, 1875-06-19
THE THIRD TERM.
Reverdy Johns.'s Criticism Of ihe Pre'
siant's letter
ALrxoRE. Nd, June :, ls'o-

ALr.xoRE. Nd, June :, ls75-
EDITOR y. Y HERALD One Of your
correspondents sI9rms me that You WISH me
TO say 10 YOU VIII, ! think Of the resident
letter of last Sat.day. the S9th ult-, known
as - the third ten letter. Ihis PtocetI
TO do. There al several matters cOhlAIheu
III the letter that ave 10 direct anu d very
slight indirect tRriug upon The question
What sacrifices,f any, the President may
have made IN acspting his trSt nomination
or his second hae nothing 20 do Win MS
election for tird term. And whatever
abuse he may bae been subjected 10 during
the time hs has lid the Presidency Is equaiiy
irrelevant. Alimsh 1t Is no DOUBT uue
thai his conduct Is been subjected IN some
instances to Ian and unjust cntioisn' ye''
as he admits, IN the liSh; OF subsequent
events" his conact on some OCCASIONS "as
subject 20 fair cricism, be mas ho' d." AS'
been uujustly ddt with. What th'se occa
siOns were he olits to say. Were they IL
his recommendation for the passage Oh ,iIe
=. Force bill aid the suspension OF the ns-
beas corpus, his oproVal of the conduct Oh the
the military at lew Orleans IN eNP+ilihS
portion Of the Les9latuIe of that Stale, anu
IN the vet more Easrsnt ~rong. II 0Eo moro
a nj be committed, IN the recon-
mendatlon made TO C4Els.u77 IA MS -"e
relative to Arksns.s, q recommendation IN
principle abso utely destructive OF the right
Of the psople IS every State TO change their
constitution. Bat these wrongs are not per-
tinent ut all the general question OF the
election Of resident for third term, ex-
cept as they bear upon his fitness for that
office.
What thePresident says Is this, that there
is nothing IL the constitution to prohibit II,
and thai it an only come before the people
by uropostiuu to amend the constitution
The precedats, no matter how long estab-
Eshed, and NJ matter what may have been
the character Of the men by whom they were
established as patriots and az statesmen OF
unsnrp4sset ability, and no matter how uni
yersal has peen their sanction by the people,
these precdents should, in the President )
view, havenU influence upon the people now
or hereafter OF upon the determination OF him
who may have occupied the office for two
two terms. For be tells us that % It may
happen in he future history Of the country
Iaud this nay be the case during the balance
OF his present. term that TO change An Exec
Z n.lgs DJtAASt uG H1S Dttu tiShb Gas IL
Office viii. prove unfortunate, If not disas-
trous." # Is certainly true that the people
are at liberty - elect 70 4 third term; but
until the time Of President Grant not only
did no one of hs predecessors, who had held
the office for two terms, give the most distant
hint that he wibed or would accept the office
again, but, a. hr a. | am advised, no IndI-
yidual citizen r journalist ever proposed to
sagg5st 1t.
That constitutional prohibition does not
exist Is no proG that the usage of prohibition
Is not and sho,ld not be considered as con-
stitutional is idle 10 say that in gov
ernment like OTIS long and uninterrupted us
age can safely DC disregarded. The power of
the veto on tn, part of The Crown exists III
England, but It has not been exercised since
1892 And yet it Is power which Mr.. JUS
tice Blackstone says - is most important
and, indeed, Indispensable part of the royal
preroga;iye." 1t may with truth De said
that now, Whm it has been - long disused ,
that its exercise by the Crown would produce
a fearful ferm,nt IN the kingdom. Such, i'll
that law-abilng country, is the conclusive
fJrce and effect Of usage
The idea Of the President that the safety
Of the country may demand the To election OI
a President tor a third term, in my opinion,
i an idle cOnceir, having no other support
but the most egresious vanity. OF this van
ity h. himself seems 10 p4ryake, since he says
that he would not accept Nomination acre
it rendered, unless it shoud come under such
circumstances IL TO make it An imperative
duty" Who r TO Judge whether the duty
l.
be the man himself. May he not well CON
clude thl. a nomination by convention /.
conclusive az ID the duty? The safety OF
the country he may really think requires his
continuance in office, and that his own opia-
ion upon he point, il he has one, Is established
by the action OF the convention, and by this
action of the convention, and by this process
of reasoning he may be re- elected for as many
terms as life Is spared him. | think, it may,
with perfect justice, be said that If the Con-
ventiOn which framed the constitution had
anticipated theenormOuS extent Of the official
patronage, which in time would necessarily
be vested in the President, that they wOnld
have limited the official term TO six or ei sht
years and have rendered the incumbent IN
eligible.
Aht9ftbi NlliIh II IioM hkiSdilIS Aht
public mind is whether President Grant shall
be eli ed to a third term Does bis letter
solve it, II may do 50 practically, because be-
believe he will be re-nominaied, or if he is
that ne will receive The vote of Il siugle State.
The voice of Pennsylvania, as spoken by her
recent Convention, which has forced the
President 10 write this letter, is, Judging by
all the signs of the times, coneurred Ill by an
immense majority Of the republican party in
every State in the Union The President,
indeed, SO far as he is personally concerned,
seems to regard it as q mere matter Of dollars
and cents; and it may perhaps be legitimately
inferred that if the salary which he now re-
ceiyes should be secured 10 him as a retiring
pension be would gladly leave the office at
the end of his presen, term and return to that
home " where the balance OF his days might
BE- spen, in peace and the enjoyment of do
mestic quiet" and without any apprehension
that the peace and safety of the country are
not as safe in the hands of his successor As
they had been in his own, and this belief l
have no doubt the public Will fully share.
remain, with regard, your obedient servant,
REvERDY JOHNSON.
SUPREME COURT DECISION AFFECTING