The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-03-05

lor KENT is quoted as saying that 9Th
| President is the great responsible off
Ger for the execution Of tue law, ant
the power Of removal was incidental t.
that duty, and might often be requisite
&c fulfil it," aud DANIEL WEBSTER
declared to have admitted thatthe prin
ciple "was settled by construction, set
tied by The practice Of the Government
and settled by statute" - htlI
&. ,MR. .LrNcoLN's PRACTICE y y
Referring to the practical construc
tion of the Constitution given by MI
LINCOLN in exercising the power o
removal, Mr.. JOHNSON says: .-.c
when the war broke out, rebels, en-
emies, traitors, abettors and sympath
izers were found in every department
of the Government, as we'll in the civi
service as in the land and naval militia
ry service. They were found in Con
rress and amopg the keepers of tn.
capitol; in foreign missions, in each an6
all of the Executive Departments; II
the judicial service; in the postoffice
and among the agents for conducting
Indian affairs. As upon probable sus
picion they were promptly displaced
by my predecessor, 80 far as they held
their Office under Executive authority
and their duties confided to new ant
loyal successors, no complaints against
that power or doubts of its wisdom
were entertained in any quarter. sin
cerely trust and believe that no sucE
civil war is likely to. occur again.
cannot doubt, however, that in what
ever form and whatever occasion sedi
ton can raise an effort to hinder or de-
feat the legislative action of the Gov
ernment, whether by preventing the
collection of revenue or disturbing the
public peace, or separating the States,
or betraying the country to foreign en-.
emy, tho power Of removal from office
by the Executive, as it has heretofore
existed, and been practised, will be
found Indispensable
CONCLUSION.
The message concludes rs follows:
1t cannot be doubted that the tri-
umphant success of the Constitution is
due to the wonderful wisdom with
which the functions of the government
were distributed between the the prin-
cipal departments, the Legislative, the
Executive, and the Judicial, and to the
fidelity to which each has confined it
self, or been confined by the general
voice of the nation, within its particu-
lar and proper sphere, while just,
proper, and watchful jealousy of Execu-
tive power constantly prevails, as 1t
ought ever to prevail, yet it is equally
true that an efficient Executive, capa-
BILE, in the language of the oath pre-
scribed to the President, of executing
the laws, and within the sphere of Ex-
ecutive action of preserving, protecting
and defending the Constitution Of the
United States, is an indispensable secu-
rity for tranquility at home, and peace,
honor, and safety abroad.
Governments have been erected III
many countries upon our model. II one
or many of them have thus far failed In
fully securing to their people the bene-
Git. which we have received from our
system, it may be confidently asserted
that their misfortune has resulted from
their unfortunate failure to maintain
the integrity of each of the three great
departments while preserving harmony
among them all. Experience, l think,
has shown that it is the easiest, and it
is also the most attractive, of studies
to frame constitutions for the self.gov-
ernment of free States and nations, but
| think that experience has equally
shown that it is the most difficult
of all political labors to pre-
serve and maintain such free
constitutions of self-government when
once established. know no other way
in which they can be preserved and
maintained except by a constant ad'
herence to them through the various VI
cissitudes of national existence, with
such alterations as may become neccs-
sary, always to be effected, however,
through the agencies and in the forms
prescribed in the original Constitutions
themselves. Whenever administration
fails or seems to fail in securing any oi
the great ends, for which Republican
government is established, the proper
course seems to be to renew The original
spirit and forms of the Constitution
itself.
GSigned.1 ANDREW JOHNSON.
WASHINGTON, March ID, 1867.
MILITARY GOVERNMENT BILL.
In his message vetoing the military
bill, the President thus describes the
measure.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL.
1t places all the people of the ten
States therein named under tire abso-
lutte domination of military rulers, and
the preamble undertakes to give the
reasons upon which it is justified. II
declares that there exists in those States
no legal government and adequate pro-
lection to life or property, and asserts
the necessity of enforcing peace and
good order within their limits. 1t is
true, rs a matter of fact, it is not de-
MED that the States in question have,
each of them, an actual government,
with all the powers, executive, judicial
and Legislative, which properly belong
to free State. They are organized like
other States of the Union, and like them
they make, administer and execute laws
which concern their domestic affairs
An existing de .facto government, exer-
cisinc such functions as these, is itself
the Law of the State upon all matters
within its jurisdiction. To pronounce
the supreme making power of an
established State illegal, is to say that
la ~ itself is unlawful.
SOUTHERN GOVERNMENTS.
He declares that the provisions .mad,
by the Southern State Governments to
maintain the peace and good order o.
society are the same in principle and
substance with those which prevail ir
the Northern States. If they have moi
prevented all crime, neither have theil
neiehbors,- ,-"but that these people arr
maintaining local governments fol
themselves which habitually defeat the
object of all governments, and rendel
their own lives and property insecure
is in itself utterly improbable; and thu
ayerment of the bill to that effect is mo-
supported by any evidence which ha
come to my knowledge. All the infor
nation have on ths subject convince
me that the mass of the Southern peopl'
and those who control their public acts
while they entertain diverse opinion