The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-07-03
THE RADICALS AND THE GoNFED-
ERATE DEBT.

blind fury aud paruZau zSai Oh tue haoicais oI
Congress placed their party in awkward dilem--
mas. In laying down principles to suit party
demands. they are often led into conclusions
the opposite of their intentions or their views.
These men werethe foremost in denying the
right of secession, and reiterated often, during
the war, that the seats of our Senators and Rep
resentatives were vacant, and all the South had
to do was to lay down their arms aud elect their
members and all would be we'll. No longer
than the Hampton Roads conference, President
Lincoln officially gave this as the first and most
natural steps to reconciliation.
But since the surrender of the Confederate
armies, and since the proclamation of President
Johnson declaring the at an end and the
Southern States as fully entitled to all the privi
liges of the other States, the Radicals, for party
purposes are driven to the necessity of asserting
that the CoDfederacy has government outside
of the United States, and that the Southern
States did accomplish their,secession either by
an inherent right or by force
1t now appears that this position, however
convenient and satisfa factory for their present
political plans, entails upon them serious
tradiction of their oft declared opinion of the
illegality of the Confederate debt. If the Con-
federate States has political organization out
side Of the United States, it comedies all that
the English bond holders in their late meeting
claimed Upon this subject the National Re-
publican remarks
! ~"The English holders of the Confederate
/ bonds claimed at their recent meeting at the
1 London Tavern, on the authority of Vattei and
I Wheaton, that if the American Union had been
dissolved, as had been declared in the American
/ Congress by Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, it followed
as resulting legal consequence that the Con-
| federates had the power to set up for themselves
as they did, de .facto government at Rich
At IL 4 -, oil A.
knew that de facto governments bad the power
to contract debts and that the conquerng
power was, by the law Of nations obligated to
pay them !
1--WE suppose no principle of law to be better
settled than that any Government entitled to be
respected as that Of an independent State in
christendom may lawfully contract debts and
that for debts contracted in the name of the
State, by its authorized agents for its public
use, the succeeding government is liable. The
doctrine is that the government which succeeds
to the fiscal rights of another, is bound to fulfill
its fiscal obligations "-yFheaton's Iutcrnation-
al Law p. Al.
In their determination to secure the triumph
of their party, through the outlawry of the
Southern people, the Radicals may straddle the
Government with large foreign debt, or lay
the foundation of a foreign war. There seems
to secure party triumph, even if it extend to the
further prostration of the South and the ruin
of the county Wilmington Journal.
| Washington Nenas-The President is en-
deavoring, with good prospect of success, to OBJ
tain from the British authorities the release of
the FeLian prisoners captured in Canada.
Charges affecting the private character of
General Fitzpatrick, Minister to China, are said
| q
If true they will, no doubt, cause his speedy
return.
1t is thought the House will adhere to its
tax of FIVE cents 90 cotton, which will cause
conference committee.
The action of that committee will probably
bea compromise on the Senate's amendment
the rate to be fixed at two and a half cents per
pound.
Dress Reform Convention-An assemblage
of women calling themselves the "Dress Reform
Convention has just adjourned sine die in
Syracuse, New York. During the session it
was decided to seed out lecturers in the interest
Of the Association, and to employ none save
those who will wear the reform dress. An TO- J
vitation was, however, given to those who wear
long dresses to 60 out lecturing upon their own
account. The main feature 10 the ''reform
dress is the breeches
| The residence of DR.. Webb, at Little Rock,
Ark, entered by some knowing his
safe contained over $4,000. The doctor was
atthe time sleeping in his bed with his son, a
boy of twelve years. Both were brually MUIR
dered with an axe. The assassin then procured
the key Of the safe, but could only open one
door.
ONE OF THE WITNEssEs-4 Startling
Eaposure.-The Clearfed (Pennsylvania) Re-
publican copies the following from of its
| exchanges:
at will be remembered that at the trial of
| the accomplices Of Booth before a military com.
mission at Washington on the charge of COM
-plicty with the assassination of President Lin
coin, certain James D. Merritt the prin-
cipal witness for the Government On his tes- |
timeny Mrs Surratt convicted and hanged, |
and on his testimony it was shown that Jetfer-
son Davis, c. G. Clay and George N. Sanders
were directly implicated in the assassination
To outsiders the testimony Of this man Merritt
| read strangely at the time of the trials His
Statements did not appear reasonable. Mrs Sur
rats daug Inter, after the execution of her moth
err, pronounced them utterly false from begin
ming to end, and so Indignant was Clay when be
hea I'd what this witness had said that he volun-
tarily surrendered himself to the Government
authorities, and asked for trial Davis and |
Sanders too pronounced his testimony perjury
Indeed, his entire stock before the illegal mill
tary court had the appearance of manufactured
testimony. =
1t now appears that this Williams evidence
was periurcd from beginning to end He has
recently been before the Committee on the Ju-