The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-04-27

them Gil flch, happy iaRu-oWncTs, anu taA-
free for ever. Such men are not citizens,
call them so rs We will. President john
son, in his message, takes into account the
education and circumstances, as well as
the race. These four millions have, he
observed, Just emerged from slavery; and
he notices that the United States require
Ave years training in republican institu-
tions and habits before they admit
European foreigner to citizenship. Even an
intelligent Englishman must 60 through TINS
probation. The slave must have at least
as much--we fear very much more. lie
has his virtues. In some respects he con-
trasts favorably with the white man. No
| body wishes to speak i'll of him, but nc
simply is not capable of government, in the
sense we mean when we talk of Common
wcalths. Ii is not in him. Is this strange
| u.s. Have we no class at home that
even our most liberal politicians are con-
tent to see out of the pale of citizenship
like the four million negroes President
Johnson is obliged TO leave out of it For
the answer, we state a single fact. Nobody
on either side of the House of Commons
has dropped word about the cnfranchisc-
mcnt of our twelve hundred thousand ag-
rlcultural laborers, representing, as they
do, much larger population than the ne
groes III the United States. Nobody praises
them; nobody abuses them; nobody pro-
poses to give them votes; nobody thinks il
necessary to give reasons why they should
not have votes.
/ But if the matter of the Presidents
Message has q singular bearing upon our
present case, so also has his argument.
z 10. -. .,l, ,.f
struction, he says. He has to maintain the
tedcrative system of limited powers, and
the barriers which preserve the rights OF
the States. This is an actual and ira
ditional system, arising out of a great va
rcty of circumstances. For such an
actual state of things, the President de-
clincS 10 substitute an universal equality,
with nothing to control it but central
Government. Our own case is not 50 very
diS>milar as it might seem. In our great
varieties of classes, conditions, and into
rests, and the consequent variety OF
arrangements that have sprung out OF
them, we have Il parallel TO the relation of
! the United States one with another. There
! is no American statesmen of note who has
! not looked with dread to the possible day
when a mere crowd of self-called citizens
might usurp all the rights and powers
now residing in various communities, and
adapted to their own local circumstances.
/ America has had her anomalies, but they
have been amply justified by their working,
and ii has only been by their eXaggeration
that they have ever proved miscellaneous.
But the first thing, says the President, is
to restore the balance, to repair the Union,
/ to mend the barriers, and retain rs much
as is allowable of the old state of things.
After that, and in due time, he intimatcS
cautiously, it may be necessary toprocccd
to an enlarged and comprehensive delini-
ton of the citizen. That is the order taken
by Il man who has hitherto shown singular
sagacity and tirmneSs. 1t is the precise
contrary of the order taken by Her Ma
icsty's advisers. Though, as it appears,
with quite as great difficulties before them
as the President, and with quite as little
intention of meeting those difficulties, they
nevertheless will take first the definition
of the citizen, partial and unfair as it must
be, and postpone to the indefinite future
the rcconStruction-tha is, in our case,
the distribution of seats. They do not
even propose to cnfranclise our millions
of field laborcrS but they have Il franchise
to give and citizens to make and this they
will do out of hand, let who may do the rest,
if ii ever he done.