Year: 1866

|


THE AssAssINATIoN PLOT.


When President Lincoln was murdered.
nearly all loyal people believed that the
South had made a serious mistake. A very
few thought otherwise OF these, two sail
to us: "YOu are mistaken, they know what
they are about. Andy johnson is their
tool"


"You will see.'' r.f.-.


One thing was certain. The morning OF
| the Inauguration lie was drinking freely,
with blatant copperheads. His appearance
on that occasion Is matter of history; and
the deep disgrace of II was never exagger-
ated by any published account. His in
+ temperance was excused on the ground
that they had drugged his brandy, and it Is
possible they may have done so, but GER
tainly not with the view of doing him a
| fatal injury; for since the beginning of the
second month of his Presidency they have
been his visitors aud apparently cOnfiden-
| tial friends. The class of Washingtonians
who never went to the White House while
President Lincoln lived. butalways refused
to recognize him as President and spoke to
him with scorn, began at once to visit john
son, and were graciOusly received. The
first the public knew of this was given to
the Constitutional Union, and was excused
on the ground that Tom Florence, its ed
itor, was the Presidents personal friend. So
he was, and is, and is to be-. lie, the editor of
paper that most loyal men thought should
have been suppressed during the war for its
dislOyalty-- the blatant, brawling, pot-house
politician, editor OF traitOrOus sheet
which had aided Mr.. JohnsOn's election by
linking his name with that of Mr. Lincoln
in the abuse heaped upon him, was all the
time the personal friend and confidant of
Mr.. johnson, and was thus early and pub
licly acknowledged as such.


Can it be possible that it was part of the
assassination plot to get rid of one thus In
secret bonds of friendship with No thern
leaders of the secession ranks? or was that
stupid, miserable wretch, AtzerOth, duped
into the belief that they wished him to
commit crime they knew he had not the
courage to perpetrate, and which he should
find no opportunity to commit? That they
intended to get rid of President Lincoln
and Mr.. Seward there can be no doubt.
The attempt on Mr.. StantOn's life was like
wise in good faith, but the chain links of
the evidence were not closely followed on
the trial; and the necessity for his death
was not imminent, as he could be removed.


The business was to get the President,
and they got him. That it was the South
which nominated Mr.. johnson through in
Cirect influenCe-that Mr.. johnson labOred
cunningly for that nomination by bolster
ouS professions of loyalty, aud the thrust
ing forward of ultra pledges designed to be
broken, there is no longer any doubt. That
he was prepared beforehand to serve the
purpose of treason there can be no doubt;
that his administration and its programme
were part and parcel of the assassination
plot we have no longer the shadow OF
doubt. ...,....-. .....


This does not make it necessary that he
should have known of the intended assas-
Eination. We do not think either Tyler or
Fillmore knew that the men who used them
intended numbering Harrison and Taylor;
but in all these cases the assassins knew
their men; and these three Presidents,
made Presidents by assassination, are each
with their administrations, as much in
cidcnts of the rebelliOn-emanates from
the brain of the arch tiends and wholesale
murdcrers who plotted that rebellion, as
was the starvation of our men at Anderson
vile, or the poisoning of our armies.
Whether known or unknown to Mr.. john
son, his veto message is the further I'M
folding of the assassination plot.


That assassination was a change of base,
in the traitor war for the destruction of the
Union. The veto is the Sumter guns OF this
second era of the war, and will probably be
followed by Bull Run and Balls Bluff
by disaster and perhaps apparent defeat to
the loyal millious whose weapons are once
more turned upon them by their trusted
agents. Andrew johnson has his plans
matured lie is in full sympathy with the
South, and will follow up his advantages to
the bitter and. Letthe people nerve them
selves to do what they can. They can and
will save the Government; but there is
great danger of repetition of the mistakes
and delays and dreadful disasters of the
first stage of this war. There is great dan
ger of kid glove campaign under some
political Mcclellan.


Could the people be made to feel that the
assassins of President Lincoln are now the
honored guests of the White House-that
this veto is part of the murderous pro-
gramme, Northern cOpperheads would
not insult loyal people by their insolent
rjoicings, and the traitors of the South
would stand aghast before their indigna-
tion.