Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-12-12

MONTPELIER. VT
Tuesday Morning, December I2, 1858.
Mastery Reticence.

We are informed by telegraph that the South
ern claimants of seats in Congress at Washing.
ton are not particularly communicative, except
90 far as to assure those who converse with
them, that they are all right The telegram
informs US that they confne themselves to the
prosecution of their pardon claims in person,
and do not propose 10 talk pohtics TIL thy can
do il Without damaging those who help hem ~
This means that the politics they vii talk, when
they open their mouths, s not the kind supposed
to give most satisfactory evidence of any real
change Of opinions on the part Of the South, or
Of any very satisfactory loyalty on the part Of
these claimants OF seats IN the national legisla-
ture 1t is not uncommon for lawyer when
they have scoundrels for clients, to keep their
clients as much in the back ground ar j a. a. Jet
as possible: and il their clients are ahrewd,
they will appreciate the position, and be very
careful not to discover their true character, Or
the real merits Of their case, until after judg.
ment.
This may be called worldly wisdom and We
are not surprised to find these Southern delegates
80 well understanding the position, and 90 care.
fully abstainlng from declarations of the off,ps,
i've politics which they really believe H. Il
would, undoub tedly, damage those who are en-.
deavoring to get these late reb ls back at once
into power and position 10 the Union, if Their
real sentiments were fully understood and les
they should be, they dom 4" talk politics til
they can do it safely-thatie, till they are rccog
nized as reconstructed aud restored to all theil
former rights and privileges in the Union
This course Of these Southerners-and the
whole progress of reconstruction at the South
has borne witness to the same lact-proyes thai
these sons of chivalry can be made to behave
themselves Until 1860 they were the masters
in the whole Union and they forced the demo
cratic party and the " conservatives OF the
North to think and act to please them. They
tolerated no differences Of opinion. They id
vanced step by step in their demands, until they
drove enough voters into the ranks Of the radl
calls to elect Mr.. Lincoln, wien the Shareholders
finding themselves no longer masters, inaugur
ated rebellion. They have been whipped anC
su4jugated, and have given very decisive evi
dence that they are conscious Of 1t, and eco ib
necessity of making Themselves Us agreeable a
possible to the powers hat be. This Indicate
that they know how to restrain their passionate
plantation manners, and hold in discreet sllenc
their ultra anti democratic opinions, when the,
understand that such conduct will advance thei
interests in other words, il shows that the,
know how to obey, when they find power abb
to enforce obedience
The South having learned this lesson, we ar
quite in favor OF their being made to practice i
In their future political relations with tn
Union. Let them henceforth comprehend, tina
they are certainly Of no more consequence to thu
republic than any other portion of the Union
that while they have the right of Independent
thought and free speech, stopping short o
treason, other states have the same right tha
their buster and plantation manners have los
all their terror and henceforth they belong I,
the Union and not the Union to them. An in
dependent and fearless and just treatment o
these reconstructed rebels now, will telch then
wholesome lesson for oil coming time.