Great's Insult To Gen. Hancock

In the ectumenti wbich a bouso o! áuly contrius us to make Otv recent insult ofFored by the President of tho Uoitad Ststea to ons of tbo most distinguiahed and palriotio oiEcors of the arniy, we Lepe we may bo able to spoak ia moasured laiiguage, and to keep withia tbc ltiuits of that decorum which a public journal would wish to observe toward tho Ghief Magistrate of tho country. The pure üharacter and brilliant serTices of Gen. Haocock, aod the unusual ateeni in wliich ho ia held by bis countrymen, should at leait protect hirn trotn supereilious iosolence. Hoparticipated ia almost every important battle whiuh was fought east of tbo Alleghannies, and n all tho pnlpitating report whioh came froro tbos bloody fields to ■tir cd thrill tbe hearts of tho people ; ál all tbe nninerous historiea of the war which ooolsr aad more oritical writers hare givea to the publio, Gen. Hancock lius stood io the foregrouod ag one of t!io most prominent and most adiuircd figures on the canvass. Hia character is adortiod with every aoldierly -rirtue. AU the Buccessive comuimiders of tho Army of the Potomao - MoClellan, Meade, Burnsido, Hooker and Grant himself- leaned on him ns ono of thuir cliief supports He was alwayg alert, vigorous, dashing, oapable, Bell poesessed, iudicious ; nevor blundering, never courting applause by any species of oliarlatanry, never ehriaking froin any rosponsibility that was laid upoa hiro, never failing to juatify tho coufidence and eiceed the expectations of hia superior offioers. üe prosented one of tho rarost cotnbinations of modest reserve and brilliant m tlio whole army. None of our distinguished officers, not even Gen. Aleads, would have eeemed 80 secure ngainst any kind of ir.sult. And jet Gen. Ilaroock Las been insultad ; insultad by i persoo from whom iusuit was least to have been expeoted, the eommau'l'-ii-chief of all our armieg. Some time since, Gen. Hancock wrote to Lieut. QeO. Sheruian inquiring why ho was n (n'omoted to tbo position made vacant !y tb dtb of Gen. Thomas, ■which belöng-ed lohim iu the order of preeedeuce. Iüb letter was shown to Preaident G-ran!, who dirocted (ho subslancc ot' tho rcply. Shortly aftcrwardi Gen. H;i:ioocli receivod from tho Lieut. Grasera] n mirt answer couched in the following iusulting term9 : 'ƒ nm rei: : President to h jon the . your personal relatiom ' hit administration, that could justif y your i noïOyCrlead you to expeel it MTtafUr. Even if tho President had determincd to ignore the jutt claims cf this distinguished ofiii'er, why should ho descend to tliis exbi'jition of LsuUiug insolence ? He migltt have closcd tbe door sgaiust General Uaucock without slamming it 80 rudclj in bis lace. A cold, stiff civility woulJ have beeu irritating enouyii, without a display of epitefuí personal feoliog, or a gratuitous threat to obstmot God. Hancock's rise iu the rmy so long pa President Grant would bavo thua gratiíied his personal malignity at tbo expenso ol offioial decorum. Any othor Presideit, even if he could have actci oa so igooble a motive, would Lave had the doctney to veil it under the fpecious forros of official etiquette. Ad auswer mlglit easily have beeu made o General Hancock, which, whilo extioguisbing his hopes, would not havo stung bis prido or wounded hia eeniibilities. But tii a President could not restrain himself from offering an affront ; and llie fcarp pen of Gen. Shorman gave terseness and point to the insult. So far as we can recollect this is tho firtt time that Gen. Grant bas aulliorizcd an cxpression in writiug of tho principies on which he makes hia appointments, and of the extensión of thoso principios to promutions in the army. Ho does not regard his power as a publio trust to be administered for the public advantago, but as e ppecies of privato property, whicb he utes to reward persoual gerTice!, discharge obligationi of persoual gratitude and wreak personal vengejince on tboso wbom ha hatea or disliktg. Iu big bestowal of civil offics he ha uotoriously acted on this aBPumption. Ili moit important civil appointments have beca requitala for thnse gifts of house or money which a fastidious sclf recpect would have praveuttd his tuking at all nd which men like Washington, or even raen like Aúdrew Johnson, would have goorned to receive, nnd have lelt it a dgrdtion to reward by the prostitution of a public trust. Politica! usage authorizes the bestowal of civil offices as a. reward for party services; but Gen. Grant has disregarded party claime, and distributed his patronage ou grounds of loerq persoual favoritism. JJüither partisan oor poliiical cousiderations ough! to have any infiuenco o;i promotions iu the army. Vv'h.u tho i'ountry is engag. ed in war, all party distioclious should be fuuk ia a common g ntiment of patriotisin ; and ns officerg of tho army uro expeeted to fight with equal zcal for any adnainistratinn by which a war inay happen to bo dcclared, it is absurd to exact from them any other allegiance tbsn an ullegiaucü - to the country. Military aerrt and Üq efficiency of the servioe ihould be the sole grounds of military promotion. But President Grant refutes to General Hnncock the promotion vvüich is duo to him, botk in tbe order of preccdence and for distiugumhed services, bocausa "ihere is nothing in big personal rolntions to General Grant," which cijtitles him to the favor or partialit of tLat functionary ! Ile is told that Ge,ticr;il ürant's personal dislike is a fatal bar, now and for all future tii, . to ii icccgnitiun of his claims! ïhe grounds oL Gen. Granl's COaiiguutit hostility to ibis Iriliiaut and esteemed iliuer ore mst understood by himeelf All that th puLlio know is that Hiöcock wa stationed at St. Louis at a time w.ben .e and hia famüy vtcc for yeaw il aeuei of Grant's duily degradation in ihe ëtreats of that city; th:,t Lo wrote a noble letter in defenso of civil rights v;!ien be was oue of tho coiumandere ift t.hs Soutb, nnder tho llecontruotion acts, and that he was ot;e of the candidatcs for President voted for by the Domooralio National Couventi-on. if tb President had any maguanimity, or even a reagonablo sulfrespoct he would not have lot guch. faets iacile him to iujnstice and idsuit. no banislicd Gen. Ilapoock to Jistaot Fort Sully, nd now he rcfuses hiui the promotion whioh bis duo, and repcls his iuquiry into the teason by bq iosolent personal affront, TLo Chicago Pott gnys : Tbo Alabama clnim dwiadlee out of sight as a grievance, when campared with the infwnous oonduot ofGreat Britain in rcUiaiing Train from the ' British Bastile.' Tor that oulrago we havo a grudgo that 64a Bver Ie lorg'ven." Minister ThorBtoa is to be asked to ct as arhitor betwcn tho United Sifcos üd lirazil in the claim for indemnity for tho seizure of the sliip Cacada by ibe latUir fcovernment msDj year tgo. I