The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1866-09-20
ANDREW JOHNSON AS HE WAS.
What He Said about Treason
and Traitors.

We copy few extracts from Presi-
dent Johnson's speeches, before he
quarreled with Congress, and turned
his back on the party which elected
him, to show how he then regarded
treason and traitors, and to place in
contrast his declarations at that time,
and his actions nolD:
"With other and inferior offences our
people are familiar. But in our peace
ful history treason has been almost un-
known. The people must understand
that 1t is the blacklist Of crimes ) and
tciU surely be punished. 1 make this
allusion not to excite the already ex-
asperated feelings of the public, but to
point out the principles of public JUS
tice which should guide our action at
this particular juncture, and which ac-
cord with sound public morals. Let
it be engrafted upon every heart that
treason is crime, and traitors shall
suffer its penalty. But
we must not forget that what may be
mercy to individuals, is cruelty to the
State.-TPresident Andrew Johnson to
the Illinois Delegation, April 18, 1866.
"Treason must be made odious
traitors must be made odious; traitors
must be punished and impoverished
they must not only be punished, but
their social power must be destroyed (;
and after making treason odious, every
Union man and the Government should
be remunerated out of the pockets of
those who have inflicted this great suf.
fering upon the country. ."-[ Andrew
johnson, April 21, 1865.
ON DEBARRING TRAITORS FROM PUB
Lie SERVICE.
"I say that the traitor has ceased to
be citizen, and in joining the rebel
lion, he became a public enemy. He
forfeited his right to vote aoith loyal men
ahen he renounced his citizenship, and
sougIt to destroy our Government. We
say to the most honest and industrious
foreigner who comes from England or
Germany, to dwell among us, and to
add to the wealth of the cOuntry-sBe-
fore you can become citizen you must
stay here five years. If we are so
cautious about foreigners who volun-
tarily renounce their homes to live
with us, what should we say to the
traitor, who, although born and reared
among us, has raised parricidal hand
against the Government which al
ways protected him? My judgment
is that he should be subjected to a Sc
we're ordeal before he is restored to citi-
zenship. A fellow who takes the oath
merely to save his property, and de-
nies the validity of the oath, is a per-
jured man and not to be trusted. Be-
fore these repenting rebels can be trust
ed, let them bring forth the fruits of
repentance. - Andrew Johnson, June
10, 1864.
THE CONSENT OF TRAITORS NOT NEC-
EssARY.
"Shall the man who gave his influ-
ence and his means to destroy the
Government Is he to participate in
the great t0Ork Of reorganization 3
Shall he scho brought this misery upon
the State be permitted to control its des-
tinies? If this be so, then all this
precious blood of our brave soldiers
and officers so freely poured out, will
have been wantonly spilled. All the
glorious victories won by our noble
armies will be for nOught, and all the
battle fields which have been sown
with dead heroes during this rebellion
will have been made memorable in
vain. Why all this carnage and de-
vastation 1t was that treason must
be put down and traitors punished
Therefore, 1 say that traitors should
take a back seat in the trOrk of recon
Struction. If there be but five thous-
and men in Tennessee, loyal to the
Constitution, loyal to Freedom, loyal
to Justice, these true and faithful men
should control the work of reorgani-
ZatiOn and reformation absolutely -