The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1866-08-15

can not say. nus lar unu no farther. -
The Constitution SLOWS no such exception,
ifyio,aied but for day, it i violated.
This | look upon as the great source OF
evil prrgn1st with political mischief Ii j,
a sap applied 20 the very foundation of oul
National ediice; and If pressed forward ia
It's results. mnst shake ii not destroy it. Il
i needless aud idle dwell upon the naSt-
that which belongs to history: but il j. not
improper for me To say that | have not in
all things entirely ]concurrcd in the action Of
the past Or present Executive. In the
direct political movement necessary to Pre-.
serve the integrity OF the Union and enforce
the laws, in the nnRduct ni the war. fell
no difficulty, nn hesitation. | ftlt, too, the
necessity. as Il war measure. TO remove the
power Of mischief from those who actively
a1d openly attempted TO obStrnct the rails,
lng ct or armies Of to induce desertinn from
the rank Their crime approached treason
but dbl not tall within its definition. The
po. it,on OF those IN its commission was am-
b%Iguous, occupying middle space between
traitor and SPY; but whatever the judge
mcn.S Of Courts might be upon their acts,
tn Performance of a duty which the Presi-
cent owed. the Constitution required that
they should be deprieved of the power OF
mischief.
1t Was necessary to l~r)tect our armies in
the process nf formation against hostile ele,
mentS as well as to protect them against
meeting and opposing armies in the field
Military commissions are w%arrantable only
IN which the commanding General is justiG
ed ia ordering executi n on his own man
date without trial, then he may properly or
ganizo Il commission to advise ami share
with him the responsibility; but | have new
er been satisfied with the trials and %convic-
tl0ns by military courts where our civil
courts held u%ndiSturhed sessions and Our
civil laws could Toe executed. Such things
have nevertheless been done, and | J have
not failed to protest against it in the pro-
per quarter, and use all my powers Of rea.
son and argument to prevent it.
The prevention Of mischief is one thing,
the trialand punishment OF u crime complete
is another.
For this use of military tribunals the adj
ADMINISTRATION of President johnson is not
entirely free from re possibility but as far
as know, it was only when he was fresh in
his office, near to the surrounding circpm
s'anccS which Influenced the action of his
predecessor and Of his counselorS that he
icIi into. what | consider, a vital trror-and
! howcd from the first a purpose to apply to
the mischief an early and, Whenever posi-
be. an efficient remedy. Thus, in the only
instance in which he greatly erred, it was
Ivy uniting in the policy Of those who now
most condemn him; it was by suffering
himself to lie borne onward by the wild tide
ofeyents which threatened to sweep away
md nllIiprl IN thc np.inpt ,,,l-,,nrl VI. ~ n,.u
Republic, and it was only when he attempt
ed to check its violence hat he encountered
fierce resistance, ~contumeIy and rcproach.
Besides the illegal constitution Of the two
houses Of Congress, by the exclusion OF the
eleven States, there was Il vice, a novelty in
the proceedings Ct those two assemblies by
the appointment OF Il Joint committee Oh the
a'l-lmportanlqupStion Ofre2onstruc,i0n, and
the admission Of members to each b>dy-a
similar TO that of public safety in
the constituent Assem- bly, Of France in the
days of the revolution, ana almost equally
potent.
The two HOUSES were by the appointment
committee and the powe,s grlntcdit
consolidated, and there was 10 longer, for
the more important purposes Of the session,
two houses Of CongreSS-two deliberate as
ScnihIics. Indeed, there cruIl b. no free
deIIhcrltlons IN either Of those bndtes.-
They were t~rtttrrd and bound ly the action
OF the 10 Mt committee, and NJ rembcr
could tie permitted to introduce a measure
vii hont It's tr:t passing through this ordeal;
1t was as much as thcpo.i ical stand
ing Of any Senator or Representative was
worth to dispute its bchests. In a few in
il was attempted, but on each occa-.
sion followed by an expiration aud an apol-
1gy.
Men are drifted by the strong current Of
would not carry them. In the composition
)t most men, even men possessing lnteIli.
renee and sOme force Of character. Their! is
more Of the oaier than the oak-hencn it is
that in times Of high party excitement the
more reckless. and violent govern, in ooliti
assemblies, soher-minded men, their SUI
in knowledge and intellect.
Measures were adopted almost unani.
which would not have passed the
Houses by the free votes of the mem
bers, without this restraint. Its efficiency
must have been understood and its n~ecesSi-
ty forGEecn, or this strange anomaly in A.
nIerIcan legislation would not have Dccn re-
sorted to.
BY the report as the Committee on Re,
construction, it appears to have been their
that what is generally understood
an executive duty, the right OF deternin,
ING when the Instruction or rebellion in a
has ceased and it is in a condition for
self government, pertain 20 the two Houses
OF Congress, and not to the President.
They say it was his duty to execute the
laws OF Congress, and they ignore aud they
in effect deny his right to DO his duty under
the Constitution. except as they may direct
and impel him; this is their first radical er-
ror, aud the close Of the report shows how
unfit a legislative Lody is for the perform
ance of executive duty.
1t was well shown in the long Parliament
in England, when they undcrtood to exer-
executive power, it is equally well
shown here.
Not only could not Congress agree as to
what should be done to effect rcconstruc-
ion, when it sh uld begin. and how for it
advance, without the aid of Com
OF Reconstruction. but that commit.
so selected. had to say that the result
Vt their report was a mutual concession, af-
cr a long and careful comparison of con-
opinions.
1t would seem that their inability to agree
night well have admitted OF some Difference
nd respects for the opinions of the Presi-
lent, who, with more knowledge, certainly
n equal patriotic spirit, much larger infor-
nation, and longer deliberation, differed
rom some, perhaps all Of them; and if he
Tere mistaken, and members were returned
StotpS MT oruaniyp1 en- ne IN ha oon,-
etent to return them, each House had the
,ower to determine the question for itself,
the case Of eace individual member, and
Il full information to reject such members.
There seems to no agreement on the points
n which it is charged that the President
rred Every act and each conceivable onis-
to act is objected to by different indie
iduals. The only particular in which they
gree is that he did not in all things con-
to the will of Congress. He had
.,.,x.,a u L. .,. -. ...l H.. .