The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-01-04

II there u any sieni6cAnce in political rev.
oiut'oas, such - the one through which ou,
country has just passed, the work of reorgan.
ization must b. controlled by tho slsmenas oi
Progress and Liberty that the active forces
OF revolution evolved or perfected. If the
country is to gain anything BY the 6ery ordesl
OF war, ifthe csnse Of human rights i 10 be
fsrthered, il the Democratic principles upon
which our government is based ars 10 Be
more fully developed and more firmly sstab.
lished, then those to whom the work Of re-
construction is committed must ~ the touch.
stone with which to test all schemes snd poll.
eies, try them invariably, by right and justice
will the proposed measure help to conserve
the fruits of the victory for Freedom tAas tie
war won? That is the question for recon
structionists. s+At s
Upon this subject the Milwaukee Semti.el
has some well-considered thoughts:
The work before this people is thus, in some
sense, q recreation, building anew fron the
old foundation, reconstruction, mot Of the
South alone, but of the whole national fabric.
bringing back to life not only the pasalysed
limb but the whole body which has shared ia
the partial death of some of its members IN
this work we can take no better motto than
thst of Selden, the grest English lawyer, Who
wrote on everv book in his library "Before
Everything Liberty" As in the divine in.
junction the health Of the moral nature, Of the
soul, is TO be put before all temporal advan-
tges, so in government manhood and free
tom are infinitely Of more value than the ne
cessites of trade and the wants of business.
1t is the highest prudence, in fact the most
valuable worldly WISDOM to frame all consti-
tions and laws with reference to the rights
and liberties OF man, rather than the material
interests of wealth and commerce. Our own
country bears witness to the achievements Of
partial liberty; and the North when compared
with the South shows how much better free
dom is than slavery, in the light of political
economy alone. From this we may under
stand that the freest people will, in the end,
be most prosperous; that where liberty is the
highest law, there commerce, industries, let
ters, art, and every fair and lnxuriant growth
of the best civilization will flourish and ap.
proach perfection. This is Gods law, and
human law cannot repeal it, nor human wit
enact better. 1t 10 the law which should BE-
enacted in every human statute; and they
build governments and frame laws 70 little
purpose who fail to recognize this fundamen-
tai truth.
And in noticing the relation of the Cen
gress now in session to the labor of Natiord
reorganization, the Seatisel says:
The work before Congress is one of the
gravest responsibility. 1t is frequently urged
that it must heal the wounds which 6ave been
made by the war and that is true, when not
misunderstood. 1t is not, however, to heal
the wounds which rebellion and treason have
received, nor to restore TO places of RESPONSE
biity and power the men who have, by their
treason, wounded our common country. But
it is to restore the country and the people ta|
order, Law, republican government, liberty
and equal rights. Its work is not TO soothei
and pacify rebels, to feed them with sweet.
meats and put them back into the possession
of all they have forfeited by their treason,
but il is to insure peace TO the country, and
deal Justly by all its inhabitants. 1t must
not forget mercy, nor must it refuse to re-
member justice 1t must heal wounds but
the wounds to which it must apply its healing
medicsments, are those inflicted by treason
upon the whole country and the whole people.
and not those inflicted by the Government
upon the enemies of the Union