The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-03-04
nONDAY MORNING. MARCH 4.
TnE Thirtv-ninth Congress ENDS %

THE 11lFNN-Dlulu NOLsSAGSo NAN-0 ~
day. and the Fortieth Congress will as
sembIe tomorrow. This is an unusual
proceeding and one that has never be-
fore occurred, except in extra session,
in our national history. Heretofore it
has been customary to have an alter
nate long and short session, and in the
regular order OF things the session end
ing to-day would have been the short
one, and the next Congress would not
have met until December. But these
are extraordinary times, and the regular
order OF things is SO out of joint, that
the legislative department of the nation
has felt itself called upon to remain at
its post and see that "the Republic suf-
fers no detriment' on account of the
dereliction or usurpations of any other
department. 1t is not to be disguised
that serious and irremediable diver
gence has taken place between the
Executive and legislative departments
OF the government. The former has
arrogated to itself unusual powers and
the suspicion is that unless held in
check by the latter, it will. undertake
the exercise ofassumptionsh hitherto un-
known and altogether ut variance with
the Constitution of the country. In
other words the President of the
United States is no longer a man to be
trusted He has proved himself utter
ly recreant, not only to the principles
OF the great Union party that
elected him, but also to the
very fundamental PRINCIPLES OF the
Government itself. 1t is believed that
he would not hesitate. in an interim
of Congress, to employ the powers of
his office, including its vast patronage,
for the enlargement of the Union
cause. He is believed to be SO blindly
bent on his peculiar policy, and so
headstrong Us against all restraint, that
he would avail himself of a; Congress
ional recess to foment even outrageous
civil discord. Hence the Iaw-making
power ofthe nation chooses, at no small
sacrifice to itself, and certainly for no
pecuniaTy reward whatever, to re-
assemble at once, and to hold itself in
readiness to promptly meet the Presi-
dent ut his own game, whatever it
may prove TO be. Mr. Johnson is a
dangerous man, and is not to be trusted.
He has set up his will against that OF
the whole country, although protesting
the utmost Difference for the popular
verdict. No one can doubt his aflilia-
ton with the men of the North and of
the South who were inopposition to the
Union party during the war. His
sympathies are with them to-day, in
stead of being with those who elected
him He has appointed to Office the
men who not only opposed and de-
nounced his election in the loyal States,
but also those in the rebel States who
were in arms at that time. His mani
fest will is to destroy the Republican
party if possible. The leaders of that
party have determined he shall not
carry his purpose into execution. They
therefore choose to continue their ses-
sion and remain prepared as it were to
hold in cheek every move of the Presi-
dent to that end The copperhead press
will denounce them, of course, for so
doing. They will assaiI the ears of the
country with the usual abuse of the
Radicals. And they will complain of
this last manifestation OF the Union
men MOTTO yield the results of the war
into the hands of their enemies. All
we can say is that there is no help for
such complaints. Let them rail on.
Such is their settled and inevitable
programme in any event Unless
we surrender to them there is no
avoidance OF these assaults, and
perhaps, not even then. We conquered
the copperheads OF the North not less
than the rebels of the South, during
the war, and we are not bound to re-
spect the dictates OF either. Their poll
icy is not ours, but is as opposite as the
poles. Nothing that we could yield
would satisfy them. That much has
been abundRntly proved. Hence there
is no alternative but to hold the reins
OF Government firmly, and guide and
direct the ship of State on the course
that logically results from the war. The
South has been given every opportu-
nifty to iuaugurate and per feet the
work of civil reorganization. 1t
chooses, under the detusive and fatal
patronage of the President, not to
avail itself of its opportunity, but, in
stead, TO remain malcontent and recu-
SAINT. Putting on an mir of injured in
nocence, as if it had never been in the
wrong but always in the right, it pref
ers to assume an attitude of defiance
rather than one Of Rcquiescence, hoping
and expecting that Mr.. johnson and
the Northern CoPperheads will be able
to circumvent the results OF the war
and obtain, in some way, a substantial
vindication OF the principles fought for
in the rebellion.
The assembling ofthe Fortieth Con-
gress, thus promptly, will tend to open
the eyes of the Southern people. They
will see that their hitherto cherished
expectations are vain and delusive
that their friends in the North are DOW
erless 10 reverse the current; that the
Union people of the country have not
been wearIed into an abandonment of |
their principles that this contest will
proceed to its natural conclusion, and
that the conclusion will inevitably be.
that irrebels do not accept the favorable
terms which are offered them to-day,
they will be obliged to put up with
something not so favorable to- morrow.
Hence we are not surprised to read that
the Virginia Legislature re-assembles,
under the call OF Gov. Pierpoint, to-
day. in extra session, in order to dis
cuss, and most likely to accept, the
terms held out to them in the
late bill passed by Congress. Appar-
entity the members of that body have
g1N at