The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1868-06-06
Ara Eloquent Extract.
IS LIBERTY TO BELOST IN GENERALIZATION.

From brilliant and powerful speec
| by Richard OGorman, of New Yor]
before the Tammany Society, on the 2
ult., is found the following fine passage
The people have acquitted Andre
johnson. They know that his only 81
is that he has been too true to the Con
stitution and too faithful to the oath {
Office by which he swore to protect an
defend it. The people know this. [
spite of every effort to confuse and hooc
wink and deceive them, they have 60
at the truth. The in'peachers of tn
President discover too late that they ar
themselves on trial, held themselves t.
answer for high crimes and misdemean
ors against the majesty of the people ant
against the Constitution, which is th
peoples sovereign will. They fear tina
verdict. They stand perp'exed and ap
palled, for they hear the first whisper o
that word of terror which will soon swell
into tho outery of indignant Millions
the word which prononces, not Andrew
johnson, Vbut the impeachers, "gnilty,'
and consigns them to the retirement
where they may ponder on the opportu
mites they have squandered and the dis
asters they have caused. But if they
succeed in ousting Andrew johnson from
office-and they have not yet despaired
of doing it--how would it stand with the
Republic then? Why, thus: the Radi'
cal party now own Congress-Congress
would then control the Supreme Court
and the Executive and the Treasury and
the army and the navy, and would have
the Constitution under its feet. The
coordinate branches of our government
which the founders of the Republic, with
jealous care: kept separate and distinct.
each being check on the other-the
Legislative, Executive and judicial, all
three would be then absorbed and con-
centrated into one branch-the Con-
gress-and that is the mere tool and SER
want of faction, which to-day lord it
with arbitrary power over ten Southern
States, and would tomorrow lord it like
wise over the remaining States of the
Union, if it were found necessary for its
interests so to do. 1t is yet only be-
ginner and scarce tborugh the primer of
revolution. But it learns fast, and if it
progresses in seven years time as it has
done in the seven years gone by, i: is
not unfair to expect that the worst follies
and crimes Of the terrorists and distrac-
tionists of the old world would be out
done by the reckless faction and fanati-
cism which precedes the suicide of the
Republic Of the New World. The whole
of the United States is now
in the hands of a party, and that party
is the party of revolution. 1t may be
that this revolution cannot now be stay
ed but must run its course. It may be
that the people have been apathetic too
long, and cannot rouse itself in time. It
may be so. This year will tell. But it
is worth an effort on the part of all pat
riotic men. For in this year the Repub
lie will be lost or saved. There are ma
ny men amongst US, citizcns-it is use
less to conceal it-who have ceased to
believe that it can be saved, who think
they see in the events of the last seven
years, steady increasing tentency in
American society towards centralization
and imperialism, which cannot now be
arrested-who fear that the people will
either be unable to shake off the lethar-
gy under which it has lain, or be again
delivered, and be welded by false issues.
or by such appeals to its passions or
as have succeeded in unstead-
ying it heretofore. They say it is the
old story. History repeats itself. Lib
erty again lost by the apathies or treach-
cry, or corruption of those who had in
jured its splendor, and never knew the
real value of what they enjoyed.
"There is one moral of all human tales,
'Tis but the same rehearsal of the past;
First, freedom and then glory when that fails,
Wealth. vice, corruption. tyranny and last,
And history, with all its volumes vast
Hath but one page"
Shall it be so with the United States?
Shall this nation take its place in histo-
ry-the graveyard where lie the dead
republics You that are young may
i've to answer whether this calamity can
occur. IL. =.