The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1866-10-31
Tho Permanently Increased Powers Of
CONGRESS-.

| SI'i' iHS''S Will llhuluiilliSncu Jury, III
majority Of The Northern people raise
to tho second place in Tho Union ma
who was universally looked upon rs til
incarnation Of the icrccst patriotic spi
it. The Federal cause had no NOR
single minded advocate, no more activ
and rcsolu'e champion than Andre,
Johnson. x x He was nom,na
ted for the post of Vice President ami
the general applause Of the zcalots Q
the Hcpublica, party, and his success
was 'akcu as remarkable proof 0
Northern determination. 1t may b.
that il thosh W . proposed and clcctr,
linn had known that he was.so soon t,
! take 'hn highcs' Office in tho State the,
would have hcsitatcd before they rhos
one III whose character energy approach
ing almost to violence was the princpa
feature. But when the assassins wcnp
on deprived tie Republic Of It's lai,
chirl, and i was known that Andrew
Johnson was President Of The Unite,
States, there was, perhaps, not on,
among those millions who anticipated
the policy which has since revealed il,
sell On the contrary, a thrill Of -anxi
ETY. passed through tho moderate men o
the victorious party those whose opin
/ ions were represented by Mr.. Lincoh
and Mr., Srward. When one of these
lay dcad and i was thought scarcely
possible that the other should survive
men feared to see the gh.handcd Gov.
ernor OF Tennessee invested with a pow
or almost supreme. Only the lirrccs,
advocates of punishment and conGsca.
ton Tor the PROSTATE Sonth were inclin.
ed to rejoice that the genial Lincoln had
found u stern and relentless successor.
This is the man against whom the
tide Of Northern opinion is every day
setting stronger and stronger. Prcsi.
dent Johnson is no longer rallied against
in the South, but the Republicans. OF
New England and the w esrhavcrhavl-
ly any terms harsh enough to express
their detcslation OF him, Three. r.four,hs
OF the men whose snlTragns gave him, his
present position are now his bitter oppo.
nents. On the other hand, hc.is, or
rather was ill alew weeks ago, tho
hope h those whose rebellion he had
denounced and so BOLDLY strivcn against.
Yet there Is mo reason to suppose that
the President has changed his creed nor
is he ono to allow the possession ar Office
to modify his conduct. 70 an attentive
observer he is the same Andrew John
son who carried matters with so high a
hand against the rebels, and il these
were to rise again he would show him.
self as unsparil.g az ever. The truth
seems,to be that he belongs to a,rarty
which has n settled doctrine with regard
tothe rights Of American States and
citizens, and that no maintains that doc
trinc without regard to tho circumstan.
ccs Of the time or llc changes orprblic
opinion. This doctrine is 'lhc Cnnsl;.
tu;ion as it wa>"--lhc theory that
though State has no right to leave the
Union, and maybe cocrccd il it attempts
to do SO, yet Lhcre is no Federal nuthoi.
ty, not even in Congress Itself, to iutcr.
frrc with the internal affairs oi any
State, and that when any State ae-
knowlcdgcs the Federal Government it
is entitled to all its former rights. But
1t ought to DO evident to any American
statesman as it is to obscrvant 70: o; ;gnI
crs, that ono Of he chief results Of tho
past war is the great increase Of lhe
power Of Congress and general modili-
cation Of tllr' relations Of the States to
each other and to the Federal Govern
mcnt. Before tho war the most rcmarlsa.
bio feature Of tho American polity was
fhe weakness ofthe central authority.
The Constitution is unchanged as to the
letter, but lis spirit and practice arc no
longer the same Amid the conYul$ons
Of four years tho conrolling force was
necessary for tho safety Of the republic,
and Congress assumed power which is
not likely again to be seriously disputed.
The Union precisely rs 1t was can hard.
ly oxist again. IN allimportahtmat,crs
Congress will be practically almost as
supreme as the British Parliament.
North and South. the~Atlantic States
and tho West, will probably have in
turn to- bow to the colossal authority
derived from the entire Unioii. Al
present II is the Lnrn of the South. and
whatever may be the letter Of the Con.
sttu,ion, or the. glosscs which lawyers
may put upon it, it is certain that Con
grcss must Ia The end have its own way
If. then, the forthcoming elections re
l;snlL in he defeat of the Prcsidcntia
lip9licy, it will be useless for the Chic
Magistrate and his advisers TO p-rsoycrt
further in opposing what's maniIcstly
tho will Of tho majority Of AmcricaGa!'
TUNNELING THE MissrssIrrJ.Tht
American Railway Times says
Tho project Of bridging the "Fath
er Of Waters" at St. Louis has mel
with such strenuous objection that i
has been abandoned, ,,and tho railway
companies whose roads centre there
have conceived tho idea of tunnclin;
tho river. Consent to construct tn
work will bc asked of Congress, ant
as soon as it is obtained, it is proposed
/ to begin tho work. The cost is csti
mated at $3,O00,000, and the timo re
! quircd for the completion Of the worl
j three years. Tho tunnel will not b
moro than threc,fonrths Of g mil
II ~ sst5 k sSs