The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-20
Ruhmul,d llspatrh.
,oNn.v JANUARY 20, 1868.
The Radical Plan.


The New York Tribune no donot s'"'e
CORRECTLY the Radical plan in the p-eSon'
;uncture Of affairs-viz., to impeacn .'s
President. In an elaborate article IN .na'
paper of Friday the first paragraph gives
It in a nutshell, thus:
.Tbe next card may be impeachment.
aMr. johnson might as well understand
athis before he forces upon Congress the
anecessity. We trust wisdom will pre-
nyail, But If the President makes him.
i" self an 'impediment,' he must be swept
"away. This is the logic of the hour. An
"issue has been forced upon the President
switch he must answer. II he admits the
"right Of Congress to restore Mr.. Stanton,
athen he admits every thing. If he denies
cit, he places himself in antagonism to
"the law, and is guilty Of q misdemeanor."
The Tribune then enters upon long in
dictment against the President for vetoing
the reconstruction measures-for failing to
fulfil the promise, made upon the passage
Of those measures over his veto, to faithfully
enforce them-for reducing the command
ers of the districts to mere policemen y
for removing SHERIDAN and SIcKLEs and
STANTON, "whom the country wanted y
for striking down the "War Minister >
and disgracing the "two Generals y:
SIcKLEs to colonelcy, and SHERIDAN to
an Indian campaign-etc.
Yet the Tribune says, notwithstanding
all these things, the Radicals were so for
bearing as not to impeach Mr.. JOHNSON
but now, it resumes, "folly has been sue
"ceeded by folly, and madness by mad
"ness." The President removed STAN,
TON; the Senate overruled him; and
GRANT gave up the office; whereupon, ex.
claims the Tribune, the President pro.
claims that he has been "cheated, swim
died, deceived, and his confidence abused
It alludes to the rumored threats OF the
arrest Of GRANT-which were unfounded-
and the placing of General SHERMAN il
command of the armies and upon all thi!
bases the conjecture that the President il
about to SNAKE an issue with Congress
"to have a quarrel and not to obey the
"law." The Tribune invites the issue
implores STANTON not to resign; and says
eft ANDREW JOHNSON means to defy has
g." tenure Of office la,o, and make a arar upon
"the country, lei him do 1t If he dare, ana
stake the consequences" 1t concludes that
"the next card that Congress may play is
Impeachment"
1T is very clear that the Radicals have
taken the initiative, and mean to silence
the President. They have him pretty well
fettered, and if he makes the slightest
further move to mitigate the force of their
ruinous measures upon the country they
will impeach him and remove him from
office, and thus usurp the whole powers OF
the Government. They would, indeed, be
very much obliged to Mr.. JOHNSON if he
would give them some little pretext for
such measure. Indeed, we suspect that
the majority now regret that they did not
sustain the proposition to impeach at the
beginning of the session.
We apprehend from the signs thus far
that the President will remain, like the fly
in the SPIDERS web, entirely passive. 1t
is too late to make an effort. Before he
was pinoned on all sides feeble struggle
might have snapped the bands that were
being put upon him but now force Of
very considerable magnitude will be re-
quired. From constitutional provisions he
has nothing to hope. The Supreme Court,
even were it disposed to throw shield
over him,-as we believe it is not-is as
completely helpless as he himself is. The
usurpers and traitors are masters of the
situation, and it will require more pluck
and determination than Mr.. JOHNSON has
yet displayed to defeat them. @