Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-03-03
General Thomas Discharged, and Why

General Thomas, who has been appointed
Secretary of War. ad interim, and who was ar
rested for attempting to discharge the duties of
the office, appeared, on Wednesday last, before
the Court in Washington to answer the charge
preferred against him. General Thomas was
by his bondsmen, surrendered up to the custody
of the Marshal as prisoner. 1t was manifest
" his intention, says the Baltimore Gazette, to
suffer himself to be so held, and to apply for a
writ of habeas corpus, in order that the lawful
ness of his arrest, and all questions appertain
ing thereto, might be discussed and decided
The Court, as the instrument of the Radical
party, had evidently been duly instructed, and
was determined that no opportunity should be
afforded General Thomas of contesting, before
a judicial tribunal, the constitutionality of the
law under which Mr.. Stanton claimed to act as
Secretary of War. 1t, therefore, declined to
demand bail for General Thomas appearance,
and was willing to assume that he would be in
attendance whenever wanted, but finally con-
Guided to discharge him absolutely. Now. as
he has been accused of crime, the Court had
no right to release him without bail, and had
still less right to dismiss the charge without any
hearing and to let him go free. The whole
thing was a miserable trick and gross perver-
sion of the powers of the Court. 1t was seen
that, as prisoner, General Thomas would be
in position to demand that the cause of his
imprisonment should be inquired into, and this
was a situation in which the Radical faction did
not desire to be placed. Notwithstanding,
therefore, the solemn affidavit in which MIR.
Stanton accused him of having fagrantly VIC
lated the law, he was politely excused from de-
Tending himself when he rendered himself as
ready to do so.
Meanwhile, Mr.. Stanton occupies the War
Department. He had, when the Tenure of
Office bill was passed by Congress, advised Mr..
Johnston that it was clearly unconstitutional
and had expressed himself in the most vigorous
and hostile terms in regard to the Act and its
authors Now, with a shameless efrontery that
would in the earlier days of the Republic have
brought him into utter and deserved contempt,
he claims to be, under that same Act, the right
full Secretary of War; And for the purpose Of
sustaining him in place which he holds, solely
in order that he may facilitate the factious and
partisan aims of the revolutionists, they are
thwarting every effort of the President to obtain
any decision from the Courts upon the legality
of their proceedings and are resorting to every
INSCRIPTIONS and vindictive measure to deprive
the President of his constitutional prerogatives
! L. L r1,o1o
impeachment business is but conspiracy to re-
move him under false pretences and to install
Mr.. Wade as the instrument Of the Radical
party in his place. Towards this end events are
moving with dread CELEBRITY, and the people seem
as yet to be scarcely alive to the dangers of the
situation. What the issue of this frightful rev.
olution is to be, few weeks will show. We
can only venture to hope that the people of the
country are equal to the emergency.