The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-05-23

Effect Of the Impeaohment Faxxle. !
The effect of the attempt to in,peach the
Presidentlhas been to call the attention of the
people to the fundamental principles which
underlie our fern Of government and free in
stitutions. In this respect alone has this i'm
parchment humbug been success. What
ever tends to remind the people, that under
our form Of government all power and
sovereignty are lodged in the people of the
United States, and that this sovereignty can
be exercised only through the constitution
of the United States and the constitutions Of
the several states, and that these constitutions
expressly make the legislative, judicial and
executive equal, independent and coordinate
departments of the government, and that any
attempt, by any one of these departments, to
encroach upon the other is revolutionary
will certainly have beneficial influence.
Whether the reconstruction policy of Mr..
johnson is constitutional or not is not for us
to discuss. Mr.. johnson was nominated and
elected by the republican party. 6r
But when we hear Thad. Stevens, the great
leader and oracle of the radical party in con-
gress, openly say that the reconstruction acts
Of congress are entirely outside Of the consti-
tuition; when we see that these same recon
struction acts have taken away from the Presi-
dent nearly all the powers which the constitu-
ton expressly vested in the executive depart
ment, SO that, if the reconstruction acts should
be carried into effect the executive powers
would all be exercised by congress; when
we also see congress deliberately passing
laws which deprive the Supreme Court of
the, United States of its constitutional powers,
and also taking away the right ofthe people
to appeal to the Supreme court for fear that
their devilish and revolutionary acts may be
scrutinzed by that august tribunal when We
see them attempt to impeach a president Of
their own election, simply because he would
not become the tool of a corrupt and venal
radical majority in congress, and because he
would not violate his oath Of Office and give
the Impeachment managers several millions of
dollars in the shape of guano island ; when
we see this radical majority in congress de.
nouncing Tic Chief Justice and leading repub-
licans in the senate because they had too much
respect fer the constitution and for themselves
to aid this Radical rumpin usurping the pow
ers vested by the constitution in the executive
department; when we see all their devilish
and revolutionary acts of a radical majority of
congress representing only part Of the
states of the Union, it is surely time that the
people should become aroused.
The apathy with which people look on and
see these revolutionary acts unbushingly done
by their representatives who have sworn to
support the constitution is surprising.
Time has been in our history as nation
that any such attempt to revolutionize the
government would have been met by indigna-
ton meetings all over the country.
Let the attention of the people be once call
ed to these ,dastardly acts of revolution, and
the same people who put down disunisn with
bullets will at the ballot box hurl these re.
creants from the places they have usurped
and stamp their revolutionary acts with cter,
nal iniamy. .f