The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-08-28

ltlt.lloHS VI Vic 1tDuDIt bC-
sides, the appointment of Mr. Webster
as Secretary of State would inspire con-
fidcnce in the administration abroad
which would be highly important. con-
,'idering the existing critical relations
with Great Britain. The northeastern
boundary, the right to search American
vessels on the coast of Africa, and the
affair of the Caroline, followed by the
arrest of Mcleod, required Il master
mind for their adjustment, and Mr.. Clay
urged the appointment of Mr.. Webster
as pre-eminently qualified to direct the
negotiations. General Harrison accepted
the suggestion, and on his return to
North Bend he wrote to Mr.. Webster.
offering him the Department of State,
and asking his advice concerning the
other members of the cabinet. The
"solid men of Boston," who had begun
to entertain grave apprehensions of hos
tilities with Great Britain, urged Mr..
Webster to accept, and pledged them
selves to contribute literally to his sup
port.
No sooner was it intimated that Mr..
Webster was to be the premier of the i'll
coming administration than the Calhoun
wing of the Democratic party denounced
him as having countenanced the abolition
| of slavery, and when his letter resgning
| his seat in the Senate was read in that
body Senator Cuthbert. of Georgia, at
tackled Kim. The Georgian declama-
ton was delivered with clenched fist; he
pounded his desk, gritted his teeth, and
used profanc language.
Messrs. Clay. Preston, and other Sen
ators defended Mr.. Webster from the at
tack Of the irate Georgian. "With Mr..
Webster" said Mr.. Rives. Il have diff
fered. and still differ on some important
questions of public policy. But these
differences have never prevented me
from feeling that his presence here was
one of the proudest ornaments of this
hall, and that his withdrawal from it
leaves an intellectual void which genera
lions must pass away, i'll the ordinary
course of Providence to men, before we
shall see filled with his like again. His
talents and his reputation are the COM
mon property of his country, and for one
| have ever looked upon them with pride
rs an American citizen"
To disarm the Southern opposition to
Mr.. Webster's appointment, his friends
had printed at Washington large cdi-
ton of a speech which he had made a
few months before on the portico of the
Capitol of Virginia at Richmond, before
an aSscmblage of ten thousand of her
freemen, "beneath the light of an Dc
tober sun q say he had then en-
phatically declared "there is no power.
directly or indirectly, in Congress or the
General Government, to interfere in the
slightest degree with the institutions of
the South"
With some of the Southern political
leaders Mr.. Webster was Il favorite, es-
pecially the erratc Henry A. Wise, who
resided in Accomac county. on the east
crn shore of Virginia. What do you
shoot - Mr.. Webster asked Mr.. Wise on
lets?" Receiving an affirmative response
he went on to say that at the proper sea-
son his custom was to shoot these birds
on the coast Of Massachusetts, and that,
according to his calculation of climate
and of distance, they migrated i'll about
Il fortnight to the eastern shore of Nir-
ginia. Now he added, remember,
If you see any crippled birds down your
way about that time, they will be my
BIRDS
| General Harrison, to quiet the cry of
abolitionist,' which had been raised
against him as well as Mr.. Webster, made
a visit to Richmond prior to his inaugu-
ration, during which he awaited himself
of every possible occasion to assert his
devotion to the rights, privileges, and
prejudices of the South concerning the
existence Of slavery.
The portfolio of the Treasury Depart
ment was given by General Harrison to
Thomas Ewing. of Ohio (amiliarly
known. from his early avucation, as ''thc
Salt Boiler of the kanawha y, who was
physically and intellectually 4 great man.
He was Of medium height, very portly,
and his ruddy complexion set off his
bright, laughing eyes to the best aivan-
tagc. On the stump" he had but few
equals, as in simple language and with
out any apparent oratorical effort he
breathed his own spirit into vast audi
ences and swayed them with resistleSs
power. lie resided in house built by
Count de Menon, one of the French lega-
ton, and his daughter Ellen, now the
wife of General Sherman, attended school
at the academy attached to the convent
of the Sisters of the visitation. in George
town.
The other members of the cabinet
elect were lavorably known to the public.
The coming Secretary of War was John
Bell, of Tennessee, Il coWtly Jackson
Democrat in years past. who had pre-
ferrcd to support Hugh l.. White rather
than Martin Van Buren,, and had thus
drilted into the Wing ranks. For Secrc-
tary of the Navy, General Harrison had
selected George f. Badger of North
Carolina, whose facetious physiognomy
and sailor like figure We're very appropri-
ate for the position. Francis Granger
of New York, 4 genial. rosy faced gen
tlcman of the old school, who had been
| the unsuccessful Wing candidate fol
Vice President in 1886, was to be Post
, master General. and the Attorney Gen
eral was to be John J. Crittendcn. a Ken
tuckian. whose intellectual vigor. integ
, rity of character, and legal ability haC
, secured for him nomination to the bencl
of the Supreme Court by President
Adams. which the Democratic Senate
had failed to confirm. Kept i'll the shade
, by Henry Clay, of his party and State
, he became somewhat Grabbed and Sar
, donic, but his was one Of the nobest in
telIects of his generation. His persua
sivc eloquencc, his clear judgment, hi.
. knowledge of the law his lucid manner
of stating facts, and his complete grasl