Year: 1869

! ''NN'iSf ? ~ Of'3e's5c WAS 81 elpnd
ically laid upon the table that it is no,
probably forgotten except as an insult, nc
so much to Congress as to common hone.
ty and common sense. In obedience t
the requirements of the Constitution, tn
President recommended certain measure
which he considered necessary to the pub
lie welfare. The first of them was pfc
position that the people of country shoul
proceed to say that tRss-{7id net mean wha
they had just declF4 e the election an
after the fullest distl ion and the sec
ond was, that the Government should chea
its creditors The comedy of the frs
suggestion for the public welfare is sober
ed by the unmitigoteil kfiavcry of the see
ond.


Looking at this Message, with its sullel
splrit and its base proposals, the country
can imagine what the national situation
would have now been had Horatio Sew
mour been elected. The absurdities ant
criminalities Of the Message would have
been the declared policy of the Govern
ment. The reconstruction acts would have
been doomed, and the late rebel State,
would consequently have been plunged
into anarchy. The honor Of the United
States would have boon irrevocably tarn.
ished. and the nation that emerged victo.
rious from struggle Of arms would have
succumbed to hopeless domoralzation.-
The system of popular government would
have been brought into a disgrace from
which it is not possible to see when il
could have recovered !; and, bankrupt in
good sense and common honesty, the coun-
try would have been the scorn of history.
If we had not seem i great party sur
rendering itself last summer to the control





Of bafliod enemies, notonly Of the Union
but Of tho principle Of the Government,
and procloiming that wholesale swindling
was the true financial policy for a great
nation, it would be incredible that Pres
ident could send to Congress such a mes
sage as this The blank stupidity Of pro
posing that, after mogeass gn three ycars'
most intelligent and repeated and conclu-
sive verdcts against -" Ny Policy" the
country should adopt as the sole.solution
of every difficulty, is oXplicable only upon
the theory Of mingled igronance and dull,
dogged obstinacy, which is more than sus-
pccted in the President. But the brisk
knavcry Of the recommendation to brcaI;
the faith Of the Government reveals to-
tai want of the moral sense in the Chief
Magistrate, which should, it seems tous,
rather vigorously remind the country that
common conscience is really Of some prac-
tical value in public affairs.


The Senate arrested the reading of the
Message. The House listened to it, and
Immediately laid it upon the table, whence
it will never be taken. There were seve-





raj Republican Senator'S, including Mr..
Morton and Mr.. Wilson, who were in IA
vor of reading the whole upon the ground
that the Constitution requires the Presi-
dent to communicate to Congress the state
of the country, and to submit suggestions
for promoting the public welfare. But
surely this does not compel Congress tc
hear anything the President may choose
to say in any manner. Congress is the
guardian of its own dignity, and repre-
senfatively of thenation, 1t must decide
for itself when the limits of decency are
passed and it is very easy to imagine
especially with a person like the present
incumbent of the Presidency, message
of recommendations so expressed tha
Congress could not properly tolerate it.
If for instance, when Mr.. johnson de
livered his drunken speech at his inaugu
ration as Vice-P President, the Senate has
interrupted and refused to listen, no on
would have felt aggrieved, even had TIN
Constitution expressly provided that
speech should be made by the Vice-Presi
dent upon that occasion. Poor old Georg
the Third was said to have sent down
royal message to Parliament beginning
"My Lords, Gentlemen, and Woodcocks.
Parliament was hardly obliged to listen
Suppose that the President, instead @
sending message in writing by his secre
tary, had come in person to deliver it OF
ally, and, being in the same condition a
when he made the speech to which W
have referred, had refused to wear an
clothes upon the occasion, would Congre'
be constitutionally bound to permit th
outrage upon common decency?


Now, in the actual case, common hone'





ty was as much outraged as decency woul
have been in the other The United Stat'
are pledged to pay a certain interest upc
certain bonds, and the President says tn;
he thinks the bondholders have been suh