8 BIS1XG OF THE AFRIC. "Sources of Danger to tnc Republic; Frederick Douglass' Great Lec ture Last Night. Uo-vi -vvitli ilicOiifMnn I'owcr." lite Democracy that Saves Us. ' No More Vice-Presidential Succession." Tlio Hopes and Fears of Our Country ContHuUonaJ Amendment n Swindle." Etc.. Etc., K(., Etc., EtcM Etc. lHPKCIAl.LT BIPORTBD FOR EVEMNO TKLBORAF J. National Hall was literally packed last night wltn people to bear Mr. Douglass' address The speaker was frequently interrupipd with ap plause, and he evidently made the best effort of iis lire. The eloquence and searching political analysis of Fred. Douglas last evening took some of his warmest admire hy surprise. 11 ins Greenwood, the " Ulack Swan," sang several atlas and ballads daring the evening with preat acceptability. Mr. Douglass was introduced by Mr. William Still, President of the Social, Civil, and Statis tical A-sociaiion of the Colored People of Penn sylvania, and the great lreedman p,poke as fol lows: The great and all-commaudiur thought ot patriotic citizens of the United Sta'.es is, as to how this republic can be rendered enduring, beneficent, and permanent. I nm here this evening to discuss some of it dangers and sor rows, or weaknesses, fn all political institu tions the subject iatosotueextentanunweleorac one to many, for it is common on great occa sions to hear men speak of the republican Insti tutions of our republican Government as the best Government on earth, aa admirable piece Cf mechanism, destined at some future period, not far distant or remote, to supersede all oUkt foims of government. Many men, when our eulogistic orator would appear somewhat recondite us well as patriotic, tell us of the change and the distribution of the various powers under our form or govern inent. I am certainly noi here this eveuing rudely to call in question the verv'.uleasmg assumptions of governmental superiority on.oui part which it is natural to indulge, however unwie it may be this time. Tney are cononint with natioual pride, con sonant with national self-lore; and when they are not employed, as they too oiten are, In the service of a bliud, unreasoning, stubborn, and obstinate fanaticism and conservatism, they are comparatively harmless, although they may not always be consonant with good tas'.e are h?art. It is, however, well to remind tcis class of American hearers and speakers that they arc not alone in this species of eulogy, that taere are other men reputed wise and good in other purts of the planet who appear just as confident of the excellent qualities of their peculiar government, of monarchical aristocracy or autocracy, as we are of the good qualities of our own, and not a few of these hare already voted our repnblican experiment a latlure; they already have detected signs of decay, and have predicted that at some day, not very distant, our beautiiul republican institutions will have to give place to another Government, a stronger and more absolute Government than the oue we have. Those who entertain these opinions are notbentirely without reason for them. And every Kepublicau, every lover ot his country, must with these reasous l'ewr and loss visible than tbey are. The fact is that the ballot-box, upon which we have relied as a protoct.on from jtbe passions of the multitude, has failed us, broken don under us. A large sectional minority of the people, united and animated by seotvmal interest, have com bined, and lor four long years have resisted the constitutional authority of this Government, is regarded as a tilling argument against the travelling assumptions of Americans in favor of the permanence and stability of our republican institutions. But this is not the only reason Which they have arrayed against us. They point us to the tact that wc did not meet this trouble, this resistance to the constitutional authority of the Government, in anything like a manly, heroic, comprehensive, and wise spirit; that, in fact, we met It with apathy, tardiness, hesitation, doubt, a feeling of uncertainty which no Government in Europe ever exhibited in the presence of a combination to overthrow it; and they iegard tbat as an evidence of our decay as a nation, and of the final substitution of some Other Jorm of gove rnment for the present one. They point us, also, to the hesitation, the doubt, the apparent want of courage on the part of this Government in the matter of recon struction, now that the Rebellion has been put down. They point us, moreover, to the tact (apparently at least) that the American Govern ment has yet to demonbtrate to the world its ability and its disposition to punish traitors on the one hand, and reward loyalty on the other hand; a Government that cannot hate cannot love; and a Govemmynt that cannot hate trai tors, cannot love and respect loyal men. (Cheers.) They point us to the fact that the bristling bayonets ot this Government of ours are no longer a protection for loyal men In the Rebel States; that loyal men by iho score by the hundred have been deliberately slaueh tered in the presence of the Star-Spangled ban ner in New Orleans; and that at this hour the murdeiers are still at laree, unquestioned by the law. unpunished bv justice, unrebuked by the public opluion of the neighboihood where they lived. No such thing as this could exist in any othr Government ou earth. They point us, more over, to the tuct that there la an absence of national honor and national gratitude In the Government, which, in its extremity, Invoked the Iron arm ot the ueero id iu defense; and baa deliberately, since the war, placed that same loyal class under the political heel of the former traitors (cheers) they point us to the low standard of political morality every where prevalent in this country; how riotous swindlers can cMtnb to the high places in the nation. The best pattern of a member ot Con gress In some districts is a fist (laughter and applause) the worst elements of American society como uppermost. They point us also to the antagonisms that exist Between the Executive and Legislative branches of our Government, the Indecent haste with which we sacrifice permanent interest for mere temporary trials, and they regard all these as signs of a decline and fall of our great repub lican experiment j tbey tell us that the lives of republics have been unsatisfactory, short, stormy, aud that our Government will pnvc no exception to the general ro e, THE DAILY EVENING TKLKGRAPH. DniADKLPinA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1867. New, why do I refer to this m favorable judg ment ol cur political iiiftitutions? Not certainly to indorse them, nor tocombat thorn, but iui( ly as a reaon, and to weigh them very lully, and with a more impartial judgment, ILanweliRvo hitherto done. 1 tind In these things a motive for searching out the defects ot our Government; to ascertain, it possible, how far the machine is responsible for the development ol character to which I have alluded; or how these develop, m-nts can be traced to another cause whether, in tact, the fault is in the luachiue, or in the men who run the machine. For we must all iieimit that republican governments undermine Hud destroy manly charm ter if ttiy I'OHtcr base IMS'., 01 cherish and leed Ingratitude hihI mean us. If they destroy manly character lustead ol ( levating- manly character, let us have done w Ith republican and instul some other form of government more favorable to the development bl manhood. Let me state the whole of the cae in this in quiry. Now thai our Government IsbrokeD up, us It were, and Iho work of reconmmcilon is taking place, 1 am here to-night to defend the theory ot radical, complete, and comprehensive leconst ruction, which shall set our Government right. We Atnencau citizens have to decide thelorm of our Government; and we can at least examine our Government. We are at liberty to discues every lentnre of it, to examine and try and test It by every rule of law and rea son and loeic. There Is nothing more tho roughly established in this country thau the light of tree mqulry. The material with which some men wouli appear to weigh or discuss tne tmportanco of our institutions is decidedly splendid. We can have no superstitious reverence for our Consti tution. This Is the time tu eenerate such a reveicnce. Place It on such a loundatiou that neither darkues?, nor smoke, nor thunder, nor lightning, nor whirlwind, nor tempest, nor any other disturbance can shake it. Aud it will be reverenced. While we respect it for what it is, we atlirm ot it that it was the creation of man men like unto ourselves, in one respect, however, we can afford to say something of the fundamental structuic of our Government. It was a man's contrivance, as I have alleged, designed with more or less wisdom to make society happy, promote liberty and oidcr, aud, in ihe language of the Conct it u lion itself, to form a more per lect union, and e-tablisb jnoticr, promote tbe general weilare, provide for the common defense, and secure Cue blessings of liberty to ourselves aud to our postetity. it is, at leant, an honest Constitution. It does not ask respect on any ground of a superstitious character, but it is a human instrument, inado to promote human objects. While I discard all the Fourth-of-July extra vagances, 1 cannot but oiler my humble grntl tuieto the fathers who lrumed the Constitu tion, that they were able to put into it as much of wisdom, truth, and goodness as they did. My early experience in lite was not favorable to the development of patriotism, or reverence for our Institutions, and the like, and yet I can say that this Constitution, in many of its features, is based upon the eternal rock of ages. I thlrk the men who framed it arc entitled to the projounf'.est gratitude of mankind, if for nothing more than this, tha', against the temula tiou to do other wise, they have eiveu to us a Constitution tree from bigotry, Iree from sec'a lianism, Iree Irom coruple.xional distinctions. In tbe eye of that great imtrumcnl there are neither Jews nor Greek, barbarians or fecythians, but fcllo v cltiy.ens of a common country. There is neither black nor white -we are all one, and our ConsMtu'ion was so framed purposely. Whenever the galling ennui of bondage burst from about the bodies of the en s aved, each and all of them immediately rise to any position in the common country for which their talents and character might Ut them. tCheeis.) But wise as this great paper Is on tbte nnd many ether points, it is but a human instrument, and, like all human performances, has its delects. It is the work of men struiraling for their independence, witn their full proportion ot the prejudices and limitations of men, time, and experience; and tbe ever-increasing light of knowledge hus revealed delects and "errors in our Constitution which, in my judurneut, must be removed, or prove fatal to every institution uhke. The national complacency with wh'ch we contemplated the Constitution under the aspect of ihe wiir of the Rebellion, so that that check, apparently, seems likely to be about as transicut in dura. ion as it was violent iu its inception the complacency arit.ing from the fact that wo met the Uebcll'on, that we conqured the Rebels, around them to powder, scattered them to the lour winds, showed the vigor oud streneth of the structure of our Government, I thiuk Is all wrong. The right view ot that strusule is, that Instead of disclosing to us the inherent strength of our Institutions, it only reveals to us their serious weakness in a more glaring light than we have ever before seen them. It should lead us to search out the tources of natioual weak ness, and in this hour to goto work likerensi'ole and patriotic niento make weak places strong, and the strong places stronger. The suppression of the Rebellion was a errand achievement, but applauded as that was, I utterly deny that it reflected the least credit upon the structure of our Government and Con stitution. And how are we to explain our suc cess? There is only one way. It is this th it during the last two years of the Rebellion our pallant armies fought on the side of human nature, liberty I and fraternity, and human brotherhood, and in proportion as our Govern ment, was faithful to these grand soul-inspiring Ideas, so were its victories and so its reverses. (Cheers.) The Rebels fought well. They fougut desperately. Invisible chains were about them, entangled oy the chains of their own bondmen, and deep down iu their own souls there was au aeonizing voice tbat cried tremblingly to them. They struggled, not merely with gigantic armies and the skill of our veteran generals, but thev struggled with the moral sense ol the nineteenth century, and hence their failure, In my judg ment. Another secret of our success was this:We happened, for it was only a happening, to have in the Presidential chair au honest man. (Cheeis.) It was our exceeding good fortune tbat Abraham Lincoln aud not" William 11. Seward received the nomination in 1800. Had William H. Seward, had Millard Fillmore, hud John Tjler, or had that vilest embodiment ot ingratitude and basenes, who shull be nameless now (laughter and cheers), occupied the Presi dential chair, the Government of which we are so proud to-day, might have been only a mutter of history. I regard the last three mouths of Mr. Bnchanan's administration as most Instruc tive, especially in regard to the sources ol danger Mid weakness in our republican form or government. It showed how completely the liberties of the American people are at the mercy ot a bad and w icked President aud his Cabiuet. (A voice, "That's so.") We saw during those thiee months our army, navy, aud munitions of war either scattered to the four winds, or placed at ihe disposal of wicked men who were plot ting the destruction of the Government, and we were compelled to sit helplos. We could neither move hand nor foot; we sat biting ourthumbs in silence, unable to help ourselves during the time. We were in a mighty stream, with all our liberties at stake, a laithless pilot ou board ; in a mighty stream, whoso current we neither could resist nor control. We weie in a helpless manner swept on aud on towards an awful cataract of ruin, then thundering iu the distance; we Baw no help for the Republic until the honest man, Abraham Lluooln, came to the rescue. (Cheeis.) But it is sad to think that half the glory, honor, and moral advantage to this nation ot the great beneficent measures already adopted w ere lost lost In the meannessof their perform ance. Even for the abolition of slavery we have no one to thank; we have not the nation to thank for that by any means. What was done in that direction was done reluctantly. We are about as Justly required to tlMnk the American people for eniaucipating the slaves as Pharaoh of old was entitled to the thanks of tho Israelites from releasing them from bondage. (Cheers ) For it was not until judgment, wide spreading far reiwrhinsr, and overwhelming, overtook us it was not until we saw the SoutUrn horizon studded all around with military disinter",, that we consented to par', with our reverence for slavery, and to arm the black man in deknse of the flag. (CLecrs.) Oh that we could have done this from a holy, sacred choice of right for the right's sake, for the truth's sake, for man's s.iko 1 Oh tbat H could have been done Irom a high and holy motive of di ntereslrd benevolence ! As It was, it has gone into history as Mainly a piece of military strategy or necessity. Justice had but little to do with it. Well, I am taking a lung time without com lrg to the subject ol the eening, the Sources ol Punger to our Republic. I take these to lie of iwo classes. Th- first may be described as Interior, and tbe second as exterior. 1 shull i.'lscuss tnein in the order now stnted. Mr. Fresldeni, let me observe, at the outset, that in this comprehensive statement I concede notbinif to those who hold to the doctrine of the inherent weakness' of the republic. Our sources of danger and weakness are not neces sarily connected with republicanism; they aie not essential to it; they are alien to our re publican Institutions; they are deu ily poisons token Into otirsjsum by accident. Our Governnent was fiamcd under condi tions favorable to a purely republican govern ment. Tbe icmiU ww, tho Constitution was projected and completed under the shadow of monarchical Institutions and slavery institu tions, and It has received its coloring largely Irom both these sources. Nor is this to bo wondered at. A man's sunoundlngs may exert but a limited influence upon him; he may easily throw them off, but only a hero can throw off entirely the Influence of early sur roundings and tra ning; and mankiud can never immediately be emancipated either from slavery or monarchy; and a century is not too much to obliterate all traces of a former bondege. The lathers of this republic, born in the pre sence ot slavciy, or under monarchical institu tions, also naturally enough, while they con ceived the great principles ol tbe Declaration of liidepeiidei.ee as the law of this Government, when they came to the practical work lor n aking a Government, we all know that they did plant something of the aristocratic element of the Government under which they had lormulv lived. This was their mistake, and it nasi now be corrected, or you must make up your mind to bid farewell to your republrnu Government. You must either have a purely republican Government or you must have a monarchical Government, one or the otbor. 'ihe eclectic principle may work well In medi cine, but it docs not work well In matters of government. Here we must have uulty of idea and object a concord ot method, as well a of principle in order to a permaneut and pros perous lesuit. Now, so far am I from conceding anything to tho.-e who hold that republican governments ore weak In themselves, I believe that a republican form of government Is the strongest government on earth. (Cheers.) 1 am here to night, a genuine Democrat, to advocate democracy in its purity. So lar irom regarding a republican Government as neces sarily weak, It Is the strongest and best Govern ment known to the children of men. I am bete, in !;ict, to advocate a genuine republic as ncaiiist a false and spurious aud Bham repnblic. iCheers.) Only make this republic a eenulne lepublic, eliminating all loieiun elements: slrike out from all your form of govern meut everything looking to autocracy; make It in fact, as it is in theory, a Government of the. people, by the people, for the people aud the whole people. (Cheers.) inul out from H everything that looks away from tl e people to the individual, or to the eligaicby; sir ke out everything that makes it restuion a class; let it be a Government each, for aH, and all lor each the black mau for the white, aud the white man for the black. Drive no man froui the ballot-box because of bis color, and keep no woman iiom It on accouut of her tex. (Applause.) Let tie Government rest squ-trelv down upon the shoulders of the people; let 'there be no shoulder in the land that does not bear its full proportion of the Government; let there be no intellect, no heart.no soul in the land bit Is directly and practically responsible, to the full share of Its capacity, for the honor, wisdom, and virtue ot the Government. (Cheers.) Let it be completely democratic, resting upon the w hole people. Take Irom it everythlug that limits its power or its benevolence, or m.irs iis beauty. Let it rest squarely down upon the whole people, and I see no reason why thii Governn.cut may not stand and llourisd while the world endures. The first source of danger to which I will call your attention, and which has been spoken of a great deal ol late, is the oue man power. I rejoice to know that the nat on is at last stir tied into the consciousness of the existence of the ore man power. If Jeff. Davis taught us the tolly ol lostering the slave power, Andy Johnson has taughV us, beyond wisdom, the absurdity of lostering in our fbim ot Government tbe one-man power; and If his reign shall inspire us with a determination to revise the Constitution of tbe United States at this point, and to limit and circumscribe this one-man power, bis accidental occupancy of the Presi dential chair will not prove the unmitigated calamity we have sometimes been accustomed to regard it. (Cheers.) Mr. Seward has been a creat deal laughed at for colling Andrew Johnson kins, introducing him to a Michigan audience as King or Presi dent, evidently legarding tbe one title as appro priate as the other. I think he was not far from the truth, and the title was, to some extent at leust, appropriate, for the fact i, Andrew John roii to-day is invested with kingly powers, and exercises them to an extent which would briug to tie block almost any polentate in Kurope. (Sensation.) If he has recently overstepped these powers, as some of us think be has, and at times mis taken in the singular condition of his mind (which are quite too frequent), mistaking him self lor the United States instead of the Presi dent of the United States (laughter) the explanation is not to be found entirely in his unbounded egotism, but in our Constitution. But, happily, by this Constitution our king cannot reign dining life. But he can reign long enough to commit any number of nib-cbievous acts, and so defeat the most beneficent measures of-our Government. It is true we have the rieht to choose our President, wl ich is a very Important right, and therein is our distinctive advantage over tbe subjects of a foreign joke. I admit that It is something to be able to put a man out of authority when he does not behave wel, but I have taken a more sober view of the freedom of the American people to elect their officers lecently thun formerly. When I was a slave I used to think it quite a laige degree of liberty that, at the end ot eacU year, if 1 did not like my master I could get another. I-had the light to choose him again, or another in his place. I was quite delighted, indeed tntoxica'ed, with this precious privilege ot selectiie uuother master, and duriug tbe year. It I got an extra kick or cuff, the thongut would come to me, "Never mind, oi l felio, I will shake you oil at Christmas." (Laughter.) But afier awhile, as I grew older, and a trirle wiser, 1 came to the conclusion that it was not another master that I wanted. Not a new mus ter, or an old one, but no matr at all. (Gre it applause.) Tuat in fact what I wauted was to to be my own master. From this little item of my experience in slavery, I have mananed to read quite an elabo rate chapter of philosophy, applicable. I think, to the Americau people at this time. What the American people want is not another master at anytime; not a new one, or an old one. But they want the people themselves, ever, at ad times, in times of peace and in time of war, to be their own niusteis, and control their own affairs. (Obecrs.) It Is not so now. It is Massa Johnson now. (Laughter.) Ills true we are free, and while we are putting a piece of paper iu the ballot box I will not cav how the ninnes get on tbe paper-that would betray too great an acquaint ance with politics (laughter) we aro fre while we are voting, but once he is elected, once he strides the national animal, bis feet in tbe Btiiriips, his baud upon the reins, ami puts the spurs in the sides of the animal, he can rule this country as despotically as any crowned he'id in Kurope, and you know it, A cine-man ro id Is here. You are frc before he is eleet'vf: but rnce he !.s. he is then the master of the situatiou. Yen, I afllvm that the President of the United States aan rule thus tiovernmrnt whh a contempt for the opinions nnd wishes of the people, at ftyery stago of bis administration, which no Krowned head in Europe, dare manliest tovards the wlhe aud wants of the people who are represented In the Government. This g the s'ft'.e of the case, an 1 1 conton 1 that It ought not to be so. Why, when the Prime Minister of England is outvoted in the Home of Commons on any Inipoitant question, h- construes that vote Into a vole or want of com dence in him by the countiy. Ho says: "I no longer represent the views and wishes of the country, and lor this reason I will lay the seals ot my office at the foot of the throne, and require the throne to call some other mon to power who can administer rhe Government more in harmony with the winhe of the neopla. But vou might vole down Andrew Johnson every month, and vote down Seward every morning. (Laughter.) I think ho would never resign, or cither of them. (Great cheering.) They sre at the head of the people. They say the people are mistaken ; they don't know what tbey want. Over there thev respect the opinions ol thi people; oicr hero they treat them with the utmost contempt. I have seen men invited to resign, but I have never seen a man who has accepted the Invitation. Your man Cowan was Invited to resign; he thought you were mistaken. Doolittle was also invited to resign: he thought his constituents were mis taken. Once in the stirrups, they are there, as the man said to tbe horse at the loot of tbe hill. (Cheers.) Let us examine the questions that enter into tbe one-man power. The tlrst to which 1 call your attention is the immense patronaae In the hands of the President. A hundred millions of (follars per annum In times of peace, and un counted thousands ol millions iu times of war, are put in his hands for distribution among his political iriends. What a power I What a cor rupting power 1 Now, is there not ingenuity, is thete not skill enough in the American pebplo to alter this iinaneement, this corrupting nnangement; tor while tho President can place a man in office because of his political opinions, not lor any fitni'ss for the posii.en, and put another out of office because ol the differenco ot opinion, it is tor us to see, and to sec at once, that this is an aosuul'; upon integrity and freedom of opinion. Who does not see that It is corrupting, In that it holds out a temptation to a man to agree with tbe President, not because of the wisdom, and justice of his position, but because iu that way lie can get something In exchange for his soul. We don't want this power in the bands of one man to buy up men. At any rate, we can" go to this extent, and 1 am glad Congress is locking in it at duection, nnd that Is, that the Constitu tion of the United States now provides that ihe Pres.deut can appoint by and with the consent ol the Senate oijthe United States we can iro to the whole extent of demanding that the whole power required to appoint, as also to remove a miin from office, shall be in Congress. (Cheers.) At present it is not so, for while it requires the President and Senite to appoint, the Presi dent alone removes, and by that means makes otnou-elhct the constitutional guarantee that the Senate shall be consulted also. But 1 must hasten. This vast amount of money lodged anywhere outside ot the Govern ment would prove a daneerous lever of destruc tion to our Government In the bands of an enemy. It has already given rise to tho most dl-gracdul and disgusting immorality in regard to the Government. Noihlug so illustrates tbe degrading tendency of this pationago than the many proverbs already in c rculation concerning it, for to Mr. Marcy is attributed the saying taat 'To the victor belong the spoils;" ami from ex-Governor Randall, Post master-General, we have the blackguard assertion tbat no man should eat the President's bread and butter that does not indorse tbe President's policy. It is an attack upon the national integrity, by breaking down individual integrity, by placing tho honors and emoluments ot office as against independence and judgment. I am tor limiting this power in the hands of the President. Then I am tor abolition. I am an old fashioned Abolitionist. I am for the abolition oi the "two terms" principle. Wherever else I may meet with response, here I expect co-operation. The "two terms" principle is, in my ht.nible judgment, one ol the very worst ele ments ot our Constitution, In that, so soon as a man is elected to the Pie;ddential chair, he is iui nis bed with a motive to enter upon schemes lor his re election to that office, and he comes up to the duiies of that office w itu a heart and a n ind divided, instead of being united in behalf of or 1n di-charae of his duties. He is partly Pre eloent, and partly chief of the Presidential party. At once it furnishes a motive lor such a distribu tion ol the patronage ot this Government as shall lav or bis re election. It may be said, as it was said la the Conven tion by that wise and excellent patriot, Alex ander Hamilton, that the prospect that the Pre sident may serve two terms instead of one furnishes to a President a motive for good beha vior, for the faithlul perlormance ot his duty. I admit the force of the argument. The answer to it is this tbat a man who does not find au all-sufficient motive for devoting all his mind and heart and soul to the discharge of the dut es of the Presidential office in the first election, may be relied upon noi to have such confidence In a second election. A third element of the weakness of the one man power to which I wish to call attention, aud in favor of abolishing which I am, is the veto power. 1 want that old, despotic, and aris tocratic power of our Government utterly bao ished Irom our Constitution. It has no business in a republican form ot government. It is anti democratic, anil-republican, anti-common sense. (Sensation.) It is based on a miserable absurd ity, that one man is more to be trusted thau many men. hile we talk of believing in the people, when we come to promote a Government, we vest one man with a power which only two-thirds of the people can counterbalance. It is an absurdity in itsel'. It is based upon the idea that one man, with his limited judgment, with his limited abilities and infirmities (and there are some of thim tbat have many of these who get into the Presidential chair); that one man, in his Cabinet in the White House, surrounded by his cliques and clans, his satellites, his coai lades, w bo have no voice to contradict him, that he will bring to bear upon public measures a cooler judgment and power of patriotism than will ihe Congress of the United States, assem bled under the broad light of day, with the (laming swoid of the press waving over them, and sworn before high Ileaveu faUhtully to attend to the claims of public measures. It is to think that this one man will act more wisely and more patriotically than will these hundreds ot represent at1 ves. A more glaring contradiction (o the very idea ot republicanism is nowhere found, except In this idea of veto power. (Cheers.) We don't need it; let it eo. While I believe that to heads are belter thau one, I don't believe that one heod is better than 'wo or three hundred. Let it go; we run get along without it. It is a remarkable fact that while the veto poer is entirely consistent with monarchical institu tions, it is entiiely Inconsistent with democratic institutions. It has not been exercised in England under a monarchical nnd aristocratic Government, it hus cot been exercisod there mole than oucu In a c ntury and a half, while here in this republic of the people, where the right of tho people to rule is admitted, we can have a little veto every morning veto on oh occasions. It is a power ful lever in the hands of one man to make him self of consequence; and a bad man, full of ambi tion, full ot pride, sell-conceit, heds in it a means ot constantly gratifying his love ot noto riety, by flingini: biuitelf in opposition to the Congress of tbe United States, and in antago nism with tbe Senate of the United States. 1 know not why It Is that one man In this country could arrosrate to himself this power, while thrones and dominions of tbe Old World shrink irom its exercise. When in a Govern ment where the veto Is consistent, it is not used; why In a Government believed to be a Gov ernment of the people, professed to be such a Government, where it 19 inconsistent, (should H be iii-ed eo incessantly f , That the veto power has sometimes bee l used very beneficially I admit. That It has been the means of arresting hasty legislation I admit. That Its peculiar power U sometimes frequently I and wisely used, Is no proof that wo should an t prove despotic power to the power of the people. I I know what Is said, tbat tnere must be some I check upon fanatical majority. Mr. Johnson niniseii nns been on a pilgrimage of late, sand wiched between two heroes, one of tho land and the other of the sea, wending bis way from tbe Atlantic to the Mississippi, preaching to the people of the danger of trusting to molorlties. Well, if thlsthlng be true, then our republican Institutions aro at fault. This Is an argument against republicanism, it it be true that majori ties are likely to be more despotic than indi viduals. Then let us have an Individual t.ov ernn.ent; let us have Andrew Johnson as Dic tator or Emperor; or, let us have something that is arbitrary, tbat Is desio'f c In Its con trol over us. But don't believe it: I don't believe It; no man believes It. I know that republics and republican majorities can be arnl trury, have been so, but so to whom f It abi trary at all, they are so to an unrepresented class of men. They have been so towards toe bliu k man, towards the slave. Tney have en forced penalties, enacted laws, that had au elo mcnt of the direct cruelty and injustice In them. And towards whom? Never towards repre sented classes, always towards the unrepre sented. What, then, is the remedy? Why It is to have our Government consistent, and have no unrepresented classes in it (great cheers): then the rights of alt classes will be sure to be represented. If the Government of Great Britain can be trusted without the inter position of the veto, why may not the United States be cntiusted with the Senate ol the United States f I have looked down upon both bodies while In session, and I must say, white I have no desire to bestow any unmerited eukuy on the Americans, that the House and Seuato Is lully equal to the House of Lords and Commons oi' Great Bi Hain. In all the elements that go to make up the wise aud eloqueut i-.nd brilliaut delibera tive assembly, we stand their peers, equal In every respect. tCheers.) It those may be trusted, why uot these? A man told me, when In England, that be loved and honored as was Queen Victoria, if she should venture to veto a measure alter it had been reeuiarly passed by thj House of Commons and House of Lords, it would come near costing her her crown; and yet in this country jour President can thwart your House of Representatives, your Congress, at every turn with his veto; aud we acquiesce. What a mighty handy set of people generally 1 (Sensation.) Another thing I would have done that is, to abolish his pardoning power. Let us have the pardon, certainly, but let the President have less to do with it. I am in tnvor of limiting his power at this point. The same argument resorted to against tbe veto is pertinent as against this par.iouiag power. During the past year it has been a com with which to traffic in treason, to win j ersonul friends and co-operation aud alliance, instead ot loyal obtdience to the laws of the laud ; lot us uavu done with this pardoning power. 1 am also for aboli.-hing secret diplomacy, as another Government weakness. You canuot Lei haps it is not necessary you should know ow that is managed. It is a power in the hands ot a bad President and a bad Cabinet for he will be sure to have abad Cabiuet, be cause he could not get a good one -and this nation might be conducted into the jajvsof a terrible war, and be perfectly helpless. We caunot pay when the nation is to bo at war, and tho aiicrnative may be presented at any time. Unwilling tbat our country should be beuten. wc resort to arms under the inspiring motto ot "Our countrv, right or wrong." t In England when tho Prime Minister is neg j. tinting with foreign powers, any member of the Cabinet who stands in tbe House ot Com mons, and any other member, can rise in his place, and demand to know of that Cabinet Minirter what is the policy of Government towaids Fiance, towards America. Russia, or towards any other power, pnd tbat minister must nnswer affirmatively, negatively, or evasively, and often the evasive au-wer 'ts the most expressive; but hero iu this country, our Executive, with his Cabinet sitting awny oil' in another house, carrying on its private corres pondence, may conduct us to the verge of a ter rilic war, ar.d we nro perfectly helpless. Another thing in our system ot government I am lcr abolishing is the Vice-Presidency of tne United States. We have had bad luck with Vice-Presidents. (Laughter and cheer.) There is no sort of necessity lor electing Vice-Presidents. When we elect a President, there is no necessity tor a ready made President at all, no more than it would be for a wile to have a ready-made husband. "Suflicient uno the day is the evil thereof." We don't need another.. (Cheers and laughter.) How I wonder we ever came to do such thinirs, and ever hit upon the plan or appointing one man President at tho same time we appointed another who shall take his place upon the instant of his death, resignation, or removal. It was done in utter ignorance, apparently, of human nature. The argument agaiust the Vice Presidents is this. Men are men, ambition ie ambition. The Presidency is a tempting bauble, like the crown of a monarch; is a constant source ot temptation to the ambition ot man; and what do you do when you appoint a Vice President? Why, you appoint a man to stand directly behind the President, aud immediately within striking distance ot him, whose interests, whose ambition, will be instantly subserved bv ihe death of the President, however that death may be brought about. (Sensation.) 1 believe the President of tho United States will sit more securely ahd safely In his chair when the shadow of the Vice-President ceases to fall upon him. Let us have done with the X ice-President. Let us put men's interest and their duties in the same boat. How easy it is in a country like ours to procure an assassin at any time ! There is most sure to be out of every fifty thousand people you can hire one assassin to commit an assassination anywhere. How easy it would be for a clique and a clr.n to surround the Vice-President of tho United States, immediately upon the election of the President, and ascertain from him how far he sympathizes with the President, and learn from him, without making him a party to their in tentions, how he will bestow the patronage of tbe Government in case he comes in possession of the office ot President, and then how easy it would be to procure the men w ho shoull sen! the President staggering to his grave 1 I don't want a President to be exposed lo this danger; it is a most striking and Instructing fact, that of all tbe Vice PiCsidents we have hud, not one of them who hussucceeded a dead President ever followed in the footsteps of tiielr predecesf or. (Cheers.) No ! John Tyler did not; you know about that as well as I d . llarriron was the first mau elected suspected of enti-rtainlnc anti slavery proclivities. lis did not hold bis office lor-a month and was followed by a man with a policy diametrically opposed to that of the man with whom ho was elected. Geu. Taylor was elected with Mil'ard Fillmore. As toon as it was rumored that he would not favor paying Tejas lor Lcr claim upon Nev Mexico, and that he wa? in favor of California coniiue into the Union as a free State, if she desired it, tbe man whom tbe bullets of Mexico I could not kill died, to give his place to a North ' cm sy cophant, whose name is louud at tho bot tom of tLe Fugitive Slave bill. A ndiew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln were elected upon the same ticket, and tbe latter i holds his seat to-day by virtue of the assassina tion ot the roimer. lu my belief, tne man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln knew Andrew Johnson then as wc know him now. (Great and enthusiastic applause.) It is well enough, perhaps, tbat you should have tomebody to fill the Presidential chair. What is this chair? Can vou make an execu tive? It will be easy luthis country of switc fravelliug to get together the Congress of the United Stat s, and appoint some man to act as President until such timo as he can be elected by the people. If we could have a vacant chair tor six weeks, while the President was swinging arcuud the circle, I thiuk we could afford to have it vacant for six days. But if the President commits high crimes aud miteleuieanors, we have the power in our own Ijat-ds; we cap impeach, 1 wish, we could ! (laughter and cheers.) At the very mention 0 impeachment, Wall street turns pale. It brings the President before us In a more power lul attitude. The Commander-in-Chief of tho Army and Navy, he then comes before us, master ot fleet and aimy, wtih the purse and sw ord in his band, and the necessity of getting a two-thirds vote. The President here outweighs ft majority almost makes a two-tbtrd vote kick the beam. You must have two-thirds in the House and two-thirds in ihe Senate besides. You nave rot to get ahead of him some way or another, lie is, as Andrew Jackson once said, a co-ordlnato branch of the Government. He is sworn to support the Constitution, not asyott understand Its requirements, but as he understands them. I hardly deem it possible to make an amend ment to the Constitution, to remove from the office as soon as jou hve no power to command; then secure tne sold ers, and bold the Com-mander-ln Chief of the Army and Navy. You bad better think twice before yon act In this matter. It Is a might t easy thing to say to the Senate, Impeach ihe President. What we want Is not the impeachment of the President, but a limitation of the one-roan power. We want hlm rluiply to be s.n executive officer, and not a leKlslative officer. (Cheers.) I Intended to call your attention for a mon cnt to tbe gieatt aneer which now threatens this Government and this country; it is in the Constitutional AmeudmenU I think it is but a shade ditlerent Horn thtt submitted by Andrew Johnson himself, it is a mean, contemptible, base, and most ungrateful betrayal by the people's loyal representatives of your only irieiids .at the South during the war. It leaves to each of these Rebel States the right to deter mine whether or not the black man shall have any political lights af all Shame on Congress If she admits asiuele Rebel State upon the adoption of that amendment I You are silent now. I wish to. Gnd that you American people could hato as yon love. 1 wish you could hite a little now, and there was some honest Indignation here. (Applause.) You would saennce your 'nendj to make peace with your enemies, but 1 wish we could only go back to the time of trial ami hardship la this war; there was a time when the black man was somebody ; when Rebel armies were in the field bold and deilant, then there was room underthe American flag tor all iu defenders. (Great cheerins.) Stand by that macbless old hero of Pennsyl vania, Tbad. Stevens; uphold the hands in the House of jour gallant Judge Kelley (cheers); rebuke the fallen rs; strike down tbe on-man power everywhere (ctcers); make your Gov ernment lean to the people, and away Irom the individual or the one-man power: and in pro portion as you do this, you make sure the per manence, prosperity, and glory of this great lepublic. (Enthusiastic cheering.) CURTAINS, SHADES, ETC. RICH LACE CURTAINS. lb-3 Subscribers have now in Stock, ard are fo leiviug fioiu Uio late AUCTION SALES IN NEW YORK, Nottingham Lace Curtains, . From Ordinary to Rich Style. French Lace Curtains, From the Lowest to the Highest Quality, some el them the RICHEST MADE. ILSO, Vestibule Lace, Embroidered Muslia Curtains, Jacquard Muslin Curtains, and Curtain Muslins in great variety SHEPPARD.VAN HA8LINGEN&ARR1SDK 9 14 wfni6mrp Ko. 1008 CHESJICT Street. FURNITURE, BEDDING, ETC. MERRY C H11ISTM AS AND A HAPPY hEW YEAR. COULD & CO., UNION 1 UHNlTUItK DEPOT, CORNER NINTH AND MARKET STiLEBTS. AND Kos. 37 and 39 North SECOND Street, I (vpposue vuruti urea Invite all t heir old curtiiiners, and as manj- new one as will come, to see their elegant and large assortment of FTJItSllt'Ri.,taituLk' tlr prceeuts or otherwise. 210 5p TO HOUSEKEEPERS JL. I have a larne iiock ot every variety ot FUltNITUUE Which I will sell at redocea prices, consisting oi PLAIN AND MAkbLiS TOP COTTAGE Bl'lTB WALNUT CH AS) htM fClTB. l'AKLOK SLllh IK VELV.T PI.TJ8H PAH LO It SUITS IN U4IH CLOTH. PAllLOK HITS I'M UK PS. Ktdeboardt, Ki tension Tables, Wardrobe , bookcase Uattresaes, Lounges, ete etc. V. 1. OTTSTINE 61J K.E. corner SKCONO and BAUJC streeu. J)STABLIS1IED A. S. RODINSON, French Flato Looking-Glasaos, ENGRAVINGS PAINTINGS DRAWINGS' E1Y. Manufacturer of all kinds ol LOOKING-GLASS, FORTH AIT, AND PICTURE. FRAMES TO ORDER. No. 910 CHKSNUT STREET TH1BD DOOR ABOVE THE CONTISESTAL, "niiAnsLPHi 1 1 AUCTION SALES. PANCOAST & WARNOCK AUCTIONEERS), MB No i40 MARKET HtTert. B. SCOTT, JR., AUCTIONEER, Ko. IViO CllESM'T BTltKET. CLOblSU BALE OP MODERN OIL PAINTINGS. M , IbU Kvenlnir. Janukry 4. 1867, at H o'clock, at Scott a Art (iailery. Xo.lOVU Che-Kiiui atieet will be odered about two hundred and fl tt Modem em Pirinnnga, embracing every variety ot iutiject, and all elegantly mounted in rlcb sold-leai Uamt. bale pobltively without re erve. LM TTNlTED STATES RKVKNDK STAMPS KJ Principal Depot, No. a4 CHEhNCT Sireer. Central Depot, No. lul 8. FIF I'H street one door below CheHuut. KelablUlied IStii. Revenue Stamp, of every dvncriptlon Constantly on hand In any amount. Ordcru bv Mall or Express promptly attended to. UNITED STATES REVENUE STAMPS Principal I'epot, Ko. 804 HKSSCr Street Central Depot, K o. lug 8. ri If 1 11 Street one Coot below Chenut FtabliLed lH6i. Rerenne Btarope ot every de.crlpilou comtantU on band In any amount vu ordei by Mall or Kxpreii prompt' attended to,
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