Year: 1875

grim meatures must, in spite of his
want of humor, often be lighted up by
the broadest of broad grins, and, unless
he has in his seven years retirement lost
some of his old fire, he will, when Con-
gress next meets, treat the Senate to
speech in substance somewhat as fol-
lows:


81 felt when I was under accusation
that my enemies were making them
selves ridiculous, that 1 had done moth
ing wrong, and that though I was per-
haps not one of the greatest or most
decorous men who ever sat in the Pres
idential chair, nevertheless not only
was not the monster that was painted,
but worse men might come after me,
and without being prosecuted or de-
nOunced. 1t is true I advocated plan
of reconstruction of which the party
did not approve, but it was one Lincoln
devised, and which he, had he lived,
would have carried out, and which it is
now plain an honest and patriotic man
might very we'll have supported. You
have carried out your own plan, and
you are actually boasting Of its failure,
and trying to prove to US every day
that it has resulted in leaving the South
in the worst possible condition. You
confess that it has deprived the negroes
ol I'LL pIolcCllOu 1Ol IlAC VI PAOPCACS oAN
has impoverished the whites; and you
must admit that 4 worse result than this
mine could not have had.


"You said was corrupt; but while


L was in office ( never accepted a gilt,


and / never put Il relative in any place
OF trust or profit, or used the public
service to promote my private interests
or those of my family. ! pardoned,
doubtless, some very bad criminals,
but no criminals of my pardoning ever


found their way Immediately afterward
! into government offices. Ineyer offered
to Il prisoner under trial the hospitality
of the national mansion in which l
lived; nor had I ever the audacity,
much us despised Congress-, to norni-


nate for high civil functions Il man
whom it had just legislated out Of office
for gross corruption.


uNIy views on the national finances
may not have been sound in all respects.
had not the advantage of all the dis
cussion which the subject has since un-
tle:gone, but 1 put the Treasury in
charge of an experienced financier-not
an ordinary politician-who advocated
and carried out as long as he was allow
ed the very policy for which the wis
est of you are now striving. The
Treasury was never made in my day
the headquarters Of a ring of infOrmers
and SpeculatOrS, and, though you
thought / was regardless of law, Inever
permitted such a tremendous assu1np-
| ton of power as an issue of paper money
| for political purposes, by a single man


and in defiance ofthe opinion of Il Com


mittee of the Senate. Nor did I ever


take the funds belonging to the for
eign service of the Government from


the hands of Il great banking house,


and give them to Il Wall-street adven-
turer with small capital and less credit.
1t is true l told Emory that the law
directing orders to pass through the
General of the Army was unconstition-
| III, but l never shclved the General of
the Army completely and sent orders
| without any regard to him, nor did


any army officer, with my permission,
ever Interfere with the organization of
4 State Legislature or issue vitupeara-
tive proclanations directed against
whole classes Of citizens. Moreover,
although l was not successful in bring
ing our differences with England to
happy termination, l honestly strovc
for that end as we'll as l knew how.
~ selected for the English mission one
of the most distinguished lawyers in
the country, who had half !, century of
DSfttftt tttHf,
and who, though he doubtless was
overgushing in his relations with our
enemies, came back without leaving
stain on his name or on that of his
country. No speculator ever dared to
approach him with any scheme for the
spoliation of ususpecting foreigners,
and SO far as he was known in the
society to which he was accredited, he
was known for learning and ability and
for an illustrious professional career;
and if he did not conclude II treaty,
neither did his successor.


'I made, it is true, some foolish and
Hitupcrative speeches; but you had in
Congress plenty of men as foul mouthed
rs l, whom you honored or laughed at
and if you expect me to become polished
and sclf-rcstraincd, choice in my Ian
guaSc and in my company, you were
more cNactinG toward me than you


have been since toward others. My
tongue may have been loose, and my
temper bad but l can at least say for
myself that the utfuirs of State were
the subjects of which l most loved to
talk and think that for forty years
they had been my main interest; and