THE UNITED STATES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 7, Issue 367, 12 April 1866, Page 1

THE UNITED STATES.

tire Times* Correspindeiit.) Philadelphia, 12th January. The opponents of the President’s re-construc-tion policy have upon no subject betrayed so much anxiety as upon hia treatment of Jeff. Davis. They wish Mr-Davis hanged without judge or jury, urge his /summary trial by inilitary 7 commission, and would be delighted to see mm' executed on the shortest "possible notice'; ‘ and, forgetting that the popular tastes are not now so bloodthirsty as they were a year, ago, think it is only - necessary to prove that the President treats Jefferson Davis leniently to have him hurled from power at once. Therefore, countless resolutions have been offered in Congress, demanding to know why Jefferson Davis has not been tried or punished, and the Radical press has dared the President to make a satisfactory reply. These movements were begun at the outset of the Congressional session; but the President, usually in no hurry, considered it enough to fight and defeat the Radicals upon the question of withdrawing ■ the military governors from the Southern States before be entered upon-the new campaign. It was not until yesterday tb.at.he answered any of the. Congressional resolutions, and he thenpublished a message that had been transmitted to Congress the day before, completely dissipating all the Radical thunder upon the Davis question. The President threw the blame of Mr Davis not being brought to trial upon Chief Justice Chase, ex-Secretary of the Treasury, and now one of the high priests of Radicalism. Letters were transmitted from Attorney-General : Speed and Secretary Stanton. Mr Speed, as chief law officer of the Government, gave his opinion that treason trials cannot be held before a military tribunal; they must be held before a civil codrt; that the court, must sit in the district where the avert act of treason was committed ; that the treason of Jefferson Davis was committed in Virginia, and there, and nowhere else, must he be tried. Secretary .Stanton adds to this opinion' the unfortunate facts for the: Radicals, that Virginia is within the Judicial circuit assigned to Chief Justice Chase, of the Sapreme Court, that he has held no court there since Mr Davis’ arrest, and that he declines for an indefinite period to held any court there. Justice- Cbase-refuses to hold thecourt, and thus presents Mr Davis’ trial, because, in common with the Radicals; he* believes the President had no-right to re-construct Virginia, and, that Stale being still rebellious and out of the Union, no court can be held; Thus the mktter rests. The' leader of the party that , wishes Mr Davis hanged refuses to try him. The President will not permit him to be tried by any military tribunal, where swagger can override law and justice, and Mr Davis, bidfffair to remain in statu quo indefinitely. I have little doubt, however, that the president wishes to pardon Mr Davis, but has not yet quite courage enough to do it. It will he remembered that early this week, upon the assemblage of Congress after the holiday recess, the Radicals, in support of their - darling theory, passed a resolution in the House, advising against the withdrawal of troopsffrom the South. Just before, in accordance with the President’s plan, orders had been issued .withdrawing all the white troops from Virginia. Secretary Stanton, frightened at the bluster, as soon as he heard of the passage of the. resolution on BiU Jan. Countermanded the withdrawal of the Virginia ganisofis.' The President heard of his conduct the next day, and was* highiy indignant, declared that his subordinates should not dictate to him as they had to his predecessors, commanded that the withdrawal of troops should continue, notouly in Virginia, but in the other' Southern States, and rather pooh-poohed the power of Congress. lu additaen tojthis' he ordered ithoiasUnt pro*

.ju of the order that has been so long lying in the War Department for the discharge of idle Generals. At one sweep 122 Generals were shorn of their pay and turned out of service, and grief was carried to many a Radical family.’ The long list embraces many names well known abroad and among the Generals who are relegated by it to private life are Major-Generals Hunter, Rosencran's, Parke, Granger, Stakes, A; J. Smith, Dodge, Gibbon, Osterhaus, Mower, Crook, Weitzel, Merritt, Custer, Griffin, Emory, Barnard, Hatch, Saxton, Geary, Howe, Torbert, Grierson, Kantz, Hartrauft, and Devena; and Brigadiers Shoepf, Wessells, De Russy, Lafayette, C. Baker, (the detective,) and .Yau Wyck. Although 122 haver been swept off, the’ President has not ceased the decapitation, but lias ordered commanders of military divisions to report if ether Generals can be dispensed with. Another wholesale “ decapitation ” may, therefore, be expected as soon as there are new evidences of Radical displeasure. When such hard blows are continually given, and all Government patronage is cut off, the radical movemements, as may be anticipated, are not so vigorous as they might be. In the House they avoided a direct vote upon a resolution endorsing the President’s policy, and buried it in a committee. The Radicals have done a huge amount of speechmaking, but the President has found numerous defenders, and the general tendency of Congress all the week has been to go to work in earnest at the business of the Session, and not to waste time in wrangling. Four Republican Senators have come over to the Presidential ranks since Hew Year’s-day, and it is hinted that the body is now very nearly equally divided. Besides the Democrats, 12 Republican Senators now support the President—Doolittle, of Wisconsin; Morgan and Harris, of New York; Stewart, of. Michigan; Trumbull, of Illinois; Sherman, of Ohio:; Cowan, of Pennsylvania; Dixon, of Connecticut ; Anthony, of Rhode Island; Henderson,, of Missouri; Lane, of Indiana; and Lane, of Kansas. With such an array-of names the President can afford to snap his ; fingers- at the Lower House. Efforts are being made in various quarters to organizes new party to support him, and inaugurate the movement a Convention has been called to meet at Frankfort, Kentucky, in February, to organise an administration party of all Kentuckians that endorse the Pesideut’s conciliatory policy. (to be continued.)