New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
,,rvANDER HAMILTON.
Ahn ,.,,,,roN nv HENRY CNDoT LopGi
AIENA o...a..,,c,, EdiLcd Nv IOnn =.

=; ,ho whole series of American ot"'o'ii0
moro ollurng subject for the o'oe'"p"0'
.,oxo,der Hamilton. His EXTRAORDINARY '"Or
nno,r in mystery and ended IN muiuei' 4oN'
-, thc secret of his BIRTH ne WIS '"o i'l
CON ~ = West Indian merchant WHO Seelns " 10
toleu very little care OF him, by n peau'h"i ~
o. all when he was very young. At the age
of thirteen he had displayed such pfec'cous
in \ counting house that his employer ei' HI" ~
horco of tho busincss but have Ict'et "
ono Of his hoy friends written at tins t'u'' )"
which he "contemns the grOvellng coAdi'lon ",
c1erl, or the like" and declares that "n''' ~
hides his time he shall prepare the way ~, Ia
itvv At fifteen he was sent To Ne" i =
educated. along with lad naneo GU -,
,osed 10 have been his half-br0thei' Nv CI
while he was a student at King 'Oo'""' a,,,os+
loco he hurst into public sight we "'S"' ;.o1
coz into fame with a speech deHNci'"' "' d.
and nnpreparcd, at an Open-alr mee''"s VI w
+r;ot Marty in New-York. Inc saiho N''' ~ %
duced forcble political panPhotS j"
nuIor side. and wrought deco an impress
ION by the copency of his arguments an" VIC 'V'Oo
90 his stylc that the Tories made HIM terhp'ne
g. IN ;oin their service AT nineteen ne was
oo,,oir Of artillery At twenty lie h"u us
t;ncui.hed himself in active service. ana was eu-
.,,t coloocl nide-de-camp to General N'sulnH-
ton and especially charged with the iill"'S "'o'
Observation-Disclosures of tie Commander nIi'
Tho accounts which have come down TO Us oi '"o
apnearance and character OF the prllh""V u"'
hriphten the interest of his romantic progress '
see,nel even younger than he was. IN pciS"" i'o
O,, very snail later in life he used 10 be cane" ,no
little lion but he was well made ana ac'lNo' WIN
sbooely head clean-cut features, a long ana ram
or sharp nose, firm jaw, and dark oeep'Sc' co.
fru ofl,cht and fire. There was a curious contrast
IL Il
mind was phIlosophic, arrumcntatiye' iar-Ieach-
i,g. onolytical and at The same Jmc conSuuctNe'
40 clear and as hand as crystal. HIS disposition on
tho other hand was ardent and even passionate nc
was Genial and laxative III private me- generous
;mnulsiye. hish-mnded. While he was sun Il SIrlp-
linz. he showed his courage not less by hs c"huuc'
:, hattie than bv his daring interference to save
ohnoxions Tories from mob violence. Ills SeI-coh-
fdence occasionally took the form OF Se"-as-
ertion in which there was something dIoI' an" al
tbo came time something fine Rebukcd by Wash
ington for vcnial fault, he stihened his tte hgur'
ond neremotorily resigned his appointment on the
staff After he left the Treasury lie threatened tha'
Congress should reckon with him If they failed
70 treat the finances properly. When the Senate
once appliea TO him for information, he wrote
tbem q letter of CenSuIc for Their mlsDc-
bovior He was equally assured, and equally
in his right place. stormins the redoubt at lork-
town or devisng and putting into operation vast
financial scheme for the newly created nation. In
nolitics ho never had popular following; perhaps
he never tasted popularity but by moving the
rarty-leadcrs lie eXerted mighty influence npon
tho formation of the Republic. and stamped in
deIjblv upon it the impress OF Nationality. Ii not
the author he was at all events the most effect
i've the most alert the most far-seelng, the most
,ndefatipable and the most consistent advocate of
that theory of nationality which he defended so
brilliantly in "Thc Federast, and which after
nearly hundred years t-umphed at last in the
shock OF war.
The disposition as we'll as the convictions of Ham
rton inclined toward an arlstocracy. No ties of
birth or family gave him any special interest in the
colonies he had not grown up, like the other pa
t1iots under a sense Of the wrongs and expressions
of the mother country and IN the community OF
which he found himself member when he came
TO New-Yorll the Tories numerous and respect
able. He might have been expected to side with
The Crown lie tells us that his prejudices were on
that side at first. hut he became convinced by the
supcrior force Of the arguments i'll favor of the
colonial claims" Mr.. Lodge gives him credit for
sincerity but after all, he thinks, Hamilton's de-
cision must have been largely influenced by the
consideration that change, revolution and war would
Omen for him the road to personal advancement.
This assumption seems to us gratmtous and I'M
fortunate. IL represents I'ulliV'u is Hl'e pe'tel
than a daring advcnturer. lie was ambitious, but
he was unselGsh. The lOftness of mis- mind aud the
purtv of his patriotism have never been questioned
since the faction.quarrels Of his own time died
AWAY and the general verdict which places him
IL The front rank of the most devoted and sesacr-
fcine patriots of the Revolution will not be IN
ettled by the conjecture of a biographer who has
probably written in haste what his own judgment
can hardly approve. We find in Mr. Lodges book
moro than one instance of the rash inputatiOn of
vulgar motives In every State" he writes,
"were local leaders like George Clinton and John
Hancock. who saw IN strong central government
a great dminutlon of their own consequence.
They preferred being first in their villages to being
second at Rome ana therefore headed, directed,
and gave force 10 the ungoveTnablc majority and
gained political prosperity from the evils of the
time Clinton is elsewhere described as the most
Gunscrupulous" of the party opposed to
Hamilton aud when Jefferson and Madison insti-
patei inquiry into the affairs OF the Treasury, Mr.
Lodge feels authorized to say that they probably
had little real doubt of Hamilton's integrity, but
they Thought he would find 1t difficult to demon
strate 1t by figures" and they hoped that the com
plcated accounts could be distorted and misrepre-
sented to his ruin. This sort Of familiarity with the
secret motives of human conduct and the unspoken
thoughts of politicians is not usually given to his
torians we have supposed IL 10 DC Cohuueu 10
Divine Omniscienco and second-class party news
papers.
Uamilton's distrust of an unrestrained democracy
was accurately expressed in his famous scheme f0z
the new constitution lie would reduce the author
ty of the States to the lowest figure and nfuse in
to the central government strong element of arts
tocracy The President and Senate should be
chosen by limited suffrage based upon property
qualification, and should hold Office during good
behavior. The President should appoint the
Governors of States. and the Governors should