, 1865-07-17
uusr7nEY MIGHT HAVE SAID

nxxaT 1nEY MIG hT HAVE SAID,
The Iutole,ant and tutolerable pso-slayer3
4 snf,it of tho South is bent upon the ute,
obstruction Of those whom 1t possesses. The
h.uehtineEs, arrogance, injustice and down,
light barbarity with which the old bsrons and
their re.ainert, the poor whites, continue to
treat the black race 1s the most convincing
proof Of what We say. They, had the oppor-
tunity. not yet thrown away, to convince the
people of the North that they were earnest
in their professions Of peace, earnest in their
asseverations that slavery is dead and pq-
r1td Institution, and earnest TN their desire
for such plan of Reorganization Ms would
secure at once the complete 1nsuumIsslon OF
the slaves and The most acceptable guaranty
Of national sasety. The North was
and Is yet most sincerely deslrous
Of peace and restoration of So
cis1, commercial md political intercourse.
The joy consequent upon victory has made
her 1enient End forgiring and the people Of
the South had but to will 1t, to disappolnt
the expectations Of croakers and prophets of
evil, and put aside for ever the bitterness that
the war has. engendered. Had she said this:
+" We fought for the extension and perpetua-
1lon Of slavery. We lost, and VIC accept
"the consequences. Slavery Is dead~-the
"black man Is free ]; and to show you that VIE
"mean what We say, wepropose to make him
"a citizen as soon he fha!l be 1T to exercise
"the rights Of cltize nship. II be has fought
"ln your army he ehall vote, because he has
t'proved his valor. Hhc has property to The
"amont Of five hundred dollars he ahAll
"vote, because he ought to be able TO
"protect his property rights II he
"cnu read and write he shall vote, because
"intellIgence ought to be heard and have It's
"weipht As for him who cannot read aud
''write, '' for him who has no property to pro.
"tect, and for him who has not been in the
"a.my.--Tc will gire him employment and
'shulnane treatment, t,p1edging ourselves 10 nd
"yance him as he may, by industry mud
"sobriety, deserve promotion. We hare
ttneithrr hope nor thought Of reviving chat
"tle bondage. Wewant to take away all
appearance Of entertaining any cxpeeta-
"ticns Of The SORT We accept the new order
"of things, II not chcerfully, ut least sim
"cerelg md bJ thus putting the black man
I'm The WY 10 protect himself and to earn
"hls elevation to a higher place, we prove
"1t!" We say, that, had The Southern peo-
rle, through their local press, their pnbll.
speakers, their political representatives at
Washington, or in any other way whatever,
held out the hope to the North that these
| were their sentiments, no power On earth
could have pc1pesuated the feeling the war
had craied. 1bey could have got any terms
! consistent with this programme that they
had asktd; and such was The desire
10 be generous, If possible, without
! sacrificing the very, thing for which the
North fought, that, aftkr the South had OBJ
tanned all the dared ask, the North wonld
hare literally piled on more. The oppor-
tunity to do 80, Is that which the Northern
people desired above everything else It Ia
true that this would hare been black outrage ;
but suffrage ,hat ousht not 10 excite any
mans alalm. II would have been an
elevation Of the negro race, partial
but promising more; but merit in SONS
shape would have been ita basis. It would
have been IN earnest that slavery is dead, In
| spirit and in letter; and that is just what
the North want, and Will have. To have said
this would have teen easy and to have made
the promise good would have been q task
that the South could have easily performed.
We zee the entertainment to which the
country is really invited: Rebellion is still
rampant Slavery IN new and perhaps
more horrible ehape-slavery with all Its
evils but With none Of its mitlgatlons- lis
struggling for the ascendaucy; and all events
shape themselves to prove that the old con-
atct has not terminated With the war. What
has the peace-lor:ng North left, as measure
OF feclfprotection, now that reorganization ia
resolved upon, except to demand that al the
blacks shall have the power to defend them
| selves, and make real and enduring peace
possible, By having The ballot put into their
| han1s