Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-12-06
Impeachment,

1t would seem that the great victories
achieved by the Northern Democrats have
not in the least curbed the fierce spirit O
Radlcallsm which seeks the maintenance O
party by means "Outside of the Constitu
ton, contrary to law and destructive tt
the best interests and permanent peace Of
the country. Possibly the contumacy OF
this party is sustained by the prospective
admittance Of the Africanized South, by
which 1t IS expected to counterbalance. bv
the negro vote and white acknowledgements.
the losses at the North If there was any.
thing settled by the recent elections we
supposed it was the question of Impeach-
ment, and while the country might have
| been prepared for the ATTEMPT before, the
Introduction Of resolutions looking to the
| impeachment Of President JOHNSON now
has taken all by surprise, and has aroused
the spirit of indignation, probably of re-
sistance, throughout the North The adon-
ton of the resolutions will be total igno-
ring Of the will of the people and an insult
to their verdict
But few of the Radical papers treat this
attempt at impeachment with favor or re-
spect, while many OF the Conservative Or
gans regard it as fraught with new perplex-
tiles and dangers. Even those which have
never supported the President with fervor,
overlook personal considerations and treat
the matter as one of vital Importance to the
continued existence of the Constitution,
As its custodian, as the representative of
the Government, the President becomes q
person of transcendant importance with all
patriotic men, and his cause becomes that
of the country. Movements are already on
foot at the North to manifest the indigna-
ton OF the people, and the lessons taught
by the elections will be impressed by a
more direct and decisive expression
of the will of the masses. This remon
STRANGE will come not from a party or a
State, but from all patriotic and good ci;i-
zens everywhere who are tired of the reign |
OF demagogues, and who are determined to
emancipate themselves from party tyran-
ny which impoverishes them and which
engenders hate between the two sections
and destroys the peace and prosperity OF
the whole country.
The same party malignity which induced
The majority of the Judiciary commit
tee to report the resolution, will doubtless
force its passage through the House, and
very probably another suspending the Pre-
'ident from Office during the trial. In OF
Ter to secure the political power of the
country, which is about to pass from their
5rasp, desperate partisanship will not stop
o suppress, by illegal violence, a co-ordi-
late branch of the Government. This
movement is one ofmomentous Importance.
The mere agitation of the question must
lsturb and unsettle all business and have
most deleterious influence upon the ma
lonal recovery from the waste and lassitude
the war. We look to it as the forerunner
disaster. The agitation and confusion
hlch it will cause, the fierce passions
hich it will engender, the divisions and
lssensions which it will make, and the
angerous conflicts which it will promote, u
i'll not only delay and destroy the reyiv-
e hopes of early restoration and happy y
cancellation, but will engulf in its disas- t
Gus effects everything like law and ORDER a
e trust that God, in his infinite wisdom o
id goodness, will avert the evils which lie p
the path of the success of these plotters a.
,alnst the peace and prosperity of the
overnment, Il