The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-08-19

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to see this ungenerous spirit toward the
General Every word reported of him in
this conversation with a distinguished
Chinese statesman has the ring of sincerity
and, we will add, of the clear good sense
for which General Grants pithy utterances
are famous.
What, in fact, does he say? 81 have held
the office of President as long as it has
ever been held by any man." 81 have had
my share of it-have had all the honors
that can be or should be given to any citi-
zen." 81 have no claims to the office; it is
place distasteful to me; place OF hard
ships and responsibilities. mo man who
knows what the Presidency imposes would
care to see a friend in the Office" "There
could be no wish more distasteful to me
than what you express. So far as to his
own strong Discrimination for the place,
and surely words could not mo-e strongly
or more pointedly express such sentiments.
He s'has had all the honors which can be
or which should be given to any citiz zen"
he Justly says, and adds that no wish
could be ''more distasteful" to him than
the wish that he might again be burdened
with the Presidency, which the Viceroy
had just expressed.
But the General was not content even
with this. He told the Viceroy, "There are
many able and distinguished men who
have earned the office; to one of them it
should be given" ''Ihere are others who
have risen to great distinction at home and
who have earned the honor. They are
worthy, and to them it belongs; not to me"
All this and, in fact, the whole of the re-
markable conversation, was meant, we do
not doubt, even more for his fellow citi-
zens at home than for the Chinese Viceroy.
They are wise words, and they will raise
General Grant in the esteem and confidence
of the American people. They will dis
appoint those self-seeking politicians who
have pushed what they called the 'Grant
movement" as means, and the only
means, of re-establishing their broken po-
litcal fortunes. But they will crafty the
great mass of the American people, who
saw with uneasiness the growth of a scheme
whose purpose was to overturn one of the
most sacred and important traditions of our
history, and to establish here o personal
government.
Those who have watched the course Of
the HERALD in it's frequent and very frank
discussions of the so-called Grant move
ment will remember that We have always
separated General Grant from the unscru-
pulous fomenters of that plot. The HERALD
has, as matter of public duty, often
and persistently shown up the evil
tendency and purpose of the Grant
movement; but it has always asserted
it's belief that General Grant had
no part or parcel in it, did not inspire it, or
encourage 1t, or even tolerate it. and would
disown it whenever in his judgment it be-
came advisable. The event shows that we
were right in our judgment of him; for he
could not have used stronger language than
that reported by our special correspondent
with him in China. We judged him rightly
also, it seems, when we asserted that tn Q
hippodroming reception which the Grant
movement people planned was not to his
taste and had not his consent ''My time
of return is unknown and indefinite" he
says. ~ would much rather time my
arrival so as to avoid" the great reception
of which the Viceroy had heard. Indeed,
what he said on this head leads directly to
the belief that he has delayed his coming
home and deranged his plans, expressly to
avoid what he probably felt would expose
| him to ridicule and to general misinter-
probation of his motives. He prefers and
hopes that half dozen friends will meet
| him on the Pacific coast-no more.
We repeat that these wise and sound SEN
timents do honor to General Grant and will
raise him very greatly in the esteem and
confidence of the American people. They
place him on level with the greatest of
his predecessors in the Presidential Office !;
they show him to be a truly patriotic citi-
zen, conservative of our political traditions,
unselfsh, innocent of the dangerous and
degrading ambitions which have been i'm
puted to him by those INSCRIPTIONS politi-
clans who have headed and inspired the So
called Grant movement. BY these earnest
words he has made himself national man /;
has swung himself above parties and parti-
san strife, and has taken that place in the
nations regard which his best friends must
always have desired for nina greater and
more exalted place by far than the Presi-
dency. He sets an example of patriotic
self-abnegation which, it is not too much to
say, will help in very important degree to
| prolong the duration and increase the So
curty of popular government not only here
but everywhere; for his example will dis
courage personal ambition in all free coun-
tries, and will be cited. with that of WASH
ington, one to be followed by good and
patriotic men, and to be defed only by the
base and selfish.