The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1866-01-06
Our President.

Our President.
Before the Adjournment of Congress for the
Holiday season, President Johnson submitted TO
the Senate, in answer 10 a resolution of inquiry
from that body, message giving an exhibit Of
the general social, political and Industrial condi
ton Of the seeded States. In that message he
gave very hopeful statement of the South, the
progress of reconstruction, the evidences Of re-
turning loyalty desire to restore the damages
of war, disposition to submit to the laws, the
improving condition of the freedmen, &c. Mr..
Sumner from Mass. with characteristic rashness
aud ill-humor, spoke of the message as "a white
washing affair, similar to the messages of Presi-
dents Pierce and Buchanan"
1t was saying in so many words, that the Pres
ident, the Chief Magistrate Of the. nation, the
man who above all others is known for his hon.
esty and uprightness, was practicing deceit
upon Congress and the people, that he was
making statements which he knew to be false
The remark is fair exhibit of the spirit of that
radical element in Congress, headed by Sumner
in the Senate and Stevens of Pennsylvania in the
House, which presumes every man scouhdrel,
who fails to see things in the light of their own
immaculate vision. They do not concede true
patriotism, wise craftsmanship or public honesty
to any man who hesitates 10 give an unquestion-
ing support to their measures. Among these
measures are, o determination TO maintain SUI
preme military authority over the late seeded
States to treat them as Conquered territories, y
not as restored States to force negro suffrage
upon them, in violation of the Constitution to
enact sweeping confscation act, and divide the
land among the freedmen, with others of a simil-
ar reckless character
The President on the other hand holds that
the time has come when civil government may
with safety be restored in the .Sontl that negro
suffrage should come from the States, not from
the general government that a general con6s-
cation would be inexpedient and highly injurious
to the interests of the country. The great mass
of the Republican party and Of the entire people
agree with the President in these views. There
is a universal anxiety to have speedy reorgan-
cation of the South TO make its labor and capi=
tai productive ; 10 develop IFS resources TO
identify its interests with our own; to restore
harmony and good feeling throughout the entire
land. This the President has been honestly and
faithfully striving to accomplish. He has given
every assurance of fidelity to the principles upon
which he was elected In hisannual message he
has asserted the supremacy OF the Federal gov
eminent the perpetuity ofthe Union the uni
versal Emancipation of slavery u determination
to protect the freedmen in their rights, aud an
earnest desire to restore the entire nation/to a
state of profound tranquility and peace, What
more can we ask of him He has won theyhearts
of the people by his straight forward honesty and
6rmness. They will stand by him in every
emergency. And it is the height of folly and
presumption for miserable minority in Con-
gress to attempt to force their radical views upon
that body, or hope to gain much favor with the
people.
it gives us pleasure TO say that the leading
members and newspapers Of the Union party dis
card these ultra sentiments. And we commend
to the attention Of our readers, the following ex-
tract from a late No. of The Nation, one of the
best news and political weekles in the land
''There is certainly nothing in Mr.. johnson, s
antecedents TO justify anything so unseenly as
Mr.. Summers outburst-for unseemly it was
If there be anything for which the President has
acquire an honorable reputation, it is for his
truthfulness. He owes almost all the hold he
has upon public esteem to the singular frankne.s
and candor with which he has been in the habit
of speaking his mind And what gives this
virtue of his a new luster is, that he has distin-
guished himself in almost as great degree as
Mr.. Summer himself by speaking his mind before
hostile audiences His career ever since 1860
has certainly not been that of a popularity hun
ter. lie said disagreeable things, and nothing
but dsagreeable things, in thes enate in $50; led
life in Tennessee which no man would think
of leading to whom the expression of his honest
convictions was not dearer than all else in life
The idea of Southern hypocrlte playing the 10y
alist insTenpessee during the first two years Of
the war is simply ridiculous. And Mr. Johnson 5
sincerity and truthfulness since his accession to
the presidency have been fully as remarkable as
before. There have been several things in his
policy towards the South open, incur opinion, TO
exception, but not for any want of good faith
revealed in them. In so far as we have taken
the liberty of finding fault, it has not been for
deceiving but for being too readily deceived ; not
for moral but for mental oblquity; not for low
ing crooked ways, but for sometimes through
what we consider want of PERCEPTION getting off
the right track. When Mr. Sumner rises in his
place in the Senate, therefore, to accuse him of
deceit, be is guilty of something worse than in
decorum."
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