The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1866-05-09
The Republican Press on the President
and Congress.

George Adams and Justus Cobb.
The Republican Press on the President
and Congress.
1t is not strange that the President diff
fers from Congress in essential particulars
as to the modtS operand of reconstruction.
1t is not strange that Republican Journals
of high responsibility should find in the
Presidents policy much to approve and
in the action Of Congress much to disap-
prove. But when the deliberations OF
tue legislative body are uniformly charac-
terized as "crude," "hasty," "tinkering,'
dishonest" "tricky," "party FETCH" &c,
and an apology is habitually offered for the
most undignified action of the Executive
the conclusion is inevitable - Journals
pursuing such course are either infu-
cnced by unworthy considerations, or they
are blind to the most important interests
Of the party TO which they profess to be-
long. No doubt rupture of the great
Republican party at this time would be
national calamity, but the end never JUS
titles the means. No good result can
justify servile submission to the power
Of patronage or such scurrillous abuse of
those who have the fearful responsibilities
of action in the solution of the difficult
problem of reconstruction, if indeed any
good could result from such action. But
it cannot. 1t is zeal which is not ac-
cording TO knowledge. Hence we hail
with delight the temperate and sensible
remarks of the Springfield Republican on
the position of the President and Congress
in the issue of May Sd. 1t may be the
dying spasm, the last flicker of expiring
Republicanism and earnest devotion TO
the cause of justice and right, but we
hope not. We accept it as an evidence
of returning sanity. The following is an
extract -
"The President goes beyond the record
when he denies the right of Congress to
impose additional terms on the rebellious
states before granting them their full
privileges in the Union. lie imposed
terms, and in making them intimated
that Congress might add further ones.
The right of Congress in the premises is
as full as his. 1t is the right of the war
power, of the conqueror, which they hold
together, rs well as the constitutional
right and duty to secure republican form
of government to the people of the several
states, and to command peace and tran
guilty throughout our national borders,
The questions in issue at Washington are
not so much ofabsolute, abstract right, as
of justice, expectancy, practicabiity 1t
is by these standards that the COMPRESSION
al plan of reconstruction fails 1t is not
so much, indeed, that all the propositions
of the committee have not an inherent
rightiulness in them; some of them are
certainly, fully and exactly just; others
are only or chiefly wrong as tending TO
perpetuate discord and division between
the sections. The chief objection we
make to the plan is that it will not carry
it will fail in each Of its double or al
ternate objects. 1t will not as whole,
be adopted either by Congress or
the states and neither by its failure, nor
by its success, if that were possible, will
it perpetuate the power of the republican
party. Its injustice lies in that it will not
give peace to our politics and roal reso-
ration TO our Union"
The article is seriously injured however
by the cropping out Of the strongest par