The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-01-12
The President Attacked by a Radical

The following utterances of fa-
natical radical give assurance that the
President not only means to stand by
his policy, but by his friends. All
others must get out of office:
We recently published the state
ment that the President had given
directions to the heads of depart
ments to make no more appointments
ut present on the recommendation of
members of Congress. It is we'll un-
derstood that this order originates in
the opposition of Congress to the
Presidents reconstruction policy.
The question arises, therefore, whe-
ther the President is prepared to use
the Executive patronage as u means
of persuading Congress into aban-
doning what they deem to be their
duty, and submitting to his dictation.
Such course would introduce into
the Presidents policy the combined
elements of treachery for his party,
bribery for its representatives, aud
contempt for its principles and power.
The policy of regarding the Federal
patronage as the spoils of the party
is but another mode of expressing
the political axiom that the same ma
jority which elects the President
should exercise and control the offices
to which he has the appointing power,
so that for the lower, as we'll as the
higher departments OF Government,
the same majority shall rule. But in
no party, and under no Government,
has the doctrine been accepted that
when the Executive elected by popu-
lar majority is SO unfortunate rs to
place himself in opposition TO them,
he may use the whole patronage Of
the Government, which, Of right, be-
longs to them, to coerce the majority
into the views of the minority. In
principle, we see very little difference
between the lobbyist who waits in the
ante-chamber with presents of rail
road stocks. mining shares, OF green
backs, as compensation for vote in
Congress, and the President who
withholds or distributes Offices to q
Congressman friends for the same
consideration The most irsidious
advances toward such a policy should
be spurned by Congress in the most
emphatic manner. The people will
sustain them in refusing the Execu-
tive bribe II the Presidents policy,
either as to the time when, or the
terms upon which, the States should
be admitted, or the portion Of their
people to whom the suffrage should
be extended, be reasonable, safe or
wise, the fact can be impressed upon
the minds of an intelligent and pa
triotic Congress by more worthy and
respectable arguments than the coer-
Give withholding OF the corrupt grant
ing of Federal patronage, based on q
log-rolling and essentially criminal
agreement as to the mode in which
the Representatives of the people
shall vote Chicago Tribune, 30h uI
But the point that the President
makes is, that he cmaf, in any other
mode, impress his views upon the
minds of Congress. They don't APP
preciate any other kind of argument
BENNETT BEATEN AGA1N.-It hav-
ing been announced some days since
that Edwin Booth was to appear at
Winter Garden Theatre, the New
York Herald, whose quarrel with the
theatrical managers has proved in
furious to itself in every respect, took
occasion to denounce the managers
as guilty of great blunder, not to
say crime, in engaging the brother OF
IN assassin, and to predict that New
York would show them that she would
not countenance such disrespect to
the late President. Read the result
''This favorite tragedian, after an
absence of over nine months from the
stage, re-appeared last evening at the
Winter Garden, before one of the
most brilliant and distinguished
audiences ever assembled within the
walls of theatre in this city, and the
ovation he received was such as has
never been accorded to any actor in
America.
''This may be justly regarded as
the brightest triumph of his career,
and will give him every assurance that
a generous public is determined to
sustain him against the dastardly
attack of the Herald and its ATTEMPT
to destroy his reputation and profes-
sional prospects. His triumph is
that journals proper rebuke, and
must satisfy the public that all it's
efforts to do injury hereafter will
prove as futile as in this instance.
Alas, poor Bennett.
Ne'c Yorh: News, 4th,