The New York herald., 1864-04-04

rhs Overthrow or Representative bsdsss
aud the Usurpatien sf Pswor-xAs
| Presadenvs Schemes sAd Intsagues
Agsinss Comgress.
History gives us three remarkable irstaoces
| OF civil contention between N organized body
| or assembly, that vas the properly constituted
representative OF the people, and IN ambitious
man, eager to grasp the supreme power. In
every instance the Representatives sf tho Dso-
ple have been pushed aside and their organixa-
tion broken up, Iess by the adroit schemes Of
their opponents than by their own weakness
and erf6rs, snd the distraction OF private quar-
rels Cesar Cromwell and Napoleon wore
each enabled 10 seize the government and in
stitate despotic sway through the failure Of
the Roman Senate. thu English Parliament aad
the Revolutionary Council to do what the posi-
tion that each was placed in obviously required
Of it And il is now probable that we are to
have repetition Of these circumstances in our
own history.
Cesar intrigued with the people against the
constituted authority-the Senste He came,
a. Cato declared, with sobrety and medita-
ton, to the ruin Of the republic" But he was
thought to be man 80 much pleased with tri-
vialities, 80 entirely taken up with what the
Romans considered very small matters, that no
alarm was excited BY his intrigues. .When"
see him." said Cicero "adjusting his hair
with so much exactness, and scratching his head
with one finger, I can hardly think that sueh
man oAn conceive 90 vast and fatal Q design -
the destruction Of the Roman Commonwealth"
And thus be was enabled to scheme on
with impuniU untl he had risen 80 high
as to stand in open rivalry for power
with Pompcy aud the Senate. He named to the
Senate the conditions under which he would
relinquish command Of the forces with which
he had been entrusted, and threatened il they
were not complied with to march on Rome
Tbereupon tho Senate declared him public
enemy, and seemed satisfied With that falmina-
tion. 1t voted barren decree, and did no
more. No effective action was taken to resist
this public enemy; but the Senate quarrelled
and lost time, until Caesar was at the gate and
then Pompey, Senate and all abandoned the
great city, and miaerably ran away. NO one in
Rome was equal to the crisis, and the govern
ment Of the world fell to the ambitious man
almost by default Cromwell, when tho Par
Lament was virtually supreme, held an insg
nifcant position In the Parliamentary army.
Charles had struggled in vain against the as
sembly that really represented the nation, but
had struggled so indiscreetly that Parliament
was always in the right, and its power had
grown until that known as the Long Parliament
had been able to 50 restrict and diminish the
royal power that the King was driven to war
rs the only means to preserve the vestise of
his prerogative. That Parliament was essential
iy The nation, and as long as it continued to
be simply the Parliament it was supreme.
But when the time came that it was to be op-
posed by stronger man it had ceased to bo
simply the Parliament, and was made up Of the
two factions Of Presbyterians and Independents
In Parliament the Presbyterans were the
stronger; bat the Independents prevailed in the
army. So whea the Pgeabyterisns proposed to
disoaAd the army Cromwell marched to Lon
don and used the Independents to purge Par
iisment of the Presbyterians By this means
lie had the ramp of Parliament IN his hands
an organization without any psliey sr purpose
Of its own-and under his direction il was made
to take such measures as absolutely destroyed
its influence with the people and rendered IL
contemplate. he then kicked it out, and ruled
the country alone. Napoleon, when the Coun-
Gil Of Five Hundred and the Council Of An
clients first came into existence, was q simple
officer Of artillery, Ga little Corscan, who did
not stand upon ceremony" and in the earlier
part Of his career those two bodies were as
much the French nation as representative
bodies could possibly be. Bat they became
weakened, contomptible and imbecile by fac
ton; and while they were 50 the Directory,
doubtless more with the guidance than the
mare concurrence Of Napoleon, so far usurped
with popular approval, the powers Of the Coun-
ell Of Five Hundred as to establish itself al
most in despotic power. Napoleon, then under
cover of authority from the Council of Ancients,
overthrow the Directory and the Council of
Five Hundred at once, aud became First
Consul.
In every instance it is the same story Le-
gislative and representative bodies, torn by
their own dissensions, lose their influence, and
furnish the opportunity for their overthrow
which ambitious and unscrspulous men stand
ready to seize. Present appearances indicate
the probability that we may have in our own
history similar contention between Congress
and an unscrupulous Executive. We certainly
DO not intend any parallel between the great
men We have named and Mr. Lincoln in re-
spect to ability; yet meme will deny that he can
intrigue shrewdly and deeply; and in the as-
sence Of . very positive line Of policy on the
part of Congress that will be sufficient. He has
at bis disposal over a million men, the army
and navy Of the United States, and money with
out limA Congress has given him all this aud
almost plenary power to carry on war, in
order that he might save the country. But he