New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-24
it did it lifted itself up to higher plane OF
religious life
4 DIFFERENCE ~ "BYGONES.T

| A DIFFERENCE ~ ID uO"E''
A good many years ago-thirty-two, to b'
exact-there was an election at which one VI
the two great political parties into when tht
voters were divided was defeated. Defeated
absolutely and Enthusiastically; there was not
peg Of doubt anywhere upon which the de
feated party could hang an objection or IN.
shadow Of an objection to the Inauguration VI
the successful candidates and their installation
at the head of the Government OF the whole
country and all the people who had taken part
in the election Without any pretence OF I'M
fai,ues, in the election or Of illegalty or tech
nical infolmalty in any of the proceedings
from the casting of the ballots TO the dec'a'''-
tion of the result. the defeated party by ITS
d, mnant faction and numerical majority de-
| liberately refused To be bound by IL ana went
into armed revolt. Ii cost millions OF money
| hundreds Of thousands Of lives and immfaS-
ulable hardship and distress to defeat the ell
| forts of this party TO ruin the Government
which the people would not permit 1t TO RUE.
| This having been effected. the people, VINO
| had at such tremendous cost maintained their
Government and put down its armed enemies
showed TO a wondering world an example OF
| forbearance and magnanmty for which his
tory furnishes no parallel. Not single leader
of the revolt was punished amnesty was
offered (, all Nor that alone in a very brief
spacc. hardly sufficient t. be called proba-
ton. the men so lately in arms against the
Government were restored 10 its citizenship
without the forfeiture of a right or the loss
of q privilege Almost 10 a man they resumed
their relations with the party on account Of
whose defeat they had rcbcllcd.
The party thus reunited gradually increased
in strength. The magnanimy OF their OPP
poncntS did not stop at restoring to full citizen
ship and 70 participation in the Government
the men who had so lately been III arms against
it, BY almost universal consent they forbore
alnsion 10 the unhappy past. and even in the
heat of political contests it scOn came 10 be
considered in bad form" to cite against
Southern Democrat his record during the war.
Even the nomenclature OF the period under
went change. The rebel government be-
came the Confcdcracy," the men concerned
in it ceased TO be called "Iebels' and became
Confedcratcs,'' the war itself was cuDhuzed
into the late unpleaSantnc>s,' and the words
treason and traitor were practically obsO-
leie The word was passed 10 "let bygoncS
be bygones" and great people, showing
themselves greater in this kindlne>s Of feeling
and gcntlcness of consideration than it had in
all its hcroism of sacrifice, its stcadfa,tncss Of
faith and its Stcadine's Of courage. accepted
and lived NJ 10 it, Never was amnesty 50
sweeping, never such free forgiveness such
kindly and gracious forgctfulncSS Of all the
past, such blottng ont of all unpleasant memo
rics And no one now in all the North would
have had it otherwise In This state of affairs
the rarity that had plunged into rebellion IN
r, san, ment of defeat and had been taken into
full citizenship again upon it, failure TO de-
stroy the Government. grew and throye, and
by grccs came once more near 10 power.
All the "bygoncS' were qucnchod out OF
memory, and if any citizen looking over the
galleries at tho Capitol and seeing the men
lately in arms against the Government max
ing lis laws was moved to historical rcmlnls
ccncc he wa' silenced by the indignant out
cry, Let bygones be bygoncs.'
Al the end Of sixteen years the reunited
party came so near clcctng lis candidate for
President that it felt almost strong enough to
play The old game and resist the legally de-
clared will of the people. 1t fumed and full
minated and threatened, but the old expert |
OPEN resistance, but suenly submitted while
tho legally elected President was installed in |
Office. Yet it never ceased IFS cutlery against
what it denounced As &" Fraud and it never |
forgave tho man who elected and who |
for four years gave the country a. able, pure, |
d gniied and upright IN Administration as it |
ever enjoyed. There was no stain whatever |
upon his title. On the contrary, he held his
office by a stronger authorization than any one
Of his predecessors But the party that had
been so freely forgiven for the crime Of re-
bcllion could not itself forgive the man whose
election had brought them disappointment.
The other day he died. and even at his open
grave some Of the leaders OF the party which
owes 80 much to the magnanimity of its OPP
,onents stood kissing their hatred. They are
luite willing to have their own "bygOnes" for
gotten, but themselves are unable to forget.