it aroused no remon-
STRANGE outside of the democratic party there
is reason to believe that the highhanded
military outrage would have been persisted
in; but when the Independent press and
portion of the republican press protested
and exposed the utter unconstitutionality of
the proceedings at Columbia the advice of
the conservative members of the Cabinet
had a chance to be listened to. It
would have been inexcusable for the
President to indorse General Ruger
without the unanimous approval of his
Cabinet, and rs soon ns its law abiding men,
bers could get fair hearing and an opportu-
nifty to state their objections the misguided
counsels of hot-headed partisans could not
stand scrutiny. Moreover, persistence in
bold violation of the constitution would
have led to an impeachment of the President
on very solid grounds. A President under
going trial for impeachment in the last
days of his term would be shorn of moral
influence, and be crippled in his attempts to
secure the peaceful Inauguration of Mr..
Hayes if Hayes should have majority of
the electoral votes.
We rejoice that President Grant has so far
respected public opinion as to give place to
the ''sober second thought" which is always
wise when hasty and inconsiderate steps
have been taken. If it should turn out that
Mr.. Hayes is fairly and legally elected it
will be the duty ofPresident Grant to protect
his rights against attempts to prevent his in