The week has been
one of intense heat, and I have been both busy and indolent. Incidents have
passed without daily record. The President has been ill. On Friday I met him at
the Cabinet. He has been threatened, Dennison tells me, with apoplexy. So the
President informed him.
Mr. Seward has
undertaken to excuse and explain his strange letter to me stating “our vessels
will withhold courtesy from the English.” He was not aware what he wrote. Damns
the English and said he was ready to let them know they must not insult us, and
went into pretty glib denunciation of them. Says the French want to get out of
Mexico and will go if we let them alone. In Cabinet yesterday, Dennison
mentioned a call he had from Sir Frederick Bruce, who desired him to bring to
the notice of the President the grievance of an Englishman. Seward and Stanton
objected to the informality of the proceedings, which should come through the
State Department. The objection was well taken, but Seward could not well
prevent, having been constantly committing irregularities by interfering with
other Departments.
McCulloch is alarmed
about the Treasury. Finds that Fessenden had neither knowledge nor accuracy;
that it would have been as well for the Department and the country had he been
in Maine, fishing, as to have been in the Treasury Department. His opinion of Chase's
financial abilities does not increase in respect as he becomes more conversant
with the finances. But McCulloch, while a business man, and vastly superior to
either of his two immediate predecessors, or both of them, in that respect, has
unfortunately no political experience and is deficient in knowledge of men.
In some exhibits
yesterday, it was shown that the military had had under pay during the year
about one million men daily. Over seven hundred thousand have been paid off and
discharged. There are still over two hundred thousand men on the rolls under
pay. The estimates of Fessenden are exhausted, the loan is limited by law, and
McCulloch is alarmed. His nerves will, however, become stronger, and he can he
will - find ways to weather the storm. Stanton has little idea of economy,
although he parades the subject before the public. It is notorious that no
economy has yet penetrated the War Department. The troops have been reduced in
number, - men have been mustered out, - because from the cessation of
hostilities and the expiration of their terms they could not longer be
retained, but I have not yet seen any attempt to retrench expenses in the
quartermasters', commissary, or any other branch of the military service, -
certainly none in the War Department proper.
On Tuesday the 4th,
I went with Mrs. Welles and Mrs. Bigelow, wife of John B., our minister to
France, to Silver Spring, a pleasant drive. The Blairs, as usual, were
hospitable and interesting. They do not admire Louis Napoleon and want his
troops should be expelled from Mexico. Mrs. B. is joyous, pleasant, and happy,
and it is evident her husband wished her to see and get something of the views
of the Blairs, but, while intelligent and charming, she is not profound on
matters of State, and was a little disconcerted at the plain, blunt remarks of
the elder Mr. and Mrs. Blair. She has, however, a woman's instincts.
No comments:
Post a Comment