Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-03-17
Tho prstsxt and tho Real Motive.
From the Piltsburg Post !

From the Piltsburg Postl
The people of the United States have
been greatly outraged by the conduct Of
ther represe n tatives in Congress, in neg.
lecting and putting of indefinitely the
real and most important bssiness Of the
country, in the speedy conclusion Of
which every man is interested. And on
what pretext2 Has our country been
invaded by foreign army2 Has Con-
gress been visited by the plague or the
cholera2 Have the Southern armies
been resurrected, and are their cohorts
laundering at the capitol2 Has the seat
Of government been blown up with
glycerine2 No, none Of these dreadful
calamities have befallen the nation.
Members Of Congress remain in the un-
disturbed possession Of their seats, and
their duties, as they have been for some
time, are plainly staring them in the face.
What, then, is the overpowering cause
that has led Congress to abandon it's
proper duties to the public2 Nothing
more than a determination to make a
case as pretext for getting possession
Of the powers Of the Executive branch Of
the Government. For this the people
business must be delayed and set aside.
Congress has done nothing for the good
of the people, and this movement, so far
from being designed for the good of the
people, is but the contamination Of o
foregone conclusion to destroy the peo.
Piles Constitution by prostituting the
Presidential office to the behests Of the
Radical party. Radicals only can sus-
tain such proceedings the mass of the
people must condemn and repudiate
them as inimical to the public interests
And all this excitement, delay of press
ing public business, and largely increased
cost in the expenses of the government
are to be encountered in order that ty.
rant Secretary may be held in his place
in spite of the Chief Executive, who by
the Constitution, and not by Congress,
is held responsible to the people for the
faithful defense of the peoples only safe.
guard, the Constitution. Such is the
shallow pretext, the real object being to
get contro, of the executive department.
On this point the Boston Courier says:
jackson displaced Duane and put in
Taney to remove the despots, but this
was never considered ground for i'm
peachment. johnson does not approve
of Congressional reconstruction, believes
it to be alternating and exasperating the
late rebel States for no earthly purpose,
indefinitely protracting civil strife, to the
injury of the best interests of the country,
and it is for this, not for removing Stan
ton. that he is impeached.
"But the frantic efforts of the Radicals
to retain their unrighteous supremacy
will prove Intellectual. The people are
rising in their strength to vindcate their
right to self-government, to rescue what
remains of their liberties from untimely
end, Indignantly to rebuke the traitors
who are placing them in peril. Id
calmer moments they will estimate Alright
that mad ambition which has inundated
the country with blood, crushed it under
intolerable burdens, that hypocrisy
which has used the African for stalk
ing-horse to power, and is ready to
plunge the country again into strife, to
rule or ruin. 1t cannot be denied that a
vast majority of the nation abhor aud
detest these leaders and their measures,
and pray earnestly that the country may
be saved from their clutches. Let us
trust that the coming elections will strip
them of the power they have so wickedly
abused"
The New York World also presents
the true motive of the impeachers in a
few words: The Rump wanted some of
the power of the President, and they took
it. This is their best argument for the
Tenure-of-office bill, since it is the only
honest one.
They want the Presidents chair and
whole power, and they are taking it.
That is their best argument for impeach-
ment. 1t is their sole decent one.