The Portland daily press., 1866-12-29
Impeachment.
ANOTHER APPEAL BY WENDELL PHILLIPS.
From the Antl-slavery standard

From the Ant-Slavery Standard
The question OF impeaching the President
occupies very large share of public attention.
In our judgment more than two-thirds of the
loyal masses are ready for it. The House of
Representatives, we are assured by the most
trustworthy and competent authority is ready
to begin by a vote of three to one. The oily
| hesitation arises from the position taken by
certain Conservative Senators-men who have
never outgrown their education in the timid
policy of the old Wing party, and who still re-
tain relations with the President which it
would be hattery to call equivocal. These men
express such repugnance to the measure, such
doubts of its justice and expedency, that its
friends inter they will never agree to a convic-
ton. Unwilling to aid in what would then be
thought an ab0rtive moment, unsuccessful in
| it's immediate result, the friends of impeach-
| ment hesitate toproceed. We doubt whether
this reluctance is good policy. Grant the pos
sibility OF our not securing a conviction-there
are still many considerations which show how
valuable the mere impeachment itself would
be. Foremost and chief of these is the proba-
| BILE effect on the South. What changed its
honorable and healthy humility in Nav. 1859
| to the arrogant and staggering confidence of
May, 1866? The reliance on JOhnson's reach
cry, and the expectation that his treason would
| be countenanced by large Northern constitu-
ency No one will deny this. The stiff north
ern breeze OF October and November has al
| most blown away that castle in the air. Still.
q million and more OF Democratic votes give
large room for future hope; make it easy to
| confound and dispute the significance of the
election triumph. Few men doubt that the
President means to persevere in his plot But
| the whole South watches to see what the pur-
pose of the North really is and how far. even in
the presence of such Democratic mass. the
Republican party dares to go. Let the news
20 forth that the President is defied-that Re-
publican leaders dare to declare open battle
with him, to impeach and suspend him, and.
like the handwriting on the wall that an
nouncement will make Southern knees. like
those OF former tyrants, shake and smite
against each other; the proud but baseless ia
brio OF Southern ambition will dissolve. and
leave not wreck behind" Wade Hampton
even may come to his knees, and coward brutes
like Mayor Munroe will surely get to theirs
1t Will be sign of Northern purpose and of
our leaders understanding OF, and confidence
IN 1t, more potent than any other evidence can
be- NO movement would go 80 far toward con-
vinclng the South how hopeless is her plan to
save her lnhuman civilization from the verdict
which Northern victory has recorded against
1t. There IS another consideration of great inn
portance. The usurpaton and corrnption of
the National Executive have been increasing
every year for the last quarter of a century
Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan
have each succeeded in outdoing his predeces-
sor-the increasing servility and baseness of
each making his predecessor appear compare
lively decent The impunity with which each
was suffered to complete his villany embolden-
cd MS successor. Such men are below the
reach OF honorable motive, respect for charac-
ter and love ct good repute. Their impunity
corrupts and emboldens all in the nation that
resemble them The motives to such usurpa-
ton are many and strong; success and imnnni-
ty itensify and strengthen them still furtber,-
We need an example; we need to give to the
popular rebuke the strongest expression and
form possible. If the sinner cannot actualIv
be punished let him tremble at the close an
proach and most imminent danger of getting
his deserts. 1.-THE Senate will not give us the
credit OF convicting the usurper, let the House,
at least, give free course to the utterance OF
that protest from the moral sense of the people
which impeachment alone would constitute
Such utterance il due to national Character