Year: 1868

jected these con nciliatory measures


refused to admit the Sena ators and Rep


resentatives from the ten States fram


ed, in their absence, and while these


States were wholly unrepresented, 4


new constitutional provision especiall,


to control and bind them, and endeav


ored to compel them to adopt it, BY


threats of severer penalties and pro


scription moro sweeping and intolera


BILE than it Involved. The President


did not esteem this the proper mode oi


framing or amending constitutions


Indeed, he had many supporters in his


objections, who had witnessed and de.


nounced as atrocious the attempt tc


force constitution on Kansas against


the will of the people and he opposed


its adoption SO far, and SO far only, as


his expressed opinion could oppose it


This made the breach between. him


and Congress complete. He wss at.


tackled with violence, accused of drunk.


enness, of violation of pledges, and OF


po-sical apossacy, and he was unwise


enough to engage himself, alone. in o


war of words with two or three hund-


red Senators and Represen. .atives, con-


trolling three or four thousand presses.
The situation of a spirited horse,


tied. in a yellow jackets nest, or a ner.


vous man, "whipped and scourged with


rods, nettled and stung by pismires, +"


were enviable compared with his. He


could not, or, at least, did not accept


the situation and adapt himself to it.


He was not at once courteous or kingly
in reply. He did not even sink the


tailor" but accused the two Houses of
changing upon the skirts of the Gov
ernment, for all which high crimes and
misdemeanors" articles of impeachment


were preferred against him but a ma
jority of the House of Representatives,
not yet sufficiently taught in the new
school of political morals, held the rea-
sons sufficient and rejected the apti-
cles. Tho President, who did the
right thing, habitually and always, at
the wrong time, or omitted it till it be-
came impracticable or useless, suffered
the Secretary of War to remain in his
Cabinet as one of his costitutional ad-
visers for more than a year after he
knew him to be traitor to his counsels,
leagued with his enemies in their at
tempt to disparage and degrade him,
or at least willing to stand by in silence
and see him unjustly disparaged and
degraded, when q word of truth from
him would have placed the conduct of
the President beyond reproach. In
proof of this, a singl example will
suffice


The Secretary of War had timely
official notice that mob was assemb-
ling in New Orleens, and a massacre
was threatened. There were troops
enough near the spot to preserve the
peace. The officer in command asked
instruction, but the Secretary gave
none, and withheld the information
from the President until after the mas
sacre had taken place. A thousand
public papers united in accusing the
President with knowingly permitting,
Or even of abetting, the massacre. The
Secretary preserved profound silence.
Here was one secret which he did not
disclose, namely, that he, not the Pres
ident, with full knowledge of what was
threatened, stood by and suffered the
massacre, when three words from him,
"arrest the rioters," sent by telegraph
to the commanding officer, in reply to
his dispatch asking for instructions.
would have averted the mischief The
publication of the truth, which the
plainest principles of official duty and
manly honor required Of him, would
have disabused the public mind, and
relieved the President from the charge
of crime of high official atrocity. The
Secretary made no explanatory publi
cation, and the charge was suffered to
rest on the President. It was not be-
cause of diffidence or habitual tardi-
ness in coming before tho public that
he failed in this. When General Sher-
man, after marching through the heart
of the Confederacy, captured Johston
with the remnant of the Confederate
armies, and applied to the President
for instructions as to the terms of ca
a day was not suffered to
pass until Secretary Stanton prepared
and published bulletin accusing the
successful General of treachery, and
a narrative charged with
mere fiction and falsehood. But he
let the accusation against the President
pass unnoticed, aud witnessed silently
the censure which it brought upon
him. This was perfidy; it admits of
no extenuation; but Notwithstanding
this, the President retained him in Of
fee. But when, at last, owing to the
promulgation of Cabinet secrets, which
could be traced to no other source, his
longer Cuutinunnoo as O confidential
adviser became impossible, the hint was
taken, bill was introduced and passed
the House, which, if it had become a
law, would have enabled him to set the
President at defiance; but it was SO
amended in the Senate as to allow the
President to remove a Cabinet officer
not selected by himself, and whom he
felt unsafe to trust. It was declared
by the leading members of the Senate,
and if / remember we'll, generally as
sented to, that the President ought to
retain the power in that class of cases,
and the amendment was made for the
express purpose of leaving it in his pos
session. This amendment of the Ten
ure. of. Office Bill was the last act of
fairness toward the President in either
of the two Houses of Congress. The
new code of political morals which
Senator Morton declared himself study
ing, spread in the two houses like the
ricderpest in the infected States of
Holland, until all the party, with few
rare and most honorable exceptions,
were touched with the contamination.