Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-03-06
pemoeratto pefsnse Of yohnson.

The New York World puts the legal
question in Johnson's case IN nut
shell, by the following, in double
loaded fnflammatOry leader denouncing
Congress and prOcla1 ming riot and
slaughter;
SIT is only on the assumption that it
1.-THE Tenure Of Office law is valid law
that the President can be held to have
committed animpeachable odense."
It seems to rs that this admits the
Il whole case of violation Of law; for if the
I Executive can plead in defense Of his
violation of law, his opinion that 1t Is
Unconstitutional, then laws cease 10
have any effect, and instead of an Exc
I cutive, the person who fills that Office
I becomes the chief law breaker. By the
same short process of reasoning, he
/ might refuse TO execute or obey every
/ law Of the land, and plead that he wan
I ted to test tbeir conStituf1Onaltty- 1t Is
plain that be might under this doctrine
place the Executive ia a state Of rebel
! lion. as he has done, and defy every
] law, upon the plea that he questioned
I the constitution atty of all things, and
I wanted to bring them to the test.
| 1t is a notable example Of the mad
/ ness of partisan opposition, that DEM
/ ocratic journals and members of Con-
/ gress and local politicians, should set
I up this doctri1ce that the President may
/ execute law or not, at his pleasure,
and may violate any and every law
] upon the preteXt that he questions their
| constftutionality, and wants 10 test it /;
I that they should set up rule which
/ makes every criminal a defender of the
| Constitution, because he is patriOtical-
/ 1y striving to test the cOnstItutionality
I of the laws, even at the risk of his own
| neck. According to this convenient
/ doctrine the penitentiaries contain the
! true defenders of the Constitution, Just
as the Democratic party did in the re-
bellion. Reason has fed from part y
whose able journals and Representa-
tives argue such stuff as this as reason
and law.
To admit that the Acting President
intended to violate the law, as is done
by the World, is to admit that he inten-
ded to place the Executive IN rebellion
against the legislature, and to raise a
conflict that would paralyze Govern
/ ment, disturb the country. and place
all its interests in jeopardy. Govern
ment would be simply impossible, if
the Executive where to usurp the pow
er o disregard laws until they had been
| tested by their violation and Judicial
confirmation. The Judiciary is no
part of the law-making power. The
I enactments Of the legislative power are
the laws of the land. Nor will it change
the case, as the World claims, if, before
the conclusion of the i'm peach meut
trial or after Jbhnson's removal, the
of Office act unconstitutional. It will
not change the fact that when it was
the law, be purpOsely violated it.
Treason never fails to find a pretext
of an especial regard for the Cons 5itu-
tion. 1t was so when State after State
was passing ordinances of secession,
and raising the standard fan independ-
ent confederacy. It was claimed that
they were only testing their constitu-
tional rights, and that the Government
had no constitutional power to prevent
secession. They wanted to leave the
matter to be tried in the Supreme Court,
while in the meantime they would con-
tinue their armed defiance Just as Mr..
johnson would. Like him they just
proposed to accomplish the fact by q
stroke OF force. and 90 throw the powers
| of the Government into chancery. Like
them he would have made success in
] this the beginning of a general recOns-
I tructTOn Of Ofe5evernn1ent. Each movement
! would only have raised a suit for the
| Supreme Court, to be decided some
T1nIe aTJer his term had expired, II, m
| deed, there would be any Supreme OF
other Court so long under such a rule
/ CJnciH7ldti Gazette