The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1865-04-19
The New President&His views on I'll,

lacy is destroyed, and that the Federa
&authority will very soon he firmly cstah
Elishcd in the rebellious states the questio
xthat naturally becomes most prominent /
that regarding the degree of rigor whicl
Eshould be visited on the offenders. TIL
IS well known kindness of President Lincoln
IMMATURE and the easy terms made with Gen
HLee's army had led TO a wide apprc
Extension that the course we would probab
XIV adopt would be too mild to be consist
&aent with the permanent welfare of tn
$scountry. The subject had begun to b
2dwidely discussed and opinions differed
Every much according TO the temper of in
xdividual minds That there was stron!
%tendency to extreme lcnity was very ap
Sparent; that it might have been carIiec
ITO pernicious extent was not improbable
= But there can be no doubt that the hor
griblc tragedy of last week-especially il
III shall appear that it was instigatcd by, OF
chad the completely Of the authorities at
4 Richnond will cause a very great rev al
5sion of popular feeling. AT this time
Ethere will he natural desire to know
3what may be known of the views and
Atempcr Of President johnson on this sub.
Eject and for this reason we think we can
hardly present anything more acceptable
to our readers than the following speech
(which he delivered in Washington, i'm
4 mediatey after the fall of Richmond
which has not been generally published :
''We are now, my friends.
3winding up rebelion-a great effort
hat has been made by bad men to over
sthrow the Government of the United
SSiatcs--a Government founded upon free
principles, and cemented by the best
abl1od OF the Revolution. Cheers -
Iou must indul re. me in making one sin
agle remark in connection with myself. -
At the time the traitors in the Senate of
4 the United States plotted against the
5Government and entered into conspir-
.acy more foul, mole cxecrable, and more
Jodious than that of Catalina against the
Romans, happened to be member of
1that body, and, rs TO loyalty, stood sol
sitary and alone among the Senators from
I the Southern States
81 was then and there called upon to
know what could do with such traitors.
5and want to repeat my reply here.
I said, if we had an Andrew jackson he
would hang them as high a. Haman,
cheers |, but as he is no more, and sleeps
Sin his grave in his own beloved State,
where traitors and treason have even in
suited his tomb the very earth that covers
his rem ins, humble as | am, when you
Task me what | would do, my reply is,
would arrest them; would try them :;
+ I would convict them, and would hang
them. Prolonged cheers.
GAS humble rs / am and have been,
5 have pursued but one, undertaking course
AN that have-life, limb, and property
have been put at the disposal of the
scountry in this great struggle. have
ssbecn in camp, / have been in the field, !
zhave been everywhere where this great
rebellion was, have pursued it until |
abcleve can now see its termination -
SSincc the world began, there never has
4 becn rebellion of such gigantic proper
gtions, SO infamous IN character so diabol-
5ical in motive, SO entirely d-regarlful of
4 the laws of civilized warfare. 1t has in
Introduced the most savage mode of war
zfare ever practised upon earth.
q 81 will repeat here remark for which
IL have been severely censured. What i,
Hit, allow ME to ask, that has sustained
8 the nation in this great strugglal The
8cry has been, you know, that our govern
Sment was not strong enough for a time of
3rebelion that in such lime she would
&havc to contend against internal weakness
Sas well as internal foes. We have now
4givcn the world evidence that such is not
"a fact and when the rebellion shall
Shave been crushed out, and the nation
shall once again have settled down in
peace, our Government will rest upon a
more enduring basis than ever before. -
4 Cheers.
4 ''But, my friends, in what has the
strength OF this Government consisted. -
HHas it been in one-man power! Has il
&been in some autocrat, or in some one
Imam who held absolute government p
aNo l thank God | have it in my pow
Ser to proclaim the great truth, that this
fGovernmcnt has derived its great strength
&trom the American people. They have
0issued the edict they have exercised the
Spower that has resulted in the overthrow
8of the rebellion, AMI there is not another
Ygovernment upon the face of the earth
&that could have withstood the shock. -
q Cheers.
\ "We cen now congratulate ourselves
s that we possess the strongest, the freest,
land the best government the world evel
Z saw. [Great applause. Thank God
Ethat we have lived through this trial, and
Ethat, looking into yonr intelligent face
there to-day, can announce to you thu
s great fact-that Petersburg, the outpos
! to the strong citadel, has been occupied
by our brave and gallant officers and on
untiring, invincible soldiers. Grea
Ueheerinr. And not content with that