New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-04
THE PRESIDENTS CONSISTENCY.


dent is bold man-especially bold in venturing
to make speeches. night after night, on important
and difficult questions. The Tribune likewise
directs attention to the fact that Mr., Clay, who
spoke often and spoke WE'LL failed to reach the
goal of his ambition, But there is this little differ
ence, which depriyes the sarcasm Of its point: Mfr
CLAY was an aspirant for the Presidency Mr.
, johnson is actually President. Moreover, Mr.
Clay according to popular belief, said that he
would rather be right than be President" Mr.
johnson is right, and President at the same time
In that he has the advantage Of Mr.. Clay on tht
one hand and Mr.. Greeley on the other hand.
The Tribune goes on to say that if the Presiden
fails anywhere " it is in clear, logical perception
of great principles" and as an illustration tina
paper gives the following extract from a recen
speech to the soldiers;
A great principle was to be restored, which was
established by our revolution, when our fathers
were contending against the power Of Great
Britain, What was one of the principal causes OF
their complaint? 1t was that they were denied
representation. They complained of taxation with
out representation. One the great principles laid
down by our fathers and which fired their hearts,
was that there should be no taxation without re-
presentation. How, then, does the matter stand
Who has been usurping power? Who has been de-
feating the operations of CONSTITUTION! And what
remains to be done to complete the restoration
of these States to all their former relations with
the federal government and to finish the great or
deal through which we have been passing IL IS
to admit representatives. Andwhen we say admit
representatives, what do we mean! we mean re-
representatives. in the constitutional and aW-abdlng
sense as was intended at the beginning Of the
government
This great principle, the Tribune with admirable
simplicity Informs US, is all on which those whom
the President now stigmatizes as disunionists are
insisting I" Mr. johnson eannot,n says this new
light of political science, suppose that the loyal
whites of the old free States will consent to give
to two ex-rebels in the South as much power in
the Federal Union as is welded by three Of them
selves. Then why not frankly tell the South that
she must either enfranehise her blacks OF renounee
her claim to count them as a basis Of Federal
power"
The Interpretation thus put by the New York
Tribune on the dogma, or principle, OF no taxa
ton without representation " is, however, more
definitely and more forcibly stated by its Chicago
namesake
He (the Presidentl says you ought not to tax
any portion Of the people without giving them req
resentation, therefore You should admit the South
You try to govern the South. Congress replies
the loyal States have the same right to tax the
Southern States without admitting their Represen.
tatlves that the white citizens of the Southern
S1ttstes nave W tdA OF govern Inc Olaek without
| representation. Therefore, in order to maintain
/ the Presidents principle, we must defeat his
| policy, reject the present State governments Of
/ the seeded States, and require them not to tax
| the colered citizens of the South without giving
/ them a vote.
| The whole world of argument could net furnish
more fragrant instance than this of the perver-
sion of ideas, Of principles and of history. What
the President means by taxation and representa-
ton is exactly what is meant by those terms in
the Constitution of the United States and in the
Constitutions Of the States and is exactly the sig
MITIGATION attached to them in the great struggles,
first in England and afterwards in this country by
which the principle of "no taxation without rep
resentationn was established. The Commonwealth
resisted the attempts Of Charles to tax them with
out the consent Of Parliament-that body consist
ing Of the representatives Of the nation. They
never thought that this position involved the con
sequence Of granting the right of suffrage to every
white male in the kingdom. 1t never occurred to
Clarendon to justify the despotism of the king by
denying right of complaint to Parliament as long
as the right of voting for members of Parliament
was restricted to certain privileged electors. The
pFetenslon of the British government to tax the
colonies, without allowing the latter to be repre-
scented in Parliament, was the first grievance which
led to the American revolution. Does the Tribune
excuse this assumption of unwarranted power on
the part of the British Parliament by the fact that
the right of suffrage was limited in the colonies to
a comparatively small class? The fact is that suf-
frage is far more extended in the Southern States
than it was in the colonies at the time of the revo
luton, or for long time afterwards; and far
more extended than it ever has been in England
yet, on the radical theory, the principle Of no
taxation without representation never has been
effectively recognized in the United States, and
never has existed at all in England in fact
it was invented-eXeept as the mere enuneiation
Of an abstract and entirely uncomprehended idea
The argument Of the two Tribunes that the
Southern States ought to be excluded from repre-.
sentation because they refuse to let negroes vote
on the ground that such refusal violates the dogma
of no taxation without representation p would +
equally exclude the Northern States until these
bestow the right Of suffrage on women, aliens and
minors Carrying the principle to its conclusions
q process of which the radicals are very fond
would render representation of any Of the States,
under existing State institutions, entirely imprac
ticable, and would abolish Congress altogether.
It thus appears that not President johnson, but
the New York Tribune and its radical allies, fail
in the clear, logical perception of great princi-
pies" The President understood the principle re-
ferred to correctly, and applied it correctly. The
Tribune either entirely misunderstands it, or has
wilfuly distorted and misappledit.
The New York Trihnpa qoya +bot or,,r, 4Lo