The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-10-11

President Joh nson's Views and Policy ON
| n the Negro Suffrage Question.
| We have reason to believe that President
result Of the late Connecticut election on negro
suffrage rs popular endorsement, by New
England State, of his Southern policy of recon
struction. And why nots The issue was fairly
joined between his policy and that of the aboli-
ton radicals, and they have been emphatically
rebuked by the people The President, then.
may rest satisfied that upon this question Of
negro suffrage the public sentiment Of the North
as well as that of the Southern States is with
him, and that thus sustained he has nothing to
fear.
He has declined to enforce the condition pre-
cedent upon the submitting rebel States OF
negro suffrage. He holds that this is matter
with which he has nothing to do, as 1t properly
belongs to the several States, each for itself, to
settle it. Nay, more, as we understand his
position, he holds that the elective franchise is
not the right Of any man, white or black but
that it is privilege conferred, often In an arbi-
trary manner, and always with numerous ex-
interests of the community. In this broad and
comprehensive view Of the subject he may
safely contend that no wrong Is done to the
Southern blacks at this time in Withholding
from them the right Of suffrage; that they are
subject to the same arbitrary rules Of cxpe-
diency under which white males below the age
Of twenty-one and females Of all ages are ex-
cluded from the ballot box. Not only, there
fore, because this question Of suffrage belongs
to the States, but because no believes the con-
cession of the privilege to the Southern blacks,
at this juncture, would be productive Of no
good, but of much mischief, does President
Johnson hold to his doctrine Of negro exclu-
sion.
The political institutions, ideas, castles and
classes OF hundred years of cultivation in the
South have been suddenly 0verthrown, with
the institution Of African slavery upon which
they were founded. The people of the rebel
lious States are now, in one sense, all on pretty
much the same level, whites and blacks
they are all free and all impoverished. But
the Impressions, the convictions, distinctions
of color and prejudices of hundred years are
not so easily removed. The Southern blacks
just released from the darkness of slavery are
not in condition to take hand in political
from the absolute control of masters are
shocked at the bare mention of negro political
equality or negro suffrage. fPresdent john
son were to attempt the condition precedent
of negro suffrage in recognizing the Southern
States there would be no reorganization. The
whites would stand aloof, and the blacks, in
attempting to assume the management of polt-
ical affairs, would bring on conflict Of races,
which would end, most probably, only with
the determination of the blacks. Is this the
enter tainment to which our abolition fanatics
would invite us! II is certainly the rock which
President Johnson is laboring to avoid.
Taking things as he finds them, and adapting
his policy to the circumstances which he can
not control, els making rapid progress in his
great task of Southern reorganization. He
fully understands the difficulty of negro suf-
frage, and leaves it to the influences of time,
deliberation and discussion. He fully COM
prehends the great necessity OF bringing the
Southern States to law and order, and the de-
velOpment Of their vast resources, as soon as
possible, to aid us Of the North in bearing and
lessening the burthen Of our national debt.
lie thinks 1t is not so important to grant uni
versal suffrage as to do all we can first to
avoid universal bankruptcy and national dis
grace and ruin. In any event he holds that
this is not the time, and that neither the South
ern whites nor Southern blacks, nor the people
OF the North, are prepared now for this pro-
posed sweeping concession OF Southern negro
suffrage.
This is the issue between President johnson
and the abolition radicals They have been
threatening all sorts of terrible things against
him, even to the extremity Of impeachment;
but since the Connecticut election they have
become more rational. They are welcome to-
such consolation as they can draw from the
State elections Of yesterday-for the game is.
in the hands Of Andy Johnson. Entirely salts
fed that we have rightly defined his position,
we are as well convinced that he intends to-
fight 1t out on this line," and that, with the
masses of the people of all parties to sustain
him, he will be more than match for the radi-
calls in Congress, and will organize the winning
party in 1868 on the platform of his admins
tration.
EMIGRATION TO THE S0UTH-THE NEW INvA-
sIoN.-All the accounts from the South unite in
representing the condition of that section to be
such as to need an invasion of agricultural