The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-22
from the Washington Chronicle
,bo North. CaroIiua Enabling Bill.

We published at length two days ago
bill to authorize the people OF Nortn-Caroilh
to reconstruct the machinery OF olatc gov
ernment preparatory to their restoration tx
tbo;r mi riilpocs and duties as citizens of thu
! Tinted States 1t will not be denied that II
noint of libcralitv and justice to the coloret
race it. is nearly or quite up to the hughes
standard Of Northern philanthropy. willie Il
| has the peculiar merit OF Icing the work O
the loval men Of the State Tor whom III pro
poses to establish government, ana WHO
ire better acauainted with the circumstances
! and conditions 10 I've met than any Northern
man. however enlightened, can claim TO be
1t is we'll understood that Il great diversity
| of oDinion exists among the friends of lIber-
I FRY and union, as it regards the basis OF re
construction. There are those VINO insist
that no man who voluntarily participated IN
| the rebellion shall he allowed to exercise the
elective franchise or hold othce IN future
and there are others, equally distinguished
fer patriotism and philanthropy, VII" urge
that the true solution OF the problem of re-
construction is to he found in universal sui
fracrc for whites and blacks, and universal
amnesty to rebels Between these extremes
! there are various shades OF opinion. we
have heen surprised to find some gentlemen,
DISTINGUISHED for their thorough and con-
sistent hostility to slavery IN all Its forms,
who prefer an educational test for voters ;
while others, whose opposition TO slavery
has been political rather than moral, are iii
favor OF universal suffrage, from IL convic-
ton that the vote of every colored man VIII
be needed in order to counteract the spirit
of slavery and ,iistlnion. There are other
difficulties to be overcome. arising from the
intidelity of President Johnson to the Prln-
cIplcs OF the party which elected nm. How
to reconstruct the rebel State governments IN
the interest o. freedom and loyalty, when
l,,, has htlpD
troublesome problem to many minds, how
ever easy OF solution to others.
It must be owned that the trainers Of the
North Carolina bill have dealt with these diff
tfculties with remarkable skill, and the re
suit is measure which has made favor
able impression upon almost every loyal
mind.
In the first place. the trainers of the bill
were called upon to settle the question of
suffrage. There was the everything desire
and purpose to place the government in loyal
hands. and this might surely be done 10y re
stricting the ri~iIt OF suffrage in the election
OF delegates to the convention to the loyal
white population. But Congress would in
fallihlv insist upon qualified. II not unlver-
sal, negro suffrage, and the result would he
the (iStranchscmcnt Uttwo-thirds OF the
whites while the blacks are being eniran-
chiscC The oC!ium which must attach to
derStood and it was believed tlIat nothing
short OF Il large armed force could insure its
practical application. The plan was there
fore atlortetI of making an impartial cdUca-
tiOnal test OF suffrage, without regard to col
or. This may or may NOT lie acceptable to
Congress As we remarked above, VIC have
been surprised to tinG gentlemen of extreme
anti slavery views giving it the preference
over universal suffrage. We arc clearly OF
opinion that the loHalists OF North-Caruhna
will need the vote OF every black man in the
State in order to cnab!c them to overcome
the rebel vote. and w know that the gentle
men who framed the Hill y Ill sc9uesce cheer
flllv in any change which Congress may set
proper to make in this feature Of il.
The plan OF h"tiing the election is cen
forma,Ie to the State laws and practice of
Nurtii-i lc"ina. under which the >hcritlS al
the counties perform the duties which this
bi! imposes on the marshal :; ana while it
thus wears 4 practical aspect. Ii does VIC
lenCc to 10 theory q ;!ic status a.. TIE sccGd-
cd States. Il IS consistent with them all.
and world seem 70 be The natural, simple,
and, at the saline time. least expensive meth
o,l oi lot:ja3 IL. election in an J5norganizecl
community.
The iiil provides t;,r the temporary main
tcnancc Of the present * J;s':~ state govern
ment until tic lcgitimate one can be pat in
force. 1t has no claim ~ validity except
50 far a it derives ti:at quality from the tol
erance of Congress !; and though il is the rule
ot rebels, it Is i:c-tcr than none. 1t can he
tolerated, subject to military surveillance.
While Il legitimate government $ being pre-
pared.
1t has been announced that only eleven
memheIs OF the Legislature Of Nortll-C Carroll
IA voted for the constitutional amendment
ten III the House 81 Commons. and one IN
the Senate This TACT may seem to he incon-
si%tent with the claim set up by the authors
OF the enabling bill chat some thirty or forty
thousand Of the white voters are loyal, and
it therefore needs explanation. The truth
is. there are from tiirty-siX 70 forty members
OF the Legislature who are thoroughly loyal,
and who look to the Congress of the United
States as the riglItiui arl,;tCrs OF their desti-
MES in the present situation OF affairs. But
they are wholly dissatisfied with the cOnsti-
tut1Onal amendment. not because it dcprivcs
certain rebels Of the right to hold olScc, but
because it has not deprived all rebels Of that
right, and because at the same time it has
excluded a majority of the more Intelligent
friends Of the Government, who, in order to
save themselves from prescription. were I'M
der the necessity Of holding some office under
the rebel State or Confederate government,
OF doing something which compromised
them. The true situation OF the Union men,
and the reasons for the oath pr scribed in the
enabling bill will be best understood from
the following statement which has been put
forth by the authors Of the bill
a TEST OF LOYALTY IN TIE INsURGENT STATES,
WITH REASONS THEREFOR.
In the early part OF the rebellion many per-
sons were drawn into it by the tardy action
OF the United States Government and by the
wild excitement OF the times. Afterwards
many were deceived into it by Il bold and
systematic Misrepresentation of the purpo-
ses and designs OF the government, which
were declared by the highest authorities in
the South to be Of the most atrocious and
malignant character. All contradiction Of
these misrepresentation Was forbidden or
suppressed.
SO effective was the operation of these eau
scs that the steadtast Union men were oycraw-
ed and silenced. Thus it appeared that
there was something like unanimity in sup
port Of the rebel government.
But after the lapse of two years energetic
action had dispeled the detusion that the
United States meant to permit Il separation
OF the States. The loyal men of the South
therpby encOprDyeI Tn sneak and