The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1866-03-30
Hare We q President?


eress. 1t argues with some cogency i
favor of the reconstruction policy of Con
gresS as opposed to that of the President
The argument i however too warmly par
tisan to carry great weight OF convection
Its force is weakened bv a fallaciouS pc
sition which it assumes at the outset, an
which if it were tenabie would have n
bearing upon the intrinsic merits OF til
question at issue.
The writer says 1.-The President of tn
United States was not elected to the Otic
he holds by the voice of the people of tn
loyal States; in voting for him as Vic
President, nobody dreamed that by The
assassination of Mr. Lincoln. he wOult
consiitutionallv succeed to the more I'M
portant post. The persons who now form
the Congress of the United States. we,,
elected by the people of the States for the
exact position they hold. In any compar
iSon between the two, as to the direc
derivation Of power from the people anC
the States, Congress has everything in it:
favor: Mr.. Johnson nothing"
Further on by implication he propose:
TO limit the constitutional power of til,
President, because he "was intended by
the people who voted for him to have ne
other connection with reconstruction. than
what casting vote in the Senate woult
give HIM"
Why will men be so foolish as to injur,
a good cause by poor arguments. If there
be any force to this objection. carried tl
its legitimate result, it puts the President
under such limitations as exclude him from
the performance of any executive act
bscause he rus not elected tor tint pmpose
1t the position were sound, it would be tn:
>heercst folly to make that cxtrinSic pom
i'll an issue in which the vital question i
easily susceptible of maintenance. But i
is not sound. President johnson wa,
elected precisely for that purpose. under
the very contingency which has arisen
ana his power is as directly derived from
the people as is that of Congress or wa.
that of President Lincoln. Nor is it +,
be presumed that such contingency was
not thought of, since it has twice occurred
within the last decade and Il half of years
President johnson was selected by tn,
people for the reason that he seemed ),
nearly to embody the sentiment of til,
loyal States. We quote from his Nash.
vile speech made upon his nomination 4,
Vice President
Il say that traitors should take Il back
scat in the work of restoration. If Their,
be but five thousand men in Tennessee
loyal TO the constitution. loval to freedom,
loyal to u>tice, ther2 true and faithful
men should control the work Ct reornani-
zation and reformation absolutely. say
that the traitor has ceased to be- a citizen.
and. in joining the rebellion. has become
II public cnelny. He forfeited his RIGHT
to vote with loyal men when he renounce,l
his citizenship and sought to destroy oui
government. We say to the most honest
and industrious torci gner who comes from
England OF Germany to dwell among Us.
and to aIA TO the wealth of the country.
Before YOU can be Il citizen ycu must
stay here Tor five years If we are 50
cautious about torci gncrS. who voluntarily
rcnOmce their homes to live with liz. what
should we say 10 the traitor. who. al
though born and reared among us, has
raised a parrlcidal hand against the GOV
ernmcnt which always projected him
Ny judi "mcnI is that he should lie subject
ed to a severe ordeal before he is restored
to citizenship. A fellow who takes the
oath merely to save his property, and de
MES the validity of the oath, is p,rjured
man. and not TO be trusted Before thc>,.
rebels can be trusted. let them
bring fortl, the fruits Of repentance. lie
who helped to make ;,Il these widows and
orphans, who draped the streets Of Nash
vile in mourning, should suffer for his
great crime.
Treason must be made odlous. and trail
tors must be punished anl impoverished ::
their great plantations must be seized. and
divided into small farms. and sold to hon
est, industrious men. The day for pro-
tecting the lands and negroes of these au-
thors Of rebellion is past. 1t is hiyh time
1t was. J have been most deeply panied
IL some thing, which have come under
my observation. We Get men in COM
mand, who, under the influence Of hattcrv.
tawnmg and careSSlns. grant protection TO
the rich traitor, while the poor Union man
stands ont III the cold. often unable to oct
Il receipt or a voucher for his losses. The
traitor can get lucrative contracts, while
the loyal man is pushed aside, unable to
obtain a RECOGNITION"
That the President mas yered somewhat
from the course laid down at that time
cannot be denied. Whether he has been
influenced by an unbiased Judgment. or
warped by personal inhu-
rnce oi crafty and designing mcn is not
tor Us to say.
The present condition of atfa1rs i oar