New-York tribune., 1878-01-19

carving himself to lor money than all his life before
| had broug glt him. But there were too many men
of Essex who served their country through years
! of unspeakable reor--years Of toll ana munger
and cold, with no return and no nope OF return III
any fortune but freedOm-to justify OF permit MI
Lodges sweeping classification.
The same euphemstic glamour is thrown over Mr..
| Cabot,s public lfo "Mr. Cab0t's faith IN the Gov
enment MEASURE says his great t-grandson naiveiy
rose. doubtless in 10 small degree from his rela-
,iops with their author, Alexander Hamilton, and
from his own share in devising Them" Preclseiy.
| That is what the old Warehouses say about the re-
| forners-that their discomfort comes because they
are out and want to get irbut we hardly expect the
reformers to say as much for themselves. Yet here
I we have Mr. Lodge admitting that the reason his
| grest-grandfather approved OF things was because
| he was consulted i'll arranging thcIo.
! Nh Cabot had been appointed president OF the
BOSTON Branch of the United States Bani when that
| institution was first organized. This says
| his great grandson. naturally afforded fine
oppo tI,nity for references to corrupt Treasury
| souadrous:' and Mr.. Cabot had no liking
for the position of target, If 1t could be
| b,norablv avoided His application to be released
from the bank duties failed" But it is hard to see
that he made any application for release lie wrote
10 Secretary Hamilton, "l hope yOn VIII say den-
ntely whether my continuance IN the bank ls ." ne
desired not, SDCc III lufDlhicS 50 C"piouS e"F''
for complaint" This not application for re-
lease Ii was az application TO know whether they
wanted him to resign. Undoubtedly sr. Cabot did
not like TO he slandeIsd any better than other en-
Undoubtedly his position as president Of the United
States Bank Senator and intimate ally Of the Ad-
ninistration exposed him to numerous charges OF
corruption; but he was too greedy OF Office, as the
RefolmeIs would say, to give il up. Let us say,
rather he was too mucn man to retreat before
SANDER and man enou Qh not TO cling to office should
his supcriors desire his res gnation.
/ The slcnderness of Mr.. Cabot's hold upon the :
memory of postcrity is displayed with singular
naivete by his great-graudson. Tho only town
office over held by Mr.. Cabot was that of fire
ward but he went into the Beverly liridee-bail'l-
ing with earnestness. and was subsequently made
director and pre- jicnt OF .hc company ilc rcscne
from oblivion OF his oratorcal prowcsS in the STATE
Legislature his t. III, caiicc
presence Of a nameess stranger Oh single oc'a-
sion, His career in the Senate OF thc Nation II Sis-
nalized by the thrilling record of having been de-
lighted with the firm and manly tore of tie iIesl-
dents Message; of moving to t.ihc ont il" vorS
that magnanimous nation" from resolution ~
thanks to the French Republic; and Vc are de-
pryed of readina the of al the various COM
Inittees on which ne served, lor the ineNplcabie
reason that it would be tedious W. have sever
al pages of the history of the French Commission Of
1897 because Mr. Cahots name is 50 mixed up IN
the whole affair."" though the Sole rN-
tent of the inxtura visible tO the trans
Cabot world is the casual suggestion of his name for
one Of the commissioners. Emh0id'ncd v ti.s
foray into foreign politics, Mr.. lodgr then gives us
the whole history Of the second mission to France IN
I799 without the pretence Of has great grand
fathers name ms an ingredient. lie merely alleges
that "Mr Cabot was prominent representative OF
Il ,,f tf,a Igf,
ists"i Ii is difficult 10 conceive OF more negative
provocatcn to Immortality. Biography would as-
eulnc ALARMING proportions if its legitimate scope
comprised history Of all the public measures winch
are adopted during mans lifetime without hs al'-
proyal. We admit, with IN Lodge. that the COM
mission was in all ways oi IA" deepest and most faI,
reaching consequence; but ~ Mr.. Cabot had
nothing whatever 20 do with il. are not cir..r
why NJ. Lodge could not with equal pr"pIioty /
have suhsdised the requisite number of pages with
dissertation OH tho Man in the Iron Mask. /
II is not impossible howcYer that Mr Lodge con-
,iders his great grandfather to have been moGaa
par5 in thai matter for his ideas of pubic perform
ance are somewhat vague. He spsiks of hlr !
Stoddert n. Ar Cabot's Successor n the Navy D.
partme,lt and anys cmDhatcaly. d" | say successor
because Mr. Cabot actually held the oii"c for a
month" Nj Cabot was appointed May 3. Secretary
Pickering sent nm his comm sion MAY .. On May
! he declincd ia. profcr and on NAY - Bsu-
ja,nin Stoddcrt was appointed. - thai by the NJ
most stroc OF time only eighteen DAYS elapsed bee
tween his own appointment AID that of hls su'- |
csssor and the month OF 8ecrctaryship dwiuulr at
the firrt clip into eighteen days. As au aPprccah'c
part Of these eighteen dayf lnnst have been cor I
,lned ia getting his commission 20 him; as Nh
Cabot dcclrcd a. hc received il as ne never
performed any Of Tie duties Of the oioe, never took
of for moment lct ijS hprr
Brooklinc. he seems to have been sort Of Secretary
no!qre lV. II is certain hc never considered hiu-
self Secretary OF the Navy and II is not little odd
TO see q politician of the diIutcrestcd. aAii-oiicc-
holding type, 80 which Mr Lodge belongs, chrsiug
with such desperate clutch to a shadow and incou-
,equeut fortnic cht of ancestral oicc-hodng eighty
years ago!
The Hartford Convention was godsend 70 hr.
Lodge. His great grandfather was prcsidCn Of !nt
assembly, and Oh the strength of 10 NJ. Lodrc dis
ports himself through 1J0 octavo pages Il is true
that Mr.. Cabot not only had part IN bringing the
convention into existence, but Mr.. Lowcl complains
that he could not even find ont what Nr Cahots
opinions were about il. and those vino cOa ind ont
bis opinions learned them TO lie those OF Indllfcr
encc opposition. II is true that in The $50 pages
Mr. CabOs IS bat desert island rising rarely
in vast of history OF the fifty pages Of Con-
ycntion Correspondence" Mr.. Caboi's letters oc-
cupy only abOut six Lines, aud letters TO Mr.. Cabot
only two pages while the remaining fory-ri@ht arc
filed with the letters of King, Lyman, Hgginson,
Morris Iiillhouse, Tracy, Reeve and Others to each
other; but not for that is Mr. Lodges noble ardor
to be repressed and hying the flag of his great
grandfather at his masthead, he filings himself
upon the Hartford Convention with the abandon of
the ingepious author who inveiglcd the whole his
tory of the BATH Of Waterloo INTO the biography Of
the little drummer hoy who chauccd to beat rc-
vcIlc for tho COldstreain Guards OF that fatclu
field. GAZE HAMILTON.