New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-01-18

Jew mcn III SouBIees VIM sSC h-oAAl NNA
who have raised the cry of warning to turn
the ship of state aside frsm the fatal rocks
on to which she is fast driving, but Andrew
johnson is still at the helm, aud he holds
her in her perilous course. The loyal peo-
pie Of the Union have never yet fully IN
derstoOd the depths of this mans character;
they have never given him full credit for
that logged pertinacity with which he
clings to bis purposes, and which to him
supplies the place Of genius, talent or prin-
ciple in other men. When the reconstruc-
ton laws of last March were enacted An
drew johnson swore in his heart that they
should never be eliectually executed. His
first essays in thwarting them came TO an
inglorious end when congress met in July
and by its supplementary legislation made
futile the intrigue which he had devised,
and of which the opinion " ofhis attorney
general was ;be expression. Thus far his
efforts had been devoted to preventing the
execution Of those portions Of the law which
related to the proper registration Of voters,
and the Acknowledgement of the disloyal.
This rebuff which congress admins
tered TO him in July was so severe that
for a season he remained quiescent-but
in his quietude he still plotted the
consummation Of his determined purpose.
| Wisely submitting to the inevitable, from
that moment he ceased TO make any oppo-
sition TO the preliminary work of recon
structon under Che laws which he had
sworn should never finally been forced, and
set himself to work to devise new engines
against them when proceedings under them
should advance to their second stage. The
work of registration went on in every state,
and was faithfully accomplished. In the
ten states nearly 100000 black loyalists
and patriots were enrolled as citizens and
voters, and more than 100000 white men
were found to whom the citizenship which
they had forfeited by rebellion was
restored. In five of the ten states
there was an overwhelming ma
jority of voters certain to accept the
congressional plan of reconstruction in
the other five, although the white voters
were in majority, the same result was
tolerably we'll assured. Bat with these
facts before him Andrew johnson did not
for one moment falter in the resolution
which he had taken to defeat the will of
congress and the people. In September be
took bis second step toward tn goal of his
ambition. The movement was crafty and
subtle one, and the full danger and import
of it does not yet seem to have been clearly
understood by the people.
This movement consisted in the promul-
cation of the two proclamatlons of the Sd
and It'll of September. The frst of these
bewildered the people. It appeared
to be little else than a string of plati-
tudes-an affirmation of facts that
every one already knew, concerning which
there was no dispute, and upon which the
wayfaring man, although radical, did
not need to be informed. 1t was as IL the
president had issued proclamation to de-
clare that two aud two made four, or that
the square Of the hypOtheneuse of right
angled triangle was equal to the sum of the
squares of The other twos ides. This proc
lamation consisted of eight "whereasss +"
and two thereforesH It set forth, with
all that tedious verbiage wherewith by the
law OF their being official proclamatlons
are always clothed, that the constitution
vested the executive power of the United
States in the president, who was bound by
oath to execute the Office, and save from
destruction the constitution that he was
likewise the oommander-in-chief of the
army and navy, and was required to see
that the laws were executed; that the
constitution and the laws made in pursu-
ance thereof were the supreme law. and
that the judges In every state were bound
thereby that the judicial power was
vested in supreme court and the inferior
courts ordained by Congress, which power
extended to all cases arising under the
constitution OF the laws that all officers
are bound BY oathtO support ard defend
the constitution; that 81 e.! eeLeers &c the
army and naVyin accepting their commits
sions incur an obligation to obey the
orders they may receive from the presi-
dent or their superior officers and that
when the execution OF the law
was impeded the president could
direct its enforcement by means of force
Of arms. These were the ''whereases,n and
the 'thereforesp consisted Of warning to
all persons to abstain from obstructing
The execution Of she laws aud the DEGREES
of the courts, and command 10 the
officers of the army and navy to assist
and sustain the courts and other civil
authorities.
The people read ibis lucid exposition Of
what every schooIboy ia the land knew
as well as Mr.. johnson did, laughed or
wondered ati.for day or two, and then
iorgoti it. In four days It was followed By
the amnesty proclamation, which also had
seven "whereases,n containing . brief hls.
tory Of the rebellion from the month Of
July, 1851, down to the 2oth Of May, 1855,
and which shen proceeded to pardon every
rebel in the land except JEFF Davis ana q
few score or other distinguished criminals
This was thought to be more serious.
and great deal was said about
II in the newspapers but as there