Year: 1866




HEADLONG COURSE OF THE PRESI-


DENT.


Time, instead OF soltening the asperity OF
tone held by the President toward the Re
publicans who elected him to power, seems
rather to increase his bitterness, and to dis.
play more of malignity of temper, which
was suspected before, but never so well
known He appears to have worked himself
up into perfect frenzy against Congress,
the Republicans, their principles, the north
ern States, the press, the Union Leagues, and
all not identified with the southern reaction,
and his latest speeches leave no room to doubt
that he W would take an ultra course that might
be urged upon him by his not over -scrupulous
adherents. All efforts to keep terms with
person animated by such impulses and feel
ings seem to be useless. We have studiedto
preserve our respect for him, for the sake of
the high office lie holds, and we have sup
ported his administration as far as it was
possible, without doing violence to our own
convictions. But he displays not one parii-
Gle OF consideration for those who, while
differing with him, have held toward him
language of moderation, dignity, and defer
enee. Indeed, how can we expect it Of him
when he candidly ayows in public speech
that he cares nothing for the dignity of the
great office he holds No enc could be more
lully pursuaded than he appears TO be that
all is going his way swimmingly. lie is by
long odds the worst selfdeceived man we
have ever known. Others do not delude
him hall so much us he deludcs himself and
all the attempts made to restrain or mollily
him only serve TO persuade Him that he is
cock OF the walk, and that no one can stand
before him.


Extraordinary and astounding as his TWEEN
iy-second of February speech appeared to
be to all Union men, it really turns out to
have been no sudden ebullilion of temper,
but the actual development OF his policy,
feelings, disposition and purposes All the
speeches he has delivered since have been
nut varying phases of that one, and even the
scurrilily has been aggravated rather than
restrained TO say now that President
johnson belongs any more to the Republican
party, or that he has any claims upon it, is
the boldest imposture that can be conceived.
Yet precisely this is attempted by the rene
gade Republicans who follow him under the
prete%t that he is supporting the Baltimore
Republican National platform OF 1864 The
republican party has never AT any period in
It's career had an enemy more INSCRIPTIONS,
malignant or dangerous than he appears
ambitious to show himself; and surprising
as we find many things of his doing, they
bear no comparison in moral turpitude to
what some of his own organs allege that he
stands ready to do. Never before within
our recollection have the newspaper repre-
sentatiyes of our Presidents boldly announ.
ced the readiness of the Executiveto attemp.
TO establish a bogus Congress in order to gel
rlu OF the regular body, as the New York
DAILY Times has done in long and care
fully written leading article, which seems tc
be but the echo of another published in Mr.
seward's home organ at Auburn, and of the
speeches of Montgomery Blair.


We have used the word dangerous, for sc
these desperate designs will appear to ordi
nary people, and dangerous they would b,
il johnson could succeed in peryerting the
elections so as to augment the Democratic
vote in the House Fortunately, however
he cannot do so, as the results in Vermont
and Maine sufficiently attest Had we ever
dreamed that there was a possibility of hi.
accomplishing his scheme, we should have
sounded the alarm in tones not to be mis-
taken. But knowing the popular sentiment
Of the north, and confiding in it, we did moi
think ii necessary to increase the political
excitement or arrest the currents of busines,
by giving any countenance TO the idea that
there was a real peril. All we do recognize
in these declarations is new form of the old
raw head and bloody bones that used to b,
held up to frighten timid Union men in the
days before 1860. II being no longer posi-
Bile to alarm people at the spectre of dissolu.
ton, resort is now had, by those who wish
to the fears rather than the convictions of
the masses, to the likelihood of attempt
ed despotism and violent dispersion of Con
gress. The New York Times advises people
to avoid this danger by submitting TO the
schemes and the usurpations of johnson.
We, on the other hand, advise them to re.
buke these threats at the outset, and make
an example of all who resort to them We
advise the people to deprive of official trust
and responsibility every man tainted with
the support of a President confessed 10 be
designing such things.


When the Times and its associates prove
to us so circumstantially that the President
really means TO do this outrageous deed, il
he gets chance, the revelation does not
breed in us any feeling OF an alarm at the
possibly of such stupid attempt proving
successful, but a stern determination to
stand by our principles, and to do our utmost
to put down the party weak and base enough