The Evening Star MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1872.

Evening Star, Issue 3048, 25 November 1872, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1872.

Many events occur without exciting that universality of interest their importance justifies. If an European .the „tLiyj 1 istscl \vorlc] advent of his successor. His future policy is speculated upon ; or mayhap there may be grave apprehensions that some ambitious rival may light the llame of civil war, and assert his claim to the crown. But the late election of Chief Magistrate of the United States has been passed over almost without comment. It has not caused so much sensation as the Belfast riots. In some respects this apparent indifference on the part of the outside world to political events occurring in a nation, with a population of over forty millions, is cause for gra Dilation. it points to the confidence entertained on every hand, that whatever changes take place in the national policy of so powerful a people, thev will not bo allowed to affect the world at large. Viewed in connection with our own relationship to the United States, the struggle was not without significance. The opponent of General Grant was Horace Greeley, editor of the Vra; York Trihnn <>, a man of great talent, benevolent, and amiable, but holding fast to the Protective fallacies, the adoption of which has proved so detrimental to the commerce and industry of the United States. Ln other respects his character stands in strong contrast to that of General Grant. Brilliant as is the genius of Horace Greeley, he is imaginative and impulsive, and like most men of that class of mind, unreliable and somewhat unsteady in purpose. It is a pity that so many good men like Horace Greeley have not their impulses under the con trol of their judgments. It may be a fault of constitution, or it may arise from defective training ; but where feeling is not controlled and subordinated to the guidance of a trained intellect, it is apt to involve men in high positions in innumerable difficulties 1 . Possibly many may imagine that the power of a President of the. United States is so hedged in by constitutional checks that there is hardly a possibility of his exerting a mischievous influence on the action of Ids Executive ; but this is only partially true. In foreign relations especially, even the tone of a despatch might be productive of diplomatic diiliculty. As a theorist, Horace Greeley is an advocate for peace; but it is very doubtful whether he would have conducted the Alabama arbitration, so as to have preserved amicable relations with Great Britain, had he been President instead of General Grant. To the latter, the United States owes much. Though not so brilliant as his laic competitor j though

lie has not those showy qualifications that dazzle the popular imagination; he has proved himself able both as soldhn- and statesman. Possibly his military training stood him in good stead in tilting him to guide the destinies of of the 'Republic at a very critical period of its history. When he was elected President, the (Southern .States were Still in a state of disorganisation through the effects of the civil war. The strong i hand was still required to give a right direction to the social changes that had been so suddenly effected. Jsay, even yet the remnants of disorder remain. Had the people been governed by a monarch, instead of by democratic institutions, in all probability the only remedy would have been a military despotism. Rut this would not suit

the genius of democracy. The strong hand was required to repress disorder : the guiding mind was needed to check its excessive action. The utmost freedom consistent with social safety was necessary, and this was conceded on the part of the Executive. The rapid adaptation of the people to their altered circumstances is one of the marvels of history. Never was so great a change effected with so little disorder as that from slavery to freedom, excepting in the British West Indies. General Grant is a man of few words. .Soldier as he is, he knows the value of peace. His short, pithy exclamation, “ Let us have peace,” seems to have been no meaningless expression, but the utterance of a deep, well-grounded conviction that if the world is to progress, it must be through peace. Those who are acquainted with the events of the Presidential election, will remember that the chief charge uttered against him by his opponents was that he had “ surrendered the claims of America against England and had struck the national flag.” We regard his return, therefore, with the more satisfaction, as it may be looked upon not only as indicative of the confidence tho people of the United States have in General Grant, but as a significant intimation that it is the desire of the people to live in unity with all nations and with Great Britain in particular. The election was conducted with the utmost acrimony by tho partisans of the two candidates. The most bitter personalities were indulged in. Every trivial circumstance even in the private career of each, that could be tortured or twisted into something to bo condemned, was dragged to light. Even

the very dress of Horace Greeley, when pruning his fruit trees, was made the subject of ridicule. As in--11 infers'arc* 'wortliy 1 ' of “note ; otherwise practices so disreputable to those who indulge in them are host buried in oblivion. Because General Grant deserves well of his country : because he is a steady advocate of progress : because his desire is understood to be to break through those fetters that ignorance and selfishness have thrown around freedom of trade ; because he has proved himself a consistent seeker of peace, there is every reason to rejoice that he has had conferred upon him the honor, previously accorded only to Washington and Abraham Lincoln, of being elected President a second time.