Wyoming democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Wyoming Co., Pa.) 1867-1940, 1867-12-11

largely indebted. and with republican form
oil COVER nnient, admin stored by the agents
OF popular choice is q thing Of such delicate
! texture; and destruction Of it wonld be fol-
lowed by such unspeakabIe calamity, that
| every true patriot must desire TO avoid what
! ever might expose II to the slightest danger,
! The great interests Of the Country require i'm.
mediate relief from these enactments Busi-
Dess in the South is paralyZed by sense of
general insecurity, by the terror Of confisca-
tion, and dread Of negro supremacy. South
ern trade, from which the North would have
derived so great profit under government
of law, still lsDguishes and can never be re-
yived until il ceases to be fettered by the ar
bitrary POWER which makes all its operations
unsafe. That rich country, the richest in
natural resources the world ever saw, s
worse than lost if it be not soon placed under
the protection of free Constitution. In
stead of being, as it ought to be, source Of
wealth and power, il will become an intolera-
BILE burden upon the rest of the nation.
the LATE ELECTIONS.
another reason for retracing our steps will
doubtless be seen by Congress in the late
manifestations Of public opinion upon this
subject. We live in country where popular
will always enforces obedience 10 itself, soon
er or later. 1t is vain to think of opposing it
with anything short Of legal authority, back
ed by overwhelming force. 1t cannot have
escaped our attention that, from tie day on
which Congress fairly and formally presented
the proposition to govern the Southern States
by military force with view to the ultimate
establishment OF negro supremacy, every ex-
preston of the general sentiment has been
more or less adverse to it, The affections of
this generation cannot be detached from the
institutions Of their ancestors. Their deter
mination to preserve the inheritance of free
government in their own hands, and transmit
it undivided and unimpaired to their own
posterity, is too strong TO be successfully op-
posed Every weaker passion will disappear
before that love of liberty and Law for which
the American people are distinguished above
oil others in the world
THE PRESIDENT VS.. CONGRESS,
How far the duty OF the President to pre>
serve, protect, and defend the Constitution
requires him to 60 on in opposing an uncon-
stitutIonsl act OF Congress, is very serious
and important question, on which / have de-
liberated much and felt extremely anxious to
reach proper conclusion. Where an act
has been passed according to the forms of the
Constitution by the supreme legislative au-
thOriiy, and is regularly enrolled among the
public statutes of the country, Executive re-
sistance TO il, especially in times OF high pars
ty excitement, would be likely TO produce
violent collision between the respective adj
herents of the two branches ,he Government,
This would be simply civil war; and civil war
must be resorted to only as tie last remedy
for the worst OF evils. Whatever might terd
TO provoke t,should be most carefully avoid
ed. A faithful and CONSCIENTIOUS magistrate
will concede very much to honest error, and
something even to perVerse malice, before he
will endanger public peace, and he will not
adopt furcible measures, or such as might
lead 10 force, as long as those which are
peaceable remain open to him, or to his conr
stituents. II is true that cases may occur in
which the executive would be Compelled 10
stand on it's rights and maintain them, re~
gardless of consequences. Ii Congress should
pass an act " hich is not only in paIpable con-
flct with the Constitution, hut will certain
ly, if carried out, produce immediate and ir-
reparable injury to the organic structure Of
the government, and if there be neither judi
ciaI remedy for the wrongs it intlIcts, nor
power in the people 10 protect themselves,
without the official aid of their elected de-
fender II, for instance, the Legislative De-
partment should pass an act, even through
all forms OF law, to abolish a coordinate de.
partmeBt OF the Government, in such a case
the President must take the high responsi-
bfities OF his office and save the life of the
nation at all hazards. The sO-caed Recon
structioD Acts, though as plainly unconstnu-
tiOnal as any that can be imagined, were not
believed to be within the class last mentioned.
The people were not wholly disarmed Of the
power of self-defence. In all the NJrthern
States they still held 10 their hands the sa-
cred right of the ballot, and 1T was safe TO be-
lieve that in cue time they world come to
the rescue Of their own institutions 1t gives
me pleasure to add that the appeal to our
common constituents was not taken in vain,
and that my confidence in their wisdom and
virtue seems not to have been misplaced.
TRAtps ON rME TREASURY.
u is well and publicly know that enor-
nous frauds have been perpetratcd on the
Treasury, and that colossal fortunes have
beeG made at the public expense. This spe-.
cies Of corruption has increased is increasing
and if not diminished will soon bring us INFO
total ruin and disgrace. Public creditors and
tax payers are alike interested in an honest
of the finances, as neither
class will long endure the large-hanted rob.
berries of the recent past. For this discredit-
able state Of things there are several causes.
Some OF the taxes are so laid as to present an.
temptation to evade payment
The great sums which officers may win by
connlvance al fraud create pressure which
is more than the virtue OF many can with
stand, and there can be no doubt that the
open disregard of constitutional obea.ions
ayowed by some of the highest and most
influential men in the country has greatly
weakened the moral sense of those who serve
in subordinate places.
PREslDENT's POWER TO APPOINT OR REMOVE
sUBoRDINATEs.
The expenses of the United States, inclu-
ding the interest on the public debt, arc
more than six times as much as they were
seven years ago. To collect and disbu,sa
this vast amount requires careful supervision
as well as systematic vigilance. The system,
never perfected, was much dsorganized by
the "Tenure>of Office Bill % which has almost
destroyed official accountability. The Pres
ldent May be thoroughly convinced that an
officer is incapable dishonest or unfaithiul tn