The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-09-20
How to Put Down the Radicals Const-
tutionally.

President should not suppress all the
B,dica, papers and imprison their editors
until they learn TO conduct themselves
with more prcpriety. To allow newspa-
pcrs to apply such terms as traitor nod
"per;ured villain, !" and the thousand oseer
epithets which crowd the Radical vocabn-
larv, to q President for whom one year
AGO southern Bishop was required topray,
and all the churches Of whose diocese
were closed because he would not do 50,
Is to administer the claws in q very par
tial and one-sided manner.
The heresy Of the right Of secession and
all lis coucomitant and consequential doc
trincs have been entirely knocked out of
the southern people by the war, as We
have more than once had occasion to inti-
mate. They now believe in strong 60
vernmcnt-by which we meana President
with the wilito assume and exercise oil
the powers which the. events Of the war
have taught us belong to the executive
office. We have heretofore declared that
without the right Of secession State can.
not possibly have any rights at all, except
such as her associates in the Union may
choose to accord her; for if she is not to
Judge when her rights are invaded, but
must submit to the Judgment of the ma
jority invading them, then, of course, that
majority viii decide their own acts to be
valid and constitutional, and the State to
have no cause for complaint and if she
prove refractory, and try to withdraw from
partnership with such SISTERS" she must
be whipped back into the same. bonds OF
union. In word, the late war has
changed the entire structure of or 60
vernmcnt "trom turret to foundation
s,onc,n and left us, in the stead Of the one
we bad previously, consolidated, national
government, ruled over by a monarch whom
we >till call President.
During the war, citizens of the northern
States were frequently arrested and i'm
priSonod in defiance Of all constitutions
and laws, State and Federal. The Presi-
dent exercised absolute power, and who
ever had the temerity to call in question
his right to do so, was quickly consigned to
Fort Lafayette, Camp Chase, Fort Della
ware, or some other bastile. Newspa-
pers were suppressed at the will of the
President or his subordinatcs. Millions Of
slaves, recognized as such by the Constitu-
ton, were emancipated by a mere stroke
=, IT., no lriat II catfta1 nv
the well-nigh unanimous voice Of the
"great and magnanimous North that the
President had the right to exercise any
and all powers whatsoever that had ever
been exercised by any prince, king, poten-
tate, emperor, or monarch Of any kind or
degree.
1t is not for Us who We're "sutiugated"
bv these "short, sharp, and decisive"
measures TO question their wisdom or to
insis, upon their unconstitutionality or
their inconsistency with "free" govern
ment. We know that "the life Of the ma
ton" was said to he Gin danger" and
that these measures were all declared and
decided 10 be necessary to its preserya-
ton. And inasmuch as they proved SO
effective in one case, We would like to see
them again employed, now that "tlle life
oil tho nation is again threatened. TO us
of the South it is marvellous that Mr..
JOHNSON should allow such men as BOTTs,
BrowNLow, FoENEY, GREELEY, Butler,
WENDELL PHILLIPS. and JACK HAMILTON
to travel over the country and make
speeches denouncing him and his policy,
or /" publish newspapers filed with bitter
denunciations Of his policy, his charac-
ter, and his intentions. Where is the
army Where is the speaking layonet
Where the gentlemen in blue who used to
shut up printing Offices and stand guard
over refractory editors? Where the mill
tary commissions that condemned loud
mouthed orators to q residence upon the
sunny island of the Dry Tortugast Surely
the President stiH commands all these
means. Surely he is still "evcry inch
king.' If he does and is, then let him
silence the Radical orators and editors.
He can easily do it. A very small army
can soon cause the entire press Of the
North TO unite in supporting the Presi-
dents policy. One hundred soldiers could
guard each Of the cities Of New York,
Baltimore, and Washington, and two or
three hundred each of such Radical hot
beds as Boston and Philadelphia. But this
is not all that oughtto be done. To secure
the same degree Of unanimity of opinion
amongst the people which was deemed so
necessary by the last Administration, Mr..
JOHNSON and his Cabinet should have OIL
GERS stationed at all the churches where
the Radicals worship and Radicaiprcachers
hold forth, to compel them to spray for the
President" This was . conditio sine '7o,a
non year or two since. Without
complying with this condition, no minister
was permitted to preach to his own con-
gregation. Can there be any reason in
tha world why Mr.. JOHNSON should not ex-
act the same conditions! Is he not threat
ened with impeachment! Is not the coun-
try threatened by = second civil war Are
not the Radicals in Congress as truly "re-
bellious" as ever we were? Do they not
despise the requirements Of the Constitu-
ton and tnrn a deaf ear tn the pleadin0s