SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, 1881. THE PENALTY OF GREATNESS. THE Manawatu Times.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 163, 24 September 1881, Page 2

SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, 1881. THE PENALTY OF GREATNESS.

THE Manawatu Times.

" Wei Aimm Wmm, Mi «'4r»p of fade UUaf Mto itn «p«a ft tkaaekt, pttrtMM that wkitk. nudcu tktasuide, yerkty* Milliwu tkUc"

"Unease L'es the Bead that wears a Crown ; " so sa^d the great dramatist, whose knowledge of all thi-ogs h u ao an extended f com the t'o l'obbings oi: the heart beneath the Imperial pu-ple, to the iooeraiost nature ox him boi a tblaboi'by Life sweat of hte b-.ow. President Gabfi^ld is no more ; the ruler of 50,000,000 of people ba* been .stricken down by the weapon of a cdwai'cHy assaa&io, and the sceptre which Las faUeafi'om the ) ig'd s»and of the dead statssruau is al.'eady in the grasp of bis successor. "The King is dead ;.Loag live the K«ng;" but although the American people have now another rule-', they w^il not easily forget the onetbey have lost — a worthy rival of the martyred LisrcoLir, and like him the vctitn of tt-easonable tveacheey. Uulilve other republics, tbe Constitution of American Government ia of sucb a nature as to make a wist provision against leaving the nation without a responsible head, and consequently it is secured from that anarchy and confusion "which is most likely to be the result of the removal of a ru>r by death, whose office is elective and [natshexediiary^.Sipce the immortal Geobge Washifgtojs-, the father of his country — of whom it is «aid that he was fi rst in peace, first in war, and firitin the hearts of his countrymen — w»i proclaimed President on the

6th of April, 1789, there have been twenty occupants of the Presidential Chair, four of whom have been stricken down by death before they had filled the term of office for which they had been elected. General William Habhtsost who became the chosen of the peeple in IS4L, did not live long to enjoy his proud position, his sway lasting e\% tly one month from day to day. In that emergency, as at the present, the vacancy caused by his sudden demise was filled by the Vice-President, John" Ttger, thus saving the worry of a great election, which otherwise would be forced upon the people without any previous wai'ning. General ZA.cHA.By. Taylor, thehero of Mexico, Texas, and Florida was the nexb to die in harnens, the man who bad a thousand times braved the bullets of Mexicans and Indians, sinking under an attack of cholera, after governing for sixteen months the people whose territoiy the prowess oi his arm had materially enlarged. The manner in which the Presidential Chair became vacant a third time — otherwise than by the effluxion of time — the assassination of Abraham LnrcoLK", and the elevation to the first position in the Eepublic of Andrew Johnson, is a matter of such a recent date as to be as familiar to all as "household words." With the melancholy end of President Gtajtcfigld, for the fourth time since America cast off the English yoke has the coadjutor of ifcs ruler been called upon to take charge of the helm and command the ship of State, and a» no doubt our readers are not well posted as to the antecedents of the man who has been so unexpectedly called upon to fill a position equal to that of either a King or Kaiser, we will briefly give au outline of big career. The twentyfirst President of the United States — a man whose name has never been heard of beyond the country •wliirTi he is now called upon to govern — General Chester A. Ajbtaue is, like most of his prececessors, eutitled to have his houors divided between camps and courls, for he has gained laurels io both. We take the following particulars from our evening contemporary at Wauganui : — General Cliesisr A. Avfcbiir wa born in Albany in lS3l,a,aclis consequently in the oOl'i year of iiis :»ge — precisely the age of the la'e p-esclent. ne wns eduea'ed in Union Co^age. ycbeneciad.H, where be excelled in all brunches of study. Aftn 1 his gj adualion at Hi ■». (Jui versity b z en tered the Alba ty Law "Jcliool, wuieh is a branch, and be was mini Uled to the Bar at a very ealyaga. Mr Arthur always took an active pt'i't i.J poiiiics, bis political life be^ioniir.r. when as a boy of li, he proclaimed hini.self a wembei of the Whig party, D" ing the Polk Clay canvass, patty feeling in favor of Henry Clay and against him rose so ciigh that few were exempt from its Influence. Mr Arthur commenced bis business life by becoming a partner with M> E. D. Cai.oer, as a lawyer, in New Yo t, ph i iiJtei'w.irdg obtained considerable le^ai celebrity by his connection with the Letnmon State case. He wai a Republicati from the organization of the party. He was Qnartevmas' n* General of the S t l . of New Yo'k diuing the war, and afterwards rearing iato private life he formed a law partnership with Mr Ransom. Mr Philip*, the District At' vnay of New York, was added to the firm, and General Arthur now stands at the head of the fiua of Arthur, Pbilip3, Knevals, and Eausiam, He always took a leading pait in Stale and Ciiy polii ici. He was appointed collector of the port of New York by President Grant. November 21st, 1872," <d succeed Mrluoma«) Murpby, holding office iiDtil July 20, 1879, wben he was removed by President Hayes brcause he was accused of i *insj in {be wny of the Reform of the Civii h'eirv?. Be : ng ape sona, 1 friend of Senator Conkling's. he has managed mnc'a of the Senator's pal Meal business in New -York State and ciiy. He ib a member of the U.) ion League Hub. It will be thus seen that the present Preside at is not only a veteran politician, with considerably over a quarter of a century's experience, but an educated and cuKu red gentleman ; still the history of the United States has shown that every statesma a who hare made theii* marks ia its senate, were those whose ea>.'ly days we "e of toil aud drudgery, and the obstacles on the road to eminence had to be hewn away inch by iach w ; th uQ^awiog pei'sevfc.'aoce. In the early day« of the Eepublic, the teodencv to re-e l ecfc the retiring Pi-esWJeivfc, a*Kl give a sccoud te^u-'e of office wa'i made tno-e potenfe th?n in late?* days. Wasetng-ton" held the oi : ce fo? two teru-r:, pod it lav enli eV w'l.h Irane l '; wheiher he J shouM i-eui. 7 ''i t/H It's dealh to govein tbe peo'Ve whon he had iVeecl, as it was soi'eW pgj/oet t'^e w ; ah of ! a g'-aleful r?i'oa lhat he j-etiretl froj political lire. Thomas Madoi. sov, JiiM-rs ]\}l\%eo ; and GeDeral Jac^.son*, R'..'3"ed r fe'v ;i ai' how or as lliafcaccov'ded to the fi-'st Presidenl-., but upou the re'cveineui; oF the latter ia 1837, there were no move douVe ieuu res wni.il <n 1565, the people for a second t : .ue ejected Aisßiir,\"!\r Lt.vcolv, .on\7 1o be shot down a few months lalerbythe baad oE WiLK^j Booth. Since that l-ioie 6-enei-al G-eant Las been Pi-esidenfc for two te.'ms, ov eight yeai*-s, aid the>-e was a verv power oil n?i'iv orgaiHsecl to retain him in the White House "fora thirtJ,but pyb^c opinioTi was too much for the organisation, and the p-ojeot wa^ abaocloued. FloiJeuHui'ists assert thnt ohere are cei-La'u fl.owers which emit no fragrance imt'l they are trodden imcle.' foot, but when cm shed by the heel of the heedless diffuse an aroma unknown during lifetime. 3 1 is somethmg .s'miia-.'iu evevr-clay life, and the " nil-nisinbonum, de morbuis " m»i'm agsißtsthe analoyv. P-esidenfc G-jLTlfield has now passed beyond the favov of fi'ieucls of the feao of foe«, and as a conseqiienee the Press of all sides and seel 'oas teeoi with eulogiums upon the deads talesman, • but letting aside much that is cla-p* <

trap and insincerity, it is freely acknowledged that the American nation has lost a man who while ranking with Lincoln in point of integrity, had no equal in ability sincethedaysof Henuy Ciay, John C. CALHOUir and Daniel Websteb.