Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-05-03

the modlncatlon or The Test oath,
force appears to the committee to lie In
the opposite direction. A modification
based on such a consideration would OPP
crate as a premium for disloyalty. 1t
would add to the social power of the
dlsloyal, and this result would stand in
opposition to the policy OF the Presi'
dent as announced by him in April, 1865,
when he said OF the rebels their social
power must be destroyed"
The committee conclude as follows
"lf the test oath should be 80 ,ar
modified as to enable an eX-rebel TO take
it, the social influence which now over
awes loyal men would still push them
out of the way, and force the govern
ment TO Oestow It's Offices on the disloy-
al, This would not make treason obi
uns, NOR would it punish traitors. On
',SSe contrary, it would increase the obi
um which now attaches TO LOYALTY in
the Southern States, and punish meU be-
cause Of their iaithfulness to the gov
eminent, A community that will not
respect an officer Of the United States,
because he has been sufficiently loyal to
the government to allow of his taking
| the test oath, does not deserve TO have
the advantages and cOnveniences OF the
postal service extended to it, but does
deserve to have the revenue laws en-
forced against it by such officers as the
! government may be able to secure the
services Of
There are thousands Of loyal men in
the South who can take the test oath,
and to such should the offices Of those
! States be given. Let the government
recognize their claims in this regard,
and loyalty and respect for the govern
ment of the United States will soon be
strong enough to overcome the social
power which now frowns upon every
Union man who stood by the flag OF the
republic throughout the whole course OF
the war.
Temporary inconvenience should not
turn the government aside from TINS
policy. The unhappy condition OF the
Southern States cannot be improved by
changing laws which may be opposed to
the views and feelings of those citizens
who fought for four years to destroy the
government. They must learn that ODE
dienCe to law is a duty not to be lightly
regarded; and that loyalty to the gov
ernment is virtue which cannot be
destroyed by the social power of the dis
loyal. When these ends are secured, II
may be expedent to modify the test
oath but not until then.
The committee therefore ask to be
| IL oh,r II 1rth
ton Of the subject
There is no doubt that in strict argu
ment the committee have the best Of it.
The President has no more right to dis
: pense with any law, or to neglect Obedi,
f ence to it, than the humblest citizen
! Every act of the kind is traught with
| the greatest danger to republican insti
buttons. Surprising it true that the
revenue and post offices of the South
could not be filled, if the test oath were
insisted upon, the only alternative
5 strictly speaking, was for the President
to call Congress together to repeal o.
j modify the oath, or provide some Othe
4 means to avoid the difficulty. 1t is tru
= that necessity has compelled and jnsti
n fed many exceptional acts during tn
s rebellion, which in time OF peace woult
: not have been tolerated. But nothing
J. less than absolute necessity in time O
. great public peril, or in other words tn
supreme law of self-preservatiOn, coul'
: justify such acts, and they can be JUST
G fled no longer than the absolute neces
Il sity exists, The sooner all return to
d strict observance of law the better TO
all.
TROUBLE AT VALPARAISO OmmC
=, dore Rodgers has notified the Spanis
-, Admiral Of Valparaiso that if he eS