The Express.
London, England, 1867-07-11 00:00:00

gite OrPreoo*

TO CORIMPON DENTS.
Advertisements Intended for " The Uprose," London W 1110113(
Paper, roust be at the Mite, 10. Boaverte-etreet, b 7 Two
Welock ea the day of public:altos.

ORITHY LAN IL
Tine tvr.xna, THAT RASCAL JACK. Hewn Nome and
Neville : Mesdames Alleyne and Thompson—To conclude with
TIIE GREAT CITY. Mean, Cower, Al • turns. Villiers. Irving,
Reuse, Yltafainee,& Warner ; Madames Robertson & Le There.

HAVNIARK ET.
Tens EVENING, PEllEtt MI I N —THE IegekITTII. M.
1•••alldoa, t:ord•m, Vincrnt, Weathe rby. r, etc. Mew
darner relcwica, Mather', Lewin, Ac.—And WHO WANDI A
I NY:A f th.rsrs. Buchalter, I:hlyeierneLle, eke. , MI Burke.

rumor&
THIISI EVICNING. TRUE TO TIIF: MAE. )tsars Creawlrk.ll.
Marton. It. Forrester, E. F. Edgar, &r. ; NMI; li. Pauneetnet
and Miss Nelly Munro.—Dours open at halt past seven; com-
mence at eight

STRAND.
1111 A EVENING, OUR DOM writ'A. Measra. Pantelle, They've.
and Jam,: %laldasnft Uarland and Jolnostoun.—TUE LATEST
EDITP IN or FRA DIA VOW. Near.. Th..ow & James ; Mes-
dames liwyone, Holt, ke.—And THE FRENCH EXHIRITION.

BRITANNIA.
TOT' RTTOISO, JAeK 0' LA NTER N : OR, TII RAII: YICRI4E,
AND TII E lILCE RIRISiIV 01/ THE. TI: ft V. —Mr. li. Backstop', :
Mr. awl Mrs NI• Rattle ; the iluunpioo Skaters of —And
MtIONLIGII f JACK. Mr. J. U. Howe k Miss I. Curette,.

0100 WAIN& AT LONDON BRIDGE.
nu DAT —Moneta& 9b. 39ra Afternoon, MR 11,11.
TaNONAOW—llersdait. _Afternoon. 114 Ma.

LONDON, THURSDAY, JULY 11.

Winn the infelicity which seems to be charac-
teristic of him, Mr. JOHNSON has once more played
into the hands of his opponents. Just as the sus-
picion which his former policy had created was
dying away and the prospect of peaceful tenure of
office for the remainder of his term had become
clear, he has caused that suspicion to revive, and
cloud in some degree not only his own prospects,
but those of his country. The assembling of Con-
gress for a summer session proves how rapid and
effectual has been the spread of the new fear for
its reconstruction policy which has been suddenly
created. Up to the middle of June it was uni-
versally believed- in the United States that no
quorum would be present on the 3rd of July, and
that Congress would in consequence stand ad-
journed to December. It was known that the small
party who have been sustaining the project of im-
peachment, though they had failed to obtain for
it the support of the Judiciary Committee, were
anxious for a summer session, that the report of
the Committee on Impeachment might be re-
ceived, and the censure they recommended might
be discussed. But the satisfactory progress of
Southern restoration, combined with the natural
reluctance of the Legislature to be in Washington
during the slimmer heats, had rendered it probable
that all efforts to get them there would failt
Just at this point, however, the ATTORNEY-
GENERAL CAM out with a second interpretation
of tho Reconstruction Acts, which, in the view of
the Northern people, explains them entirely away.
The recommendations as to their duties which he
had previously addressed to the generals had
roused opposition by their leniency to the
South ; but the Northern people are in-
clined to be lenient to individuals if
Only the great ends of national policy
can be secured, and a liberal interpretation of the
disfranchising clauses was not, on the whole, dis-
tasteful to them. But Mr. Sraeszny was not
content with this. Some of the generals in com-
mand at the South, carrying out the acts in the
spirit in which Congress enacted them, have re-
moved some prominent officers of the present
Southern Governments, and Mr. STANSEHY has
given an official opinion to the Pazsinestr that
they have no power to do this. Although the
preamble of the Reconstruction Act distinctly
states that "no legal State Governments, or
" adequate protection for life or property, now
" exist in the rebel States," Mr. STANBERY de-
clares that the Act does not by any moans consti-
tute the military commanders the legal Govern-
ment of those States, but that the pre-
sent Governments are expressly continued in
power as provisional Governments, and that
the duties of the military commanders
are confined to the protection of individuals
in their rights of person and property,
the suppression of insurrection, disorder, and vio-
lence, and the punishment of all disturbers of the
public peace. Even in the discharge of these ne-
cessary duties they have no right to supersede the
local governments, or to remove any of the local
authorities. By a lawyer-like and clever ana-
lysis of the wording of the Act, Mr. STANBIMY has
thus made it to mean nothing that Congress in-
tended it to mean. The power of the military
oommanders,which Congress intended to be nearly
absolute, is reduced to insignificance. "It is a
" power to preserve, not to abrogate—to sustain
" the existing frame of social order and civil rule,
" and not a power to introduce military rule in
" its place. In effect it is a police power." So
far, therefore, from having established, as it in-
tended, a mild military government in the rebel
States, Congress has only succeeded in puttingmore
power into the hands of the present governments,
only providing that such power shall be used by
them in some subordination to the laws of the
United States. The military power is their ser-
vant, rather than their master. "Its proper
" function," says the Avroitezv-GENERAL, " is to
" preserve the peace, to act promptly when the
" peace is broken, and to restore order. When
" that is done, and the civil authority may again
" safely resume its functions, the military power
" becomes again passive—but on guard and
" watchful. This, in my judgment, is the whole
" scope of the military power conferred by the
" Act." This opinion was promulgated in the
middle of June, and at once changed the whole
aspect of politics. Although Mr. Joussox is in
no way bound to act upon it, and had not taken
any steps towards such action, and though in
every point it contradicted all the arguments of
his veto message, and answered all the objec-
tions he had urged against the measure, it
was known that he sympathized with Mr.
STANSERY, and might at any moment begin to
give effect to his misinterpretations of the inten-
tions of Congress. Here, therefore, was just the
kind of sudden danger to its reconstruction policy
against which Congress intended to provide when
it gave itself the power of assembling in July.
The nation saw its policy suddenly imperilled
while it was congratulating itself on the quiet and
successful execution of the law, and it was in con-
sequence not the request of a few leaders, but the
call of the people, which brought a quorum of the
House of Representatives to the Capitol on Wed-
nesday last.
It will not he at all surprising if, in these cir-
cumstances, Congress should have met in no very
genial mood. Now that it has met, the report of
the Judiciary Committee on the question of im-