Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-04


trade.
Comments on Gen. Lawton's Case.
The press OF the country very generally
is commenting on the action Of Gen.
Lawton IN declining to accept the Russian
mission, and the comments, as a rule, are
rather complimentary. The New York
Egening Post, leading independent Re
publican paper, speaks Of Gen. Lawton as
follows:
Gen. LawtOn, Of Georgia, is entitled to
public respect for the manly course he
has taken in declining peremptOrily the
Russian mission. He has relieved the
administration Of what must have proved
an embarrassment in any case, and what
might have turned out to be disastrous
defeat. There is no doubt whatever that
the intention of Congress in passing the
fourteenth amendment to the constitu-
ton was to exclude from office per-
sons OF the class to which Gen.
LawtOn belongs, unless their disabili-
ties were removed in the way there pro-
vided. Such was the understanding OF
both political parties at the time, as is
abundantly shown in the debates. The
contrary opinion of the Attorney General,
that ''there was no intention to take away
rights which previous pardOns had re-
stored" is cOntradicted by history. Those
pardOns were Andrew JohnsOn's pardOns.
The Republican party was in a state of
agitation and alarm respecting the eXer-
else OF the pardoning power by johnson.
1t was in a quarrel with him on all
points connected with reconstruction, and
it undertook to tie his hands securely
by a constitutional amendment which
he could not surmOunt or circUmYent.
But, suppOsing there is room for the At
torney Generals contention, what sort Of
chance would President Cleveland have
in a controversy with the Senate uDon this
point-a controversy which would arouse
all the slumbering passions OF the North
in defense Of the "loyal amendment 20
This amendment embOdies not only the
clause under consideration, but also the
provisions prohibiting the payment of the
Conf derate debt and war claims aud
claims for emancipated slaves. 1t
would be charged at once
that if skillful Interpretation
could annul one part Of the amendment,
all the ether parts might be eliminated in
the same way, and thus the fOOd-gate Of
Confederate claims be opened, as the
Blaine organs and orators predicted dur
ing the campaign that they would be.
We can conceive Of no political issue
more undesirable, Gen. LawtOn deserves
the thanks of his own party for his action
in the Wemiaes, and il is to be hoped that
! his disabilities may be speedily removed.
The country has no longer any interest in
excluding men Of his stamp from the
public service.
Without admitting that the POSTS view
of the intention Of the third section Of the
fourteenth amendment is correct, or that
the effect Of Gen. LawtOn's acceptance of
! the Russian mission would have been
what the Post appears to think it would
have been, the Post is doubtless right in
assuming that Gen. Lawt0n's action was
based on a desire not to be the cause of
embarrassment to the administration.
HIS appointment might not have caused
the administration embarrassment, but
there was chance that it might, and he
determined, therefore, 20 sacrifice his own
interests, and thus make embarrassment
impossible. The New York Sun has a
very clear appreciation Of Gen. Lawton's
motives in the matter. II says
/ Gen. Alexander Il. Lawton comes out
| Of his diplomatic complication with all
/ the credit belonging to a gentleman Of
/ chiyalric feeling. When he found there
was a question as to his restoration to the
full rights OF citizenship after the re-
/ bellion, he promptly withdrew, and re-
/ lieved the administration OF all en-
/ barrassment. Gen. LawtOn stands much
better before the country now than be-
/ fore. because the people everywhere
/ know him and appreciate his high
minded conduct