The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1881-11-03
SECOND EDITION
A Singular Contest.

From the lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer,
1t is very Singular attitude indeed
that the President of the United States
and the Attorney General have assumed
towards each other. The Attorney
General resi- IS, and the President de-
c"ues to receive his resignation. The
Attorney General leaves his leaving.
taking cards with bis Washington ac-
quaintances, offers his house for rent,
and qr'ts the town with bag and bag
gage. The p .esident refuses to appoint
his succe sor aud the Solicitor. General
under .akes also the Attorney Generals
duties. a I'd 'his attachment of Mr..
A! thr-t Mr.. MacVeagh, as is well
known, spring. from no love for him,
for there is no love felt on either side.
The motives guld'ng each mans action
are well understood. But the question
are whether the Pr" 7ident Is warranted
by any circpmstanc- in demanding Mr..
! acVer7h SCI vices against Mr.. Mac
Veagh's refusal 10 render them and
whether MacVeagh is wa! raLted in re-
fusing - give them when the President
peremptorily commands them. The
situation as We read it just ths:-Mr.
Arthur has been friend of the Star
Route thieves, and conspicuously so of
Dorsey. He finds prosecution rand-
'pg against them commenced under bis
predece" ,r. He considers the prosecu-
ion RS most likely . be without result.
He fears 10 be charged with the failure,
and therefore de Tres 70 avoid all ap-
pearance of responsibility for it by leav-
ing it in charge of those who originated
It,. Mr.. MacVcagh and Mr.. James con-
spicuously stand before the county as
the Star Route prosecutors, and Mr..
Arthur wants u nail them there.
Mr.. MacVeagh underst ands this, but
apprehends also that the secret influence
Of the administration will work against
the undertaking to put the Presidents
Old friends in jail. He knows, further
more, that he is not of the administra-
tion, lille os ensibly pat OF 1t. He
is not disposed to stay in it and to be
turned out when his virtue has been
squeezed out of him. Mr.. Arthur and
MIR. MacVeagh belong to distinctly OF
posite branches of the Republican party
that cannot coalese any more than oil
and water. Under these circumstances
Mr.. MacVeagh pursued the only course
open to him in acqua' nting The Presi-
dent t'lat he desired to go out of the
Cabinet. MIR. Arthur, under ordinal
circumstances, would have been glad
TO be rid Of him. But now he thinks
there is an advantage in keeping him.
Is he right in refusing to let him go?
Who can think 81? Suppose it is true,
as he says, that MacVeagh having made
himself familiar with the Star Route
cases is the fittest man to prosecute them
to the end. That would justify bim in
asking him to stay; but certainly it is a
very unworthy and undignified proceed
ing in President to 60 forther than
this in his Insistapce, and it is even
childish in him to refuse TO fill Mr..
MacVsagh's place, in the idea that he
will thus more etfectually free himself
from responsibility for the failure of the
pl loseeutions. In our judgment Mr..
MacVeagh would have done better to
have retained his Office at the Presi-
dents command fof the purpose of
prosecuting the work he had began.
Remaining for this well understood
special purpose he would not have been
responsible for the policy of the admin
istration. II Mr.. Arthur could afford to
retain in his Cabinet an avowed oppon-
ent who did not want to stay there, Mr..
MacVeagh could well have afforded to
remain; his position would have been
exceedingly Independent and his place a
very conspicuous one from which to pro-
claim his views. No question of deli
cacy could have restrained from anita
gonizing President who insisted on
keeping bin by his side against his will.
The Witness which led Arther to such
an unheard OF Insistance might have
proved to be silliHess instead, but it was
no concern Of Mr.. MacVeagh to protect
Mr.. Arthur against his folly.
The conduct of the President in this
matter conclusively shows him to be a
man of very low tone. He has been ex-
tensively advertised by his friends as a
gentleman; and sur rficially he may be.
But he lacks the self respec. which is
the essence Of the man and the gentle
man. We fear, TOO, that he lacks sin
certify, honesty and independence, and
is in fact but pretentious sham, as a
little time is likely to clearly show.