Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-08-27

~ Il
- Mr. BLAIR after returning thanks for the
fattering manner in which he was received,
con srAtdfated the members of the Conven-
tiou upon the conclusion of their labors !;
upon the manner In which they had per-
formed their work Of reconstructio tion-re-
storing the government OF the State to the
people to whom it tbelonged--wbose ances-
tiers had made It. correcting the abuses
which had been put upon the State by the
@miscreants who had held power in WASH
yinGton. He contrasted this reconstruction
with the Radical reconstruction of Con-
sgress, which looked with such Indignation
at the popular reforms going on in Mary
land, that it Is doubtful whether it would
recognize as a republican form of govern
,ment one, established by the. vote of the
white, people of the State, "A republican
tform of government in the Southern States,
in the sense of Radical despotism, Is hence
forth to consist in the government of those
States and the owners of their soil by an
-oiigarchy in caucus at Washington through
the sutfrages of the negroes. gathered into
league by the Freedmen's Bureau, and sworn
bto!vote' according to the viii of their pres
serit masters, whose power is sustained by
the army of the United States. This negro
government, lpropped by bayonets, is the
-iirst boon of our rump despotism in the way
of, reconstruction. This has cost us dearly
In blood and q waste of treasure, which will
hold the nation in bondage to the money
lords to a late posterity. Nothing remains
TO complete the absolute sway of this rump
tdespotisha at Washington butt impeach-
-ment of the President he is stripped al
ready Of bis constitutional power OF reno
val and appointment of officers, as recog-
Inized and acted on by the fathers of this
government, from its foundation TO the in
,auguratiou Of Thad. Stevens's caucus, and
NOW it only remains toimpeach and remove
ethe President for defending, by unanswer-
able argument, the admitted constitutional
action. of the governments from its birth to
sthe hour of his Presidency. But the i'm
.peaching COMMITTEES, composed of his enc
mics, cannot be drilled by the mover of
Impeachment Mr.: Ashley, to report in ia
3 vor OF it. They are willing to denounce
him for party purposes, but it does not suit
these purposes to bring him to trial. To
impeach and expel President for main
staining the Constitution and the Union,
with the rights aud dignity of the States
-unimpaired. for which the war was made,
would not be accepted by the country as a
srightfnl consequence of the success
of the war. Hence, Mr.. Ashley and
the timpeaching party are driven to
seek some more heinous- crime than op-
position to Radical revolutionists to justify
sthe Presidents expulsion from office; and
1T is now apparent that the scheme was to
implicate the President in the assassination
of his predecessor, and make him the con-
federate of Booth, by the aid of the same
,appliances by which 1t was sought to con-
meet the Southern authorities with that
crime. Uuhappily for Them Mr.. Conover's
vocation as a perjurer haAended In his
conviction and fncarceration.. But even in
this condition his skill was too valuable to
belost.s Mr.. Riddle, the prosecutor of Sar-
ratt, followed him into his prison to avail
himself of it,. He consulted him there,
acted on his advice, and found it SO useful
that Ia and, Mr.. Holt, Judge Advocate Gen.
nf IN no
PRESIDENT to- pardon him onthe pretext of
rewarding him, but really for his instruc-
tiohs on the Surratt trial; to release him
from confinement, and enable him to enter
on q new career. of usefulness. Mr.. Holt
knew that he was an expert in perjuries,
asserting even that he had duped hlm by
them, when he only meant to dupe others
He knew, also, that Mr.. Ashley wasvisitiDg
this accomplished villain, and in treaty
with him for the impeachment of the Pres
ident, and yet Ina his character of Judge
advocate, he recommends the President to
pardon him.. It is impossible not to see
that this was done by him with the design
0fqnalifying Cenover to aid in not merely
the impeachment, but In the utter
destruction of the man whose mercy
was thus 6ssought.a It is at a this
stage of Mr.. .Ashley's preparations for the
Impeachment of the President, that DARK
hints are thrown out BY himself and coad-
jntors In Congress that therewas terrible
disclosure brooding that would implicate
the President in something not only justi-
Tying impeachment, but death Itself The
hint pointed to the conspiracy against the
lite of Lincoln. The papers exhibited by
COnov6f,1 and referred to In the notes OF
Ashley, contain the plan by which the Vice
Pfesideht " as 10 be implicated in the con.
sPifasy WITCH opened the, Presidency te
him by the death of his predecessor. Wit
nesses named by Conover were suborned by
9on63ef to prove intercourse between the
Vice President and Booth. The design was
tStSon1ert into evidence of Mr.. Johnson's
association with Booth, that fact of hi
(Booth's visit to the quarters of the Vics
President to see that his accomplice, Atz
erodt; was at his post there where he had
placed him to murder the Vice Presiden
at the time he himself mad appointed TO as.
ssssinate the President, and Payne to as
sassinate the Secretary OF State. The plo
developed by conoyeT certainly proves th,
ingenuity attributed to him by Messrs
Holt and Riddle. They sought his releas,
from prison to reward him for the service
he had rendered them in that line, in. tht
prosecutions they had CONDUCTED; and as Mr
Ashley Joined in the solicitation for hi
pardon, and wrote notes to him evidently
to employ his talents in matters of inter
est to himself, one can hardly coDjectur,
anything. in which the impeacher of Pres
ident johnson would more willingly OF
could more suitably employ this genius o
periurfes than. in assisting him with testi
nsony. to sustain his tettering case befor
the 1mpeachiDg committee. However thi
maybe, one thing is beyond doubt Their,
sunquestionably written evidence tina
therelsexisted strong sympathies betweel
Holt, Ashley and Conover. Nor Is ther
any doubt that Mr.. sHeltyacted in coHcer
with Mr.. StanIoR.5 He had always a tel
low feeling for Mr.. Holt, and close asso
ciatioDj official and personal, with MI
Holt. They were the colleagues in. MI
Buchananss Cabinet, who osympathizedwit
the rebelIiUng and no, having encourages
ftsieaders in bringing. It on, like Mr.. Con
over, in like cases. finding their interest il
betraying it, and Mr.. Buchanan, their pa
tron, did so. Mr.. Stanton sees it would b
aegreat aid to the prosecution of the Pres
identia1 impeachment, If he could ,estab
lish the fact that the President had violat
ed the sacred rights of the Senate, and a
imperative law passed by Congress espec
iary to secure his tenure of the War De
partment. This he undertakes to do by sol
emn profession leaving it. that he is pu
out by "foTce,n in derOgation Of the right
of the Senate, and in violation of the stat
ute in that case made and provided. To d
justice to Mr.. Stanton, and exhibit the sac
rifice he makes in this instance of devotio
TO his friends, must give the histor
connected with then passage of thi
Tenure of Office, act, so lar as az
plies to Cabinet offices. The clause prC
libitingi the removal of members of th
Cabinet, without the consent OF the Ser
ate, was an amendment proposed by Nj
Williams, of fsPenDsylvania, who is so muc
in the intimacy of MIR. Stanton that it
certain he acted with Stanton's sanction,
not ON his SUGGESTION. q When the bill cam
to the President, Mr.. Stanton astonishe
his colleagues IN the Cabinet council by a
outburst OF his Indignation and disgust {
its invasion of the rights OF the Execqtiv,
He proclaimed with vehemence that =