The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-11-24


SINCE contained the following declaration in re-
ference to President Johnson's policy for read
justing the Southern States:-"The President
had no shadow Of authority, / admit, under the
constitution Of the United States, to order
convention In this or any other State; but as a
conqueror he had the right to offer, if not to
dictate, terms" If Wade Hampton intended to
convey the idea that the power used by the
President, in his efforts to reorganize the South,
is extra constitutional, he is right in his infer
ence The President has no power, according
to the letter Of the constitution, TO pursue the
course which he has adopted in his reconstruc-
ton policy. But Wade Hampton and the class
Of men who look upon our present condition
from his standpoint fail to comprehend or
understand the expansive power of the consti-
tution-a power not expressed, but inherent in
it as necessity for selfpreservation.
The trainers of our constitution provided for
the suppression of rebellion or insurrection,
and gave to the President and Congress ample
authority to adopt measures to accomplish that
purpose and enforce the laws in every locality.
All this is included in the war provisions of the
constitution, and it is here that we find the ex-
pansive power Of that charter. While the
authors Of the constitution provided for the
suppression of a rebellion, they did not incor-
porate in that instrument explicit provisions
for demonstrating a State, for no such emer-
~gency was ever expected by them to arise.
But common sense tells us that it was not,
therefore, intended that State was to be left
without local government and its citizens in an
unprotected condition, as they would be, when
the rebellion was put down. 1t seems to us that
the inference is clearly deducible that the
power given to the President under the war
provisions of the constitution carries with it,
as necessity, the authority to reorganize those
localities which have been in rebellion; that
this, in fact, is part and parcel Of the war
power vested in the President and Congress for
ing the instruction is not completed until the
machinery of the local or civil government is
fully adjusted and placed in efficient working
order. There is not to be found in the consti-
tuition one word or syllable authorizing the
President or Congress to hold a State which
Any such attempt on the part Of either would
be unqucstionably direct violation not only
Of the letter but the spirit Of that instrument,
as well as of fundamental law. It follows,
therefore, that the only course is for the Presi-
dent to adopt such measures as will secure i'm
and enforcement of the civil laws which exist
cd in the rebellious States previous to the in
surrection. This is the authority which the
President is now exercising in his efforts to re-
organize the South
No person would for o moment claim that
proclamation abolishing slavery, issued in time
of peace, would be constitutional, but it is
clearly constitutional when promulgated dur
ing rebellion as q war measure. The same
rule will apply to the appointment Of Provi-
sional Governors. They come in under the
war power and are part Of the machinery used
to perfect and complete the work Of suppress
ing the rebellion. If the trainers of the consti-
tuition intended that an insurrection should
be crushed out they could not have
desired the work to be half completed, but
thorough in all respects. Nor was 1t posi-
BILE for them to enunciate the precise mode of
proceeding as soon as the organized resist
ance had been overcome, for tho simple rca-
son that it was beyond their power to tell
where or how rebellion would rise, and,
furthermore, no two cases would require the
same treatment in the final settlement.
All this had to be left 10 the cxpan-
sive power of the constitution and the COM
mon sense of those who administered it at
the time that the events occurred. 1t is here
that the President obtains the right to demand
that each Of those States which have been in
rebellion shall ratify the constitutional amend
ment abolishing slavery. 1t is here that he
finds the power to justify HIM in insisting that
the late slaves shall be allowed to testify in
courts of justice II is from this source that
he has the authority to declare that the rebel
debt shall be repudiated. Unless we deny
that the constitution gives to Congress and the
President ample power TO suppress insurrec-
ton and enforce the laws in all sections Of the
country, il must be admitted that the au hority
TO set aside the rebellous local govern
ments in the States which have been in rebel
lion and to reorganize them is also fully in
ferred and intended, although not explicitly
expressed. Any other conclusion would
plunge us into endless confusion and lead
us step by step until we finally landed in chaos
and ruin.
The ADVERTISING BUSINESS OF THE HERALD
We yesterday paid the government quarterly
tax on our advertising receipts for the month
of September, amounting to four thousand five