St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1868-04-10

overthrow of one department of the gov
ernment, by another, for mere political
differences.
| greatly regret that even now the i'm
parchment is made to wear the appear
ance OF mere party measure. The vote
in the House on the resolution and arti
clcs OF Impeachment, was q strict party
vote. | expect to see the vote in the
Senate, upon the question Of the Presi-
dents guilt or innocence, stand i'll the
same way And still | do not believe
republican in the House voted otherwise
than as he believed to be his legal and
constitutional duty. | ought not, per-
haps, to doubt that every man who voted
entiousncss. There is something very
curious in the relations of the democratic
party and the President They profess
TO him to be his friends: they claim his
favor 10y way OF appointments and pat
ronage, as if they were his political
friends and supporters. But in fact, do
not think they either love him, or res
pect him, or believe in him any more
than we do. | believe they would be
about rs averse to making him their
candidate for the Presidency as would be
the republicans. But they have wished
to use him to help themselves and dam
aye the republicans. 1t is just 50 with
Impeachment. They hope something
may grow out of it that will help them
politically, and so they oppose it. do
not believe there is man among them,
(who will not thereby lose an Office who
cares siXpencc whether he is convicted
or acquitted, 50 far as it affects Mr..
johnson himself. If it would help them
politically, they would much rather he
would be convicted. The democrats pro-
tess to believe, as the President does, that
all the laws passed by Congress, known
rs as the Reconstruction laws and al
50 the ''tenure Of office act, taking away
the Presidents unlimited and nearly ar
bitrary power of removal are :epugnant
to the constitution, and | am not pre-
pared to deny but that both are honest
in that belief. But | have not Vet seen
democrat boil! enough TO avow the
doctrine that after Congress had by
two-thirds majority passed Il bill over the
veto OF the President. and thus given it
the same LEGAL force as If the President
had signed it, that the President had the
right to bid it open defiance, and totally
disregard its requirements. Unless they
do hold this, do not see how they could
conscientiouslv vote that the President
was not guilty of an impeachable otfense.
| know it Is now claimed that the PreSi-
dent did not really mean to set the law
at defiance. and openly u>urp authority
which the law had expressly taken away
from him, but that he only intended to
do it, AS the lawyers would say, suJ nto,lo,
to make Il merely formal and technical
breach of law, 80 as to make Il case to
brin" the question before the courts, and
have the constitutional question judicial
" decided But it certainly did not look
like that Nor did it look like Il mere
desire TO get rid OF cabinet minister
who w;l~ personally offensive to him.
There is no doubt at all. | think, but
that it was the design OF the President TO
to eject Mr.. Stanton from the war office
by force. The several attempts to make
Gen. Sherman and Gen. Thomas, by
brrvct commissions, to ke equal rank
with Gen. Grant, and many other things
all proved clearly, a thought, fixed
purpose to obtain entire control OF the
military power of the government, and
place il in hands entirely subservient to
his will. | believe | am as cool, and rs
little liable to undue excitement, rs most
mer, vet | could not but feel that our
duty Us the representatives of the people
waS clear. that we must lay our hands
upon him, and thus prevent an assump-
ton of power bv the President truly
monarchcal in extent and character. |
do not think we have i'll our articles real
ly charged the President with his great-
est offence. for which he deserves i'm
parchment and that is his steady and
persistent efforts to prevent the restora-
ton of the Southern States upon any OF
the plans Congress has proposed.
When Congress proposed the cOnstitu-
tional amendments us basis of recon
: struction, if the President had seconded
our efforts. and recommended their
| adoption. | have no doubt every South,
ern State would have adopted them, anC
those States would at once have been re-
; stored to their places in the government
. But he refused his aid, and i'll all way:
: in his power discouraged their adoption
and by their refusal to adopt them, tina
/. plan failed. We We're then forced to tn,
5 more stringent and coercive policy OF til,
. reconstruction under military authority
: The President was entitled to his views
= and to the right of expressing them il
| the constitutional way, as he did, Icy We
, toing the bills when sent to him. Blu
f when they We're passed over his veto
: then he had no longer Il ri ght to policy
of his own in opposition to that Of Con
t "rcsS, and, whatever his views were, i
= was his legal duty to honestly and faith
t fully carry out the policy that Congress
/ had established. 1t was subject tha
: belonged to Congress to settle, and no
+ to time. 1t is well known that th
t course of the President has been, not t,
f carry out so successfully this plan o
| Congress, bit to thwart it in every pos
= sible way, and to make it Il failure an'
t yet, though we all know this, and tn
f country knows it, still it is very doubt
n tul if we could have made case for
legal impeachment out of it. do no
n know that we could have proved tn
i commission of any single act tina
i could be said to be in violation G
: the law. The President had the entir
/, control of the appointments necessary t