The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-07-26
Southern Pardons.

Newspaper correspondents and private
letter-writers from Washington have
given to the world the names of 80 ma
nv hundreds of persons who have ap-
piled for and received pardon under
President Johnson's Amnesty Procla-
nation that we had begun to hope that
to ask for was to receive, and that the
entire wealth of the South would, in a
very short time, be relieved of all disa-
bilities, and that people, under the Re-
stored Union,I would soon again be on
the high road to prosperity. In this we
regret to learn that we have been sadly
disappointed. We have undoubted au-
thority for saying, that up to Friday
evening last not q dozen pdrdOns had
been issued to the entire population of
Virginia; and that for the present very
few will be issued. Hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of applications had passed
through the Attorney-General's Office
and been approved, and many of them
had been endorsed by the Chief EXecu-
tive, ready to be issued; but because of
the complexion of the political horizon
in the Old Dominion-the continual
pushing forward of men for office who
were prominent in the late rebellion
and the anxiety of the Southern war
party to again assume the reigns of gov
eminent and become leaders in the re-
storation-the President has begun to
doubt the propriety of the policy he first
adopted of pardoning all who applied,
and is hourly inclining to more strin-
gent course.
People of Virginia and the South, need
we again warn you on this vitality i'm
portant subject! Day after day we have
plead with you to adopt calm, concilia-
tory policy in your attempted reorgani-
cation. We have begged politicians to
stand aside and give place to unobjec-
tionable men. We have urged you to
bring forward no candidates that had
held Confederate or State offices, because
we knew that by so doing you would lay
yourselves liable to charges of dissatis-
faction, if not of disloyalty. We have
urged the soldiers to support no man for
office merely because he had been SOL
der. We have pleaded for the interests
of the masses, that they should select
representatives from their midst, taking
care to avoid any appearance OF opposing
the powers that be by their selections.
We have had no personal preferences 10
crafty, no party ends toserve, in any line
that we have written. Our sole OBJECT mas
been to prove that ourpeople were !oyalto
the Union, now that they have thrown
down their arms and acknowledged de-
feat; and that they made no mental res
ervation in taking the oath ofallegiance,
but took it as aduty, and intended to OBJ
serve it honestly. W ere we right in TAX
ing these views? Let the people answer
at the approaching electioae Every citi-
zenis interested in the result of the cleo
ton. If a thoroughly Union ticket sue
ceeds, pardons may be expected for our
property -holders, civil government will
be restored and general prosperity may
attendour efforts to rebuild the city. lion
on the contrary, gentlemen are electedin
whom the militarya authorities have no
confidence, they may be prevented from
Continued. and q general confiscation oi
property follow may Observation-Disclosures
RepNbl3c,