Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-03-06
What is Due to the President.

Three years ago, in the United States Senate,
when Mr.. LINCOLN was President, Mr.. SHER-
MAN, of Ohio, spoke as follows, in regard to
what was due from that body TO the President:
I'VE must maintain him. support him. aid him.
Even where / disagree with hIm, will not arraIgn
him before the people Of the country, and thus dis
credit and dshOnOr him. Rather, IT be is weak, we
ought TO uphold him the more; If he is tickle, We
ought TO strengthen him by our resolution; If he
lacks any Of the elements necessary to constitute
him a good man, We ought 70 supply them by our
courage and cOnssancy. We do no good % our
cause no good to our country, by a constant crimi
nation Of the President, by araigning him here, as
have heard him arraigned, as a tyrant and i'm
beetle Sir be Is the instrument in the hands Of Al
mighty God, holding the executive power Of this
Government for four years. If he is a weak man,
we must support him II We allow his authority 10
be subdued and Oyerun, destroy the authority Of
the Government Of the United States.
Happily for the country, ANDREW JOHNSON
is neither "weak" nor "fckle"-a ''tyrant''
nor an 'simbecie." His claims to the support
of Congress and the country are far higher
and more imposing than any derived from
such considerations. He found the count
try, upon his providential accession to pow
er, vibrating between anarchy and despotism.
Scarcely an hour passed that did not present
some new and grave question that must be de-
cided, and that should be decided upon cor
rect principles. lie found himself in the midst
OF excited and exciting men, to whom an eX-
elusive Northern Union had, by virtual, &C
tual separation Of the two sections by four
years of war, become a familiar idea. He
found the principle of sectiOnalSm, if not
"planted in the Constitution, the animating
principle OF executive, legislative, judicial and
military action. The civil war had produced
a condition Of affairs not contemplated by the
Constitution, and for which no constitutional
remedies were adequate. 1t was only by an
extraordinary exertion of power that the crisis
had been met, and TO such exercises of power
the public mind of the North had become A.
custOmed. What shall We do, rather than
whence our authority for doing it, was, perhaps,
naturally, the question on the lips of all.
But, with Mr.. JoHNSoN's accession to power,
tie occasion for such expansions Of remedial
agency ceased. The war was at an end, and
war remedies were no longer needed. Al
though, however, he had not to deal with wan,
be had to deal with what was almost as tormi-
dable-those passions that survived the war
and with great, exultant and vindictiye par
ty, under whose auspices the war bad beer
conducted. This party felt that it had a two
fold claim upon the new President. He wa
its own elected Yice-President, and he OWED
his elevation to the Presidency to an uniore
seen and tragical contingency. These TIVE
considerations, coupled with the fact that his
predecessor had proved yielding and tractable
rendered that party exacting and imPerious
The new President was addressed m the Ian
guage of dictatiOn. Under the trying eireum
stances in which he was placed, he so mas
tered his strong nature as to act with eomPo
sure and discretion. He cOmprehended read
ily the true posture of affairs. De saw that
the war having ceased, war powers must cease
and that the passions Of war must be aiiayed