The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-10-04


aud let us exercise our judgements, not our
passions. -,
we live classfes the powers of the Government
under three distinct heads-a Legs ative, an
Executive, and the judicial department.
The Legislative department IS clothed with
authority to make the necessary ana needlul
The Executive department Is clothed with the
authority to execute those laws-nOt TO make
them. (Applause)
power of constituting the laws passed by Con-
gress, not by the President. (Applause.(,
That is the subdivision of power IN the Con-
sttution, and while l dislike to entertain an
audience by reading do ask that may be per-
mitted to read from that great charter of our
liberties. | read from Section 8th. The first
subdivision OF power in the Constitution is that
defining the legislative department.
Section declares" "That Congress shall have
power Congress, not the BrecusUe- daughter,
occasoned by the peculiar twang with which
the speaker uttered the last word)-"to lay and
collect taxes, duties, lmposts, and excises, to
pay The debts and provide for the common
defense and general welfare"-"and general vel.
faren-that power Is lodged in Congress. 1t
then goes on to enumerate the specific grant
of powers by the Constitution of the United
States TO Congress. | need not enumerate
them; the section OF the Constitution closes
with this significant paragraph :-"COngress
shall have power to make all the laws which
shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the foregoing powers and all other
powers vested by this Constitution in the Gov.
ernment OF the United States" Can there be
anything more b'oad or Comprehen i've
First it clothes Congress with the power of all
legislative action that shall be necessary for
the general welfare; and second, it clothes
Congress with the power Of all necessary legis-
latlye acts that shall carry out the specific
grants OF power
Your Executive is an executive officer He is
to execute laws that Congress makes, and he has
no power, except it shall be his duty to COM
n no Of fho
country at their annual session. He has no
earthly powers to execute u law that Congress
makes-OuT Congress-aCongress that represents
you and me, my friends. (Applause.) Our
Congress- will nave a word to say before /
close about what are our relations to our repre-
sentatives--well, l run along and will have 10
read another, because want to comment upon
it hereafter. | find in section in the 4th article
of thn Conatifm',1n these words ''The United
States.n We are the United States, and not the
President. And, let me tell you, we are going
to teach the man who sits in the White House
that we are the people, and not Andrew John
son. We are going to teach him that the free.
men OF this country know their rights, and
knowing dare and DN maintain them. Gap
plause, and cries of Good" "goodl")
The part OF the Constitution to which have
just referred says:-"Hhe United States shall
guarantee to every State a republican form of
govemment,"-and we are going to do it, with
the help OF God (applause) ,-"and shall protect
each of them from invasion, mark the Ian
gUdpe; L want 10 say SOmPUul0g alter aWlllG IN
relation to it-"and on application Of the Legis-
lature OF the state, il in session, or, If not in
sion, of the Executive, aginst domestic vio-
lence." Now, there is the Constitution, and
what has the President done? l have spoken of
what ought to have been done-nay, have
spoken of what l would like to have done.
What has been done? The President has
assumed powers which he had no more right to
exercise, in my candid Judgment, than the
merest child in your community. (Applause.)
When this Rebellion collapsed, what WIS his
duty?
Twill be liberal-very liberal. During the
war, ! Stood nay contended that for a govern
ment the greatest powers in time of war were
necessary, but when peace came flying upon
its wings, then l demanded that the executive
power should correspond with the demands OF
peace Tie first thing the Executive undertook
to do after the Rebellion collapsed was to ap-
point governors for the rebellious States; and
yet the modern Democracy p1ate about State
rights. (Applause.D
Clymer and God knows he will never be Gov
ernor in any other way. applause and cheers
He might with just as much propriety, with just
as much power, hOast Clymer into the executive
chair as he could appint Governor 10 q rebel
llous State. ] ask any constitutional lawyer or
statesman TO point out to me the clause in the
Constitution that authorizes the President tC
appoint a civil Governor. 1t don't exist. Wha
he ought to have done was this-H ought tC
| have held all those States in military subjec
| ton, and submitted the matter 10 Congress-ou,
representatives.
| ! concede to the President, as the commander
| of the amy and navy, full power over govern
| ment in its military aspect; but denv from thu
| fist to The last any power in the Executive &c
| appoint civil Governor 1t is high crime
miSdemeanor. (Applause.) More, this is
question, my friends, in which o0e have an in
| terest; it comes home 10 us. l make no OBJ
| jectlons to the conditions or terms which hi
PROF Iosed to the States on resuming relation
within the Union. They were right; yet al
Executive may, unconstitutionally, Just as wei
attempt TO exercise a right which he has n
authority to eXercise-he may attempt it in thu
right way as well as in the wrong way. HI
never had authority to appoint governors O
impose terms upon the States. This is on
business, not his (applause) and we will teac
him, before we are done, that it is our business
IhanE God, the people command the position
and they intend to command it. He 1.-THE Pr
sident) demanded conditions of the States-ce
tain conditions upon which they should assum
their relations in the Union. Where did he gt
his power? ask any man. l want to ask th
constitutional lawyer, and / ask any man {
good, sober, common sense where he got h
power to propose a system of legislation by tb
States on the one side that was 10 exclude OF
being heard on the other? (Applause.) Now,
am not going to discuss the question to.nigi
whether these States were in the Union or OF
Of the Union. II is not material for nv arg
ment. ! know they are very nice distinction
and have very clear, and distinct notions upo
1T; and as there may be difference of opinion
when can base my argument upon what do
not render 1t necessary for me to draw these di
tnctions, do not choose to do it.
1 care not whether the States were in IL
Union or out OF the Union. 1t is enough for n
| to know that they did acts which deprived the
of every right they had under the Constitute
(applause), and instead of raising question
| that will lead us away into the mazes of fra,
scendentalsm, he chooses to do it precisely as
| is presented. They did well, if it was q
| authority worth quoting. / would quote Al
drew Johnson on that very point but it is n