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Show THE VINCENT LETTER. Ex-Chief Justice Vincent, of New Mexico, has addressed a long letter to the President in vindication of his character char-acter in general and his conduct upon the bench in particular. The appointment of S. W. Dorsey as one of the commissioners commis-sioners to select jurors for Colfax county was the ground for his suspension. Few men in the entire country have brought themselves into much greater disrepute than Stephen W. Dorsey, although it is more than likely that he is a man of pleasing address and persuasive manners. The reasons assigned by Vincent in his letter for the appointment are scarcely a justification, especially when it is said that Dorsey is a man of wealth. One of Dorsey's chief qualifications was that he was a large cattle owner and anti-sheep anti-sheep man, and most of the trouble in Colfax county seems to have grown out of the feuds between the cattle and sheep men. As a whole, the letter is dignified, but when Mr. Vincent says that "in the appointment of Mr. Dorsey, it did not occur to me that the fact would have any effect linnn nntinnnl lwVMfito ! r Hit gen- ! eral policies of your Administration. This view never entered my head." No doubt the ex-Chief Justice thought he was very sarcastic when he penned those lines, but ne was not so sarcastic as ill-bred. He does not seem to realize that when men are appointed to prominent places as representatives of the Government that discretion is a very essential thing in discharging dis-charging the functions of their places. The dragging in of the McMains affair was not the happiest thought in the world, either. Vincent makes too many presumptions pre-sumptions entirely about various matters. Had he reduced his letter about one-half and omitted his presumptions and attempted at-tempted sarcasm, he would have created considerable sympathy in his behalf,- As j it is, he will confirm the public impression impres-sion that the President did right in summarily sum-marily suspending him. |