The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-10-14

turn to the Union--as IL wAsl Ceasing to re-
bel only when further resistance was useless,
making virtue of necessity and laying down
their arms only when .forcedto do so, it was
marvellous to see how suddenly the prophecy
vision. was made real, in the apparent dispssE
ton, SO suddenly developed, of the won ana
the lamb to dwell together of the ieopaiu ~
lie down with the kid, of the can @alaa-eaae
younq lion and the failing to be led by the lit
tle child. and of the lion to eat straw like the
OK.
But currept events are showing that in this
annarent marvellous conversion there was no
heart: that it was conviction against the
will: that the rebels-many of them at least
have only appealed from the sword which fail
ed them, to strategy, hoping to gain by itwhat
they were unable to secure by superior phySl-
cal force While anxious for restoration they
are inspired by the same spirit which led them
to rebel. Once restored, with their leaders
pardoned, they hope to secure increase OF pol
itical power and yet not lose the substantial
benefits which they have claimed slavery al
of securing condition of serfdom for the ne
gro. practically little better for him and little
worse forthemselves, while the change-in the
letter rather than in the spirit of the infa-
nous institution-will give them a large in
crease of power in the popular branch Of the
national legislature. 7otiriipsi
To show the dninaos of the present race of
active, newly-pardoned constructionists in the
south, We need only make an extract from
speech in the Alabama Convention, by Mr..
Langdon,--one of the leading spirits in that
body. He said:
eve must get control of these negroes.
= We cannot endure what is now going
on. / will not particulafize, for you all know
to what refer. We know how to manage the
negro better than anybody else, bat a0e cannot
get control of him arSthoast first getting back
into the U1sion." K Hs5ss8F. 4F5a
This is plain talk, entirely consistent with
the general drift of those who are carrying out
the reconstruction policy at the South. In
Mississippi this "poliey" has resulted in the
election. for Governor of a notorious rebel,
whose life was forfeited under the laws of the
country, and who needed an act of Executive
clemency to save him from liability to trial for
treason. In Alabama the same .SppIicy"
shrinks from going before the people, knowing
that they are not prepared to adopt such a
form of governments would enable the men
of more artifce but of less honor, and frank
ness to secure seats in Congress. Theruling
pro-slayery class wish to get back into the I'm
ion merely to "get control of the negro and
to re-establish slavery, or system of serfdom
which practically differs but little from it. To
open the doors of Congress to these states I'M
der their newly constructed constitutions, is
to consign the freedmen as ain to bondage; an
act of shameful ingratitude on the part of the
government towards the only men in the
South who have been steadily the friends Of
the country, and have willingly shed their
blood or perilled their lives In defence of its
honor and its flag. BY abandoning these peo-
pie, without first securing to them the power
to protect themselves at the polls, without Civ
ing them the benefit of civil rights and in all
respects recognizing their full manhood before
the law, the nation viii show itself unworthy
the COMMUNICATION Of good men, and, it may
justly be feared, provoke anew the terrible ret
ributions of Almighty God. In the prevail
ing movement at the South we see plainly
as we have intimated in the caption to this ar
ticle, that the rebels have appealed from the
decision of the sword to strategy. God grant
that this appeal may fail them. Nv9f