Clarksville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1865-1867, 1866-07-06

Every hour OF illegal political restraint
every hour the possession of the rights the
Constitution gave Is denied, is, not only In a
political bat material sense, OF great injury
to the North, as well as to the South.
The Southern planter works for his North.
ern brethern as we'll as for himself His Ia
bors heretofore Injured as much, II not more,
to their advantage as to his While harmony
In the past between the sections gave 10 the
whole prosperity, power and rcnown Of
which every citizen had reason TO be proud,
the restoration Of such harmony will i'm
measurably increase them all. Can i'll will
Il be restored as long as the South Is kept
In political and dishonoring bondage2 And
can IL not, will il not be restored by an op-
posite policyf BY admitting her to all the
rights Of the Constitution, and by dealing
with her citizens a. equals and as brothers,
not as interiors and enemies7 Such course
as this will, we are certain, be seen TO bind
them heart and soul to the Union, and in
spire them with confidence in its government
by making them feel that all enmity is for
gotten, and that justice is being done to
them.
The result of such policy, We belive, will
at once make us in very truth one people,
as happy, as prosperous and powerful as ever
existed at any period of time, while its op-
posite win keep us divided, injuriously affect
the particular and general welfare Of citizen
and Government, and IL long persisted In can
but result In danger t, the nation. In
the words Of an eminent British statesman,
now no more, "a free Constitution
and large exclusions from its benefits cannot
subsist together; the Constitution will des-
troy them or they will destroy the Constitu-
tion." It's hoped that, needing the warn
ing, we shall guard against the peril by re-
moving ib cause.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
The undersigned have not thoughtit neces-
sary. to examine into legality of the measures
adopted, either by the late or the present
President, for the restoration Of the Southern
States. II is sufficient for their purposes to
say that if those of President JOHNSON are
uot justified by the Constitution, the same
may at least be said of those Of his prsdeces-
sor. We deem such an examination unnec-
ssry, because, however II might result, the
people Of the several States, who possessed,
as we have before said, the exclusive right
TO decide for themselves what Constitution
they should adopt, have adopted those con-
stitutions under which they respectively live.
The motives of neither, however, whether
The measures are legal or not legal, are liza
BILE TO oensure.
The sole object Of each was to effect a
complete and early union of all the States !;
to make the General Government, as 1t did
at first, embrace all the States TO extend its
authority and secure itsprivileges TO all alike.
The purity Of motive Of President JOHNSON in
this particular, ss was to have been expected,
is admitted by the majority Of the Committee
to be, beyoupd doubt 50 that "whatever
may have been the unconstitationality OF bis
course, and its tendency to enlarge the exc
cutive power, they do not, for q moment,
impute to him any such design, but cheer
fully concede to him the most patriotic mo-
tives.p
And we cannot forbsar to say, in conclu-
sion, that he sins against light and closes his
eyes TO the course Of the President during
the rebellion who ventures to impeacn his
patriotism. Surrounded by insurrectionists,
he stood firm. His life was almost constant
ly in peril, and he clung 70 the Union, and
discharged eli the obligations II imposed
guou him even the closer because of the
peril and now be has escaped unharmed and
by the confidence of the people, has had de-
VOWED upon him the executive function Of
the Government, to charge him with disloy-
atty is either folly or crime-folly in the
fool who believes ii, crime In the man Of
sense (if any such there bel who asserts IT,