Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-07-12

doxy is my doxy, heterodoxy is your doxy /"
How different all this from the language
that would have been used in olden time
upon such subject by such journal
The g stern application OF the law and
the Constitution to the President, as well
as to his subordinate, losing nothing of
the severity of its substance from the dig
nifty Of its diction, would have rou ed
throughout the whole Length and breaG tn
of the land the righteous anger Of the peO-
pie.
Our greatest misfortune since the surren-
der of our armies was the necessity Orseem-
ing necessity for US to risk our shattered
fortunes in the same boat with ANDREW
JOHNSON. am not Radical nor on the
road to the Radical camps. Between them
and me there Is an impossible gulf. [ am
not, however, a believer in Mr.. JOHNSON or
his policy, which was, in lay opinion, as
obviously illegal and wrong as the action of
Gen. SHERIDAN, and with less color of title.
We were either State of the United States
or we were Il conquered country. Mr.
JoHNsoN's policy started with the premiss
that North Carolina waa neither a State nor
q province, but q sort Of geographical her
maphrodite, OF rather territorial eunuch.
Conclusions from such q premiss necessarily
y
giles, and hOpelessly and I very much fear
ourselves with him. Gen SHERIDAN can
show color at least for his course under Act
of Congress. The President lost his grand
opportunity when he refused to ratify the
treaty between Generals JOHNSON and SHEER
MAN. The State Government, so called, in
stituted by Mr.. JOHNSON and his '' GatlaD,"
is now declared by the g satrap" himself to
be as "obviously illegal and wrong" OF in
other words, as provisional" in its nature
as that administered by the individuals
designated by order of Gen. SHERIDAN.
The lapse Of time and the act Of Mr. JoHE-
SON have rendered it forever impossible for
our old Constitution to be administered by
officers duly selected in accordance with its
time-honored mandates. The term cf Office
of our last constitutional Governor, EEBU-
LON 3. VANCE, has expired, as has also that
Of the members Of our last constitutional
General Assembly, and this leaves the State
not only without officers but without the
power to create them. To this extent in
deed, has MIR. JOHNSON made lis eunucns.
can never forget that we are indebted to
Mr.. JOHNSON for this state Of affairs. He it
was, now so fierce upon Commanding Gen
erals for interfering with his policy and it's
administrators, who drove out our proper
legal constitutional officers. ! confess [ do
not look with unmiXed regret upon the
ousting of his appointees, who are so com
p}acently pluming themselves as the repre-
sentatives of the old North Carolina OF our
fathers, and as such, calling upon Us to fall
down and do them homage, when in fact
they are representatives not Of the State of
North Carolina at all, but simply and purely
OF Mr. JOHNSON S policy, and are utterly un-
known to the Constitution.
Such, then, is the condition Of atfairs.-
The CID public highway by which We ere
wont to travel, has been blocked up and rem
dered impossible by Dir. JOHNSON, who
instead thereof offers the use Of s. private
road, new and unfamiliar to rs, 10 which
however, other parties stronger and moro
powerful, declare he has no right. They
accordingly forbid its use except for g short
distance and by their consenj, as they otter
TO lay out > new road tor us. As it is ny
desire to take the shortest surest and safest
road out of this wilderness I shall not hest
tate to use the road offered by the more
powerful party, though at the same time
l see not the slightest reason or necessity
to get as far away from the ''party' rs pos
sibLe, as we'll as from the wilderness. We
must get ont Of dis difficulty some low or
other, sooner or later, and as our honor is
not involved i'll q quick crH, l say, the
sooner the better.
Such old fashioned notions as these would
doubtless have convinced you without any
assurance on NY part, that [ had cone
down from former generation as well rs
that L live in the country If [ have in
fringed upon town manners" in any way,
pray you to pardon me.
S2l7rS