, 1865-12-22
THE TRUE POSITION.

THE TRUE POSITION.
| The position of the President, as we un,
detstand it, is that the secession ordinances
adopted by the States lately in rebellion were
void from the beginning, and being void the
Southern States were never out of the
Union. Assuming this to be the true con.
dition of affairs, all that remains for the
States is to elect members to Congress, and
resume their former relations to the Govern
ment. Take the reverse of the proposition
admitting the validity of the secession or.
dinances, and We virtually admit the right
of secession. No more efficient weapon
could be placed in the hands of the enemies
of the Union, aud we are only surprised when
we hear Union men talk of States HAVING
been out of the Union The only safe and
tenable ground upon which the late war can
be justified, is, that the States had no right
to seccde; that their secession ordinances
werewolf from the beginning, and that con.
Sequently we had the right to, enforce the
Constitution and the laws over every foot of
ground that had ever been within our juris>
diction. With this view the work Of resto>
ration is easy, and under the principles here
laid down the States late in rebellion can
resume their places without the least jar or
confusion. Congress may, and doubtless
will decide that parties who have been in
arms against the Government, and who have
given no evidence of regret for their course,
are unfit to hold seats in that body, but in
ruling this class out it by no means follows
that the States they claim to represent are to
be denied all participation in the affairs Of gov,
ernment. Let Louisiana or North Carolina
elect loyal men to Congtess-men who are
uutainted with the crime of treason-and we
know of nothing in the Constitution or laws
of the land that will warrant their exclusion.
The radical theory is, that the States are to
be re,sdmitted on such terms as Congress
may see fit to impose whilst opposed to
them We have President johnson and the
best men Of the country, all holding that
the States never were uat and conseu usutly
are not subjects for resdmissios The right
to reject an improper person who in some
way may have obtained a certificate Of elec.
tion to Congress, is very different thing
FROM claiming the right to deny State rep
resentation in Congress. If South Carolina
sends men who are Httainted of treason to
represent her in Congress, they may right
fully be sent back, and the whole country
will say Amen but if from among her cti>
zeus she selects loyal representatives, there
is no warrant for closing the doors against
them. Discussing this question of recon
struetion, and the issues involved, contem,
porary well says, that the opponents OF
President johnson, in holding the recusant
States to have been out Of the Union, show
themselves to be secessionists in principle; !;
and to be consistent, should at once demand
the release of Jefferson Davis and all the
rest of their brother secessionists II the
States have to be re admitted, it is because
they have been out, and if they went out by
the exercise Of their power, what but the
voluntary exercise of their power can bring
them back? 1t is folly to tall about this
Union being held together by force; it was
originally founded on assent, not on coercion;
and when it ceases to be held together by as
sent, twill fall to pieces of itself, and no
power on earth can keep it together. There
are not bayOnets enough in the world to pin
it together. If there were it would not be
worth the effort it would st. 1t was be-
cause there existed an unwillingness on the
part of large portion of the Southern peo>
Ple-doubtlesS a real majority finally to
sever their relations to the Union, that the
rebellion was failure; and to keep such
people out of the Union, until they shall do
precisely what the radicals in their cruel and
despotic caprice demand, is not only unjust;
it is an Outrage. No, the Union men are
not radicals /; the radicals are secessionists
and disuDlonists; aud hence the radicals
must not be allowed to re-arrange the dis,
turbed relations of the Union; that reSar>
rangement must be left to men of, enlarged
minds, whose patriotism is sufficiently ex-
panSive to embrace the whole country.
F...
TEST OATHs.-It is thought that many
Of the recently elected members Of Congress
from the Southern States, will be unable To