The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-06 00:00:00

IMPEACHMENT.

There has been for some considerable time a vast
deal of talk about impeaching the President. From
the seriousness with which the subject has been dis-
cussed, many, no doubt, have been led to suppose
that it will as surely be done as that Congress will
convene at the appointed time and place. The only
contingency, it has been frequently asserted, was the
continued ascendancy of the Radicals, and this be-
ing met, the impeachment programme would be car-
ried out to the letter. As a bugbear or threat such
talk has been indulged in by both parties to the con-
test ; unwisely, as we think, by the Conservatives, who
industriously spread rumours to the effect that such
indeed was the line of policy laid down by the Radi-
cals, thinking they would prove an inducement for
the people to take up with their views and strengthen
the hands of the President, when, as the result has
shown, they had no other effect than to create a
stampede from their own ranks. On the other
hand, a few intensely Radical papers have argued
that the only course left open to Congress, and the
only one which would meet the approbation of the
majority of the people in the North, led to impeach-
ment. It i 3 as easy to assert a falsehood as a fact
when men are not particular as to the means re-
sorted to for the accomplishment of their object,
and, in times of political excitement like the present,
with a certain class of people who arc disposed to
accept the opinions of their favourite leaders, with-
out inquiring into their correctness, one will pass as
current as the other. Hence it is that the war
prophets have their believers, and those who prate
about impeachment are listened to as though they
were not talking the sheerest nonsense imaginable.
It is immaterial from whom the idea originated,
by whom it has been used, or for what purpose ; it
is of no weight whatever—a naked assertion that is
not only without foundation in truth, but absolutely
positively contradicted by facts. We venture to
say there is not one man in a thousand, in the North,
who conscientiously believes President Johnson has
committed any act for which he could be impeached,
much less thinking he ought to be. Are they fools
or madmen that they should do this without cause,
and plunge the country into revolution and anarchy ?
And the same with that twin sister of folly which
has been so extensively heralded, that the President
contemplates ignoring Congress, declaring it a
" rump," and unconstitutional, in obedience to the
wishes of a few reckless persons, and taking such
steps as would inevitably result in the inaugura-
tion of another war. No greater insult could
be offered to the patriotism and wisdom of the
President and his Cabinet. We may be afflicted
with optism so far as our views of all matters
touching the character of the American people are
concerned—in fact, we confess to entertaining a
more exalted opinion of them, but making every
allowance for this becoming prejudice, we feel per-
fectly justifiable in considering them a sensible,
practical people. Neither they nor their represen-
tative in Congress will knowingly rush upon de-
struction so certain. They will abide by that fun-
damental principle in our Government that the
majority shall rule and resist every effort, by whom-
soever made, to override it ; but they will not con-
strue this into a licence to do anything not warranted
by the Constitution. There will be no impeachment
without just cause, and we feel bound to say that
the President has not and will not so act, as to force
the opportunity for such a proceeding. Phillips
and Tilton on one side, and Montgomery Blair on
the other, may have very different views on the sub-
ject, but they speak only for themselves ; they re-
present no party in the North. With the excitement
over—when the whirlwind of passion, set in motion
for no other pnrpose than to influence the election,
has subsided, as it will with the close of the cam-
paign, we look for an end to this sort of talk ; and
the sooner people disabuse themselves of the idea
that it will amount to anything, and face the real
issues, the better it will be for all.—Savannah Daily
Republican.