The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-09-18
Hithmond 1ispatt1.
WEDNESDAY. ....SEPTEMBER IS. 1857.
PRESIDENT JOhnS0n'R Views ON tho
state OF the Countrywide Amnesty
proclamation.
Washington dispatches to the Boston Post.

Washington dispatches to the Boston Post.
The Presidents late proclamations hav
inc given rise to much speculation as tc
their purpose and practical bearing upor
the country, it may be interesting to know
what the author himself thinks and says
regarding them. In a social conversation
today vcnturcd to inquire Of his Excel
lcncv his views Of the proclamation de-
cIaring the supremacy Of the Constitution,
and his special object in publishing the
same. | admitted that the purpose was
,,ofcnt on the face of the document, but
that many persons protesscd not to be able
70 comprehend its practical bearing. He
-cpled that there were two parties in the
country, one acting within constitutional
limits, the other openly processing to act
ou,sidc Of the Constitution. His purpose
was 10 call the attention Of each and every
officer and employee Of the Govern
mcnt to this fact, that he might clearly
understand his duty, and, under
Standing, perform ii. Our Constitution,
H. said, was the citadel Of our freedom,
the wall which environs and protects
rs all. But another purpose which he had
IN view was 10 assure the country that the
authority OF the Federal Judiciary would
he unAnchingly maintained in ell the
States. | called the Presidents attention
70 the correspondence published to-day
between General Ord and Colonel Gilbert,
in which the latter claims that General
Odd and his SubordinateS were not tho SER
wants. but rather the masters Of the peo-
NE. He replied that it was but one Of
the legitimate fruits Of the Radical teach
iacs Of the day that public officers were
no, bound by their oaths, but might act
,outsidc of the Constitution this very
case, he said, illustrated the necessity for
his proclamation. Colonel Gilbert seems
10 have lost sight Of the fact that ours was
q constitutional government, and that he
was bound to respect the law. When a
military officer could thus forget that the
people were the sovereign, and could as
sumo that he was one Of their mas
tcrS. the President said he thought
j. was high time that attention should
be specially called to the requirements of
the Constitution and the true principles Of
our Government. He spoke in fattering
terms Of General Ord, and heartily APP
proved the noble rebuke which the Gene
raj administered 10 Colonel Gilbert. I in-
CURED what he thought would be the
PRACTICAL effect Of the amnesty procla-
nation. He promptly replied "to restore
tie parties to all their rights-to place
them precisely where they were before
the war. The suffrage question was one
10 be determined by the courts, and not by
the executive branch Of the Government"
In abiding TO the future, he said he had no
idea what Congress would do, but he be-
evcd the people would take care that
their Government was not subverted and
destroyed. So far as he was concerned, he
should exercise every constitutional power
in its defence, but that the great con-
t-olling power was in the hands Of the
people themselves, and his firm conviction
was that they would use it wisely and eff
GENTLY. The late elections in California
and Maine served only TO fix his confidence
in the "sobcr second thought of the peo-
plc."