Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-03-04

li'ee- Especially Is TINS true IT i govern
ment Of coordinate departments like ours.
The Constitution gives the President certain
! powers, and imposes upon him certain du-
ties. Congress has its separate and indie
pendent portion of our temple of government.
The Court also has province in which it is
supreme and into which no other depart
ment Of the government can rightfully in
trude tut language is incapable Of defining
and bounding granted political powers-es-
+ pecially when it is employed in grant of
powers 10 be used for generations, and to be
extended over an expanding territory, and
! to be exercised by the representatives of
multi ying and progressive people-so clear
Is that no man can honestly err in the appli-
cation ot the powers to emergencies as they
arise Every days experience in our courts
prove- how difficult it is to frame justice into
law. With such exactitude of expression as to
baik the ingenuity OF cunning lawyers and
lssv" ihe courts IN no uncertainty to the
a,!minietra ton Of the will of the law-making
pn@er And if this be true when men hon
e~tly strive - get at the meaning of statute
or orsanie law. 1t is quite easy to understand
lsaw coordinate departments of the govern
ulent, with. sometimes, an unreasonable SEN
sitIl eneSs III respect TO their prerogatives,
may come into collision on the boundary line
which should divide their distinct provinces
of independent action. And when this SEN
sitiveness is coupled with an INSCRIPTIONS
and dishonest partizan desire to control ercry
branch Of the government according to the
political wishes of any one branch of 1T, it is
not strange that constructions of cOnstitu-
tional and statute law should be furnished
TO suit the exigency, and yet as widely va
RANT from the manifest will Of the law
makers can well be imagined
1t has accordingly happened that from the
foundation Of the government differences of
opinion have been entertained by the several
departments of the government iii respect 10
the limitations of their powers. When they
were politically agreed this difference has
led to little trouble and each department is
80 well hedged about that President and
court and Congress. even when al variance
in respect to the Constitution, have generally
got along with their difference, without seri-
tempted to make his own will the supreme
law, anything in the Constitution and the
! laws to the contrary notwithstanding, this
question of the powers of the several depart
ments has become more serious and it has
( at last brought the executive and the legis-
latiye departments into direct conflict, con-
fronting each other III the grayest of all
criminal trials, the impeachment of the Chief
Magistrate Of the republic for high crimes
and misdemeanors
It is the first time ~ the history Of the
government that this remedy has been re-
there is danger that its progress may be
marked by too much excitement, and give
occasion for the exhibition of a dangerous
spirit of violence and we. therefore. hold it
I to be the duty of the press, and of all lovers
Of free institutions under the peaceful rule
of order and law. to allay rather than arouse
the passions of the people. We have been
sorry to see. III the kilograms pouring into
Washington addressed to both the President
and Congress. offers and hints of armed and
violent support President Johnson is i'm
peached strictly under the Constitution, and
in conformity with the laws He is to be
tried by the Senate which has full authority
+ FOR that purpose " neither the decision
shall be that he is innocent OF is guilty, 1t
viii be the end of the case. In the one
event he will without resistance be removed
from Office, as he will, in the other event
wit sra in offs
lawful term expires Threats of armed in
tervention by anybody, IN aid Of, or in oppo-
sitIon to the impeachment, are not only in
bad taste, but are Of most evil and pernicious
example; and if they mean anything more
than an offer of moral and political support,
are the most dangerous symptoms of our
time. Mexico, or the South American states
would in such case of course get up a
first class revolution, but ought TO show
that this government can be administered
under constitutional forms, by the peaceful
reign of the laws and the unObstructed course
OF justice. We are glad, therefore. to learn
that the excitement which marked the open
ing scenes Of impeachment at Washington,
and throughout tue country, has pretty much
subsidized The exeitable governors, who ten
dered Congress sncii prompt aid. a. well as
the rOugi.s who were ready to fight for the
President against Congress any other
party, will therefore not he at present called
upon for their . contingent" but the law
will quietly pursue the even tenor OF it, way
To the end
And this Is as it should be This il d
country i'll which no man is above the laws
and in which, until the laws are lorcibly
resisted, there should never be II resort to
force. Rut since the recent experience oil
war, many men, we regret to sec, are quite
too ready to talk Of rushing 10 arms on the
slightest provocation. Private ieuds are
summarily ended by either open or secret
murder. Police officers flourish, and not I'M
frequently empty their revolvers at the offend
ers whom they are trying TO arrest and the
offenders are Just as ready to shoot in return
Rnt we trust the nation will nrnnHAd more
quietly and decorously, it arraigns before
its high court of impeachment the first officer
Of the government. The solemnities of the
tribunal should be preserved The majesty
of the law should be indicated. The right.
eous requirements of justice should be sternly
demanded. But appeals to the passions o.
the populace, whether on the one side or the
other, should be steadily discouraged for il
is only by making the trial the calm proceed
ing it should be, that the conclusion, when j
is reached, will be sure of respect