New-York daily tribune., 1866-01-10
THE SOUTHERN STATUS.

The Erenng Post evinces an eager haste Ia
dsembarrass itself of the company of those
with whom as Republicans it spoke and acted
nearly throughout tho last decade. Not merely
Messrs Stevens. Sumner and large majority
of the present Congress, provoke It's censures
by obectng to the representation of the South
in Congress by the votes of Rebels all but ex-
clusivcly, but ChiefJusticc Chase and Gov.
Andrew are equally exposed to its reproba:ion.
Here is the Chief.Justices statement which The
Post condemns:
"Those who were slaves at the beginning of the war
have become freedmen and citizens and the Rebel
governments Of the Southern States have been de.
stroyed All the machinery OF these governments has
come to ends and holding, as do. that these
States remain States the second process OF reogaDiza-
ton s that the revert into the hands
of the Southern People They are 70 rebuild the GOV.
every coored man part of the people. Therefore the
coorcd OF the South should bear an equal hand in
reorganization. The war has made them citizens and
the Right OF Suffrage. in the reorganization Of State.
pertains TO every citizen whatever may have been bis
| status before the war began"
This statement The Post controverts as fol-
lows:
"In tho first place. war and conquest do not change
fundamentally the legal relations OF conquered peo.
pie; their municipal institutions their private ana
civic rights and their ancient laws remain they were
and the fact Of conquest alters merely their political
allegiance. The will of the conqucror may unqueslon'
ably impose new laws but when he withdraws his
hand society to its former condition. In the
second place. such existence as The people, considered
as simple uncrcal aggregate or mass of population.
il known in law. IL is the people as organized, the
people as Il body polite, the people who constitute the
State that law always suppOses 10 exist. Besides TO
contend that Secession introduced an anarchy which de-
sroyed ali political distinctions and LETT society mere
mob Of human beings Is to say that women and
children and idiots and foreigners. as well
as the colored folks. may henceiorth exercise
Which mnTe hap m 'Ie the viii prob"by
claim. Again a. the President argues. the act of Se
ccssion void II destroyed nothing and It created
nothing the seizure Of the State governments was
usurpaion and also void; and whatever the State au
hOrtcs did under and during Secession, could have
de jurt character Changes dc fdoto were made IN
abandance-such the destruction Of Slavery. which
have recognized aud consecrated by the amendment
but changes de jure none except that the persons
who were instrumental in taking up arms placed them
selves under the bln Of the law. and became either
traitors or public enemies, or both.
If this be the true doctrine, then Slavery in
the future is the inevitable doom of millions OF
our countrymen. For 1.-The private and civic
lrights," as well as "the ancient laws'-still
more, the inyeterate prejudices and most cher.
ished habits of the Southern Whites regard
the negro race as created to be servants of the
Whites; aDd not one of the Cotton States
would have abolished Slavery if its Whites had
understood that they were at liberty to do a:
they pleased in the premises. And if, whcr
the conqueror "withdraws his hand, Society
recurs to its former condition. why do not the
slaves return to Slavery
Even if we suppose the present slaves emanci
pated by the Rebellion. or by its overthrow, the
Cotton States will revive it, and find means tt
reduce the Blacks again to bondage, if The Post'
doctrine be sound. Concede that the Whites o
the South are the People of the South, and thai
no fundamental change "de jure" has beer
wrought by tho War, and Mississippi will have
her Blacks on the auction-block within the next
three years. So ill South Carolina and the