Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1879-07-05

accepted the appointment
received my instructions, and have. bo
very quiet and peaceabla time eve
A | SINCE"
. "bnt yet you think there was real dan
= Ser' How could you have helped it if i
had come? l don't see what the Distric
Attorney had to do with it7"
r "The danger was real-I can assur
you OF That. believed that during tn,
month that closed the administration Of
Grant and opened that Of Hayes tb,
country stood on tie brink of a civil wa,
. more terrible than that which we passed
J | through, and it would have dren ched the
whole North in blood. If Mr. Tilden had
listened to his more energetic advisers
and insisted on attempting to assume the
relns ofGovernment, we should have h ,d
war IN these streets, and I should have
oeen compelled TO take an active part in
it. No doubt there was plan to- inaur-
urate MIR. Tilden in this city, but his
natural tiinidity and irresolution wouhl
not let him assent TO it. 1 think he was
wise IN his refusal, but there are MANY
OF his followers who will always sneak
bitterly of him because he did not carry
| out the scheme of revolution they had so
nicely arranged. Yon see, they have
not yet got hold of the Custom house
plumber"
! "But, General, suppose that Mr. Tillen
| had been inaugurated at the City Hall
what could you have done about it here
| in Democratic citye'
"My plans were all laid SYSTEMATICALLY
(you know my old habit of svstcm) and
approved by President Grant. We had
quietly taken some very effective preeau-
lions beforehand. You smile, because
you will never realize how near Won were
10 q grand explosion, and that all the
materials for o coup d'ctat were Iyino
loose all around you-while good honest
citizens went to bed unmoved at uirht
thinking that all the talk Of resistance
was mere campaign thunder. I confs,
that do nou want sucn arother experi-
ence. When q man like Grant grows Sc
rious over che prospect of war, we NAV
take 1t for granted that there is some-
thing more than threats in the oir. T |
believe that we We're in more dan~er of |
3loodslied then than ir the month that
preceded the fall of Sum ter. I am surc
that If there had been another dotord |
like James Buchanan in the Presidentia,
chair rebellion would have been inev;ta-
BILE. But everybody knew that Grant
was nota man to be triued with, but one
VINO "oN'd usa more grape-shot than |
words and had 4 firm reliance on artille. |
ry to put down u mob. That was the
way in which both he and I INTERPRETED
the future.
"Eut yo1 have asllcd whatI intended
TO do i'll case Mr.. 'Tilden ATTEMPTED to
carry cut his coup dct1t and had himself
onsthc City Nall.sreps or else
where in tho cit. Ny orders and inton-
ton were to seize him at once under a
warrant charging HIM with high treason.
to convey him secretly and securely on !
BOARD Government vessel lying in the ,
East River and ship him to Fort Adams
)r some other secure po 1t where he could | ,
Undergo his trial. The first thing that ,
lnybody knew of it, he would have dis.
and the suddenness of the blow :
would have either dishcartcned his fol-
overs and taught them a sautary lesson
# respect for the law, Or it would have =
'een the first blow of s; terrific conflict :,
'atween the law and its violators.o
"Do you really believe, General, 1T :,
would have been possible to arrest MI. ,r
'ilden9"
II don't believe it-I know it. Of
curse it could not be done by calling
ut the regulars from Governors Island
nd marching them up to Grummercy
ark, but it would have been dono so L
uetly and effectively that all resistance :
-ould have come too late Just so su,e p
s he had dared tal1e the oath of office he II
'onld have been whir'ed through these p
reefs and landed in q guuboat. When W
2 had got through his tral for treason rl
. would have been sick Of playing Pres III
ent. While L WAS in Washington l ST
I'd q long talk with Secretary Robson ii
1 this subject-(youdon't know him, do dc
IN? He's one of the best fellows iu the Fl
orld)-and We made all the arrange OF
ents for the use of his boats and men til
1T only to secure Tildcn but to overawc q
e mob by the guuboats and to shell tn
em out if necessary. Robson is very CIR
,nial, but he is not q man to be triHed |"
it'll, and we worked together admra- q
y. Under our plans any resistance by de
+. Tildcn would have been utterly i'm
ssibc. AS for the Custom-House and M n''
b-Treasnry, they were prepared for re- GA
tance, and could have been strength th
ed by q sudden reinforcement of regu- TN
s so as to resist any mob. Regulars W.
Il marines inside the walls and q shell d),
two OutSi1e wOull have Sr1ttrrnl an On