American citizen. (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, November 01, 1865, Image 2

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    • ret'i?r yf Tfre Boldfer. We 5S U glatefili
peajde, as is eviDeed by the fact that we
1 i;tvo tendered homes to twogcnerals, and
have made provisions for the families ot
gome who have die 1. And wo ore a re
ligious people, 1 ' tug ol us what the
world calls orthodox, that the
un-. inverted soul is punishod after death ;
bat nnttrftHstatrrßng these high qualities,
the majority of the people ol Philadel
phia v, • iid rather, during the whole war,
have M'UU (he colored population so just
ly inlLiiant; tlmt, instead of the eleven
i«gim«nt« they gave us atOatnp William
Penti, (applause,) they would not have
given us a man; would rather sec the
-iltlt and woupded suffer; would rather
be branded by the world as harshly un
grati'.fiit t® the maimed soldiers of the
Republic ; anil would rather see the
..iwiiing pit ol hell i warm with new-born
demons, than the sanctity of our street
cars should 1 • pr< faued by the presence
>f a colored clirgytpan hastening to bap
tiss-j a dying infant, or a pious wile or
lather hurrying to a hospital to sanctify
the last moments of her dying husband
or s ! (Applause.)
This Is the melancholy truth. There
is no denying it; there is no concealing
it. There is not a man among us—-un
less it be on# liko myself, who has been
accustomed to riding in the cars ol other
cities, whore all races rids together —-
who does not fuel something of a prejudice
on this subject. If you come to Wash
ington, the capital of your country, you
will get used to riding in the cars with
God's children of every complexi n. I
make no arraignment of my native city.
1 love her. 1 cherish her i ■ itjl fit ■ vir
tues I boast of Philadelphia fit all
times; but 1 cannot help seeing her
weaknesses. I cannot help seeing that
she if immensely hypocritical, whun she
talks about the importance of getting re
ligious instruction to igiiorant and dying
people, and will allow every ifliito fctrum
pet and thief whose Crime famishes them
with the lucaUH of paying a fare tori le
in a car, and will, as she has recently
done, turn out the colored clergyman and
other pious people hastening on the lioli
«st errands of philanthropy and Christ-,
ianity. (Applause).
Are we npt, in all this traitors to our
own cause aud principles? An: we no!
giving aid and comfort to our etienr s.—
thos* who are not yet willing to accept
the truths of the I'eelnfiltiOn I lude
pendenoe, or be citizens of truly demo
cratic States ? I pray you reform it ;d
--togethcr, and secure your own rights by
p oteetirig those of the humblest citizen
<it the Commonwealth. Make him >O
- and your own rights can never be
infringed.
Th:- not a mere abstract suggestion.
It i- tiie practical qUQStion of the, day.—
The government of the insurgent dit
tric'u are to be reorganized. When
States are organized, they must bo dis
tricted upon the'census of IX6O, and
they ran only be restored to " their prac
tical relations to the T'nion" (to borrow
an exi.re-wiou from our lato lamented
Pr::-i lent) by the admission of their
representatives into the Congress of the
t nit: I .States; aud the only manner in
which v hi can maintain your right to
citui-nsl'ii and to froe travel over the
million of Square miles of territory, is
t . >ge that their governments arc organ
i/,ed in harmony with thotruth that all men
are C'IUHI hofore the law, arid those pro
visions oi' tho Constitution wliieh guar
antee the right of citizenship to tho
utiions of each and every State, and
!lit l right of freedom nf speech and of
llio press Can wedo this? V CM !
J?ut yi>u say that President .Johnson
celled only upon the white pcoplo of
lie insurrectionary districts to reorgan-
,/fl Pra'tts troftronnnants. ] grant it; and
while J doootontbatnccountdoubthispa-
; . 'Min, or assort that bo has made a mis
take, I know that 1 would not have done
just so, (Applause.) If the people to
wliom ho lias committed the charge have
thi> wisdom and sense to frame truly re
publican Constitutions, they Trill not only
.vi ml irate his wisdom, bi;t gratify his per
sonal wishes, for his democracy is broad
■enough to embrace mankind. But you
ask what would you have done '! I would
-have maintained military government
Jong onoogh to have come to understand
the people, and let them understand their
new relations to the government some
what. I would at the proper time, have
had an enrolment of tho people made. 1
would have had the oath administered
to the whole people, and in doubtful ca
ses would have taken testimony as to the
loyalty of those who took tho oath. When
i had ascertained who veto loyal, I would
cither, m accordance with Congressional
provision to be made in tho mcrtnwhile,
or in the method which has been & 1 opt id
•by Prosidcnt Johnson, have called upon
iho loyal peop.e to elect delegates to a
convention to frame a constitution.—
This would have been in accordance with
ancient precedent; so far as precedent
exists, for the Fathers recognized every
man who fought and paid taxes as a cit
izen
I'ou can nowhero find in tho Constitu
tijn anything like a discrimination l>o
tween white and black. When it was
fcdopted.the colored freemnti was a voter
iu every State in tho Union except South
.Carolina. It is denied that he was such
in Virginia uud Dataware, where the ex
ercise of suffrage was regulated by legis
lative provision : but tlieir Bills of Rights
'•overed the case, and I have proof, nbun
■unut an l perfect, that negro suffrage was
practised in Delaware. It never was
til a ant b>' our fathers of the Revolution
ary aud Constitutional era that freemen
should be excluded from the exercise of
suffrage by reason of color. I would,
-thereforQ, have gone baok to Revolution
ary tiuir.-i for my precedent ; I would have
taken the Declaration of Independence
and lliS Constitution of the United
Sttftes ns'niy guide; and would have al
lowed ail loyal mon over twonty-one years
of age to vote. (Applause.)
V'ou may say that the President lias
•übii' : Ua<3 the question to tho pardoned
Rebels. 1 grant you that he has, and I
fear, ns I have already said that in this
be has made a mistake ; but, if so, it is
apt, necessarily a fatal «ne. If those
gentlemen should be »o far enlightened as
ti fashion constitutions giving tho suf
frage to every titan, white pr colored, who
•MID read .-or ri'ifl and write, I shall take
110 exception, because ever.y man anion™
Ity eau,
year,
ed pcopl« sit «itli humility ntjhe feet. 01
any child, or man or ivi'unti, who will
teach Uiem. It' thq whites who have
been reared 1 in Ignorant'®, and taught
that oil hibof ii disgraceful and odiicatioh
unnecessary, will not learn, let them be
excluded with' hi ark men who may choose
to remain in ignorance. •' •- •
If the colored citizens do not learn when
the opportunity shall bo afforded, le"
them be excluded, but lot the law be just
and its restrictmns apply rrjSally to all
Men who are ignorant can learn : IHOB
who are poor, if we Reruns their right,
to jicrjuiis laud by. purchase and undiir
the iumiestead law in tlie South, eau and
will i Cfjuite wealth. Whatever. there-
Core, be the wile, let it.l repeat apply to
all. v Applause.) I would, were tlie
matter submitted to me, give the poor and
ignorant the right to vote; the strong,
the wise, the wealthy man, can take care
of himself. It i* the poor and the in
norimt who need the suffrage to protect
thoineclvos. >' t-
Agriu, throw the mass qf the poor and
ignorant people in tbo voting population,
ami'the wise, the wealthy, the powerful,
will We that they must establish a sys
tem of public education ; for if they al
low ignorance and vice, to prevail around
them, ignorance and vice uiay legislate
away their rights and property. Thus
it is that the North lakes it* poor child
ren from the gutters and the pnrlies of
tho city and educate* them : and those
who enter our schools in poverty and
wuakucsa often leave with minds enlight
eued and enlarged, and finally goto the
grave uicn ol wealth, their ifames and
honorable achievements recorded in his
tory. I would ft*y. give the fmlirnge all
over the Country to the poor aud the ig
norant, and so constrain the wealthy and
powerful to look to the welfare ol the
poor niid the ignorant.
And still a*;atii. I would, as a purely
selfish measure, take the poor blacks int>>
our political family. Let mo illustrate
my meaning. You are sick, bleeding,
torn, thieves aDd robbers have been up
on you, as they have been upon our Coun
try "for four years. You have two person!
to choose between. On the one hand j
you have a friend—black, poor ignorant,
but who knows there is a God and who
fears lib punishment.*—who instinctively
elnng tn you through all the time when
the robbers were stripping and assailing
you, —who. in spite of his poverty and
ignorance, has been willing to lay down
his life to save your*. <hi the other
hand, you may seek the aid of a man
stronger than you arc, of great intelli
gence and learning,—acute, powerful, un
scrupulous,—leafing neither God, man
nor the devil. You must put your life
in the hands of one or the other. Which
will YOU choose ? I would take the poor
and ignorant friend, and would try. with
his aid, to keep the powerful enemy ofl';
and that is what you must do in the
South. [Applause.] You must either
tako the poor, ignorant masses, who, du
ring the war, havo been your friends, have
1 fed you in hospitals, havo released you
from prisons, have piloted you by night
through marshes aud woods, and havo
been ready to lay down their lives for
you, [enthusiastic cheers,] or you mint
take the brothers and friends and associ
atc-i of John C. Brecieiiridgc and Jeffer
son I'avis as your rulers; for sutli, by
the aid of Northern sympathizers, they
will be. For myself, as God is my judge,
I will never consciously cast a vote in
the American Congress that shall favor
the admision of a representative from a
reconstructed State uuder an oligarchic
or aristocratic Constitution. [Great- ami
long-continual applause.]
1 have said, viy friends, that I am
pleading our own cause. I will not in
sult these kind people of African descent
who are hero to-night by pretending that
lan pleading for tjhein alone. 1 do not
wish them to think, as one did when 1
spoke here last, that 1 mean to throw con
tempt upon them in the pica which I
make ; but, as 1 havo said, 1 regard five
as more than one, and I wish them to
understand that 1 plead for ourselves; fur
the Almighty has so inextricably inter
woven the duty ot justice to them with
our own welfare, that in pleading with
yon to extend justice to them, 1 plead
with you to promote your own peace, pros
perity and happiness,—nay, to guaran
tee your own fivcdoin here in Philadel
phia.
" Why," you tnay say. '' the slavery
I question is settled, and our fathers ban
ished it from this State."l know that
slavery, in name, is ended, but you may
change thc«*iame without changing the
thing. If you leave four millions of la
boring people at the South without the
right to testify in open court, without the
right to make a contract as any other
person may. without the right to free ed
ucation, such :w is enjoyed by the child
ren of Northern laboring people, yon, in
fact, leave slavery there. You surren
der those four millions of laboring peo
ple and their poitority to bp preyed upon
by aristocratic- capitalists, and us«d as in
struments for degrading whatever other
millions of laboring men and women tnay
goto dwell among them.
The negro question, it left in this con
dition, will be in the future what thesla
very question has been in the past. But,
under the new state <if circumstances,
move of the colored people will rise up
than could under the Fugitive Slave I.aw,
to make known their wrongs, and to ap
peal to the hearts of the wise, the hu
mane and the just of the North. Thus
we shall live in a sUto of constant agita
tion, more intense than it hxs been in the
past. The negro question will be used
by unprincipled demagogues to inis-gov
ern us in Philadelphia, as the slavery
question has been to our great detriment.
l)o you know, yon yonng ladies, who
graduated in the Girls' lligh School of
this .city, why Cleveland's unequalled
" Compendium of English Literature"
was taken from you as a class-book ?
That work was excluded from the school,
and the city of Philadelphia put to the
expense of buyingnew books for all those
who had üßed it. Why ? .Because
Professor Clevclqad had dared .to insert
a foot-note-in fawK of freedom I This
happened in the Pmladelphia schools less
than six years ago. A text-book which
England or AnWsrica has not equalled
iH titken from our daughters, and the
ffjr of PliT : ;i'lcl|>li7ln putin the expense
if bityiilg entire new sets of oti inferior
work, because .that Philadelphia book
•ontained a foot-note against slavery !
If we are to wtitinue the negro <juestion
:i3 a SUbj •! ol agitation, t b<; compilers i
of oliici school books may chance to say
something in favor of the negro, ami
t'futir ftxcelleuf works bo hustled out of
our schools, because they might offend
up Southern brethren,' who hare count
!].')■ :.Tl\ mir dry golds, books afid po
: I principled. [Laughter and ap
pliirt-o/] ■
:l rverfc is iivt o git l or boy in the schools
of Philadelphia who has not in this and
other matte is been defrauded of essen
tin! edui atioiiai Hgti's by our subservien
tly l" the spirit <A the South. We must
not .l« 112 the negro f|uesiJon enter our
auhijolt- in that form again. I would rather
see .it sttilk in.in the form of the darkost
liued iii : r(j in the world, than fei:l that
my children were slaves to the ex-sluve
ownersof the Sou til.
Have you in your libraries an Ameri- |
can (?dit!' : di of CiawpbeH'a poems, publish
ed siiuee 185-H If, in purchasing it,;
you inquired of tho bookseller whether
It was a cohipleto edition, you were prob
ably told thnt It wn», that it ertutained all ■
his poems, including tho fugitive ftnd
minor pieces—everything that Campbell
ever wrote. Yet in uo recent American
edition of the works of that poet can you
find these lines:
"United Ht'tlrn ! yimr tiniiiwr wear*
Two'eniblenw—one of ftUiie ;
A ISM! (he other I)u4t it bora
lientinds in of your Minnie.
"Your Rtan<lHr<]'a constellation type*
\Vhiti- fr«f'lom by lt« ntar* {
Hut whtit's the meaning of tbeHtriponJ
They io'K) your negroea'^carn"
.Now it is (juite as well for tJie Ameri
can purchasers of Campbell's jiooius to
,knuw how we were sneered at by the
writer of some of the best poems in our
language for our - want of fidelity to our
professed principles. The insertion of
thise verses in our Americau publica
tions could have done the citizens or coun
try no harm, but it might have affected
the Southern sale ol the book. There
fore, although the South would not buy
ouo eoppy to our fifty, we Northern peo-
I pie were cheated. The South was our
master and must be respected.
Hut again, arc you an Episcopalian ?
If so, have you a copy of the prayor book,
embellished with that pious fraud, the
beautiful frontispiece ? llaVe you ever
seen Ary Scliefter'g picture, entitled
Christ us ('onti/la to\ ? I have stood be
fore it by the hour, and been peuetrated
and inspired by the great lesson of the
I Christian artist. He knew that Christ's
love embraced aud that his spirit could
exalt the humblest member of tho race
He came to redeem. The central figure
of the picture is tho sublime form of the
Consoler, His countenance radiant with
his divinity, and before him the huuible
people who were consoled by His presence
and His influence—whose sorrow aud
agonies, physical and mental, he lifted
from their poor souls ; and among thein
j was tho negro.
But when an Aniriricnn artist prepared
tlutt picture for an American publisher's
ed ton of the prayer book, it was found
that, in reduciug the size, all the figures
could Mot be included, and so they cut
out the poor "darkey!" (Laughter and
applause.)
Now, I am toid. and 1 accept the state
ment jis I rile, that this was not done in—
fenti"ii,iily in the direction thai 1 imply;
lut what I mean to say is, that if there
Ih i bcfn »/ prejudice at the North
uaiusi lie i.egtv. Olid it the tivo mil
lions it A lean citizens of African
oesi •ut n I Heeii in the enjoyment of
their • ,'hand in the habit ot reading
itll:i atieutiim.' public schools, and a fair
share of them the Episcopal church, they
too would iutve been purchasers of pray
er books; and it is probable that the ar
tist might have found that he could take
out one of the white figures, leaving the
sole colored man there to testify that the
Church recognizes Christ's power to im
part consolation and immortal hope even
to the hundreds of millions of the chil
dren of Africa.
Sly friends, we have been enslaved
with tho blacks of the South. We stand
degraded in the eyes of nations and of
history. Wo can now redeem ourselves.
It is given to our generation, as it has
been given to none since th-.it which
founded our Government, to be remem
bered in the long hereafter as a generation
that blessed the world forevor. It is
given to us to harmonize the practical
workings of our institutions with the
sublime truths that underlie them. It is
given to us to establish in popular seuti
tuent and the usages of the American
people the practice of perfect justice.—
To do it, we have but to be ti ue to our
own highest and best and most Christian
instincts—to be true to the great princi
ples which our fathers strove to inculcate;
and meanwhile, by mercy, by tlic use of
those wotideriul ngeneies of this era—
the Church, in popular hands; the Mis
sionary Society,the Sunday School Union
with its affluence of literature prepared
for ui-disoiplined or immature intellect;
the lJible Society, the Tract Society, the
temperance lecturer, the teu thousand
moral igencies known only to the people
of the North—to be firm and persistent
in oua allegiaucc to the right, and genor
our in the application of these good in
fluences, as we have bccu in pouring out
our treasure and our blood during the
war; and, with our generation, the dan
gers that threaten us will have passed,
and our country will be in reality a refuge
far the oppressed of all lands—a bright
light by flight and a towering column by
day, that shall lead the nations onward
tifl pelfeet freedom dwells upon the globe.
[YtAeinenf and long continned applause,
amid <which the speaker retired.]
The Grinder Poisiiiing Case.
On Saturday morning the Court of Oy
er and Termiuer met at nine o'clock, all
the judges on the bench. The Court an
nounced that the jury iu the case of
Mrs. Martha Grinder had agreed upon a
verdict, when the prisoner was brought
in from jail. At twenty-five minutes af
ter nino (t'dock tho jury entered ttie Court
room, ami aftefr being polled, rendered a
verdict of yuVty 1/ niun/er in thr firtf
cleyree.
<Thc ipfep tfitiscn.
The Largeat Virculafion of
any Paper in the County.
THOMAS ROBINSON. - - Editor.
M. W. NPEtR, Ptiblislirr.
BUTLER PA.
WEDNESDAY XOV.I, ISflB.
fif'Liberty and Union, New and Forever, One
and 'nseparable."—D. Websier.
Advancing
Our neighbor of tho Hrnthl, thinks
that we have beon advancing lately in
our political sentiments. Wo think if he
will look over his own columns, he will
perceive equal progress, lie fore the elec
tion, every appeal that cdold he mnde to
the prejudices of its readers were made,
to induce them to vote square, against
negro suffrage, ke. After the election
he at onco announced that, on th»t issue,
they had been beaten before the people,
aud as good citizens, having a respect for
the constitutionally expressed will of
the majority, they cheerfully submitted
to the voice of the people! This is cx
-1 actly our position to-day. Neither before
nor after tho clectiou have wo expressed
our opinion on tho nogto suffrago ques
tion. Hut being informed by the Iferahl,
that the issue had been decided in the
affirmative, and that it was the duty of
all good citizens to submit. We most
cheerfully yielded to the popular verdict,
m announced by our neighbor..
Dein wrtTtlt* ('ii (I incii ( !
At a Democratic meeting held in the
Academy of Music, Brooklin, Now York,
a few evenings siuco, where a number of
the leading men of tho party participated.
Jas. (J. Gerard, in the course of his re
marks, bewailed tho freeing of tho no
groes,—al.eging that ho thought many of
them wished tliey were back nnder the
old order of things,—under tho happy
dispensation of that good old time; —
Merlljr hoeing biff cefti
To t!i a .|ul>ilaut note of tho niavoHlriver* horn;
Willi n sfcip nnfl a hop, nutl a \vy mid linkiu,
To th* j .viul sound of the whip !
Wc can easily undorstand how such
sentiments can be uttered with freedom,
aud even approbation in sueii a strong
hold of Democracy as New York, but in
no place less Democratic could such sen
<i«Mcii<s be attended with impunity in tho
latter part of tho nineteenth century.—
Perhaps not even in Spain. But such
sentiments arc well adapted to a locality
where Orphan's Asylums and Union sol
diers aie alike detected.
The President*!* J*oll<-y.
We hear a great (leal, just now, about
the policy of the President. Not only
do the Copperheads make (|uito a fuss
about this subject, but Republicanssonio
times, seem to think that there in a radi
cal difference in the party on this subject.
The most of all this noise about the Pres
ident's policy, however, seems to us but
a weak effort to got a "bit of an office."
or at least some government patronage.—
For our part, wo would deem it moro
manly togo right to the President and,
upon our bended knees ask for a few
crutns. We must confess that we are en
tirely ignorant of the character of Presi
dent Johnson, if lie has any more admi
ration for the time serving-spirit mani
fested by some, than we have. Free dis
cussion and a just regard for the express
ed will of the majority is tho strength of
a llepublicau Government. The Repub
lican party will always be willing to
■square its conduct by these principles,
and those, whether in the party or out
side of it, who attempt to violate those
principles, will realize when it is too late,
perhaps, that they have o.ily been work
ing out their own misfortune.
As to our opposition to the poliey of
President Johnson, we have to say, that
we have confidence in him as President;
but, he is only one branch of the Gov
ernment. Tlure is also a Judiciary and
Legislative depnrtment. It takes these
differout parts to make a whole. This is
a Democratic Government, —the voice of
the people, as constitutionally expressed,
is tho supreme law. We have no doubt
that "Andy Johnson adheres to thistheo
ry. It is his duty to suggest, or if you
please, to offer to the rebel States terms,
upon the acceptance of which they can
oome back into the Union as Sovereign
States. But after experiments have been
made, and we find that thing* arc no
assuming proper shape, it is the right of
the people to demand a change of policy.
This principle of the right of the people
to influence the Executive was recogniz
ed, even by the "Tyrant" Lincoln, as
they called him. Congress being imme
diately elected by the people, is supposed
to reflect their judgment; when Congress,
therefore, undertakes to express that will
the executive that will not respect it will
be expected to have a good apjtology for
not doing so, or ho will come to grief,
soonfr or later. President Johnson is
too wise for that.
And now that wo lralS#' heard so much '
aLeut the President's policy by our Dein
ocratie neighbor. will bg bo £ood cuougll
to tell us if be indorses I'iiesidenl John
son's reconstruction policy ? An answer
Till be expected.
Illegal Voting.
Previous to tho eleotion we published
a list of desorters aud nm-repoitew found
on thu rolls in the Provost Marshall's
office, of tliis district, aooompunied by an
Act of (Congress, declaring till suoh, dis
qualified from boing citizens of the Uui
tcd States, &<:. We called upou election
officers to refuse these if any should
offer Ttc readers of the Ilvrala, how
ever, were informed that was the right
1 of all such to vote, and were instructed
to disregard the Aft of Congress in the
promises. The result was, that in most
of the Democratic townships, deserters
and non-reporters did vote. Wp have
heard of them voting 111 Win field, Clear
field, Oakland, Venango, Marion and
Mercer. l'erhtqis they did even in oth
ers. Soon after the election, we were
spoken to in reference to this matter.—
Tho loyal people of these districts feel
much grieved to think that those who
failed in the hour of trouble should now
be allbwcci to vote down the loyal poople
of these districts. Some seem to think
that, as these votes ware powerless for
mischief, we had as well let the matter
pass. We are not qf this number. The
constitutionality of the'law of Congress
is doulited, it would seem, by some. This
fact should be an argument in favor of
having it settled by the Courts.—
Wo feel confident that the majority of
the election officers who,in violation of both
their oaths and duty, received theso ille
gal votes liad no legal conviction on the
subject, only doing tho bidding of their
matters. Nor had they any right to havo
any, Their duty as officers, was to obey
the law. It would then be the privilege
of citizens feeling themselves agricved to
have carried the matter up to the Courts
and tested tho validity of the law. We
have not yet had leisure to give the legal
questions involved a thorough examina
tion, but we moan to urge upon the pro
fession, the imperative necessity of hav
ing it disposed of at once. If it is to be
disposed of under act of Congress it is
likely it would have to be taken to Pitts
burgh—to the United States Court, un
less thore is a provision in tho law. giving,
state courts jurisdiction. Our present
impression is that it can all be disposed
of under state law. \Vp don't believe
that tho persons mentioned in the i«it re
ferred to, aro "freemen" in tho contem
plation of tho constitution. That these
men. not only should, but must be pre
vented from oxercising the right of citi
zens bore or even holding property in our
State, all loyal men socm to agree.
Let us takoiionie prowi«e<it case there
fore, and test it, and if our laws are not
already stringent enough, we can have
them amended. In selecting a proper
subject, we have co choice, but would
suggest that the most intelligent culprit,
is certainly tho most guilty—sinning
against light ami knowledgo. To fill
this d scription a proper subject could be
found not far from the centre. This
mattter will soon take shape. In the
meantime, lot our friends feel easy, the
guilty must bo punished.
£*#"• Mr. Pearcc, the Pension Agent at
Pittsburgh, liuviug died lately, there will
be, doubtless, some,delay in the receipt
of pensions from that office untill his
successor is appointed.
tprg" J. H. Reagan, Ex-Postmaster
General of tho so called Confederacy,
recently liberated from Fort Warren, has
written an address to the people of Texas;
his native State, urging them to lay aside
their prejudices and accept their new
situation willingly, lie uiges upon them
as the only safeguard against future trou
ble, the adoption of tho principle of per
fect equality before the law, "manhood
suffrage," and all. In speaking of thus
and its author, The Nation remarks
that, Mr. Reagan betrays no prejudices
against the negro, accepts him implicitly
as a part of the American people, and
expects, from the general docility of his
disposition, that he would be in the main
an industrious citizen. "The holding of
these views" it remarks, ''is not perhaps
an offset for participation in trcrson, and
revolt, but u a be tter excuse for open
prison doors, than any oath yet taken
by seuthern lipe."
Sfeff" In Harper'* Weekly, is found an
articlo in repiy to a criticism upon a for
mer articlo in the same paper, on recon
struction. After replying to the criticism
it closes the subject ft>» follows :
"Our view is that the United' States
Government; is morally bound to require
every thing of its lately rebellious citi
zens which it deems essential to tlie se
curity of the Union ; which it mantain
ed by so long and terrible a struggle.—
Certainly those who saved that Govern
menr are equally bound not to insult
their baffled fellow citizens. lint they
are also not less bouud to treat with con
tempt the charge fhat they aro hostile 'to
re-union, "neeuusc they are averse to haste
and advise the utmost care and prudence
nod eegacity. in the work of reconstruc
tion." . ,
-—The arrests of Fenians in Ire
land and England continue. Sever
al ' ex-officer's of the United States
army have been arrested.
€O3IMU9fICATIQ*S.
For the AKBRICAM Cirixuv:
To tin- TCIM'IMTH of lliitlor co.
A cnjl lint been made, convening a
Teachers' Institute at Prospect, on
tlie 7tli, Bth, and 9th of November.—
'I his will be hailed with joy, by every
teacher alive to the wonts of the common
scool: as-a move in the right direction
I beg leave to call the attention of teaoh
ors, and otlier friends of education, to the
importance ol encouraging, and sustain
ing a County Teachers' Institute in our
county. The object of an Institute is to
qualify teachers to discharge their duties
belter in the school room. The object is
certainly a good one ; and the want cer
tainly exists. Theu the question arises:
Ho Institutes qualify teachers todiscliargo
their duties better in tho shool-room ?
Teachers that are so lacking in profes
sional spirit as not to make sonic sacrifice
of time and easp to attend an Institute
and remain away for fear of a new idea
of teaching, cracking their eraniums (»o
fully ciammed already); it is very doubt- 1
ul wlielhcr such are capable of being
better prepared for their work. But to
tho wide-awake, the earnest, the true
teacher, the Institute is of vital import
ance. Of the former class I hope wo
have but few, of the latter class I hope
the attendance in the Institute will prove
that wo linve many. That teachers re
quire bettor qualifications than they now
possess, is a fact that cannot be denied.
There is a constaut drain of tho best
qualified teachers to other, and more re
munerative pursuit*. Thoir places must
be supplied by others. Ilence, there ex
ists a pressing necessity for tho influence
of a good Institute. Tho Teachers' In
stitute provokes inquiry. It has taken
methods of instruction, and examined
them by tho light of philosophy, and
rejecting the worthless has shown tho
practical value of the good. Every true
teacher feels that there is a want of unity
oi action in the tcacining fofce of our
county. We neod the vitalising inflation
of an organiiation. Many of the tsu4h
of our schools aro inexperienced ; to
such the Instituto furnishes a fund of in
formation which they can obfain in no
other way so es*i!y. Then let all that
feel an interest in tho caueo of education,
ruse thoir influence to secure » full attend
ance of teachers at the Institute and in
tho words of the call, give a "new im
petus to the cause of education. 1 ' Let
boards of Directors urgo the teachers
employed by them to attend. The wel
fare of the common schools demaud of
teachers that they improve every oppor
tunity thus ofi'cred. A bright futurJ is
dawning fur the teacher's profession; there
never was such a demand upon the teach
ers of our country as at present. Tlio
war that has just closed so gloriously,
haj demonstrated that tho education of
the masses is the safoguard, and the only
ono, for tlie perpetuity of our political
institutions. If a tithe of the treasure
spent in the war had been spent in edu
cating tho masses of the Mouth, thero
would have been uorebellion. The true
interest and highest success of any pro
fession is Lest promoted by an aotivc and
leading interest ou the part of its own
members. Tho true teacher will hold
himself ready for every word andwwortk t
which tends to bring his chosen profea
sion into esteem, and place it in its propor
light before tho woqd.
A TEACHER.
Jfor the AMERICA* CITIXBX.
A Few Words in Reply to "Justice."
Nearly a column of the Citizen was
occupied last week with an article head
ed, "Honor to Whom honor is Due." It
was aimed principally at the Directors of
the Butler County Monumental Associ
ation.
I was very sorry to see such an article
on such a subject. In the grave-yard
there are no distinctions. We do not quar
rel, (or ought jiot,) at funerals. Would
'•Justioe" forbid his political opponents
to respect the memory of his own father
or brother by coming to his funeral ? The
grave—the tomb-stone—the monument,
has always been considered sacred and
common; where alienations are buried
with the dead.
Besides, the Directors, including offi
cers, have All ( with one exception) had
near relatives in the army. One lost a
brother there. Another had a brother in
Andersonville prison. Three others had
sons in the army, one of whom was woun- j
ded. Another had four sons in the army..
I should be very sorry that a feud should,
spring up over the graven of our lamen
ted dead. LOYAI. YOUXJ,
Preeidoat of the Boaxd.
—Genera] Grant has just purchased
one-half of the property in Washington,'
known as the Douglas Hospital, and Wilt
refit it sor a family residence dariog his
stay in Washington. The reported price
paid is only thirty thousand dollars, al
though the other half is held atfifty seven
thousand dollars. It is not a tittle singu
lar that, notwithstanding several houses
have been given to hitu. the General,
after all, is compelled to buy one. Hos
pitality, to he time, should study the con
science of the recipients. What .is to
be done with the big house in Philadel
phia.
—Many I'luui trees in the vicinity,of
'Jfeadville tiavc put forth ,3 cecoud crop
of bkte.-oms.
Proclamation by the President.
Kaltoiuil Tlninknglvliiß.
VVABHINOTON, October2B.—The Pres
ident to-day issued tho following procla
mation !
Uythc President of tho United Stalest
of America, a proclamation :
* W IIKRKAB, It has pleased Almighty God
during the year which is now coming to
an end, to relietc otu beloved country
from tho scourge of eivil war, and to per
mit. us to secure the. blessings ol' peace,
unify and harfubrty, with nil enlargement
of civil liberty; and whereas, our Heav
enly Father has also, durinr the year,
graciously preserved us from the calami
ties of foreign war, pestileucoamt famine;
and whereas, righteousness exuffeth «
nation, while sin is a reproach to any pto-.
pie, now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnsofi'/
Presidoutof the United States, do here
by recommend to tho people thereof that
they do set apart and observe the Firtt
Tkurtday in December as a day of Na
tional Thanksgiving to the Creator of the
Universe for these deliverances and bles
sings ; and I do further recommoad that
on that day the whole people make a con
fession of sins against IT is infinite good
ness, and, with one heart and otic mind,
implore divine guidance in the ways of
national virtue and holiness.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto
set my hand and caused the seal of the
United States to be affiixed. Done at the
City of Washington this 28th day of Oc
tober, in the year 18(55, and of the inde
pendence of tho United States tho eigh
ty-ninth.
ANDREW JOHNSON, Prcs't.
By W. H. SEWARD, See'y of State.
The I/tilc ffiiriU'r nt I'ltliole.
The following particulars of the lato
murder at Pithule are furnished by the
special correspondent of the Meadville
PuUy Rrpublicun , under date of the 24th:
"A new establishment, to be known as
the "Variotles," was opened last night
For the first time with a bat). Tho evi
dence shows that late at night an actress,
who was in company with John .Smith,of
Rochester, wont to the dressing-room pre
paratory to going home, and while in the
room two men entered, one of whom was
the deceased, and attempted to ravish her.
Her screams attracted Simpson to the
room, who, it is alleged, shot ono of them
named Mat. Kiut.ee, from Troy, New
Yor'„, tho keepor of the Ifeenan saloon
there. Simpson was immediately arres
ted, and to-day was fully committed for
trial. The town lias been tho soene of
considerable excitement all day. The
friends of the deceased threaten that
Simpson shall never leavothe town alive,
and the place of his confinement is con
tinually surrounded by a crowd. Sever
al deputy sheriffs, ate deemed with tho
looal police and eitiroi.®, are deemed suf
ficient to insure tho accused a safe con
duct to Franklin, which will occur some
time during the night. A public ii.ee'-
ing of the citizens is called for to-morrow
night, to ilovise some neins of ridding
tho community of the baud of despera
does who infest this section."— Pltlibttryli
Übnmirrrial.
. !/a(e i\«WN Items,
—The Johnstown 'J'rilvw is responsi
ble for tho following : "In tho summer
of 18!!0 Mr. Thomas Jefferson liullor, a
resident of Johnstown and the father of
an interesting family of young children,
departed for Philadelphia nod the Now
England States. From there he went
South, and when the rebellion commen
ced was in Georgia. The other day ho
returned to Johnstown, after nn absence
of twenty-six years. He had not seen
his wife or children in all that time.—
What is perhaps equally remarkable,they
are all living, although not all present to
welcome his return."
—The Sharon, Mcrccr county, Herald
contaius tho following notice :
"Warning.—Oharley Brown, a Gtriran
by birth, and barber by profession, but
who left his wife and family some months
ago as a pedlar, is hereby informed,
should he see this, that unless he returns
within four months, any attempt to do
as a husbadd and a father will be una
vailing. Catherine Brown." Charles
had better return immediately.
—The movement .against the dams in
the Susquehanna river, which obstruct
the ascent of sbad, salmon and other fish
in season, is assuming considerable im
portance. A formal call hag beer, issued
for a convention to meet in the House of
Representatives, Harrisburg. on the af
ternoon of ibo seewnd Wednesday in
January next, to which all the counties
interested In tlie Susquehanna fisheries
are invited to send delegates. As tho
Legislature will then be in session, meas
ures for protection will then be demanded.
—General Banks, candidate for Con
gress in Massachusetts, announces himself
in favor of negro suffrage.
—TTie purser erf the steamship Eagle
states tho fallowing-: An insurrection
has broken oat amona the negroes of
Jemaea. The £«glkh .consul at Havana
has .applied to the Captaiu General of
Cuba for aid to put the negroes down,
and four war vessels hare been dispatch
ed for that purpose.
—Further investigations are to be
made by the Government in the man
ner rebel prisoners were conducted,
with a view of ascertaining who have
hcen guilty of a gross violation of the
rules of war, in practiceing cruelties
on Union priaonera when in their
keeping.
—Prominent Feniana assert that
the President haa bromiged the re-,
leijse of John Mitchell. Secretary
Stanton, it'is said, is strongly op-,
posed to his release; but it 13 goner
ally believed that the promise will
be kept.
—The proprietors of Hie Wheeling
Iron are making great im
provements iu their mills, in the way
of additions to the sail factory, and
it is thought ,tluit by the first of Jap
nary next, the ■' will have their ina.-
cliiacs in working order.