Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-12-06
THE OPENING OF CONGRESS.
What the Signs Portend-Comments of the New
York Press.
From the Herald of The 4tb.l

Saturday night was the appointment of a commit
tee OF scyea consisting OF MeS-rs Stevens, OF Penn.
sylvaRia; Raymond. OF New York. Spalding oil
Ohio: Ndshburne. of Illinois Payne, OF Wisconsin,
Boutwell, of Massachusetts, ana Blair. OF MaIne-a
radical committee, from which, already cut ana
dried by Ihaddeu, Stevens, resolution was pre-
| scuted which at once, for az least twevemonth, II
adopted by tie two houses dsposes OF the excluded
southern States This resolution provides that atter
the organization of the two houses joint commit
tee, vi fifteen more members OF the House aud SIX
% the Senate shall be- appointed 10 inquire into
the cOnd.tio of the States which formed the SO
called Confederate States of America. and report
whether they, any OF hem, entitled 10 be re
presented IN Their house of Congress, with leave TO
report az any time by bill or otherwise; and until
.uch repCr; shall have be- made. and finally acted
Oh 10y CongeSs, no member shall be received INTO
! rther house from any oil the s0called Confederate
Satss, and all papers relating 70 the representatives,
f.0m said States shall be referred to said committee
! without debate
This Is the Programme, and this radical resolution
in the caucus was adopted without dissenting
voice. 1t will We infer unless arrested by wiser
roun-elS be adopted in both branches to-day and
| N the House motion of Mr.. Thaddeus stevens,
no thus from the start takes his ton as leader
I the body. His plan OF operations, therefore y
pen TO the hroade,t radical interpretation. First,
excludes from Congress, for an indefinite time,
every member elected ~ either house from Virginia
North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida Ala
bapa. Ntsss' ppi, Louisiana, Texas Arkansas ana
Tcanessee-cleyen States They are to stay out al
have finished its investigation agreed upon It's plan
and made rs report. and thence until that report
shall have been adopted and shaped into la" oil
Congress. That this business il entered into under
the leading of Stevens will occupy the two houses
for the next six months or more, there is every rea-
son to believe.
Furthermore. 10 make their course Of action de
cisve no member from any of these excluded states
elected to either house, is to be admitted while TINS
joint committee is engaged in Matching its radical
eggs of reconstruction, and all papers relating to the
election of members from the excluded States are TO
be handed over TO this joint committee, and without
debate An the work done in the way Of recon
| stmctOn. under the auspices OF President Johnson
goes for nothing except the'work OF raw appren'
ticcs beginning 10 learn their trade. Eleven states
of the [ MON, disorganzed, helpless and exhausted
by the war are anXously awaiting their restoration
! to established law and order. so that confidence and
| industry may be revived within their borders, and
Yet not only the doors of Congress 10 be shut in
their faces, but they to be put in the exclusive
keeping of u joint committee of fifteen for cOnsidera
ton, and with carte blanche in regard TO time
II this is TO be the game Of the Republican party, let
| them look well TO the ground on which they stand.
The Republican caucus has placed itself the side
of the radica and revolutionary programme Of Thad
deus Stevens and Senator Sumner, in opposition 10
the wise and conservative restoration policy Of Pres
! dent johnson.
What is contemplated by this programme Of the
radical Thaddeus Stevens lie has declared him
self without reserve, in favor of the enforcement Of
n system of confgcations in the South sweeping
~ those of William, the Norman freebooter His
plea is, that such cOhscatiOns needed TO pay on
! the national debt. We cannot doubt however. that
the experiment would be followed by political an
archy, financial confusion and reputation. With
the merciless incnations Of Mr.. stevens upon this
subject. radical abolition fanatic a. he is we may
guess that the bill OF his committee Of fifteen forthc
reconstruction Of the late slave States will be 80
| stringent and eXactlng IN regard TO their enamel
paed blacks % delay through all this Congress Of
Two years the work Of reconstruction proposed
nfInna lad
condition Of the South, the country and the treasu
| ry, from the continued prostration OF Southern in
dustry, will loose hundreds of millions ia substap.
tal wealth which otherwise might be gained.
From the News Of the 4th.
The caucus of Republican Representatives las de-
creed the exclusion of the South from participation
in the Government; and no doubt Congress viii
ritfy ~, decision of the dominant party COM
mittee, of which Thaddeus Stevens was chairman,
prOpounded the resOlutlnn which thus condemns the
southern people to indefinite exile from the embrace
Of the Union. And 50 vanish in moment all those
visions OF peace and harmony wherewth the cOun.
try has amused itself since the catastrophe Of the
rebellion. Disunion is 10 be perpctuatcd sectional
animOstes are to be intensified; the sprt Of revolt
is to he eXasperated and propagated oyer the now
submissive SOuth-such is the infeXibe. avow-
ed purpose of the incendiaries who control the
Government Truly an auspicions opening Of the
Congress that was To Bind up the wounds OF the ma
ton and restore the Union to its original integrity
The country fondly expected the President 10 inter-
cept the contamination of which these proceedings
are the ominOu' prelude; but with what consistency
or elect can he urge the admission of Southern Rep
re'entatiyes, while he prohibits the Inauguration Of
Southern Governors
From the Tribune of 4th
With regard TO the admission OF members from
the States lately in rebellion the resolve mani.
mously agreed on at the Unionst caucus on Satur-
day evening, will he moved by Mr. Stevens, Of
| Pennsylvania. and adopted.
The great split and iactiOn.fght between the con.
sentative" and the " radical" Reyubcais-tbe for.
mer sustaining 1.-THE Presidents policy Of recon.
.truet9n, the latter furlously opposing it-whereof
the public has heard 30 much through the Herald
and other veracous channels, would seem to have
been indefinitely postponed.
From the World of It'll
Thaddens Stevens the. radical leader OF the House.
and Henry J. Raymond, the Conservative leader
have already joined hands and tLrotted an the nIan
for an immediate restoration OF the Union President
johnson 8 plan among the rest. They did NOT wait
till the opening Of Congress to-day 10 give tbose
plans the honols Of decent burial under the Clerks
table, but put the party bow-string around tbem AN
and pitched them at midnight out OF the window OF
4 partisan Caucus
Prior to the late elections Thadleus Stevens de-
nounced with Unsparing rigor President Johnson
the Democratic party, Republicans affecting conser'
vatIve !nclinngs everybody, in short who asserted
the right Of the Southern States TO an immediate re
presentation in Congress or advocated the poIicy of
an immediate restoration Of the Union; he boldly
tUuDIHru ~uUlUeT : NtdUe-SulclQe dogma and
claimed the necessity Of a permanent military 90.
ycrnmen: OF the South. In this he was consistent
and, n We always asserted, in this he represented
the bulk OF the Republican party. Henry J. Ray
n"nd ihurlow Weed. and the sO-called .'conserya.
tiycs." protested that they were the snnnor,orso,
Nr. Johnson. and in favor Of anHmmediate restors.
ton Of tie Union. They said that that was The si-.
uiicance of their incutable and double.faced S,rss
cu~c platform. They even pretended 10 dstrns, ,Ls
sincerity Of Democrats who endorsed All ~ H.
Johnsons efforts which tended to get the South back
at once. They cried loud in the streets MOI
no IRE are the true upholders of Mr. Jobnso, "a
these efforts. We can help him, for We and NOT The
Radicals rule and reign in the Republican partv =
We are able to help him. and we will help him ana
the South shall bcrestored 10 its relations with The
Union at once "
The country believed these men, and has been
promptly betrayed. They carried the fall elections
and then carried themselves. their followers. and
their trust the feet of Thaddeus Stevens the arch
radical.
The resolution adopted unanimously Is 1914 Re-
publican members. in their Saturday evening eau.
Gus. shows with what promptitude Thaddeus Stevens
strangled the infant Restoration, stamped upon II
with his brutal heel proclaimed his plan for keeping
the Union disunited Mr.. Raymond and his con-
seryatves applauding' Tor the vote, we are told
an unanimous yea
This caucus legislation is final. for the House IL
carried already, and the Senate will submit After
four wears failure TO restore the Union by war and
eight months failure to restore it by peace, the Radi.
Gals declare that It shall still longer remain sunder-
ed. Their Clerk OF the House violates his dnty at
their nstigatiOn, and keeps OF his list of members
the Of scores of men whose credentials under
the great seal OF their respective States, good
authority for their insertion there as those Of the
members from New York, and the Radical majority
votes that Joint Committee of both Houses shah
be committed duty which by the Constitution, Ia
enjoined upon each House for itself.
Perhaps We do the Senate Injustice in supposins
that il will hear and obey the crack of Thaddeus
Stevens whip, as promptly as Mr.. Raymond and his
conservatives" have done. 1t is barely possible
they may remember that they the body in which
the Constitution provides for representation Of the
State soyereigntes, and will properly guard their
piyeges and duties from all control or interference
the part Of another body which represents thepeo-
pie of the States broken into districts The Consti-
tut; ON is SO little needed by the present majority In
both Houses however that we may be prepared for
anything that will advance party objects Bat the
voice of James Guthrie and Reverdy johnson viii
ha l;laI. 10 ha heard on this subject: and oeaiblv