The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-30
THE pnEs1DENr AND THE COUNTRY.

ucuL uhu N1ouBiSSS hVh Auh'y w So--SH
cred closed. First, lie endcavorcd by the OK
crcise of his Executive power 10 restore the
Southern States by plan of reconstruction,
which, although not FREQ from difficulty anu
objection, was yet in great degree both just
and generous. This wns defeated by Congress,
who inauguratcd, after two years Of contro-
versy, their own plnn, which was neither just
nor generous. This plan the President op-
posed by his veto. That was overruled Then
| tho President undertook to modify its oxecu
ton by his method of construction and admin
| slra,inn Eonurc-- in''"r'i"'eiy met anu w
new law made their construction explicit, and
! took the administration Of the law ont Of his
hands. And in his last veto, which has bocn
ovcrrnled like all The others, he concludes the
struggle with this emphatic languages:
The rcnlcdy must como from tho people thom-
selves. Thoy know what il Is, anu how IL is to DO
ing to tho Constitution, repeal theso laws; they
remedy nevertheless, is ID their hands; it is to be
trollod by fraud, oyerawcd by arbitrary powor. or
from npatI,y, on their part too long delayed. With
integrity, I am still hopeful Of the future. and that
In tho cnd tho rod Of despotism will DO broken,
| tho armed ru:e of power bo lifted from tho necks
OF tho people, and tho principles OF violated Con-
stitutton preserved.
! Nothing cnn be clearer; tue surrender of
Gen. LEE wns not more complete thnn this
| abdicntion Of Executive power. Like the
South, the President submits 10 his conqueyor,
| and waits for the returning sense Of justice Of
the ''people' thereby the Northern
pcoplc-to terminate 'fhc dcspotism" which
tyrannizcs over him as we'll Ms us. And how,
indeed, could it be otherwiseH
From The dny when he (JouNsoS) bccamc
President, his position grew more md moro
embarrassing. 1t is true that he was one of
the few Southern men Of note who Ind
ilinchingly stood by the Union rs against his
section, thnt perhaps of all men Of equal
prominence he was most obnoxious 10 tho
leaders of the secession movement None who
witnessed will ever forget the scene in The SEN
ate in the winter Of 1860, when, standing on
the Democratic side Of the chamber, he spoke
his mind with q sulen mud dogged courage for
Two days, surrounded by DAVIS and MASON,
HUNTER and SLpELL, BENJAMIN md iuLEE-
the incifable scorn with which they looked upon
him-thc mutt tered denunciatiun which accom-
panied and sometimes interrupted his speech.
l."t !" e"i'" &c oil tiat. Mr.. JunSsoS was n
Southern man and Slate Rights UcmocrnI,
and he cnme into power as the leader of
party determined 10 crush the South forever
and trample upon the Constitution If il stood
in their way. This party, whose leaders COM
bined The relentless perseverance of fnnaticism
and the shrcwd judgment Of selfish ambition,
Mr.. JOHNSON undertook to arresL in their mo-
mcnt of unhopcd-for and uncxamplel victory.
This might have been done by Mr.. LINCOLN,
whose Immense popularity with the masses of
tho Northern people, and whose identification
with the cause Of the Union, from the COM
mencement of the civil war to its close, gave
him IN individual power which might safely
have de6ed the Radical rhetoric of SUMNER
and STEVENS. 1t might hive been accomplished
by great military chefain, who, with tho
army at his back, had the courage and tho am
bition to use it, But what element Of strength
hnd Mr.. JOHNSON? The first Indication of his
GALS The South he could not use, and tic
Democrats were bent, at the first symptom of
difference, upon using him to defeat their an
tagonisis. Upon the first issue which he made
he failed. When, having lnid down for the
Southern States the terms of reconstruction, he
instructed them upon compliance to elect their
Federal representatives, he made the issue
When he recognized the Congress which re-
fused to receive them as the lawful Govern
ment of The Union, he submitted to defeat.
The logic Of his position was gone. We are
fnr from saying that ho could successfully have
refused to recognize Congress, but this we do
say, that there was but ono alternative, TO re-
fuso Congress his recognition, or to submit 10
it. Tho very snme alternative Yas put before
Congress. They had either 10 submit to the
President or to conquer him; they have not
h.sithtcd, and, ms in every contest twccn wenk
goou man and strong bad one, might has con-
qucred right. There is o striking analogy in
the present situation between tho relations of
tho President and Congress, md the relations
between the Long Parliament and CHARLES l.;
and 1t looks very much as If the analogy would
run further.
So far Congress has as steadily and ms sue
cessfully usurped power as Tho Parliament, and |
the last supplemental act Is MS complete and |
radical n Constitutional revolution as history has
ever recorded. For in order 10 carry OIL, their !
policy at the South, Congress Inns been forced |
to deprive the President Of powers which are |
unquestionably his. They have rcmodelled the |
Executive Department Of their government and |
the President himself, aftcr moro than two |
years of struggle, declares 10 Tho people of tho /
United States "Attho present time they can-
not according 10 the Constitution repeal these
lHws; they cannot remove or control this des-
postism," and thus goes out, We are afraid for
ever, that returning CLEAN of sunshine"
which the prophetic vision OF Governor PEaRY
recognized in tho luminous opinion Of Mr..
STANngRY.
In saying this, nothing is further from our
purpose than consuro of the President; for his
effort he has all our gratitude, in his failure nil
our sympathy. History will do him justice:
will il preserve for honor that con.
scicntious love for the Constitution which seems
both to prompt and toreslrain his action. but
surely il is time for us to profit by his expert.
enco and 10 listen to his advice. II at last, even
in his opinion this despotism can neither be
removed or controlled, ore we braycr or
stronger than he, that we can hope to oppose
III If this is 80, is It not clear that whateyor
reaction tho fnluro. may bring, however ,suro
70 returning scnso ofjustico," yet that in The
meantime revolution will hnye been accom-