Henry Adams in the Secession Crisis by Mark J. Stegmaier

Author:Mark J. Stegmaier [Stegmaier, Mark J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780807143513
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Published: 2012-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

LETTER 12

Boston Daily Advertiser, January 17, 1861

Letter from Washington

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT]

Washington, Jan. 14, 1861

Mr. Corwin has at last succeeded in getting his report in, but if the country is not more unanimous about it than the Committee, nothing will be gained but time. I understand that the vote on submitting the report to the House stood sixteen to thirteen, and of those sixteen there are about half who voted for it with the reservation that they should oppose it hereafter. At least, if not half, enough voted for it to carry it, on the ground that it would be a mistake in policy to kill it before it was fairly tried by a larger court.1 There will be a small library of minority reports which will straggle in one by one, but as the matter is made a special order for next Monday, we shall then see how it stands. I believe that Mr. Adams voted against it, so that there will probably be a minority report from him as well as from eight or ten others.2

On the whole I think there is a general feeling of satisfaction that the Committee has succeeded in doing something, and though most of the stronger republicans will vote against and resist its recommendations, still, even their passage would be no practical disaster provided it made no serious split in the party. If this secession trouble can once be weathered with no greater sacrifice than that, the rest is plain sailing. The real danger is on the one side that Virginia and Maryland will go out, which will be a bad blow; or on the other, that the Crittenden compromise will pass. If the committee’s plan will cut between these two and defeat both, it will be a most masterly stroke.3 Under any circumstances, however, this committee has been a good thing, for it will have saved nearly two months, and now the cotton States are quietly off, the appropriation bills are passed, the seceders are feeling the end of their tether, and the House can talk without doing half the harm it might have done six weeks ago.

Mr. Cox of Ohio made a speech today. It was such a speech as a northern democrat might be supposed to make. In order to conciliate both parties, he threatened and abused both. He told the South that the republicans would not fight, but that the Mississippi must always remain in the Union and not a hair of Major Anderson’s head must be touched. He told the republicans that they were only after the spoils, and that their talk of principles and threats of war were all moonshine. Mr. Cox is a demagogue, and thinks he can form an independent Union party which will tip the republicans over.4

So far as the President is concerned, I have not heard lately of any new trouble. Last week he was very shaky and indeed it always takes ten men to hold him up, and it is hard work for them.

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