The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-14 00:00:00

ancy in Congress, for a good length of time, and
the ri-!sult is that the inevitable reaction from their
virulence and intolerance is setting. Men's passions
cannot always remain at fever heat, and the great
body of the Americans have little or no desire to
p(n.petuate the acerbities of the war. What the
general public feel is the depression of trade, the
embarrassment of the finances, and the injury done
to business by the disorganisation of the Southern
States. Messrs. SU)INER, STEVENS, and their party
have held almost unchecked sway over public
affairs for two or three sessions, and the re-
sults are not by any means gratifying. The
PRESIDENT sees his opportunity and has tightened
his grasp on the reins. His removal of STANTON
was a bold measure, and has given him a signal
advantage. Matters had arrived at such a pass
that he must either have consented to sink into a
political nonentity, or have vindicated the dignity
of his office by some decided step. He could not
tamely submit to open insolence and defiance from
men whose very position was, in fact, an insult to
him, since they had been appointed in contempt of
his recognition of the Southern civil officers.
SIIERIDAN, SICKLES, and many lesser offenders,
were fully aware that their appointment was made
in defiance of the PRESIDENT'S openly expressed
opinions and wishes, and they acted rather as Radi-
cal partisans than as soldiers doing duty under
the orders of their superior. The clause in the
Constitution of the United States, v,hich confers
upon the PRESIDENT the command of the army and
navy, is a strong point in favour of Mr. JOHNSON,
and it is one which, with his usual sagacity, he has
been quick to perceive and to seize upon. By
means of it he has superseded SHERIDAN and silenced
GRANT, whose protest in favour of his old brother
in arms was met with the quiet rejoinder that he
himself was committing a breach of military dis-
cipline. By means of it he is curtailing the arro-
gant ambition of the district commanders, and re-
straining the Radical determination to override the
Southern people. When the political difficulties had
resolved themselves into the question whether or no
civil law was to be maintained in the Southern States
at all, the head of the Cabinet could hardly refrain
from interference. It is worthy of notice that when
Mr. JOHNSON has taken any step of the kind he has
always been supported by the exponents of Consti-
tutional law. Acting Attorney-General BRINCIILEY
has now issued an official opinion, justifying the
removal of General SICKLES on the grounds of mili-
tary insubordination and forcible interference with
civil law. In fact, the Radical commanders want
nothing more nor less than the enforcement of
martial law in time of peace, a state of affairs which
no civilised country will ordinarily tolerate.
The negroes are, it would seem, ripe for mischief
in Texas. They are reported to be leaving work
and encamping themselves, threatening to adminis-
ter the local laws themselves, and arming in prepa-
ration for carrying out their reforming intentions.
The present position of the United States is no doubt
full of difficulty, and even danger, and matters are
complicated by the approaching Presidential election.
The Radicals are fully aware of the value, and indeed
of the necessity, of organisation, and the ramifica-
tions of their influence extend far and wide. The
better and more thoughtful class of politicians will
not, or cannot, compete with them. The noisy
speakers and actors carry the day, and very often
represent the views and the policy of the people to
be substantially different from what they really arc.
It is the common complaint that the best men in
America will take no active part in politics, but
surely affairs have now reached a crisis in which it
is the duty of all to exert themselves in behalf of
their common country, and to endeavour, by mo-
deration, by calmness, and by judgment, to temper
the violence and the extravagance of men who have
no end in view save their own temporary political
exaltation.