Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-08-16
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
WILMINGTON, N. c., AUGUST Is, 1866.
Andrew johnson

Andrew
Sprung from what is called the humblest origin
without the aid of money or advantage of edu-
cation in early years !; his youth and first man.
hood devoted to unintellectual manual labor
without the assistance of friends, family or posi-
tion he by regular successive steps, from the
Mayoralty ofan obscure country town to the second
position in the Government of Continent. His
own brain, aided only by his own indomitable
will. enabled him to remove every obstacle in the
way to fame and fortune
These obstacles, in the aristocratic days of the
Republic, which have now happily, or unhappily,
passed away, were neither few nor slight Sneered
at as a plebian; denounced as agrarian; as a
man who delighted rather to drag down than to
build up; rs bitter partzan; nunscrupulousp oti-
clan; an nprincipled demagogue; by hisopponents;
byhsassociates tolerated, and in emergencies court
ed, because of his daring qualities leader of
i foriorn hope in time of the desperate political
peril yet distrusted because of his intense demo-
crazy, his position was peculiar and diff
cult one Always relying on, and always appeal
ing to the people avowing special confidence in
their wisdom, patriotism and integrity owing all
his success to popular suffrage advocating on all
occasions, all treasures for the freedom and extern
sion of that suffrage, he was thought to believe,
or pretended to believe that the voice of the pee
pie recorded the will of Heaven
Late in his already eventful career, actual war
succeeded political strife. Former friends and
former foes now unite in denouncinS him
vengeful rs malignant, as being filed with envy,
hatred, malice and all uncharitableness, with feel
ings all intensified by the damning consciousness
of being q foul traitor to the land Of his birth,
that land which to him had been so prodigal of
honors it is said that his brain, maddened
by continued intoxication, refuses to devise
the means for executing the DEGREES dictated in
the he'll lie carries in his own bosom that, rene
gade traitor and tory, after having basely be-
trayed his mother land, he loses opportunity
Of increasing his shame by adding to her mis-
cry.
Later still, in his still eventful career,
ceases fortune leads him up still higher. Many
think and some say, that though the hand of
Booth executed, the brain of Johnson conceived
the plan which resulted in placing him in supreme
control of one of the mightiest empires of the
world. With scarcely a dissenting voice, our
whole people at once cry out that our cup OF mis-
cry is filled to OVERLOOKING death itself is pre-
ferable to being absolutely at the mercy of one
who has both the head and heart of fiend but
before the cry has been fully uttered it is sudden
~ hushed and our people stand amazed, for this
tend, the reverberations of his victorious can
non have ceased to sound, dashes recklessly In
front of his victorious hordes and hurls them back
from their conquered, crushed and fallen foe ;
cheated of the rich spoils they were so eager to
clutch. We stand still more amazed. DO these
soft. soothing, conciliatory tones; these kindly
words of friendship, comfort, brotherly love, re-
cancellation, and far more precious than these all,
these assurances of restoration to the rights and
liberties of free men, do they come from the lips
of this passion and hquorbesotted, this malignant
man, this conscious traitor 1t almost exceeds be-
lief yet it is true In the very first moment of
victory, before he could taste even, much less be
cloyed with the sweets of revenge, amnesty and
reconciliation are proposed instead of malignant
hate, kindness and protection are profered in
stead of the incoherent mutterings and wild wan
behring's of a drunkard, clear voice, in calm, dis
tnct tones, enunciates argument after argument,
logical, convincing irresistible agrarian and
leveller he devotes himself to restoring the shat
tered ruins of his country; an unprincipled dem
agogue, who has won an ill-gotten success by
yielding and pandering to the passions of the
multitude in open field, single handed and alone,
from triumphant, united people, clamoring for
vengeance, for blood, for spoils the advocate and
hero of maorities, he voluntarily throws himself
with the handful of defending the
breach already carried ; bitter partizan, his
comprehensive policy embraces alike friend and
ioe throughout the broad expanse of the empire
and INSCRIPTIONS politician, he plants himself !
squarely upon the constitution and laws of his |
country, and developes the full proportions of a
statesman and patriot one single characteris-
tic of days gone by, and one alone stands out
prominent in the daring, indomitable will he ex-
hibits Has this man, been during whole life
time slandered, alike by friend and by foe? Was
the gall of bitterness in his heart turned in the
moment of victory, into the milk of human kind
ness? Was he changed, emasculated of evil, as
it were, in the twinkling of eye? Is he with
still unsatisfed ambition, soaring to yet loftier
heights and is it for this, his indomitable will is
subordinating all these passions so mighty in the
human bosom? Whether regard him as the
magnanimous, chivalrous conqueror, whose en-
mites fall with his foes, or as the slave of some
daring ambition, must accord to him powers
that an age rarely twice, and do him the hon.
or to admit, that whatever of Ife liberty or pro-
perry We may retain, we owe all to Andrew John
son
The Philadelphia Convention.