The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1867-09-06
RAPID AND STARTLING PROGRESS
OF OUR REVOLUTION.

On we march! The negro cloud still
hangs upon our political horizon and
threatens the nation. The radicals de-
scend from great legislation to the pet
ty passions of party politics, and are
bent upon absorbing III the one control
ling idea the whole forces of the gov
ernment. Fortunately, the executive
power comes to the rescue and stands
between Congress and the national sui
eide they would commit. This is clear
ly shown by the mastery answer Of
President johnson to General Grant, in
the correspondence Of officials relative
to the removal Of General Sheridan,
which we publish to-day. General
Grant, evidently felt the force Ofthe de-
mand which the radical party was max
ing upon him place himselfright with
them and seized the opportunity thus
unwillingly given him by Mr.. johnson.
The latter, however, was not unequal
to the task of parrying the thrust,
and in his answer to General Grant
gives us the best State paper and the
most exact explanation of his position
that have been issued from the EXecu-
tive Mansion during his administration.
The General, true to the instincts of the
soldier, merges too much of military
feeling into his remOnstrance. He APP
parentIy forgets what we have for
some time past been adVOcating-t
the removal of Sheridan changes no
law, alters no result. To imagine that
any one man is absolutely necessary
to the preservation Of our institutions
or the government Of any section, Is to
forget the fundamental elements of re-
publicanism merge principles into
men give rule to the latter; ignore any
innate force in laws themselves; and
march the people at Il double-quick to
military deSpotism. In this view alone
we applaud the removal of Sheridan
for the political cry raised by the par
ty in power shows how closely they are
treading upon the dangerous ground
we have designated. a brave soldier,
indeed, is Sheridan, and the President
pays just tribute to his worth but it
must be a principle Of our republican
ism that no man is absolutely essential
to us. This lesson we must teach at
once. Ignoring it, we touch the bor-
der ofdictatorship and its inevitable Sc
quence.
Andrew Johnson attempted at first to
seize the three branches of Government
and embOdy their forces in himself
He failed. Congress has latel y tried to
do the same. They, too, have failed.
All this shows the strength of our Gov
eminent and the terrible strain to which
it may be subjected without breaking.
1t is useless for Congress to hope that
by any enactment they can usurp all
power. Their efforts to break the eX-
ecutive branch by splitting it into frag-
ments is in every sense illegal, and to
be deplored by every man who seeks
the general good instead of political
victory. The desire, morever, to force
to the surface vast negro element
unframed, uneducated, untitled to con-
troll themselves, much less legislate for
those who have just set them free-is
the maddest phase of a revolution
which is urged on with partizan vio-
lence which forgets, in its present sue
cess, that it must finally bring reac-
tion which will be terrible to both white
and black. The former will dry up
his sympathies fora race which is for
ced so rapidly upwards that sympathy