The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-12-19
PORTLAN ID.
Reconstruction.

RECOMMENDATION.
Mr.. Johnson's experiment has failed. After
a trial of nearly two years, it has proved
worse than useless. From Texas TO North
Carolina the leaders in the late rebellion Ill
all the local offices, elect one announcer ~ oo
gress and manage to control all the puolic sen',,
ment which as yet has been able to make itse'i
heard Congress offered to these people the
midest possible terms-terms SO lhliu tli''
we need continually to repeat them, to assure
ourselves that these were indeed ALL These
States were required to guarantee equal civil
rights to all American citizens, to consent to a
lust apportionment of representation in Con
gress, to declare perjured traitors unworthy OF
official position, to repudiate the rebel dept'
and to affirm the validity of the national DEBT
Such are the terms which Mr.. Johnsons ex-
perimental legislatures have rejected, iooilsn'y
believing once more the assurances OF the
Northern Democla attic press, ana expectlhS "
create ''dead dock" which wouid ehapie
them to make their own terms. raaf E
But the North viii not consent to dead
lock. AS il becomes eyident that the South
ern States, as now organized, are determined
to reject an offel SO considerable, so charitable,
higher and higher rises the popular demand
for a new and more vigorous policy, initiated
this time by the chosen representatives OF the
people and the States. We have tried long
enough the experiment of pleasing our late
enemies; now, in Heavens name, let us try to
do right, whether they are pleased or not.
We print in another column the very inn
portant bill introduced in the House of Rep
resentatives last week by Mr. Stevens, to re-
establish civil government in North Carolina.
1t was proper to begin with the State in
which the Presidents experiment began
Mr. Stevens stated that the bill was offered
at the request of several citizens of North
Carolina, and the telegraph informs us that
Gov. Holden and others have expressed their
satisfaction with its provisions and have gone
home to prepare the public mind to cooperate
with Congress in bringing about a final set
tlement upon this new basis. The bill does
not undertake to establish any theory OF
otate-suicide. 1t is a practical measure and
simply declares the fact that in 1865 North
Carolina had no government organized ac-
cording to the requirements of the Constitu-
ton of the United States. No such govern
ment has since been organized. The proceed
ings under the direction OF the President have
been purely experimental; they stiil lack and
in some important particulars will probably
never receive the sanction of Congress. The
present civil government of the State is mere
ly provisional. ..s..s a,..s a, .,i.s.
With this brief recital of facts in the pream-
Bile, the bill passes to enact that convention
shall assemble to frame State constitution, as
the first step towards reorganization that the
delegates to the convention shall be such per-
sons only as were entitled to the amnesty Of
tered by President Lincoln's proclamation Of
December 8, 1868; and that the electors of
these delegates shall be all male resident citi-
zens over twenty-one years OF age, who can
read or write, or own real estate assessed at
one hundred dollars or over, without distinc-
ton of race or color. 1t is provided
that no one who has heretofore exer-
cised the right of voting in North Car
DINA shall be dislranchised for lack OF
these qualification, and it is TO be hoped
that Congress will strike out the property
qualification altogether. The intelligence
test is what might have been expected from
nave InJTOuuceU uHe CUTnT0n- 5rfIuy,r-pyu v...
in Pennsylvania.
1t is difficult to conceive OF any objection
which can be made to this scheme. The
Presidents experiment has resulted in dead
lock, and something else must be tried
Democrats who have just been voting for a
negro for councilman in Boston cannot rea-
sonably object to negro voting in North Car
DINA. 1t is not ignorant suffrage but i'm
partial suffrage, which is proposed Distin-
guished citizens of the State most interested
are ready TO lend their influence to the meas
ure. The only plausible objection would be
that the execution of such law may be OBJ
structed by violence. Ali shall we hesitate
to do right then, for fear that somebody may
do wrong? Let us have done with this palter-
ing! The remedy is easy; it has been urged a
hundred times by a Southern Journal The
very last number of the New Orleans Tribune.
which has come to hand, urges again the Or
ganization ola loyal militia throughout the
South. The material is there, and if the oc-
easion should demand its use, we trust Con-
gress will not hesitate to use it,