The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-05-31

Rebellion's collapse and utter overthrow, our
platform of Reconstruction has been short and
simple-uniyersal amnesty-impartial suffrage.
Restore to every man all the rights he forfeited
by treason on the single condition that all per
sons born under the jurisdiction of our Govern
ment or naturali2ed into American citizenship
shall enjoy equal civil and political rights. We
do not ask that suffrage shall be absolutely uni.
versal but that no qualifications be exacted, no
conditions or restrictions imposed, which do not
bear equally on all colors and races. Say that
every man shall be able to read, or to read and
write, or shall have paid tax, or shall show
that he gains an honest livelihood in some use
full calling, or was never convicted of crime
exact any or all these, II you WILL provided you
require them equally of white and black.
We require none Of them-propose none; but
we will consent to any that gives the blacks a
fair chance to acquire the right of self-protec-
ton by the ballot on condition OF deserving IT..
We would have the eXacdon apply universally
TO New York and Illinois. equally with Virginia
and Texas and we would aJ once give to each
Southern State its fmirepresentation- three
fitbs OF all other persons"-but all to which she
would have been entitled If there had never
been any slavery in the land. And these terms
we believe every State lately in revolt ought
gladly to accept; and. If they were proposed
kindly firmly, backed by manifest power, we
believe they l0oud be accepted.
We do not say to our political friends "Adopt
our programme, or we will oppose you" We
snail do nothing of the sort. We propose to
abide in and act with that great patriotic party
which so noby carried our country through the
trials and perlls OF our late civil war. We offer
our suggestion as member of that party; we
shall be right glad to see it ado pied; but il 1t is
not, we shall stlll go with the Union party, be-
lieving that we can thus do more good than by
breaking off from it and setting up in opposi.
tion to 1t. Whatever plan of reconstruction
shall ultimately be agreed on by the great body
of the UniOnists in Congress, that we shall do
hagE Agh hpVn fAd Itfvr hall -
the better the nearer it comes to embodying
fully and only the two principles of universal
amnesty-impartial suffrage
"But the country is not prepared to accept
your platform" say many.
"Well, for the arguments sake,a dulit it, we
answer. ''Our programme is in advance OF pub
lie sentiment on both points. There is a majority
in favor of imposing some penal inhicuons or
disabilities on the late Rebels. There is also
majority (very differently constituted) hostile to
what they maccurately term Niger Equality
Admit all you choose to assert on these points,
or either OF them. Admit that we should be
voted down at the ensuing elections, and Cop.
perhead majority returned to the next Congress,
who would admit the Rebels Internationally
and put the blacks under their feet That would
be morally certain to occur but once. The allies,
by their legislation IN Congress, by their op-
preston of the blacks, by their general exhibit
tions of innate depravity, would be morally sure
to bankrupt themselves in year; and then we
should not merely regain power out keep it,"
Such is our deliberate conviction.
The New York Times dissents from this view
not only dissents from, but caricatures it
1--WE doubt whe' her the great body of the Union
party will deem il quite SdTe TO DIE in the hope of
in the seeded ates on their o1n terms and thus
foItifes, beyond reasonable hope of subsequent
pulson, the most disloyal leaders of the Demo.
cratic party. Possibly, the Union party might, at
some future day experience glorious resurrection
bu the chances in the case supposed would scarcely
warrant the experiment
"If the Union majority in Congress had been wise
enough cooperate with the President, instead of
resi- sting and waginG war upon him, the Rebel
States would have come back into Congress on
terms perfectly satisfactory to the country, and per.
the nation, They would nave seen in the Union
Administration their best friends instead of ene-
mics, and would have been only too glad 10 coope-
rate with that party in such measures might Ia
out the South"
COMMENTS BY THE TRIBUNE"
The ruling caste at the South, who forced her
into the late Rebellion have just one measure
of triendship:-"Will you help us keep the
blacks as nearly in the condition of brutes as
posslbleW Whoever will do this, they account
their best friends;" whoever will not, are
classed with their enemies" Apart from this
slngle, absorbing issue, they realize that the
editor of the Tribune is more their friend than
many of those whom they are now vehemently
lauding. There was not man in all the coun.
try, North or South, whom they more thoroughly
detested aid abhorred, one little year ago, than
Andrew Johnson. They regarded him as not
merely deadly foe, but a detestabe apostate
and traitor. Yet, from the moment that they
found his "plann susceptible of being SO de
veloped and applied as to plant their heel once
more on the necks of the blacks, they turned 9
short corner, and from the most unmeasureC
abuse and reviling OF the President became his
unmeasured eulogists and thick-and.thip sup
porters. They would rally around Wendell
Phillips tomorrow if they could convert him tC
a like use.
We deny then, peTemptorily, that the lat'
Rebels could have been won to love and condde il
the Union party on terms consistent either witt
national security or national honor-much les
on terms which would Establish Justice, eQua
rights, and civil liberty throughout the South.
Precisely because il enables them to eUdde sucl
establishment, they now glorify 1.-The President
policy" If 1t were calculated to "esCablsl
equal rights and civil liberty throughout thu
South" they would be its and his determined
antagonists.
Now, then, as to death" and resurrection
The party of progress must often dare TO take
step in advance OF average public sentiment l
did this in urging emancipation in 1862 as thu
defeat of General Wadsworth, and kindred re
suits in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
ETC., demonstrated; but its reVerses then prove
the harbinCer of glorious and bene6cent sue
cesses thereafter. So 1t will be again and again
But defeat by no means necessarily attend
such daring. In lS49, OHIO repealed her blacl
laws-in defiance, probably, OF the prevalen
opinion among her citizens; yet those laws hav
never been re-enacted, and never will be. /
equal rights regardless of color we're this hou
engrafted on the Federal Constitution, no intel
Egent person believes that they would ever b
eliminated theIefrom.
Canada on one side, Mexico on the other, to
day ignores all inequality of political right
founded in color; yet no Rebel, no Copperhead
finds residence in either intolerable. Quite
number OF Rebels have recently emigrated froI
the South with all her negro prescription, t
South America, where (eVen In slaveholdin
Brazil) all ooloTs are equal before the law.