New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-02

for abandoning old CONVICTIONS ana auoPu"s III
ones entirely out Of accord with his past In MS
! Western vagary he was hot, pouring out MS DARK
apprchcnsons and strange remedies with an energy
| and prcdigality which must have considerably
fatigued his colleagues and distressed his best
friends. Fortunately nothing he then said had any
effect. The PEOPLE were not so fcJe and illogical
as some of their leaders and the West went on de-
veloping and being pcopled until 1t became the
! Great West and then. when the National curse
! had ripened and the doom fell, from that western
| region poured the stalwart hosts that
were to fight the battles of the Union. For
once the prescicnce Of Gouverncur Morris failed
, him. and no mole could have been binder TO the
lines upon which National destiny was being
shaped than he was on that occasion.
During his tenure of the Paris Mission his re-
markable knowledge OF men and clcar-sightcdness
as to the tendency of events were most strikingy
exhibited and though he certainly did not person.
ally hold himself much aloof from the Revolution
as he should have DONE the exceptions to his neu
trality were honorable TO his humanity. Few Of
his contemporaries saw what the Revolution was
tending TO than Morris, nor were his esti-
mates cf most Of the French leaders often at fault
Mirabeau, indeed. he unduly deprecated, yet had
that great denagoguc not died when he did it is
by no means improbable that he might have fallen
o victim to his own ambition, like 50 many other
would-be controllers of the rushing torrent Nor
ris not long in discovering the fallacy OF the
views held by the anti-Fedcrasts as to the Revo
luton. He himself second to none in his
frendliness to France and his appreciation Of the
aid she had given the struggling young republic in
the New World But he could not remain blind to
the folly, corruption and infatuation which were
hurrying the French people, court and masses to-
gether, into anarchy, and when the Terror came it
filed him with horror indignation and disgust.
In that chaotic period. however, he performed his
| ambassadoriGl functions with indispensable cool
ness dignity and tact, and when all the other en-
voys had fed from Paris and one revolutionary
government succeeded another only to disappear in
turn under the knife of the gulotine, the Ameri-
can Minister succeeded in maintaining respect and
immunity for his flag, and even stretched his au-
thority to extend the protection of the legation
over RobcspierrGs intended victims.
The frmness and courage thus displayed gained
him the admiration of the French people, but as
the Terror grew the desperate leaders took offence
at his steady refusal to abandon his neutrality and
commit his country to open Endorsement Of the
Revolution, and his recall was demanded. Wash
ington reluctantly complied, and replaced Morris
with Monroe, who speedily blundcrcd eravely
that he had to be removed by his own Government
Morris resented his recall and perhaps never wholly
recovered from the bitterness Of it. Certainly
something soon after this affected his Judgment
Of men and things. He had always had the fault
of cypicsm and though possibly his refusal to be-
lcve in dsintcrcstcdncss more affected than
real, such habit of considering human action
could not but debase his ideal On his final return
home he began TO exhibit political ecccntricities
which must have amazed his friends, and in the
course of few years nc had travcrsed many Of the
principles of statccraft which had formerly been
his accepted guides. But, 10 quOteAlr Roosevelt:
=" There are few of our statesmen whose charac-
tcrs can be painted in simple, uniform coors like
WASHINGTON and Lincoln on the one hand, or Burr
and Davis on the other. Nor is Morris one of these
! few. His place is alongside of men like Madison
Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry. who did the
Nation great service at times but each of whom,
at two critical junctures, ranged HIM |
self with the forces of disorder
Mr. Roosevelt's summary of Morrs's character
deserves to be reproduced He says: There has
never been an American statesman of keener intel
lect or more brilliant genius Had he possessed |
but little more stcadiness and self-control he !
would have stood among the two or three very !
foremost lie was gallant and fearless. lie was
absolutely upright and truthful; the least sugges-
ton of falSehood was abhorrcnt to him. His cx
trcme aggressive frankness, joined to certain i'm
perousness of disposition, made it difficult for him |
to get along well with many of the men with whom |
he was thrown IN contact In politics he was too |
much of free lance ever to stand very high as |
leader. IIc was very generous and hosptablc: |
he was witty and humorous charming compan- |
iOn and extremely fond Of good living lie had a |
proud almost hasty temper and was quick to
resent an insult He strictly just, and he |
made open war on all traits that dispeased him, |
especially meanncss and hypocrisy. He was
essentially strong man. and he was an American |
through and through What he did may be |
briefly summed up: " lie took most prominent |
part in bringing about the independence Of the |
colonies, and aftcrward in welding them into |
single powerful nation whose greatness he both |
foresaw and foretold lie made the final draft Of |
the United States Constitution; he first outlined |
our present system of National coinage; he orgi-
mated and got under WAY the plan for the Erie
Canal; Minister TO France he successfully |
performed the most difficult task allotted to
an American representative at foreign capital.
With all his faults, there are few men of HIS |
generation to whom the country owes more than
to Gouvcrncur Norris" This account of him is
written by Mr. Roosevelt in an easy and attractive
style Ii is OF course but outline sketch, but it
is vivid enough to make the man comprehensive
and offer lively view Of his habits tendencies,
deeds and thoughts 1t is. moreover, enriched by
sCmc new material and enlivencd by many anec-
dotcs and characteristic touches, besides some
brilliant and tcrsc descriptions Of periods and COM
munities. Mr. Roosevelt clearly prefers the modern
historical methods, and aims at a franlSncss and
impartiality which fifty years ago would have been
unthiDkabc, or if attempted would have called
down upon the head OF the uckless author torrents
of dcnunciation To-day America has an assured
position She is great enough TO accept criticism
and wise enough to demand candor In these re-
spects Mr.. Roosevelt is abreast of the time.