, 1865-05-19

i The white yOte. But 1t does not follow that
1.-the right to hold office should accompany the
right to vote. Natural!zed citizens are now
excluded from the Presidency aud Vice Prcsi-
| descy, and black citizens might be excluded
+ en- still larger class Of Offices. It. how
| ever. the State Of South Carolina should pre-
| f.. black Governor to white one, It would
rot lie in the mouths Of the advocates Of
estate r7ghts' TO object to 1t.
As onr correspondent admits tha. or ex
clrs.on Of those who cannot read and write,
is ~ise in itself. ne need not defend i: till re
meet with some sincere objector to it.
He ayers that the aid Of the black citizens
Of the South Is not required to restore those
States to the Union. For two yea7s the war
w4s fought by us On that principle, aEd failed.
The Emancipation Proclamation stated that
military necessity" required the aid Of the
blacks to restore those States. Having OBJ
taiacd their aid on that pretence, we would
prove the whIts raca TO be very mean, by
now repudiating 1t. II we needed tlem to
fight for the Union, It Is NOW TOO early for Us
to decide that we do not need them to vote
for the Union. But 1t is said the seceded
States must re-enter the Union under their
cd constitution, and with their former laws,
Which exclude negro suffrage. This Is uu.
true. No reconstructed State has adopted
its former constitution. Since neither
MISSOURI, Arkansas. Louisiana, Tennes-
see, Virginia or West Virsiu'a have
adopted their old State Constitutions, 1t is
neither necessary nor probable TINT thu 9th
er Southern States will do so.
Whether the Southern States are to be
styled ain tbs Union" or st out Of the
Union, Is not question Of fact nor of Inv,
but merely Of the use Of 1anguage-a war Of
words. They are, as s1r. Lincoln admirably
stated, "out Of their proper practical relations
to the UnioD," and it is for Congress to decide
whether and when they will have resumed
those relations, by admitting or rejecting the
members whom they sbalI send to Congress.
There Is now no lawful State government
in Ncrth or South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabams, Mississippi or Texas. Those State
governments, like the franchises Of aug
ether bsdy polite OF corporation have 1apsed
BY non-uscr and misuser during the past four
yeare. The provisions Of tue Constitution OF
the United States, and Of each Southern State
which require all the State officers before
entering on their Office, to swear to support
the Constitution OF the United States, and Of
their own State, haye been disresorded, and
hence there has been no State ofnce- lawfully
created in those States during the war. This
IS ~ perfect lapse Of the State Government
| As Il all Its officers bad died at the sumo me-
| u1cnt. There Is no Governor to order an elec-
| ton, no Inspectors to hold 1t, no county
officers TO receive 1t, No Secretary Of
State or Legislature to audit and
announce i;-no starting point at
which to begin. All power is Therefore in
tue people OF the State. Aud who are they ?
| They are Of four classes:
l. Disloya1 whites-very Iumsrous, say one-
third.
2 Loys1 Whltes-Ver5 few, say onc.sfS'h.
3. Loyal blacks-fo1iner!y. free, Very few,
say one-sixth.
4. Loyal blacks-lormetly slaves, very MI
I neIous, FAY one-thiTd-
OF The srst-c'ass many are pasolea prison
err Of war, not e2cnon5ed-s. aEen enc
mics, who connot vote In fact nor in law, Yet
Hht m the old Constitution would permit to
vote This fact sufficiently determines that
the cid State Constitution has no weight In
deciding who shall nov vote, for falsus in una
falsus IL al.tro. II worthless in part it is worth
lees altogether Besides, the old Constitution
would make the fourth class slaves, while In
fact and In law they are citizens. a consd
tuition which is invalid as to two-thirds ol
the people Of u State must be invalid as to the
whole. Hence not only is the living organi-
zation or State government waning bnt q
State constitution is wholly wanting. All
power is resolved back into the people with
no law or tribunal to decide who are or mol
the people, until some organization claiming
| to be convention Of the people, adopts .
constitution, elects ofIicers and asks admis
sion for them into Congress, wne1eupou Con
g1ess will decide whether they represent
the people or not. Suppose these classes t;
meet in separate conventions. The first
disloyal whites-would include the majorit,
Of the former voters Of the State, hut whe
doubts that Congress would reject 1t. Tht
second and third would he numerically TOT
few. Tie fourth would be manlfesly lnad
missihle,
It SEEMS manifest to Us TINT under thcst
circumstances 1t is tue nrst unty VI tilt
! President and Congress of the United States
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