The tri-weekly news. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1865-1876, 1866-10-25
The Permanently Increased Powers Of
Congress.

'St'iI raS'hSg WIFI uhoimlnlSned Jury, ths
majority of the Northern people raised
TO the second place in the Union a man
who WAS universally looked upon as the
incarnation Of the fercest patriotic spir,
it. The Federal cause had no more
sinSle.minded advocate, no more active
and resolute champion than Andrew
johnson. He was norn,na..
ted for the pos. of Vice President am,id
The general applause of the zealots of
the Republican party, and his success
was taken as a remarkable proof of
Northern determination. It may be
that it those who proposed and elected
him had known that he was so soon 70
take The highest office in tile State they
wonld have hrsitated before they chose
one IN whose character energy approach.
ing almost to violence was the principal
feature. Bit when the assassln's weap.
on deprived the Republic OF its late
chick and it was known that Andrew
Johnson was President of the United
States, there was, perhaps, not one
among tliose millions who anticipated
The policy which has since revealpdat
self On the contrary, a thrill Of anxi
ETY. passed through the moderate men of
the victorious party those whose opin.
ions were represented by Ms Lincoln
aud Mr.. Seward. When one orthese
lay dead and i was thought scarcely
possible that the other should survive.
men feared 70 see the ligh.handed Gov.
ernor Of Tennessee Invested with a pow.
er almost supreme. Only the fereest
advocates, Of punishment and contisca.
ton for the ,prostrate Sunth were inclin.
ed to rejoice that the genial Lincoln had
found a stern and relentless successor.
This is the man agaiasr whom the
tide of Northern opinion is every day
setting stronger and stronger. Presi.
dent Johnson is no longer rallied against
III the South, but the Republicans Of
New England and the West have hard
ly any terms harsh enough to express
their detestation Of him, Three.fonrths
OF the men whose snlfrages gave him his
present position are now his hitter oppo.
nents. On the other hand, he is, or
rather was till a few weeks ago, the
hdpe Of those whose rebellion he had
denounced and so boldly strivenagainst.
Yet there Is no reason to suppose that
the President has changed his creed nor
Is he one to allow the possession af Office
to modify his conduct To an attentive
observer he is sthe same Andrew John
son who carried matters with so high a
hand against the rebels, and, il these
were ~ rise again he would show him
self rs unsparirg as ever. The ,trutl,
seems to be that he belongs to a party
which has settled doctrine with regard
tp the rights Of American States and
citizens, and that he maintains thai, doc
trine without regard to the circumstan,
ces Of the time or the changes Of public
opinion. This doctrine is 'the Consti.
tulion as it waa"--the theory that
though a. State has no right to leave the
Union, and may becoercrd il it attempts
to dc, so, yet there is no Federal authori.
~, not even in Congress Itself, 70 inter.
fere with the internal affairs Of any
State, and that when any State ac-
knowledges the Federal Government it
is entitled to all its former rights. But
1t ought to be evident to any American
statesman as it is to obseryant foreign,
ers, that one ofthe chief results of the
past war ia the great increase of tho
p3werof Congress aud q general moditi.
cation Of the relations Of the States to
each other and to the Federal Govern
menk Before tho war the most remarka.
blefeature Of the American ipolisy. was
the weakness ofthe central authority.
The Constitution Is unchanged As to the
letter, bnt its spirit and practice are no
longer the same Amid the convulsians
offour years the controlling force was
necessary for the safety osthe republic,
and Congress assumed 3 pnwer which ia
not likely again to be seriously dsPased.
The Union precisely as y was car bard,
1y existaesin. In allimportankmatters
Congress will be practically almost ss
srptelpe as the British Parliament
Nn,,h on6 Sou,b tha Atlantic SiaSef