Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-10-13
POLITICAL MANGUvREs IN TENNESSEE.

1t i, known to the country that the Hon. An
drew johnson, besides being the Republican can.
didate for the office of Vice President Of the
United States holds and administers at the pre-
sent time the Office of Military Governor Of Tennes-
see, function wholly unknown to the Constitution
and laws of the United States, as Mr. Senator Sum-
ner and others have concusively argued and
proved. The function has thus far been tolerated
on the supposition that it was wholly provisional
and tIansitory and that in virtue Of its powers no
regular organization Of the State, as condition
precedent to the normal exercise of the rights
and privileges belonging to State in the Union.
The indefinite nature and quality of his military
Office are thus indicated in his commission:
, WAR DEPARTMENT, MARCH 3, 1852. l
To the Hon ANDREW JOHNSON.
SIR You are hereby appointed Military Governor of
the State OF Tennessee with authority to exercise and
perform within the limits Of that State all and singular
the powers, duties and functions pertaining the Office
of Military Governor including the power to establish all
necessary offices, tribunals, &c
EDWIN M. STAEToN, Secretary Of War.
What " all and singular the powers, duties, and
functions pertaining to the office Of Military Gov
ernor" may be, nobody knows, seeing that they
are defined by no law and written in no book.
In addition to this commission, Mr.. johnson
subsequently, received from President Lincoln an
enlargement of his prerogatives, as follows
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WAsHINGTON, SEPTEMBER ~, 1863.
Hon. ANDREW JOHNSON, Military Gov'r. Of Tennessee
You are hereby authorized to exercise such powers az
may be necessary and proper to enable the loyal people of
Tennessee to present such republican form of State
Government will entte the State to the guarantee of
the United States therefor and to be protected under
such State Government by the United States against in
vason aud domestic violence All according to the 4th
section Of the 4h article of the Constitution of the United
States. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
1t will be seen that this function is attempted
to be conferred on Mr. johnson by the President
in virtue of that "plenary dictatorial power"
under which, as Messrs. Wade and Davis charge,
" he holds the electoral votes of the rebel States
at the dictation of his personal ambition"
Where theory of public duty is open to such
objections on the part of the Presidents friends
as well as of his opponents, we had hoped that
no further steps would be taken in this direction,
especially after the present Republican Congress
at its last session had SO emphatically pronounced
its condemnation of the Presidents policy, as be-
ing unconstitutional, inexpedient, and founded on
Executive usurpation. The views of Congress
this subject, as expressed by the legislation of
the last session. and by the deliberate action Of the
Senate in denying admission to the socalled " Sen.
ators" sent to Washington by Mr.. Lincons one
tenth State of Arkansas, are known to the coun-
try. The theory of that legislation, and the ground
of the decision reached by the Senate in rejecting
the " Senators" from the State Of Arkansa, as
illegally reconstructed under orders of President
Lincoln, were expounded by Mr. Senator Sum-
ner in an able and conclusive argument deliy-
cred on the subject in all its aspects, on the 18th
of June last His position may be learned from
the following passages, extracted from that argu-
ment:
Mr SUMNER Tho power Of the President 10 institute
this Government is only Commando Chief Of the
army II is therefore military 10 ts character But what
proceeds from this power s from the nature Of the case
provisional temporary until has receDed the sanction
Of Congyess To certain extent and from the necessity
Of the hour, military governments may be constituted by
the President but permanent civii gop,rnments 10Th
"Mr. CoLLAMER. To last beyond the war
" Mr.. SUMNER. As the Senator from Vermont happily
suggests, to last beyond the war, pih right cfrtprs
Congress and in the electoral college be
constituted BY Ire President Such power would be open
to infinite abuse, and in the hands ambitious Pres
dent might De employed Tor selfish purposes. The national
safety in harmony with republican principles requires that
it should be exercised by Congress- which must take the
lead in calling the government into being. Against
these conclusions there can be argument founded on
principle
The most earnest warnings were addressed to the
President by his political friends in both Houses
of Congress against the assumption of power on
hts part to establish Governments in any Of the
insurgcnt States with a view to counting their
electoral votes among those which were to decide
tho Presidential contest. 1t was distinctly an
nounccd by them that any attempt of this kind
would be the certain prelude to fresh civil war if
the enumeration of these votes, on the one side or
the other should determine the result of the can
vass in sense contrary to the expressed will Of a
majority Of the Loyal States. This warning has
been publicly repeated and justified by Messr,
Wade and Davis.
And yet, in dtfance of the expression of the
will of Congress and in contempt of the adjuratons
addressed to him by his own political friends, the
President, it seems, is determined to carry the
electoral votes of at least of the Seeded States
And this is the State of Tennessee-thc very State
as to which, above all others, prudential reserve
should be practised, even if the whole subject was
legally remitted to the control of the Executive,
considering that it is under the sway of his military
L. H., 4oI =,