The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-04-29
a Rare Spectacle.

Innr 500 THAp STEVENS declared M
h;a nartv was acting outside Of the Con
st;,,,t;on ), The Democratic papers % ~.
North commented upon this go. d.
with much bitterness OF nnsu'es' ~ !,
na,sn.;na him and his party in no measured al'e
Ten is as audacious man as
80. lad forlorn hope; and so, instead OF
s...u,nting 70 explain away his disgraceful
declaration, he took occasion some weeks
oso 10 return to the subject, and made q
speech, which we published OF the time, in
which, after saying that some men are wise
and some otherwise, he added that those are
Otherwise who suppose that there can
he found in the Constitution any warrant
for the measures adopted by Congress for
the government of the southern States.
Now, THAD, rs one of the Managers of the
impeachment trial, has made speech in
favor Of the conviction Of Mr.. JOHNSON
upon the charge that he ia guilty OF h1gh
crimes and misdemeanors. One wou" -"
surally suppose that THAD woaia s,'y nv
thing about constitutions-lTaeed' 'i'''' -.
,ro,iJ he no sensitive in regard to the word
...onst;tut;on as the traditional man
whose father was hung was in reference to
the word ''rope." But not SO. Triad is as
.,oouent upon that subject as BEAST But
Ter upon that of the "infamous conduct"
Of General THOMAS in prevaricating. If it
were not likely to prove a serious matter
for the President, one could hardly help
Laughing upon reading or hearing the fol-
lowing remarks from THAD STEVENS:
"When Andrew johnson took upon HIM
self the duties of his high office ne swore to
obey the Constitution and take care that the
laws be faithfully executed. To obey the
commands of the sovereign power OF the
nation, and to see that others should obey
them, was his whole duty, and any attempt
to escape from this would be q direct viola
ton of his official oath, or, in other words,
misprision of perjury. accuse him, in the
name of the House of Representatives, of
having perpetrated that foul offence against
the laws and interests of this country"
That "foul offence" it will at once be
seen, is the very offence of which Mr.. STE
VEINS himself is guilty /; for he, too, has re-
peatedly "sworn to obey the Constitution"
When it shall become proper for miser to
denounce boarding; for perjurer to de-
claim against false witnesses; for thief to
denounce stealing for liar to reprobate
mendacity; and for penitentiary felon to
prate about the bad associations Of gentle
men-then, and not till then, will it be even
tolerable for THAD STEVENS to pour out the
walls Of his wrath upon any man charged
with violating the Constitution of the United
States.
When old THAD commenced his harangue
he said that he "would not discuss
these questions in mean spirit of malig-
nifty or vituperation y; that trailing accu-
sation would i'll become the occasion" This
vas sharp reproof of BEAST BUTLER, whose
disgraceful abuse of the President must
have disguised the more decent Of the Rad
ical senators. 1t must have been meant as
n back-handed blow at BUTLER; for old
THAD entirely lost sight of it before he had
finished his speech, and spoke of the Presi-
dent as :" this offspring of assassination
the commander of band of pardoned
traitors and corrupt renegades.' Here was
another proof of old THAD's audacity. He
denounces an offence in the beginning of
his speech, yet, before he concludes his
remarks, commits the same offence in the
presence of the very body to whom he had
denounced it.
We suppose the history Of all nations
might be ransacked in vain to find paral-
lei in point of injustice for the spectacle
which presents itself to the eyes of the
world in the trial now progressing at Wash
ington. If it shall result in the conviction
Of the President, it will be the best proof
Of the doctrine Of the total depravity of
mankind that could possibly be cited.