The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1867-12-05
: ql1sinaas1..esh T
| ln5Seact naent.

rome Cleeinnast a1ete Z &
IL Is s in eac ment.
3 II nth of ne charges made in the
majS fitE report. of NE Judi ciary Com
mittee-on the matter ofinipeachn,ent, Is
undeniable. They who do net regard
the rebellion assacrime;s swhe hold that
the seeding States exercised no more
than their rights, and that the United
States Govsrnna ont aoverthrew che Con
stftdtfon wien it resisted secession by
force Of arms, will of course regard them
as of no moment They Will maintain
that Johnsonsdid q meritorious. thing by
transferring the r.Executive power to
the rebels But they who hold that the
rebenionlwas the highest Of crimes, and
that when it divided the possession of
the country between great armies, it
brought in all the conditions, powers,
rights and consequences of war, will see
in this 9 thransfer of the Executive in
efuence to the seneny, while yet, the
results Of the war were to be settled and
the terms Of peace prescribed, the worst
treasen.0 ed kIo3 81 ssdw asaHt zafwaa
|1s@And there are none Of any party who
do not have to admit that Johnson's acts
in setting up State Governments in the
rebel States were fragrant usurpation,
johnson so makes it Gut, when he de-
MES this power to Congress. The
Democratic party SO make it out, for
they claim that the cessation of hostiil-
ties restored the Is bsi people, to their
former political stalaB. We have never
yet seen a Democrat journal or orator,
admit that johnson had constitutional
power to set aside tao rebel State Gov
ernments aud set up new, although we
have repeatedly challenged them on this
point. Their theory of the secession
and the war and tue consequences Of
peace, allows no way by which the rebel
State Governments could be forfeited
and placed at the disposal of the con-
! queror. And they declare that this act,
when done by Congress, is a subversion
Of the Constitution, although the power
il in Congress if anywhere, and although
the Governments which Congress set
aside were Johnson's constructions,
which no Democrat will maintain to
; have been made in accordance with any
law either State or United States, civil
or military sfIas 8szs dauovHs sqaser- @7ef
.si On this point, everybody will have to
admit that johnson was guilty Of usur-
nation. He set aside State Govern
ments he constructed others byshis arbi-
trarys power; he prescribed rules of
suffrage, DISTINGUISHING citizens; he
fixed qualifications for Office; and he
presumed to declare these creations
complete States, ready to take their ac-
customed place in the nation. He had
not shadow of legal power for all this.
! He himself prenounces on its character,
when he denies to Congress the power
to make any Interference with the
Southern State Governments. and de-
clares such interference q violation of
the Constitution; although all the power
that can exist over those affairs. either
bv the supervision which the Constitu-
ton gives the National Government
over the character of the State Govern
m ents, Or by the rights of war, is in
Congress, and not in the Executive.
Ii Here is case of nsurpatlon of power,
clear and notorious, and which no party
can deny And this is aggravated by
the fact, which was at first concealed by
a profusion ofprofessions, and by fierce
bellowings of vengeance upon traitors,
that this usurpation of power was done
for the purpose Of forestalling the legal
action of Congress, and Of restoring the
rebels to power, in defiant hostility to
the legislative authority. HOW many
instances of fragrant violation of the
Constitution are required to make case
for impeachment? One is enough.
H ere is a formal case, and one that
nobody car deny. Il . enough to satisfy
the law, and to stop ne mouths of all
those who pretend 70 base their oppos;-
ton in til cir n. = recsri for law And
it is gigantic crime 1T its consequences,
in reviving the re BEL resistance, and
preventing, tie reste.a ion Of peace.
I The great crime Of johnson, which
comprehends all the others, is that in
+ terrible war which had brons-h tile
/ Republic to the brin X Of ruin, which had
slain half a N lion ot men aud turned q.
prosperous country TO a field Of devas
tation in which vasf armies divided the
possession of the country for four years,
each with their G,vernm ents claiming
and exercising all beiligerent rights.
and which our Supreme Court had de-
clared to be of the same nature and to
have the same consequences as
a public war. he, while the state of
war still existed, and the terms of
peace were yet to be settled by the
departrn eRt to which the Consti-
tuition confides the war making and peace
making power, threw himself into the
arms Of the enemy. and gave all the
influence of the Executive office to re-
vive the rebel spirit, to thwart the will
Of the nation and to encourage them to
resist its just terms. The crime of one
man who carries his arms TO the enemy
ia called treason = hnt it is a minnie