. •
Y , C
•
t
M 0N
TRi , sE
DEMOCRAT..
A. J. GERRITSON,Usher. I
CONGIfSSIONL ADDRESS!
You bare not, as good Patriots should do, studied
Rho public good, but;your particular rude ;
Factious among yourselves, preferring tacll
fbrofflota and donors, at neer ?wad
The ekmente of saring4rolicy ;
Ikrr DEEPLY 88111.11 D IN ALL TUX routatrtra 5
Tatar MIKE TO DESTROCTIoIti 1"
—2lmaleca to the Clams 01-Ammer
AN ADDRESS
To the People of The tinned State% and
Particularly_ ' to the People of the
States which adhere to the Federal
Government.
[Concluded.]
DANGERS BEYOND THE WAR.
Bat other' dangers menace us under Re
publican rule, even if success in the war
be secured. And as these, in a still great
er - degree than'those already mentioned,
deserve careful and calmest attention, we
proceed ,to state them distinctly.
OPPRESSIVE GOVIIIIN32ENT.
If already we have experienced the ar
bitrary disposition and unlawful practices
of our rulers, what may we not experi
ence after some time has elapsed, and
military success renders them still more
insolent, If their assaults upon law and
upon rights be so numerous and flagrant
while they are subjected to opposition
and struggling to maintain their position
against an open foe, what may nut ex
pect when all constraint upon them is re
moved? In considering what they have
already done in opposition to liberty and
Lawful rule, we may exclaim, "If these
things be done in the green tree, what
shall be done in the dry ?" Let no one
be deceived by the assertion, that the ar
bitrary and evil acts of the administra
tion indicate but a temporary policy, and
are founded upon necessities which can
not long exist. Not only is the excuse
that the policy of ,the administration is
necessary in view of the public interests,
false in point of fact, it is equally untrue
that if unopposed, if not put down, it will
bo of short duration and expire with the
war. If it be unnecessary now to do un
lawful things and trample upon individu
al rights in adhering communities, the
saineinetended necessity will exist here
after. Will it not be as necessary to up
hold arbitrary government, in order to
prevent renewed revolt, as it is to sup
port arbitrary government in order to
subdue existing rebellion Y When did a
ruler who had deprived his country of
their, liberties volqptarily restore them?
That people who will accept excuses for
tyranny, will always be abundantly sup
plied with theta by their rulers, and es
pecially will they be furnished with this
argument of necessity which will expend
itself to the utmost requirement of des
potic power under all circumstances.
Our ancestors who settled this country
and established the government of the
United States, fortunately (lid not admit
the doctrine of necessity, but proceeded,
under the guidance of a most wise and.
just policy, to tie up the hands 'of official
powet by constitutional limitations, by
checks and balances established in the ve
ry framework of government, and by in
culcating among the mass of the people,
in whom was to be lodged the ultimate or
sovereign power, a profound respect for
all- private rights and for the laws by
which they are secured and vindicated ;
and we will well to act upon their pol
icy arid ftillow , in their footsteps. They
trod the.ioad of safety and made it plain
before all:succeeding generations, and we
will be•recreant to our duty and false to
our lineage; if we surrender the princi
ples to which they held, or permit our
selves to:beAeceived-by those argumenta
of power which' they despised and reject
ed.
Success itself in the odious power now
urged by the administration, of the Et&
jagation of one-third or more of the states
of the Union, were it. possible; could be so
only at the. price of the liberty of the
whole Country ; for our system _ -Would not
admit of military rule over them.. Nem ,
rarity populations, withitt them. must con
duct local goverimments, and exercise the
proper proportion of, power pertaining to
them in the le ederal government. losbo
thetopoM not lie held as conquered terri
tories unless we should, Change our whole
constitutional system IA abamion alto
get*. cox 7:exp!rituent of freedom; and
thee thee. imperative` heitessity of
changing Ilk iisue betwrein Ihitittetions
from One of conquest to one ofretttoration.
Men taust,be chosen for public; station
who sip know how to Bart:I:to Whleedittg
country3ll4;4w left, and restore' What is
lost, by securing" peace on. constitutional
and Just terms:
cossurr
Another danger., to be? considered
corrnptoomlurrent, •the'necessary con
sequence Of arbitrary principles practical.
/ Y 40 1 4.AncAn*Txu!l'eri. t*° l _riler
rather an ru*3lls4,Tra.S. riot e.
ineeis&of otllikrslif -all-bran,* of
the public service''' the administration of
a grekrtubleolldeln, inArictiri the
a g e Taiti fp) , teidne systk4kPf giMtic
ProPOltlo%-,;rilr create mumer l OPe., aveil
nea 44 rTIV§' 16 , 0 ild 14 0, 11 thke,Our. i .„l!W
metit te: r xiduurreiteled.`UpOn prAcipivp:4
corereioniAtianst • necessanly=itsadiiiii•
large.ouraherapf persons in order to
tain its authority. It is ever thttsibst
strong governments, as they are called,
must be gp rru p t ones, and the interests of
the great mass of the people be sacrificed
to the interests of classes or individuals.
A wily free government, where the au
thority of the rulers is supported by th# free
uncoerced action of the people; where
the laws are kept in perfect good faith
and individual ngbts perfectly respected,
is the only one which can be pure.
INSECURITY
But itisequally true, that a free govern
ment, not one free in form merely, but in
fact, is the most secure, both as regards
danger from external force, and from in
ternal convulsion. If it be established for
a.people tot base minded, but civilized
_ t r y
and honorable, it will impart to th en
ormous force foe resisting foreign res
sion, while it preserves them from i ' ern
e! revolt. Unquestionably, under ordina
ry conditions, the government is most se
cure which is most free. But in the hands
of a sectional party, the future of the
country is not secure. Not only is the
danger of renewed revolt a possibility of
the future; but the dangers of "albteirrn
war are immensely increased. A diftffee
ted population weakens the government
in resisting invasion, and if such disaffec
tion be sectional, then the countrrhas a
weak part through which a foreig,n foe
may strike its effectual and fearful blows.
C0RR17171017 OF RACE.
A still morn important consideration re
no Sins. to be stated. We mean the social
question—the question of the relations
of race—with which our rulers are so lit
tle fitted to deal, and upon which such ex
treme offensive and dangerous opinions
are held by their prominent supporters.
Whatever may be determined tut ;to the
negro race amonst us, it is manifest it is
unfitted to participate in the exercise of
political power, and that its incorporation
socially, and upon a principle of equality
with the mass of our countrymen, consti
tutes a danger to which all other dangers
are insignificant.' We suppose the men
who established suffrage in this country,
and from time to time have subjected it
to new regulation, proceeded °redo the
principle of vesting it in those who were
Sued for its exercise. Political powers
being in their nature conventional, it is
proper that they be established upon a
basis of utility and convenience, and in
such manner that they will not b e subjec
ted to abuse. Pursuing the same line of
action pursued by our fathers, suffrage is
to be withheld from those members of the
social body who are manifestly - unfit to.
exercise it, and whose participation there
in must necessarily lead to abuse. Mani
festly, a race of mankind who cannot sup
port free institutions, regular govern- I
meat, productive industry, and it high de
gree of civilization, of themselves, acting
in an independent capacity, are unfit for
performing the functions of freemen in
conducting the business of government
amongst us. The argument of equality
of rights of all men fails in their case, be
cause of the absence of the conditions up
on which:it is founded. In' the organiza
tion of a state, it is manifest; that the so
cial body cannot be identical with the yr
litical; the vast number comprised with
in the former are not to be inclbded in
the latter. We do not, in this country,
include females, minors, unnaturailzsd for
eigners, particular criminals, nor the in
sane, among those who exercisethe right
of suffrage. Incapacity or unfitness ex
ists, to a greater or less extent, with all
these extensive divisions of human' beings,
and the same ground of exclusion precise
ly exists In the case cif the negro or other
inferior race, who may be casually or per
manently planed among us. Chmese,Ma
lays, and the uncivilized Indians, fall with
in the same principle of exclusion. There
'is no -reason why general incapacity or in
'stifficient capaciiy for electoral action,
should be ignored in the case of one of
'these classes and not in the other. Oar
governments were established by white
men -and for ;white ipen and their. posteri
ty forever, and it is:lns,-the common ad
vantage of ailliCaTes an cOnditiOns of hu
'man beings, that the exclusion of the in
ferior races from suffrage' should be per
manently continued. 'Thus. otil,y van this
great experiment of freedom begun by our
ancestors and continued by.us, be carried
forward successfully, and be made to aci
pcmplish the great and beneficent results .
Of which it it capable.
Bat the/mein' aspect of this subject of
the "relations ofrace," is equally impor ,
taut with the political, and hitituately us
sociated with it. It. is of thii highest pol
icy, it ,is of the greatest necessity, that
the races should „be kept,,distinct, social
ly ; that:thershistild •not blend together
to their mutual 'Corruption and destruc
tion. If an example' Wexp peeded Au ad
monish us upon tfilaliigh .poi!iof Pulley,.
it would be furnished, by'„,lbe, Spanish
AmeriCan Republica , who have ' rani, their
troubled and inglorious career under our
1 observation, and whose ;I - ionic - condition
I may well awaken the-pity r ior contempt of
mankind. Tlie-• Erpaniaril' bf- - the New
World ';' bad 'cpo,t: eelf-yea t:AllgOgblii
keep - bi r miekimounuviiinated(lmM:thane.
Igro and Indiaucaud be;infliemxtßefi;bla
19616141the.Milieisiorb,eiiMaaitAp
iiirgilti;b o o l- ; their'cic#l4' 4t.titsi 41 .1 k 3
644' degnilieil'in4omoned . be . yon app
iiiiwltoppr4clitOlTOilgbout all those
11 , wa3ve.eouutries brOughtimdex control
MO,NTROSE, PA., THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 1864.
by the arms or policy of the Spanish
crown, and which within the present cen
tury and in imitation of our qxample,have
assumed republican forms of government,
this disregard of natural law, this ignor
ing of the differences of race, has been the
prolific cause of the social and political
evils which scourge and afflict those un
happy countries. Social vices prevail to
a fearful extent : society is enfeebled and
eaten out by them ; there is no steady
productive labor, no increase of popula
tion, no uniform and just administration
of law, but constant revolutions and inse
curity of all those rights, ' which govern
ments are established to and de
fend.
OPPOSITION TO BE OROUIZED
In view of the foregoing considerations
and of many others which might be men
tioned, an appeal for popular action a
gainst the evils of the time and the dan
gers which threaten us, must be thought
timely and proper. The sure restoration
of the Union and of a true administration
of our system of constitutional govern
ment, await the success of a great opposi
tion party actuated by just aims, ana in
spired by an earnest, patriotic determina
tion to save the country and perpetuate
its liberties.
The idea of ignoring party in the ac
complishment of great public objects, can
not be accounted one of wisdom. Great
masses of men in a free country can act
usefully and steadily only through some
organism which combines their power and
gives it direction. Without organization
their strength (all powerful when concen
trated,) is dissipated and consequently
wasted, and the adventurous few seize
upon the powers of the government and
pervert them to their own sinister de
signs.
No truth is more certain than this,that
the destructive elements of society, (for
instance fanaticism and rapacity by both
of which we are now' allbeted,) can be
held in permanent check in a republic, on
ly by uniting patriotic and just men
against them an some enduring mein
tion, which shall act steadily and power=
fully upon government and preserve it in
its due course.
The problem for ns now to solve is this:
Are the people of the United States com
petent to organize themselves in defense
of their free system of government and
volfintary union, or must they resort to . a
dictator, armed with large powers, who
will crush faction and restore peace and
union at the sacrifice of liberty P Evil in
the State will not die out, if left to itself.
Some instrument adequate to its extirpa
tion must be sought and found, is the di
rection of either dictatorial or popular
power.
Instead of looking to a dictator, to the
despotic principle, to a strong executive
government of large and concentrated
powers, those who have faith in our Amer
ican principles will look to the people,and
will seek to rouse and organize them and
direct their united strength against the
evils of ,the time. Thus we believe the
nation 'gay be saved, and saved by itself,
and be prepared to resume its career of
prosperity rudely interrupted by the war.
A great opposition party, made strong
enough to carry the elections-of 1864, is
now the appropriate instrument for na
tional redemption, and its success will be
the triumph of free government and will
extricate us from the jaws of destruction.
That the party of the ..administration is
both vicious and incapable, has been most
abundantly proved and ought no longer
to be denied. It, has failed to restore the
Union after three years of trial, though
possessed of all the powers.' of govern
ment and of all the resources of the coun
try. Aud meantime it has struck heavy
blows at liberty, and is carrying us away
from all the old landmarks of policy and
administration. We are literally drifting
toward destruction, with the knowledge
that those who have charge of our vessel
of State are unfit to direct its coarse.
But there is yet' time , to avert much of
calamity. The future may at least be
: made secure.. To, all who really desire
the Union rektOred, and along with it hon
est, constitutional,governineut, the.appeal
may now .be.ruade to assist in elevating a
party to power which , wilLbe faithful to
the Constitution, which will unite togeth
er the tinfiSti elements of the whole,ootui
try, will 'chastise corruption
r and canati
cism"fraiii the" public iiiimiuiStratiou, and
will securelhe fiitufe from convulsion and
despotisin:
Let the fact sink cle'ep into. the herts
our couiltrymeti, that tile great - alai;
ele to lietice, to fe-tinion, - . taliitegiiti in
pnblic , tiffairs, andlOrthe Ictiewal of prtii ,
perity, iff the 'preientO at the Capital !of
the nation of the chiefs of aAsectional par.
ty, who have been-euccessfulin pluging
.the tation,into ".a sea of .troubles, "and
ivbo-are : both - incapable and unwilling to.
Save it. . , •, 1 •
POLICY i 1:4708iTION.
Havini eßolcan with.jtat fr ee.
dom s oft he admimettatien 1414 of 11.8,00.-
4 04. 6 . 6004, Fe )ndlosite,
the 044 1# . V l : 3 NCl•r*„9P.P 'si
tion, WhO .oatead p", 140, nimatTa T
.1100 for the poiso3Bob t:DRIA'? Javor,,,
• Wihdld'thay,iilt i lavO' ygtittablisbl4 '
Mad
by PericsbOn p 9 1 4,1 1 ,00zi. 1 4 1
the man of the ileoffle: — Dieregaa - Of law
and of rights established and guarantied
by it, is one of the great evils of which
just complaint must now be made. A
change of administration and of party
power, will secure throughout the whole
country subject to our jurisdiction, a just,
faithful and uniform administration of the
laws by the courts and by the President
and his subordinates, and it wilt secure in
the Congress of the U.S. faithful obedience
to the Constitution and an honest con stria).
Lion of the powers conferred by it upon
the legislative authority. The interrup
tion of justice caused by an unnecessary
suspension of the habeas corpus in the un
revolted States will forthwith terminate ;
arbitrary arrests of persons in civil life
will become unknown, and a pretended
necessity overriding justice and right,and
made the pretext for various forms of op
pression and injustice, will disappear be
fore a returning sense of obligation and
duty in our rulers.
In the policy of the Federal Govern
ment, there wilt be no recognition of doc
trines which tend to the social pollution
of the people. Tho profligate and perni
cious theories which, under the garb of
philanthropy and a regard for human
rights, would overthrow the natural bar
riers between different races and wholly
ignore organic laws. of difference between
them, will not be promoted or favored in
the poliey of the government of the Uni
ted States.
There will be an earnest and proper ef
fort made to retrace the steps already ta
ken in debasing the currency of the Uni
ted States by large and unnecessary issues
of paper money ; a system at once unau
thorized and injurious, which impoverish
es the country and distributes the earn
ings of labor to moods that have not earn
ed it, will invite immediate revision an
ultimate removal from the statute book of
the United States.
The troops raised for the public service,
whenever a necessity' for raising them
shall exist, will be rightfully Obtained
through the agency of the State govern
mental and be officered by State authori
ty ; thus securing, in the raising of ar
mies for extraordinary occasions, the true
intent and meaning of the Constitution,
and preserving the armies of the United
States from the undue political e..introl of
the Federal Executive.
The action of the Government in its fi
nancial disbursements and other features
of its administration, will be thrown open
to full investigation, and an earnest effort
be made to purge it in all its branches of
corruption.
Economy of outlay, so much spoken of
by those who now hold power previous to
their election and so little regarded by
them since, will be reinstated in the pine ,
tice of the government as one of the' ell
sential rules of its action.
The doctrine that the States shall pos
sess and exercise all ungranted
. powers,
and shall be free within their jurisdletio'n
from the encroachments of Federal au
thority; shall be rigidly maintained.
The system of public revenue shall be
adjusted so as to bear equally upon all
sections and interests, and the unnecessa
ry increase of officers in collecting it, as
well as in other departments of public
service, shall be avoided.
The exertion of public force in the war
to be exclusively for the object for whieh
the war was begun, to wit : the restora
tion of the Union and the jurisdiction of
our laws over the revolted country ; and
beinc , confined to that object and reliev
ed from the Membranes of other objects,
to be brought to a speedy and honorable .
conclusion.' But further, it may be confi
dently asserted, that au opposition' tri
umph in our elections will call into exis
tence moral forces more- powerful even
than physical force for securing peace up
on the basis of reunion. And it may be
the only means for securing that great
object, hitherto-unrealized, and postponed
and prevented by the policy and incapac
ity of our rulers.
Beside the revision of our domestic poli
cy and the restoration of constitutional
principles therein, the great objects to
which we look; are, the-conclusion of the
war and the just determination of the
.oestiontt conneetedtherewith. The bur;
en of this contest hasbeeome intolerable:
.Patience b'as'beenashibitekly the people
,of the United States to the utmost extent'
of forlocaranoi. They - were told the war .
would-last *day days' ;they ' were told the
South was not united ; they have been de.
laded throughout thelcbatest, tie* more
than tbree.yearain duration, by prblitises
of speedy success ; they have beep `told CO
trust and 'applaud - military ' eldeftims who',
were afterwards retired from service, atiA'
denounced and calumniated by thoseivhn
bad ;inculcated their . praise . ; they haire
,seen-41.. variety of 'enterprises, both by land
' , and water, miscarry outright, or in
securing the objects for Whtoh. they ; were
updertalteti'; !they'heiti teen the prices.of,
all the ti pC¢ikigaries dokrifoits lifel
ti td'enoritiouireatee,' beyond
; 'of all who are not Kehl erAt'oret3t49ol7.
ernment patronage ; they !MO - bge'riAoo7
stantly supplied' sitlf . 'thisp,' ieretriset,lOn
about , e,urreat *eats:* hatte ors'r 7 ,.
ed theth pfeehilies - ,Or SPledYlind:COE 6 o49,
stiocelsa qttite,:unwerr4ted 'l 3 yAil 'O4
ehievettieitta brtheir r,itlers;
.4nd Ire*
' ignore all the real; itidtibilahre'
Original and oreatldt - Itifteh attend*
struggle. l'iltitsMe thing they haie not
been told—one great and important fact
has not been disseminated under Govern
ment censorship, nor appeared anywhere
in official documents—to wit, that success
in the war and the speedy return of peace,
have been all this- time prevented, and.
will be hindered if not prevented hereafter,
by the,evil and, odious policy and the in
capacity of the Administration itself !
These, have united the Aov:p; these, have
nerved the arms of_Sottthbro soldiers in
the field and in foirecki'iihein to united,
earnest, determi ed resitance to our arms;
these, in the dar est, m ments of the con
test, have renderedk ir submission im
possible. They, and Ilittoodalions they
represent, have seen before — theral the al
ternative of complete Independence on the
one hand, as the possible result to be
achieved by valor, - Skill, and endurande,
and on the other, as the result of submis
sion,-confiscation, emancipation, disgrace,
and the iron rule of the conqueror ; and
vietting their position as presenting only
a chbice between these results, they have
girded themselves up to herculean and
desperate efforts and still stand defiant and
unbroken.
It is not for us to foretell the future,
but it is possibte to conceive its dangers
and to make reasonable provision against
them. Certainly, it is possible for the
people of the United States, by selecting
new rulers, to put their public
war,
eluding this business of the war, upon a
new footing—to remove the main obstacle
to peace and reunion, which has impeded
their great efforts hitherto, and rendered
their sufferings and sacrifices unavailing
for the object for which they were incurr
ed. This is the great and necessary work
to be done by them in regaining the road
of safety, and to its performance they are
earnestly invited. . -
When the members of the present-lt
ministration are removed It Qtr. _power %
and pattiotiC and jtist men are made to fill
their places, the people of the adhering
sections of the country will have done their
part in removing the cause of war and the
obstacle to peace, and will be represent
ed by men competent alike to conduct
war and to secure peace, who will call in
to existence, for the redemption and re
union of the country, moral ' influence
more potent than physical force, and who
will achieve their mission before exhaus
tion and intolerable' suffering have been
incurred.
nscoxsrntrcrioN
The proflositions which should obtain
in the reconstruction oftbe onion are ant
difficult of statement, and when contrast
ed with the policy of the Administration
will appear to peculiar advantage.
The first is, that' the States shall stand
as before the war, except as to changes
Which may be agreed upon between or
among them. The- Constitution. of the
United Statesis the rightful and only bond
.of union for the States composing the
'Confederacy, and it is, in its full integrity,
Until the patties who are bound bye
shall change its terms Or add to it new
provisions. Any other doctrine is revolu
tionary and destructive and to be utterly,-
rejected. whether founded upon Presid
ential proclamations or statutes enacted
by Congress.' The powers of the Federal'
'Government in all its branches are con
fined within the provisions of the Constitu
tion and cannot transcend them. Theft
fore the Constitution as it is, including its
power of regular amendment, is the lead
ing doctrine of the great party which pro
poses to save the nation in this the day of
its sore trial. Let the false and guilty
doctrine that thee. President of the United.
States by proclamation, or the Congress,
thereof by Statute, can prescribe, alter, add
to or dimmish..the conditions of anion be
tween the States be discarded at once and
forever, and most of the difficulties which
appear to attend the question of recon
struction will wholly , disappear. Those
departments of the GaVernmeni are con
fined to particular legislative and execu
tive duties, and cannot touch or' determine
the relations Of the States with each oth
er. That field of power is sacred to, the
'great organized communities by „whom
the Union was formed and by whom alone
it can be' subjected to modification, of
change. ' have fought; to retkore the
Union, not to' change it, much. less to
subvert its flinflamental''principies,. and
the adconiplishinent . of its testoratienla .
the compensathip . ?rept* CO our
selv for'all` the 'cost and . eacritlees of the
struggle. ' • • I. •
' Bet-who is inMostible'Presi•
dent orto Convicts it iicoMpOtent for the
,States, in' their sovereign capacity, by free
mutual' Cons4me; tit the pre 4 per, time, to per
,'• '!'.• •
The . Anieri&tirSiites required a com
pact of union to go id/rough the war of
the Revolution,. grad it was . made. Sub
they required an amended coma
pact,
_creatinga more ioittnate , union, to
eeetire,p) them the fruits of independence
WPM, their deliberations (make , tatter
pecaaie,a resoltedithat most
Instrument, the Constitution of Abe
.112faited States, underlvhtelfthe Republio
boa existettat:a prospered fOrinbre 1 than
Reventy•yezir33-'1 I And , hoW,linder our Oar.
perience of mvolt and war andmisgovOit
meat, ite• inay toe:include:that miditliniai
y t ecurkigia:fot liberty mid Zeidit should be
establia*diwthe lundamentertaivi a Ihit
these securities must consist of libittatione
1 rather than of extensions of Federal au-
VOLUME XXI. NUMBER 34.
. a
thority, and must not invade those fields
of tower which were left sacred to State
jurisdiction in the original scheme of
Union.
The Constitution should provide against
the uncontrolled domination of sectional
parties, South or North, hr the Govern
ment of the, United States, as the most
indispensable and vital regulation possible
for our safety and continued existence as
a Republic. , We refer upon this point to
our remarks at the beginning of the pre
sent address, as exhibiting the grounds
upon which this most important prciposi
tiOrrmaK stand, and as illustrating its
utility and necessity beyond all cavil or
question. An adequate, real, and efficient
check in Government, securing a balance
of power between political interests, is
unquestionably the highest and most im
portant point in c6nstitutional science ;
and it is most evident that because our
system has been found defective in this
particular, we are now involved in war
and scourged by misgovernment in its
most intolerable, odious and lawlessfoims.
The checks already provided in our Con
stitutiontnd which have been so salutary
in their action and influence upon the
Government, must be supplemented by
some proper provision which shall more
perfectly perform the office and function
for which they were designed. For it is
now proved amid the blood and tears of
this nation, that all balance in opr Govern
ment may be lost and all its ff2eliecks be
found insufficient to curb the insolence
and guilt of faction and secure obedience
to those fundamental principles of liberty,
law, and right, which were established by
our fathers. We are at war, and blood
flows, and wealth is wasted, and fanati
cism runs riot, and the Constitution is
broken, and we are bowed down by bit
ter grief and sorrow in all our homes, be
cause a sectional •faction rules the Gov
ernment of the United States, free from
restraint, or curb, or limitation ofitspow
ers. And it should be made impossible
that this condition of things can again
exist, after we have- once extricated
ourselves from the grasp of calamity.
There should also be a judicious limita
tion upon the distribution of Federal pat
ronage. The prodigious growth and pre
present extent of that patronage in official
appointments, constitutes a fertile source
of corruption and danger. Nearly the
whole mass of Federal appointments are
poised every four years upon a presiden
tial election, intensifying and debasing the
struggle for power, tand sowing the seeds
of corruption broadcast throughout the
land. Parity, economy and justice in
government becomes almost impossible un
der this system, and their restoration and
maintenance demand its amendment. A
change by which the great body of public'
officers would hold for fixed terms, and
be removable only for lawful cause, would
be one of great merit and wisdom, and is
among the most desirable objects to be
sought in' our public policy. •
Another, proposition pertaining to re
construction is that as to individuals there
shall be amnesty except for particular
offences. All the excesses of a state of war
t i l
cannot be vi '
itea with judicial punish—
ment. Both cessity and policy require
that, at the co elusion of such a struggle,
the mantle of oblivion shall cover the
past..,.. A nation torn by civil war demands.
repose at its conclusion, that society may
be reorganized and that the passions and
demoralization produced by war may dis
appear before the renewed action of moral
forces.
i• Laws of confiscation and treason
loaf be politic and necessary to prevent
insurrection or to check it in the outset,
but they become inappliable when revolt
has ripenqil into public war, and one
entire people are organized against anoth
er. Penal enactments when directed
against a whole population are odious and
useless, and their tendency is to prolong
and intensify war,and to embarrass or pre
vent its just conclusion. Their office sate
chastise individual offenders witbin.Gov
ernment jurisdiction, and not entire com
munities contending for independence or
other pnbliii object.. The laws of war
necessarily and properly obtain between
parties to a war pending the contest, and
displace-or supersede those of municipal
enactment. „Amnesty therefore, within
the Unfit of public safety, follows of course
the termination of such a contest as that
in, which Iv are now engaged.
,It may be added that j
clear ustice re
quiro,that'Unioniota who have fled from
the revolted country should be restored
to their estates," and that the particular
wrongs inflicted upon them should as far
as, possible be redressed.
, W'el'haVnitins taken notice of several
giestiona , :connected with the subject of
rfeconstraetion!and indicated our views
i them.:;!Hciw much opposed those
views are to the policy of the Administra
tion •willappaer_upon the most cursory ex
amindtion. !q'hey point •to the determina
ting `and settlementfof disputes upon a
just a/mid...reasonable basis, and to• the
security'l-of.the iiognoragainst the re
nurrence of war hereafter ; while the poll
cy;of the Administration points to a sim
ple alternetive between the 'subjugation
end jphpendence. of :the...South. If we
succeed in the war, we have a conquered
[See 4th page.]
• A CONTRAST