THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST
STILL ANOTHER "STATES RIGHTS’’
MAN.
It is refreshing to bring home to such blatant
patriots as Senators Sumner, Wade and Wil
son to Geueml Dlx and Mr. tiEOKOE Ban
croft the doctrines and utterances of auld lang
evne. A man that forces a nauseous draught
upon his fellow may, expect, as sure as there is
a Nemesis in all things, to have the ehaltec of
bitterness commended to his own inspection.
The great marvel of the present epoch is the I
facility, the sang froid with which whole masses j
and their representatives swallow at a gulp j
every protestation of the Past and every priuei- :
pie it treasured. It is excusable, though de
plorable, that such an alternative should be ob
ligatory upon some under pressure. But
where there is nothing but victory and no pres,
sure, how shall wc typify such men as those
above enumerated whose present course falsi
fies every idea they formerly entertained and
gloried in. Is it hypocrisy—depravity— lust of
gain—fiery ambition—madness ?We do not
pretend to specify ; we make no charge ; wc
present facts and leave the inference to honest
thinkers. These gentlemen are among the
foremost in proclaiming the indestructibility of
principle. If this be axiomatic, how can live
years so sap and mine the principle they once
upheld T Os course, wc do not pretend to as
sert that their ancient sentiments were wrong,
but who shall decide if their existing creed, so
antagonistic to the former article of faith, is
right ! Not in anger but in sorrow arc the con
tradictory records of certain prominent mem
bers of the Radical party disinterred ; we feel
that their inconsistency is a balk to civilization,
a barrier to Republican progress, a blemish
upon the honored Amerieau name.
What we have “'o quoted against those
gentlemen has fcMfi | prose ; let us have a
ttste of thyme, ity good rhyme at that.
New England uim nave had the benefit of ven
tilation ; let the subjoined verses speak for a
Southern man of considerable notoriety in
North Carolina and elsewhcro. Wo find them
in the Richmond Timet, which asserts that they
were written and published some years ago by
tjiat loyal individual, whose.name is attached to
his effusion. Hear him :
John 0. Oalhoun.
BV W. W. IHII.IIIIS, HDITOIt Or Tn* STAKDAID.
Tho voyager on the Southern main
Views witli rapt awo the hallowed sien
Which nightly flames “ beyond tho line;”
• Nor deems the labor all In vain
Whloli brings him to the long sought shrine.
The warrior’s tribes, in Held by flood,
Walk In Its light when the day Is gone,
And hall It in Its light abode
Best reflex of the absent sun.
In all their devious wanderings,
From dewy eve through midnight's reign,
It guides them till the morning's wings
Sheil sunlight o’er the earth again.
What If that cross Its front should veil
And, darkling, sink in night's embrace t
No other stars nor sun could till
(Jr share Its wondrous dwelling place.
Star of ' R ‘ South, 'twas thus with thee 1
To thee -i " nni ' hearts were turned,
As round th> ’ l>“ th fr< ’ m sea
Thu glory ot th J' « r, ' lUl iSM
Millions were draw » and bound
By miiui's high mu. * ’’ r - v » Balled
In thee a ommso stab ~ |or, ,
A ray iu thco that wune. or ““ley.
Fix’d a* the sun which bangs .’ n Heaven,
Firm os thi) earth It shines up,
Pure as the snow by light winds o. , ,
Wert thou, Columbia's honored so.”
No night's embrace for thee nor pall
But such a inortul change has wrought •
Turn: i.trssT still In mind -In all
That breatlies, or speaks, or lives in thong. “•
Star of the South ! thy beam* are heTo —
Ukhi in this iikabt that weep* thy loss
Though hidden, thou art still a sphere
Serene, rcllncd from earthly dross,
Kt. rtial unit Intensely clear I
ItALKlotl, April o, 1850.
DISLOYAL BEEF.
A city paper contains an otlirinl advertise
ment inviting certain proposals for beef, but
declaring that
“No bids will be entertained from persons
who eoine under the exceptions of the Presi
dent s amnesty proclamation, nor will bids in
which such persons are interested, either direct
ly or indirectly, he received, unless they can
produce the pardon of the President. Bids
irom all other persons under said proclamation
must be accompanied by the amnesty oath.” ’
Now, when the Federal Government offers at
public sale its decayed or useless property it
has not, we believe, been considered indispen
sable that the buyer should do more than make
the bid most advantageous to that Government
and have the wherewithal to pay for his pur
chase, and when positions are reversed and that
Government, in turn, becomes the buyer we
are at a loss to perceive any good reason why it
should Impose strange and abnormal conditions
ou the chiseii vendor. If I want a Government
mule I hid for him, and, if I bid more than any
body else, Government hands me over long-ears
and I plauk down the cash. The transaction
is a plain business matter all around-so much
mule for so much money. 1 get all I can for
my money and the Government all it can for its
mule; and, like two acuaihlc men on a trade
neither parly bothers the other about the oath
of allegiance, condonation of treason, or any
other such foreign topic whatsoever.
Hut, when incomes to buying, it seems that
these plain business rulos are uot to prevail.
Aw ay off, in the Department of the Gulf—alas,
that Republican America should be umpired
out iuto those satraples-itls likewise provided
that ewiiticatiou of “ loyalty ” must accompany
bids, and this correspondence of requirement
leads us to suppose it i s to be henceforth an in
tegral requisite to proposals.
Lookingai it in lli is way, it is proposed slight*
iy to touch upon it—a general rule being*,!-
titlod to a notice uo eiugie case of tiic sort
should receive.
lho v ‘iloral Government, let us suppose,
needs beef, and you have it. It wants to buv
“ and )ou to sell. But, unfortunately'
rr’" ‘“"S* flre - This new dispense
mu ,">u out. \ ou have to secede front
he market and the result of your secession is.,
‘u - £’ ‘° ‘ iimiuish coul l H>t ition, and
nn m, th ° f rom:liuh * Mulders to
The .' )V l rU ' ‘ 1 '°- V ,l ° run up the price.
iug its honest h«ui, dou\,U^
PROGEESS OF REVOLUTION.
A gre£t war has just ended. A great revolu
tion has jnst commenced. If the devastating
sword has been sheathed, other weapons have
been suddenly seized which threaten to involve
the whole land in new and unexpected strife.
The late struggle of arms theoretically left us
j in its conclusion where wc previously were
j vital parts or the United States, portions of
1 its territory, co-ordinate members of its gov
-1 erning power, because co-existent subjects of
j j t * authoritative rule. But a revolution has be-
I gun that presents a totally different issue, and
| aims to accomplish ends as novel as they are
! nruazi!ig. Short sighted people who imagine
j that the termination of the bloody conflict
would bring peace and prosperity, find them
selves sadly mi"‘"’"'rt. Statesmen who gravely
told us that i Ifssntv 1 of slavery would be
the removal o. ** MS* of the '• irrepressible
conflict,” have p»„ .acniselvcs to be false
political prophets, and, at the present moment,
they are more bewildered as to the future pro
gress of events than any other claas of think
ers. A vast revolution, radical in its princi
ples, radical In its temper, and radical in its
purposes, has been inaugurated, and, day by
day, hastens to its full development.
In all this, thoughtful men find nothing
strange, nothing uuhistorical, nothing peculiar
to the. times or circumstances of the country.
Old precedents are being followed, old laws are
reasserting their stern authority. The wonder
is not that such events are transpiring, but the
wonder is that any reasonable man could have
expected any other sequel to the occurrences of
the Last four years. Wars arc mere preludes
to revolutions. They prepare the way for
changes in the ccouomy of society. Some
times these changes are structural; sometimes
they are organic ; whether the one or the other,
they are certain to occur if the wars themselves
had any meaning and purpose. But while this
is true, it is equally true that the #udden out
burst of fanaticism in our country has amazed
ell who have watched its spirit and measures.
Certainly it was reasonable to conclude that
the disturbed elements would be allowed to
settle, and an era of thoughtful calmness super
vene, as in .the days of the second Charles of
England, as in the days of President Monroe,
in our country, before the war of opinion and
passion was again resumed. Certainly wc had
tested our strength and our weakness suffi
ciently to avoid any further strain upon the
resources of the peoplo. But, it is now quite
apparent that whatever lessons were learned
by the war, we have not yet learned the art of
pacific statesmanship.
The egregious error of the dominant portion
of the Republican party is that it understands
neither its own true position nor the position
of the Southern States. If its principles are
maintained, they must inevitably change the
organic framework of the Government. To
prevent this supposed result as the effect of
secession, they waged war upon the South and,
to consummate it, they are waging a war of
parliamentary measures upon the President
and the Constitution. Wc simply proposed
to retire from the Federal Union; they pro-
pose to make changes which arc esceutially
of the nature of a revolution under the ostensi
ble pretexts of Congressional power. In their
hands, the freed negro is a more potent means
of agitation, a mightier element of convulsive
action, than the slave. The question of slavery,
p;tsshig through its sueeessivc forms of discus
sion and dissension, finally narrowed itself
down to a war-question between the United
States and slavcliolding States. Asa war-ques
’on, it was decided against the slaveholding
Slats ‘ ® ut tlie freed negro question is more,
ala tlian slavcr - y - 11 is more alarming
' ,® . local and institutional question,
because riot a „ . .. * „
.. ■* Government itself; the fun-
The hatrfre 6f the ......
, , ■... stributed agency in exe
daurental laws' of cm , , ~
ji , ■ ’•nment; the function'
euting the offices o¥ «ovt. , ,
al differences of co-6’f<#**te 0 s ° ve '
reignty; the re-opening Os she ' ‘ ‘‘Jiiii! 0 "
of State Sovereignty; aud Cu* ° lllslol '
of universal sentiments and Jttt?'' 6 *'* , arc a
involved in this most premature ~ tIA unv ' ul>py
movement. Time may possibly so,* C t lCß ''
puzzling problems, if time is left to do its '
vidential work. Nations sometimes outgrow
their troubles if thoso troubles are quietly left
alone. But, the new fanatics seem to be as im
patient with Providence as they arc with the
South and about as resolutely determined to
rule the one as the other. If the South is res
tored lo the Union, it is high time that the
Union were restored to the South. This, how
ever, is a question for the epresentcd
in Congress to settle.
But, of oue thing we are certain, viz: every
day's (May in the full restoration of the South
is a delay in the restoration of the Union to
itself and its genuine principles of peace and
prosperity. Os another thiug wo arc equally
certain, viz: if this pacific settlement is much
longer deferred, the old Free States trill get
heyond the point of reconciliation among them
selves, and, as‘an inexorable result, the whole
question at issue trill become utterly unmanage
able. But, we have grave doubts that these
calm and considerate counsels will be heeded.
Fanaticism is advancing; wisdom is availing
less ami less excry hour to resist the onward
march of most threatening evils. So far as the
South is concerned, it must address all its forti
tude and patience to the acquirement of new
lessons in forbearance, in hoping against hope,
•uid in a brave reconciliation to adverse circum
stances. Our fate is not in our own hands.
Nor is it an unmixed cause ol regret that in so
critical a period as the present, we are free from
all responsibility as to the momentous issues
now confronting tic people. Whether so or
not, it becomes the South to be firmly local to
ihe Constituted Authorities of the land in the
-amc spirit ot high and heroic manliness that
..lie has exhibited since the war terminated. It
she maintains this attitude; if, amid tauuts and
reproaches and vituperation, siie stands with
silent taliantness by the Constitution of the
couutry and keeps alive the lpve for its princi
ples which she never lost and has therefore
never had to regain; then, indeed, the day mav
come sooner than expected, when the conserva
tive spirit and philosophy of this same South
may be prized and venerated even more than
they are now scorned and rejected.
WHOLESOME READING.
An esteemed correspondent calls our atten
tion to a leading article in the Richmond Cen
tral Presbyterian of the Bth instant, which it
[rjves us pleasure to notice. The text of the ar
ticle is a mandatory note from “headquarters”
directing, in accordance with General Grant’s
Newspaper rescript, that a copy of each issuejof
the Presbyterian l»e sent to the Federal officer
commanding the “Department” of Virginia.—
On this hint the editor speaks and with such
force that we have only to regret we cannot re-
publish the whole of his somewhat lengthy re-1
spouse. Still we shall essay briefly to state his
main positions, and then devote all necessary
space to some very wholesome extracts incor
porated in the main body of the editorial.
First, then,like a prudent man,this editor states
he will furnish the copy of his paper required,
and secondly, like a man justly indignant, he
adds that he does so only under a compulsion
it is impossible to escape and regarding the
whole procedure as an arbitrary confiscation of
private property —an euphuism of our Rich
mond brother’s equal, in plain Saxon, to the
highwayman’s Stand and Deliver. “By what
right,” continues he, “does General Grant or any
other man seize such property and this too
without even the small palliation of offering to
pay for it ?” By what right, indeed, good bro
ther,if not that whereby mighty David robbed
Uriah of his wife. You, good brother, have
sworn to maintain that Constitution wherein it
is written private property shall not be taken
for public use without just compensation, and
it would be impious to suppose that the Lieu
tenant General has not at least done as much as
you, and solemnly attested before God his pur
pose to similarly observe that great instrument
in all its parts. But wc live in anew world
now, brother; there is a Dispensing Power
abroad in the land and it may somewhat case
your lacerated feelings to reflect in wonder that
the same “Circular Letter ” which deprives you
of a few sheets of paper, may absolve the Fede
ral Ciimmander-in-Chief from his solemn oath.
But en avant. The Presbyterian goes on to
further speak of the tyrannical vagueness, the
glaring inequality, the searching venom of the
rescript whereby it is to bereft of its substance,
but as these points arc sufficiently before our
people it is not now proposed to say more
upon them, further than as may be necessary to
illustrate the connection in which certain ex
tracts are introduced. First of these, and in
allusion to that part of Gen. Grant’s Circular
which declares that “articles calculated to keep
up hostility of feeling between the different sec
tions of the country cannot be tolerated,” is an
excerpt from Robert Hall’s “Apology for the
Freedom of the Press,” as follows:
“When the example has been once introduced
of suppressing opinions on account of their
imagined ill tendency, it has seldom been con
fined within any safe or reasonable bounds. The
doctrine of tendencies is extremely subtle and
complicated.” “The law has amply provided
against overt acts of sedition and disorder, and
to suppress mere opinions by any’other method
then reason and argument is the height of
tyranny.”
And again from the same author :
“ All violence exerted towards opinions which
tails short of extermination serves no other pur
pose than to render them more known and ulti
mately to increase the zeal and number of their
abettors. Opinions that are false may be dissi
pated by the force of argument; but when they
are true their punishment draws to them infal
libly more of the public attention, and enables
them to dwell with more lasting weight and
pressure on the mind.
“ When public discontents arc allowed to
vent themselves In reasoning and discourse,
they subside into a calm ; but their confinement
in the bosom is apt to give them a fierce and
deadly tincture. The reason of this is obvious;
as men are seldom disposed to complain till
they at least imagine themselves injured, so
there is no injury which they will remember so
long, or reseut so deeply, as that of being threat
ened into silence. This seems like, adding tri
umph to oppression, and insult to injury. The
apparent tranquillity which ensues is delusive
and ominous; it is that awful stillness which
nature feels while she is awaiting the discharge
of the gathered temp?*'-”
And after this extract comes something of
the Presbyterian's own, which goes straight to
the point in saying that “ instead of the question
being whether the press, and iu one part of the
country as well as in the other, shall, under re
sponsibility to civil law, ‘be tolerated' in its
freedom to c ominent upon any and all branches
of tftp f'«cverniweiit, and upon all subjects, the
°stiOfi <tt befn- ' Hie country whether this
qu 'no b 'a principle so dearly
enorm, 10D 01 lels-whether this
bought—a j 6 , ,f ° P r * e< -.
shall be tolerateu. ' P en m *'*'
Our reverend brothu’ Uk re ,be
taut in this regard. The q.l’estion bei o . ' cr
country is whether General Gka.nT or nuy om
man whomsoever shalWiut liis heel upon the
Liberty of the Press, in the Fed
eral Constitution. The Spirit of God alone
says Holy Writ trieth the reins of a man, bnt
what a pass are the free men of America come
to if the shoulder strap is to sit in judgment on
the heart. Freedom of the Press is assailed.
Personal Liberty in danger; Trial by Jury a
bye-word, and Habeas Corpus fast sliding iuto a
bare remembrance. Children that can now
talk, and are beginning to reason, have never
drawn a breath in the air of a Constitutional
freedom. North and South—just think of it—
a generation of serfs are arising—the fettered
offspring of fathers who were born free only
that they might beget slaves—a race who, what
ever be the fate of these United States hereaf-
ter, can never deny it that in the hour of their
birth their native laud Was disgraced by all the
despotism of the worst of English kings—
Twenty years from now the American citizen
who casts his first vote on majority—if, indeed,
there be such things as votes then in America
-may blush to think of the tyrannies now
enacted in America, and in even one-fifth of
that score of years it may well come to pass, as
this Presbyterian, iu closing, observes, that
General Grant may “ me the day when he put
forth his hand to profane this sacred ark ”
The Freedom of the Press. Men may be
choked into silence now—choked after a vain
appeal to the benificent Federal Constitution.
But Time brings many revenges, aud “ There is
no injury which men remember so long, or resent
so deeply, as that of being threatened into si
lence.''
During the last two years the Government
has realized, from confiscated and abandoned
cotton, sugar, etc., in the State of Mississippi
over six million dollars.
A PLEA POR THE BIRDS,
No true sportsman will wage war against
game birds, from this time forward until late iu
the autumn. At this season, the birds, which
have previously congregated in flocks or covies,
i separate into pairs for the purpose of reprodue
j tion, and should be safe from powder, shot and
| snares. We would advise all buoyant boys and
i rkildren of larger growth, intent on frolic or
I gain, to put their guns away for several months,
! and devote the spring and summer days to the
appropriate recreation of angling. Let the j
winged creatures suitable for table use have a j
respite; but, if convenient, assort your bobs,
hooks and lines in readiness for trout, bream,
perch and other fish, with which our contiguous
rivers or ponds abound. Down by shady wil
lows, green nooks, or clear expanse of waters,
fun enough can be procured for an evening holi
day, without disturbing doves and partridges in
their pleasant loves and domestic felicities.
Moderation should be observed in the use of
ammunition as in everything else. If carried to
an irrational extreme, it will not take long to
exterminate the feathered tribes which now pre-
vail, and which add so greatly to the delight ot.
the hunter and the gastronome. Some unthink
ing persons imagine that it is impossible to ex
terminate the game birds of the South. Such
would indeed be the case, if all men were satis
fied with a sober degree of shooting; but in
sport, as in all else, many individuals exist who
never get the worth of their money or their
percussion caps. These insatiable monsters are
arrant pests and should not be encouraged.
To show that it is possible to annihilate, or
nearly so, the game birds of certain sections, in
spite of their vast numbers, we need only refer
to indubitable statistics on the subject.
Let us take, for example, the grouse which •
formerly existed in countless myriads through-1
out the West. In several of the Stales, say
Ohio, Indiana and Illihois, these birds have di
minished so sensibly that an earnest protest
against their massacre has been put forward by
the Government itself. One man in New York
has been known to receive at a single consign
ment no less than 30,000. How many he and
others received, during the year, may be com
puted at hundreds of thousands. This is true
of all other game birds and, if the entire figure
could be summed up, it would stagger the most
incredulous. At this rate, it will not be too
rash to assert that the present century will
witness the total extermination of game birds
in various sections of the country.
Is it not time that this wholesale butchery
should be checked ? State laws seem totally
inadequate to remedy the evil, and, in their de
fault, we advise our planters to prohibit pro
miscuous and untimely hunting on their do
mains. All, or nearly all, of them are fond of
this sport, and it is a matter of some moment
to them that the exterminating geiffry should
have a stoppage put upon their disastrous
work.
Many reckless gunners seem to' pursue game
as though posterity had no claim upon them.
It is all very well to “ damn posterity,” but
posterity has inalienable rights as well as they.
There is a higher argument than all this
which should weigh with every earnest man,
and that is, the usefulness of birds. They have
not been created vainlv, and although some are
troublesome to the crops, we arc firmly per
suaded that they are more beneficial than other
wise in destroying grasshoppers and hurtful
grubs. The little grain that may be consumed
by them is but a meagre bribe for the unnum
bered insects which they suppress. It is esti
mated by those who have studied the matter
seriously, that If our game birds should be ma
terially .lessened, the crops would suffer in
a material proportion.
When killed in a legitimate manner, viz: by
shooting, and at proper intervals, no great
damage is done; but by using snares and
slaughtering them when pairing, incalculable
detriment is sustained.
Many of our birds are the companions of
civilization. The partridge, and dove are most
frequently discovered where man has built his
dwelling or plowed the fields. Civilization,
then, tends rather to foster the increase of
these beautiful, useful and palatable creatures;
is it not a barbarism to seek their utter or com
parative destruction ?
We are persuaded that much that is warlike
and independent in our character has been pro
duced by the universal love of field sports in
the South. Habitual use of the gun preserved
us from effeminacy and knit our sinews in
healthy symmetry.
A writer upon this theme has nobly said
“that sucli influences purify the heart of every
whose fortune it may have been to listen
’-ound on the echoing hill-side, or to
one horny brake in quest of the whirring
to the iu . v, all this may seem but the
thread the w q e men,’ but history teaches
game. To ma.. acquired in the chase of
‘little things of liu '. and the possession
us that the knowledge. 't toil of many a
wielding a deadly weapon ‘be means of
of frames hardened by pleasa. freedom of
hunting expedition, have been '
enabling a people to preserve the
their country when the time of trial ©. V
Let this glorious prerogative be still: itataim
by preserving the birds. We could easily jfo r .
tify this matter by reference to. Fnmch and
English experience, but what has been said may
answer the purpose. We have written iu the
love of nature aud its darlings of the wood and
forest—likewise with a healthy appreciation of
honorable sport. We feel that old hunters will
thank us for this admonition. Let them coun
sel all under their control to sound a truce to
gun and shot poueli, for a vacation, and lavHi
their spare energies and cash, if so disposed
upon diversions sacred to tlie memory of Iz VAK
Walton.
A correspondent of the Salem Messenger
sats: “ The first Alabamian to shed his blood
in the conflict was Ecfward IV. Tarrant of Tin
caloosa county. When the first call for voluu
tears was made in 1861, he was eighteen years
of age and a cadet at the University of Alaba
ma. He immediately resigned his commission
os cadet, and volunteered as a privaTinThe
Warrior Guards,” then Commanded by cap
tom, afterwards major general, Rhodes'. H e
followed the sth Alabama to Virginia. Havin '
escaped all other rigors of war, he is now teach"
tug school m Tuscaloosa countv.” j
THE FINANCIAL IMBROGLIO.
There is a strong effort being made by tic
Radicals in Congress to embarrass Sccretar
McCulloch. The ball was recently opened b,
Freeman Clarke, Comptroller of the Trea-a
ry, whose extraordinary and audacious letter
hap been reproduced in the colums of thisjom
nal. Mr. Clarke’s statement has been rather
summarily dealt with, and, in attempting to
' prove the Secretary false at figures, has onl?
I succeeded in proving himself a mischievous shh.
i ricator in statistics. According to Mr. West
j worth, the policy of the Radicals and thei
exponent, the Comptroller is to so manacle
Mr. McCulloch, that his efforts to stop shod
dy-ism and stock gambling shall be powerless
In other words, the Radical programme affords
the reckless blacklegs of Wall street and else
where unlimited scope for their sinister opera
tions. It is likewise objected that Mr. Mc-
Culloch would have too much power con
ferred on him, if his financial scheme were
adopted. But, the friends of the Secretary
contend that when dealing with desperate and *
unscrupulous men, it is eminently desirable
that such a man as McCulloch should hare
all the necessary power the emergency de
mands. He is an honorable man, proud of his
position, and capable of filling it like a master.
His opponents manifest little of his tone or
ability, and, from their debates, evince the
veriest smattering of political economy, the
dreariest scraps and rinsings of disordered
shatter-brains. He wants a settled market;
they want a confused one. He desires narrow
margins between specie and paper; they seek
large ones. The consequence of his plans is to
demolish the Wormwoods of speculation; the
consequence of their interference will be a per
fect saturnalia for stock and gold gamblers.
I The great struggle with the Secretary is to
• rule the market for the good of the people at
large ; -the struggle of the speculators to rule
the Secretary for the benefit of themselves alone,
and the impoverishment of the many.
The New York Tribune, however fanatical
about negroes, seems to be financially healthy.
It says :
Give the Secretary of tire Treasury the power
he asks for, and we believe eur currency would
be within ten per cent, of par before he could
redeem one quarter of our outstanding green
backs. For, the instant he begins to redeem,
banks will begin to hoard ; and that will take
us toward resumption with giant strides. As
yet, the banks have no competitors for green
backs ; but let us begin to redeem them, and
they will appreciate rapidly.
The same paper, in Thursday’s issue, says :
The letter of “Comptroller of the Currency”
Clarke to the Secretary of the Treasury, pub
lished in the Tribune yesterday, may be of im
portance to the writer, but in this latitude it »
regarded as an impertinent interference of a
subordinate with matters solely in charge of
the Secretary of the Treasury, who very justly
commands the confidence of the financial public
to a rare degree. His Fort Wayne speech and
his official report, together with his prudent
administration of the Treasury, hare already
put the country far on the road to specie pay
ments, to the dismay of a crowd of “wild-cat
bankers in Washington and elsewhere, who sec
in specie payments the end of those specula
tions upon which the few have grown rich at
the expense of the Government and the people.
The tendency of Air. McCulloch’s plan is to
gradually withdraw the Government issues,
which were sufely never intended to hold a
permanent place in American finance. By such
initiation, a promise and hope is given of even
tual suppression of irredeemable paper money
and a recurrence to the only proper basis,
which is specie. The Secretary well knows
from his matured experience and learning, and
not less from the disastrous precedents of other
countries afflicted with inflated and baseless
paper currency, that a long continuance of such
an evil cannot but bring ruin upon us as it did
upon them. Rule or ruin does not seem to be
an absolute fact with the Radicals; it has as
sumed the new phase of rule and ruin.
It has been to many, a source of wonderment
that Mr. Johnson continues in office such men
as are bitterly antagonistic to his policy. Sen
sation goes very far with Radicals. They court
political martyrdom rather than legitimate dis
missal. With such sears, they hope to embroil the
fanatical element at-tlie North; but the President
is deaf to their cooings for instant execution.
He bides liis time and until the fitting moment
shall have arrived the “chosen people” will
neither be stoned like Stephen or gridironed
like Saint Lawrence.
Meanwhile, let us hope that there is still con
servatism enough in Congress, to maintain
the Secretary who can alone maintain the
finance of the country.
Though the Loan Bill has been defeated by»
close vote, a reconsideration has been moved,,
and under the inspiration of better counsels
there is still a chance for its final passage.
SMILING CONSIDERED AS A FOE
ART.
Senator Sprague, of Rhode Island, bavins:
been taunted by one of his fellow Senators with
inordinate grimacing, spoke thus:
“ 1 intend always when I rise in my seat here
to smile. I consider the face that will smile onty
when it secs something to cause it to snare W*
excite its interest as not the hind 1 wish to hate
I do not wish to occupy that position, l ’ e '
lieve that the discussion of a question new t
the Senate that interests members, should «
fussed in a friendly and smiling conditio
w +. it will be the condition I shall rum
this body.” ,
q K -he Congressional Halls, the Ebot-
I true. -s the reputation of being oll '
occ «Py notables at Washington
Outside ot. *• the sacred
Island Senator h<.
of the most bibulous
“Smiling” so vigorously . '-ritpo
precincts, why shall he be the
A-iin ImTZ tempcra## within'?
Again, this gentleman, by rii iue of high tariff
Z7£to^rr and :a co!osßai fme ’^
, VX ’°- If lie has no t a charter for unli.r
we shot ffff like to'ZTZ
V,„ur that deserves it. .Saturnine folk -may
r mpinber.vhat donee Wil s Shakspeare said
smiles in Hamlet, we believe: “1 man
smile , a nd smile aud smile”-and so forth.
POLITICS AND GALLANTRY,
T . . Washington, March 16.
.*> piomSt pI&Z'ZStrTS
given f\v one tojie wife of Mother*
[Telegram to the X. Y. World.
caßvwm L T^ rC must be something Radi
oierlme H a6hin?ton - Look for an
other amendment to th e Constitution.
