The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-16

ulllcHb u bnOulu lPHu Ibtli W lcNOiutiOn"'S
aims. There can be no doubt that Mr.. Stan
toms appointment was mainly duo to the
recommendation OF Judge jeremiah 8. Black,
who. on Dec. IL. 1880. had resigned the office o'
Attorney General. to succeed Cen. Cas- In that
OF Secretary OF State. The two lawyers had
long been close friends. and possessed each
tho confidence OF the other to an unlimited
extent. At the time OF Mr.. Stanton's appoint
ment Judge Black had reconsldered the views
expressed In an opinion written By him thirty
days before. and had notified the President OF
the change in his views He no longer be-
lieved. as he had previously asserted. that. In Q
civil war, the Federal Government was power
less to open its purse or to draw It's
sword. He nj longer denied, the power
Of Congress TO provide for suppressing
Instructions against the United States
otherwise than by judicial process. He
did not place himself on public record by q
formal opinion reversing the one he had rem
dered. but he furnished the President with o
written " memorandum for his private use."
which contained the following words: "Th
Union Is necessarily perpetual. No state can
lawfully withdraw or DO expelled from 1t. The
Federal Constitution is as much q part OF the
Constitution Of every State rs II 1t had been
textually inserted therein. The Federal Gov
eminent is sovereign within Its OWE sphere
and acts directly on the individual citizens OF
every State. Within these limits its c~oercive
power is ample to defend itself. its avs and its
property. 1t can suppress Instructions. fight
battles. conquer armies. dispense hostile COM
binations and punish any or all OF its enemies.
Itcan meet. repel and subdue all those who rise
against It," In 1870 Judge Black inserted in .
letter addressed to Senator Wilson Of Massa-
chusetts and published In the Galarv Magazine.
that Mr.. Stanton Endorsed his opinion OF Nov.
20. 1850. in extravagantterms OF appreciation.
and adhered steadily to the doctrines OF the
annual message" sent to Congress by Presi-
dent Buchanan on Dec. 3 OF the year named.
II this were true 1t would not abate one jot tho
heretical character Of those documents. The
author of this biography. however. maintains
that when Judge Black said In 1870 that he
urged the appointment OF Mr.. Stanton as Attor-
ney-General on Dec. 20. 1880. because he knew
that they we're lin perfect accord on all ques-
tions. whether Of law or policy" he could only
have meant that they were agreed on the views
Of the private memorandum" and not on
those expressed in Blacks opinions Of Nov. 20.
which a month later were contradlcted and re-
tracted.
A condensed account OF the struggle In Mr..
Buchanan's Cabinet. which preceded the res
~ignation OF John B. Floyd. Secretary OF War.
was written by Mr.. Stanton himself In 1863. in
the form Of a letter to Mr.. Augustus Schell. II
was not sent. however. and was found after his
death In Mr.. Stanton's private papers. 1t Is
printed In the first OF these volumes. Judge
Holt. to whom It was submitted. recognized IL
as having been read to him at the War Depart
ment in & and testified that. while 1t fell
far short OF what might have been written. 1t
was correct as far as II went. He declared that
Mr.. stanton's protest against acceding to
Floyd's demands for the evacuation OF Fort
Sumter was even more vigorous than 1t Is rep
resented to have been In the letter now pub
lished. Mr.. Stanton not only averred that
the issuance Of tho order demanded would be
n crime equal to tho crime Of Arnold. md that
all who participated in It ought TO be hung like
Andre. but he also said that "a President OF
the United States who would make such an
order would be guilty OF treason "At this
point" said Judge Holt. and l remember the
scene as clearly as though II happened but
yesterday. Mr.. Buchanan raised his hands dep
recatingly. and said. as II wounded by the in
tensity Of Mr.. Stanton's language and manner:
Oh. no. not so bad as that. my friend!-not
80 bad as that!'" Referring to this
crisis In Buchanan's Cabinet on Dec.
u. 1850. Mr.. Stanton wrote at the/ time
to his brother-in-law. C. P. wolcott. then At
torney-General Of Ohio: THE great contest
VI u SuIoH peedu q lew uliIlutcS d'teT L
parted from you here. On reaching my office I
found a summons to the Cabinet council. On
entering the chamber | found treason with
bold and brazen front demanding the surren-
der OF Fort Sumter. The contest continued
until dark. when dispute ran 80 high that we
adjourned until 3 o'clock In the evening"" He
adds: One by one the secessionists have been
worked out. We are now a unit. Who will
COM into the present vacancies is uncertain.
/ think no retrograde step will be made. How
far We can advance is uncertain"
During the short remnant Of the Buchanan
administration Mr.. Stanton found work
enough for his irrepressible energy. HI de-
voted himself to the patriotic cause. 1t
aroused all his powers and took possession OF
all his faculties. He set on foot inquiries as
to the purposes OF the secessionists In Wash
inRton and its vicinity. and prosecuted them
with untirlng zeal. To Democrats and Repub-
licans alike he set tho example OF sinking
partisanship In the service OF the Union.
He was willing to counsel with all true men
whom he knew to be opposed to seces-
sion. whether they agreed with him or
not on the subject OF compromise plans.
Mr.. Gorham points out that his COOP
GRAFTON with the most conservative Of the
Union Democrats in advocating q eonstitu-
tional amendment which would secure the
border states to the Union by protecting slav-
cry In all the rights secured for 1t under the
Constitution as it then was. involved no depar-
ture from his understanding with the uncom-
promising element among the Republicans.
for he had not agreed with the latter upon any
thing except hostility to tho common enemy.
He deceived nobody. His attitude was known
OF all men. The testimony Of Judge Black Is
adduced TO show that he and President
Buchanan were, at that time. pursuing the
same course. and that he frequently con-
ferred with Mr.. Seward. from whom he kept
nothing secret which related 10 public duties.
Mr.. Gorham's researches into the secret his
tory Of the time have convinced him hat the
early plans OF the disunionists included the Sc
cession OF Maryland at all hazards and under
whatever coercion might be necessary and
possible. in order that the nations capital
might be proclaimed either the capital Of the
Southern Confederacy as such. or as the sue
cessor OF the subverted Government OF the
United States. The careless prediction Of the
fulnlment Of this scheme. a prediction made
bv individuals who were known to be in full
sympathy with the secession movement. was
like the smoke that first indicates the exist
ence Of n dangerous fire beneath the sur