Year: 1875

The Sphinx Speaks.


After silence which has been most
justly criticised-a silence which neither
Washington nor Jefferson thought proper
to maintain under similar circumstances
the Sphinx of the White House has at last
spoken on the third term question. What
he has said and how he has said it all can
see for themselves by reading his letter
published in to-day's paper. We do not
know what Others may think of this effu-
sion, forced under great pressure from
Gen. Grant, but for ourselves we have no
hesitation in saying that in its evasions
and hypocrisy it is a disgrace to the man
who wrote it, and his counsellors and ad-
visers, if he had any, must have had a
very poor opinion of the intelligence of
their fellow citizens when consent was
given to its publication.


The text of the letter and the circum-
stances under which it was written, all
show that its purpose was to mislead the
conservative public opinion on a subject
about which it was becoming restive, and
yet at the same time to say very plainly to
another class, "Barkis is willing"


If President Grant wished to speak en-
phatically and frankly on this subject of a
third term, the English language, though
perhaps it may be "a grammarless tongue" :"
is not so poverty-stricken that he could
not have found words sufficiently explicit
to make all understand that he was not in
favor of third term and would not ac-
cept one at the hands of the people. Nor
need he have kept them on the anxious
bench so long for want of proper oppor-
tunity to express himself without descend
ing beneath ''the dignity of the Office
which have twice been called upon tn
FILL" This idea of dignity" is something
new on his part and we are glad to learn
that he has found out that there is such an
adjunct to the Office which he has 'been
twice called upon to FILL" 1t must have
been a recent discovery, for evidently it
had not been made when he thought prop
er to write to Mr.. Bonner of the Ledger
denying any completely with brother-in-
law Corbin in the gigantic swindle of
Black Friday: Nor when he wrote or got
somebody else to write the famous finan-
cial manifesto to Senator Jones Nor when
in pursuance of contract to that effect,
made with President Baez, he wrote his
famous message to the Senate in favor of
the purchase of Santo Domingo and then
personally lobbied in favor of that scheme.
and afserward pursued Senator Sumner,
because of HIS manly opposition to this
terminated at his. grave: Nor yet when
more recently he daily attended the ses-
sions of Congress and actively lobbied. by
means of threats and promises, the Force
bill. We therefore are glad that Ire has
found this attribute of his high Office and
hope he will cherish it. For the rest it
strikes US that a more appropriate occa-
sion would have been when the South
Carolina, as well as the Florida Republi-
can Convention advocated third term.-
Perhaps if the Pennsylvania also had
adopted resolution in favor OF, instead
of in opposition to, the third term, 1.-The
dignity of the office might still have de-
prived US of sight Of this oracular letter
addressed to the president of convention
which had adjourned and gone home.


We might say "better late than never"
if there were anything in the letter to
which could be applied the comparative
of good. But on the contrary, the whole
is fraud and deception. The only thing
in it which is clear is that Gen. Grant will
take third term if he can get it. 1t is
true that this purpose is sought to be
covered up by words, but nevertheless it
is there and every one who is not wilfully
blind must see it through the verbiage OF
the author.


In the first place he tells US that he
never sought the office for second, nor
even for first nomination" The people
of this country are So mach in the habit of
nominating and electing to the Office OF
Presidant men who do not seek the posi-
tion, in fact do not want it, that of course
everybody must believe Gen. Grant when
he says he never sought nomination. He
further tells us that he made great sacri-
flee in vacating the position 'created by
Congress expressly for" him. 0fthis posi-
mon he states now, with longing sighs and
gushing recollections, that he liked it
Doubtless he did. He would not have
it except that he "was made to
believe that the public good called for
the sacrifice. Good natured mani If he
was SO easily persuaded to give up SO
position for the Presidency,
DON you believe, gentle reader, that now