The Portland daily press., 1866-03-01
Letter from the Federal Capital.
WASHINGTON, Feb. "a, 1886.

lections Of Andrew johnson as he stood in
seemed to forbid belief in the possibility of
such an event. Even when he announced
that he held the same political belief as ever,
it doubtless seemed incredible to many be-
sides myself that the man elected upon the
same platform and ticket as Abraham Lincoln,
was politically the same as when he supported
with voice and vote the aney-Breckinridge
ticket and doctrines, and were ready to ex-
claim with Hamlet
"Nor shall YOU do mine ear the violence,
To make it truster OF your own report
Against yourself.
But the time when large and kindly charity
could discredit selfdepreciating assertions,
when it might attribute utterances otherwise
unaccountable, to a certain weakness of which
the country had painful illustration some
months since; the time when we could reso-
lutely close our eyes to sinister developments
daily pressing upon US and still hope against
hope,-that time has now gone by. The time
fol suspense is over, and the time for action
has come. frt1 ... -s.. -..r.--. G
Perhaps no one thing has tended more to
dispel any lingering uncertainty as to the new
posture of political affairs than the speech de-
ivered by the President on the evening of the
twenty-second. have not been in haste to
alluds to this amazing harangue, nor even
now will I trust myself to characterize it.
Nor would 1t now seem worth while to speak
of it, did not doubt its going before the peo-
pie of the country as it was really delivered;
since even those against whom its promiscu-
Gus thunderbolts were aimed may be moved
by feeling of national pride, or sense of
decency to suppress the most characteristic
and significant parts of it. Yet it seems due
to the people that they should know in what
spirit the President began and is prosecuting
this "great struggle" I'll p
/ once thought Andrew johnson had forev-
er put it out of his power to further humiliate
and mortify the American people, but be-
lieve was mistaken. Think of an Ameri-
can President, our President, throwing aside
all those proprieties and decencies that for a
hundred years have made his august Office re-
spected, and honored in the eyes of the peo-
pie, descending from the more than regal dig
nifty of his station to the disgusting arts of
demagogues and the slang of loafers, STOPPING
to vilify and malign-nay, even daring to
menace by name the honored representatives
of the sovereign people-men who, in their
exalted stations are as Independent of and
as little amenable to him, as he to them; think
of him saying with respect to a gentleman
honored by the highest council of the repub-
lie or of the world with the highest and most
honorable Office in its gift, II do not acaste ma
a,apaasnition upon dead cocks" think of him
parading with pot-valiant bravado his danger
of assassination apd his defiance of the same,
and then lapsing into a fit of maudlin resigna-
ton and readiness to be offered! think of him
saying to Copperhead rabble, Eve are in a
great STRUGGLED am your Instrument; think
of him maundering on from truisms and vap-
id commonplace to virulent abuse and wanton
aspersions of men at least as patriotic as him
self, from this to vulgar bullying and bragga-
docio, proceeding then to some gush of ten
der sentiment, and so back again to his start
ing place. think Of this and say if any speech
ever made before by any American President
or Vice President does not seem dignifed and
noble in the comparison. This astounding
harangue closed with these words; 1 quote
from the Chronicles verbatim report of the
speech now before me:-"When yoar country
Is gone, If you are about that place, look out
and you aoiH find the humble indiuidual ,cho
now stands before you ,oeeping over its final
dissolution" Dear Andy, when our country
is gone" we propose to be round-that,s soi
But as it VIII naturally leave pretty big hole
behind it, we may possibly be too busy In try
ing to keep ourselves out of it to "look out"
very particularly to see whether or not said
humble individual may be discovered in that
vicinity bathed in tears. On the whole it is
quite likely we may have other and more i'm
portant matters to attend to. Meanwhile let
our tender hearted President dry his anticipa-
tory outpourings. Our country has not Hgone
up" or gone down exactly, nor does Congress
propose to expire or abdicate just yet. Let
him labor in conformity with the spirit of our
institutions and our age, for just and right
eous settlement of our difficulties, and he
will find none more ready to cooperate with
him than those who elevated him to his pres
ent position, who earnestly desire to give him
their support, and who will earnestly and de-
votedly labor with him ito see that the Repub:
Tic receives no detrinsent." r,'..-.
Among those who closely attended the
President on the occasion of his late speech,
were Messrs. Akin G. Clampitt, counsel of the
conspiritors, Mr.. j. F. Coyle of the InteEligen-
Ger, now intensely Democratic, Mr.. T. B. Flor
ence of the Constitutional Union, intensely
copperhead, and ex-Mayor Berrett 1t is with
profound sorrow that l have written these
things. If Mr.. Johnson's friends, those who
are now in his confidence and are entitled to
speak for him, shall plead in excuse for this
demonstration of his, the same palliating cir
cumstances as once before, we shall all rejoice
to spread over 1t the veil of that charity so far
as it will reach. Yesterday the Senate took
up the following concurrent resolution of the
House of Representatives, which passed the
latter body on the Goth inst, by yeas 100 and
nays 40. -
heSoWed 0y We House OF Representatives,
(the Senate concu,ring,) That, in order to
close agitation upon question which seems
likely to disturb the action OF the government,
as well as to quiet the uncertainty which is
agtating the minds of the people of the eleven
States which have been declared to be in in
surrection, no senator or representative shall
be admitted into either branch of Congress
from any of said States until Congress shall
have declared such State entitled to such rep
Upon this resolution Senator Fessenden,
though laboring under bodily weakness and
made noble speech, boldly as
serting and fully maintaining the right of Con-
gress to act in the matter of Reconstruction;
aspeech that will pass into history as one OF
the ablest indications of the rights, powers