Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1868-04-10


ate, upon the question of the Presidents
guilt or innocence, stand in the same
way. And still do not believe Re
publican in the House voted otherwise
than as he believed to be his legal and
constitutional duty. ought not, perhaps,
to doubt that every man who voted the
other way, voted with equal conscien-
tiousness. There is something very Curl
Gus in the relations Of the democratic
party and the President, They profess
to him to be his friends; they claim his
favor by way Of appointments and pat
ronage,as if they were his political friends
and supporters, But in fact. do not |
think they either love him, or respect him,
or believe in him, any more than we do.
! believe they would be about as averse
to making him their candidate for the
Presidency, as would be the Republicans. /
But they have wished to use him to help
themselves and damage the Republicans.
1t is just so with the impeachment. They
hope something may grow out of it that
will help them politically, and so they
!, oppose it, / do not believe there is a man
among them, (who will not thereby lose
an office,) who cares sixpence whether
he is convicted or acquitted, so far as it
affects johnson himself If it wouldhelp
them politically, they would rather he
would be convicted. The democrats pro-
fess to believe, as the President does, that
all the laws passed by Congress known as
, the reconstruction laws and also the
g tenure of Office act" taking away the
: Presidents unlimited, and nearly arbi-
trary power of removal, are repugnant
! to the Constitution, and am not pre-
pared to deny but that both are honest in
that belief. But | have not yet seen a
!, democrat bold enough to ayow the doc
), trine, that, after Congress had by a two
g thirds majority passed bill over the
!, veto of the President, and thus given it
. the same legal force as if the President
y has signed it, that the President had the
e right to bid it open defiance, and totally
). disregards its requirements. Unless they
a. do hold this, do not see how they could
. conscientiously vote that the President
n was not guilty of an impeachable offence
r. | know it is now claimed that the Presi
II dent did not really mean to set the Law
IN at defiance, and openly usurp autherit,
] which the law had expressly taken ava,
in from him, but that he only intended t.
ie do it, as the lawyers would say, sab modo
n to make really formal and technical
az breach of the law, SO as TO make cast
nt to bring the question before the courts
~ and have the constitutional question judi
of cially decided But it certainly did no
=, look like that. Nor did it look like ;
81 mere desire to get rid of Cabinet min
% lister who was personally offensive to him
There is no doubt at all, think, but tha
it was the design of the President t
eject Mr.. Stanton from the War Office b.
g force. The several attempts to make Ger
Sherman and Gen. Thomas, by breve
as commissions, to take equal rank with Ger
,er Grant and many other things, all prove
mo- clearly, as ] thought, fixed purpose t
Nv obtain entire&ontrol of the military pow
he er of the Government, and place it i
he hands entirely subservient to his will.
-, believe am as cool, and as little liabl
ral to undue excitement, as most men, yet
Il could not but feel that our duty as tn
mo representatives of the people was clea
her that we must lay our hands upon hin
,el- and thus allay an assumption OF powf
~ by the President truly monarchical
of extent and character. | do not think v
do. have in our articles really charged Il
,est President with his greatest offence, +
nd which he most deserves Impeachment
o,v and that is his steady and persistent
e. forts to prevent the restoration of Il
Md Southern States upon any OF the pla
.ea. Congress has proposed.
op When Congress proposed the Cons
l :, tutional amendments as basis OF reco
,o,t struetion, if the President had second
orn. our efforts, and recommended th'
tho adoption, l have no doubt every Sou'
,;tv ern State would have adopted them, a
nh those states would at once have been
Ex- stored to their places in the Governme
~, But he refused his aid, and in all wa
or discouraged their adoption; and by tn
de. refusal to adopt them, that plan fail
The We were then forced to the more str
due gent and coercive policy of the reo
% of struction under military authority. !
: n President was entitled to his views, a
and to the right of expressing them in
constitutional way, as he did, by veto
haon the bills when sent to him. But wi
,bli. they were passed over his veto, then
verv had no longer the right to policy
GOOD his own in opposition to that of Congr