The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1866-11-29
IA..IDYERTIs1NG TERMS.


the South chargeable. Repentance
for it would quickly open his too
long closed doors. Surely, surely,
if the South will forgive the North
the North can well afford to for
give the South. But | am asked
whether the North should forgive
the cruelties of Andersonville and
of the other terrible prisons of the
South9 Even those unparalleled
cruelties she should iemember were
the crimes of slavery, and that sla-
very was her own as well as the
South's crime-ay, that even her
churches were blood-red with it,
The North, no less than the South,
had the making of the monsters
who ruled in those prisons" 60
| Next, as to the demand for the
Presidents impeachment:
"But who is there to impeach
him9 With what decency csuld
a Congress impeach him, both
Houses Of which are guilty of the
same injustice and inhumanity9-
Grant that the Presidents plan Of
reconstruction is one which, if
adopted, would throw the black sa.
yiors of their stupendously-ungrate-
full and Internally country
back again under the feet of their
old oppressors. So, too, would the
Congressional plan. Grant that
the Presidents plan would, by re-
fusing to the white loyaliSts of the
South the shield Of black votes,
leave these loyalists to be destroy
ed. So, too, would the plan of
Congress. Its plan is, indeed, not
so bad as his. But in respect to
their gross violations of the princi-
pies ofjustice and humanity, there
is' certainly too little difference be.
tween them to leave it at all de.
cent for Congress to impeach the
President. Those great principles
impeach and condemn both. Let
them not be so self-ignorant and
shameless as to condemn each 9th.
er. At any rate, let not Congress
impeach the President until 1t has
first tried the power of its own re.
pentance upon the heart of the
President While for one Of these
fellows in unrighteousness to cling
to the unrighteousness is to lead
the other to cling to it, the giving
it up by the one would, more than
anything else, promote the giving
of it up by the other. l greatly
wonder that the noble and clear.
eyed Wendell Phillips, who is al.
ways for working with clean tools,
should urge Congress to undertake
with its dirty hands the impeach.
ment of the President. The un.
dertaking would carry with it no
moral power, and therefore do no
good. There would be nothing in
it to inspire and elevate the peo.
pie, but, much to disgust and de-
grade them, 1twould not pass for
a commanding duty, but for an un-
principled party movement. 1t
would not allay or prevent a haz-
ardouS popular commotion, but
would excite it." '''
Then, as to the so-called "Consti-
tutional amendments" ''
"Now, Of all political abomina.
tions, | know of none more abomi.
nable than this amendment If
adopted there will be an implied
Constitutional permission for a
State to dlsfranchise any race, AT
rican, German, Or other. And then
comes what is worse, the Constitu-
tional obligation-not permission
Ito strike out the dlsfranchised
race from all political count, and
reduce it to as complete political
nonentity as if it were q race Of
brutes. Surely, it is better to go
with the Democrats against all the
amendments to the Constitution
than to 60 with the Republicans
for such abbot upon it as would be
this amendment. edt @ .j2
- ~ otis - lu" .a*4L
81 need say no more. The North
and South must love each other,
ere they can be at peace with each
other. Statesmen are slow to learn
that love is the cure of all ills, as
we'll those which are National as
those which are individual. Indeed,
they regard it as entirely out of
place in the province Of statesmant
ship; and all pleading for its pres.
ence there as but Stiffness or can't
Nevertheless, it remains true that
love, and love only, 10, inAthe ;larg-
est as well as in the smallest spheres
in the broadest as well as in the