Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-04-25
SPEECH FROM PRESIDENT
JOHNSON.
His View on Trs ason---It Must be Made
OdiOns.

The recent speech of President johnson
to the Indiana delegation is his most i'm
portant as well as latest utterance. We
give an interesting extract below:
Wesre living at a time when the public
mind has almost become oblivious of Wnst
treason is. The time has arrived, my
eountrymen, when the American people
should be educated and taught what crime
is and that treason is crime, and the high
est crime known TO the law and Constitu-
tion. Yes, treason against State, treason
against all the States, treason against the
Government of the United States, is the
highest crime that can be committed, and
these engaged in it should suffer all its
penalties. It is not promulgsting any
thing that have not heretofore said, to
say that traitors must be made odious !;
that treason must be made odious; that
traitors must be punished and impoverish-
ed. IApplsuse.) They must not only be
punished, but their social power must be
destroyed. If not, they will still maintain
an sscendency. and may again become
numerous and powerful; for, in the words
of former Senator of the United States,
''when traitors become numerous enough,
treason becomes respectable" )" and l
say that, after making treason obi
ouF, every Union man, and the Govern
ment, should be remur Grated out of the
pockets of those who have inflicted this
great suffering upon the country. Ap-
plsuse7 But do not undersi and me as say
| ing this in q spirit Of anger, for if 1 un-
derstand my own heart, the reverse is the
Vrhflo hoF h. &c
| law, in a stern and infexible manner, should
be executed upon the conscious, intelligent
and inhentisl traitors and the leaders, who
have deceived thousands upon thousands
of lsboring men, who have been drawn
into this rebellion; and, while I say, ss to
the leaders, punishment, also say, leni-
ency, concilistion and amnesty to the th, u
sands whom they have mislod and deceived
My position has been heretofore we'll
known, and there is no cause to change it
now, and am glad to hear lis reiteration
on the present occasion.
Some are terrified with the idea that the
States are to be lost in territorial and other
divisions, and are TO lose their characters
as States, but their life breath has only
been suspended, and 1t is high constitu-
tional obligation that We have to secure
each of these States in the possession and
enjoyment of republican form of govern
ment A State may be in the Government
with peculiar institutions, and, by opera
tion of rebellion, lose that feature, but it
was State when it went into rebellion,
and, when it comes out without the institu-
tion, it is still a State TGrest sppl, use I
I hold it as a solemn obligation IN any one
of these States where the rebel army has
been beaten back or expelled, care not
how small the number Of Union men, if
enough to man the ship of State, 1 hold,
say, high duty to protect and secure to
them republican form of government
This is no new opinion. It is expressed in
conformity with my understanding of the
genius and theory of our Government I
think the progress of this work must psss
, into the hands of its friends. TApplause.1 ]
If State is to be nursed until It again gets
strength it must be nursed by its friends,
not smothered by IFS enemies fApplause. |
, Now permit me TO remark that while l
have opposed dissolution and disintegration
on the one hand, on the other, am equal
ly opposed TO consolidation Tspplause1 or
Capitalization of power in the hands Of a
few.