The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-25

fancy himself who administered to him
the oath of Office" For these reasons our
author concludes that 1incoln's election
did not justify secession This Is true
enough but he adds: The legitimate
grievance of the South was the protective
system of the Union. The Morrill, tarin
then in force. was an iniquitous one ror
the benefit of the Northern States which
were manufacturing communities, II de-
prived the Southern States, which pro-
duced only raw material, such az cotton,
sugar and tobacco, OF their right to I'M
port manufactured articles from Europe.
Here we must note an error Of detail.
The Morrill, Tariff act was not approved
by Pres ident Buchanan until March 2 1851
and il did not become operative until
April 1. BY Feb. OF the same year seven
States had seeded from the Union. and
South Carolina had passed an ordinance
of secession as early as Dec. 20, 1880. Mr.
Paul SAYS correctly, however, that, whether
| tho Morrill, tariff was or was not legiti-
| mate grievance, it was not tho cause OF
disruption. 1T was" he repeats. the
| prospect Of losing their slaves and with
! their slaves. as they thought, the value OF
their estates, which excited the anger and
| the apprehension of the Southern planters.
| A little further along in his narrative our
author hetrays deficiency Of information
when he describes Jefferson Davis, who in
| February, 1881. was chosen President by
the seeding States, "a "a man OF no ac-
count" No well informed and candid
/ American at the North or at the South
would at the time nave concurred in such
| depreciatory estimate Mr. Davis was,
! On no rba, tho only cOnspiCIl-
Gus representative Of the seceding States
who, In February, 1851. was generally
recognized as combining the qualities of a
statesman and soldier He had shown
his aptitude for military affairs by gallant
service in the war against Mexico. and by
efficient administration of the War Depart
ment. While in the Federal Senate he had
come to be regarded az the SUCCESSOR Of
Calhoun. The retrospective opinions "i
foreigners, who are apt to judge by the
event may differ as to the merit Of Davis's
conduct of the Confederacy, but we have
never heard his ability or his devotion
| disputed by Confederate.
We turn with satisfaction to the SEN
tencea in which the author attests the thor
oughness Of his comprehension Of Lincolns
character and place in history. He re-
minds us how Lincoln. in his first inaugural
address, affirmed explicitly and in tn" full
est sense the independence Of each state
| within it's own sphere. while at the same
time. in language equally emphatic, he
denied the right of any State to secede,
Il hold he said, that, in the contempia-
/ ton Of universal law and Of the Const-
tuition. the Union Of these States is per-
petua." Appealing to the Southern States,
w ose President he legally was, he said
an your hands, my dissatisfied fellow coun-
| trvnen. and not In mine, is the momentous
issue of civil war. The Government will
not assail you" Mr.. Paul proceeds to quote
the words which expressed a pious hope,
and which have become justly famous:
The mystic cords of memory stretching
from every battlefield and patriot grave
to every living heart and hearthstone all
over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union when touched again
! as surely they will ls-by the better angels
of our nature" Our author says truly
that no man ever desired war less than did
Lincoln. NO man would have done more
to avoid It, short Of admitting the right TO
secede. AS a Republican he had been
elected to defend the Union. As Presi-
dent he had sworn to preserve the Consti
tuition. He was faithful to his trust and to
his oath" Mr.. Paul adds that Abraham
Lincoln was at that time almost unknown
in Europe. To the Southern States he
represented merely an odious principle Of
bookkeeping ascendency. and even his own
supporters did not fully understand him.
.An English statesman [Sir George Corne-
wall Lewis justly esteemed for the general
sagacity Of his views, sneered at the new
President as a village attorney" There
is no doubt that, although his eloquence
was already famous in the Northern States,
parts of Lincoln's character and the full
measure of his ability were still hidden from
the view even of his fellow countrymen.
Our author we'll says that mot until he was
confronted with task truly described by
himself as greater than Washington's did
the world. or even his intimates. discover
his calm fortitude in adversely, his mag
unanimous temper in prosperity, his profound
sympathy with opinions he did not share,
his patience with folly and error his long
sighted wisdom, his mistaken faith in the
final triumph of good" The impression
planted in the writer of these volumes by
careful study of Lincoln's career finds
adequate expression in the following Ian
guage HE was indeed Il strange mixture
Of openness and reserve. There was the
Lincoln who would not let his Cabinet enter
on business until he had poured out food
of irresistible drollcry upon every sort Of
subject thus perhaps relieving his mind
from a tension that it could not otherwise
have borne. There was also the melancholy
mystic brooding Lincoln, a dreamer of
dreams and believer in them. as gentle
and tender as he was strong and brave.
feeling the losses of the South only less
acutely than the defeats Of the North, hor-
rifying his Generals by his free pardons
OF deserters and spies, hoping always for
the reunion of the future. repeating his
favorite text. Judge not. and We shall not
be Judged With the doubtful exception Of
Washington. Lincoln was the greatest Of
all Americans, and Washington was sub
stantinlly British aristocrat, while Lincoln
was ra"y of the soil"
v.
1t was not until President Lincoln issued
a proclamation (April II, 1851 declaring
q. IL. 4.l. ;.,= -a.I e