Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1866-12-12
af(isteIlmeous 3saling.
THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.


Congress we-havc the usual food Of pusais
documents from the President, Treasury,
Army, Navy, Postal, Interior, Patent,
Land, Pension, Indian, Agricultural and
other departments, So volu:ninous as to be
absolutely beyond the power Of any news
paper to print, or of any business nan to
read 1t is the ancient custom Of our ma
tional government to be thus difuse in
its State papers, but one that surely can
not last in its present shape, as the people
have long since discovered that very much
that appears in these papers is mere repe-
tition. Take the Interior Department re-
port, for instance, and you find that il is a
mere synopsis Of the reports ef the Land,
Patent, Indian, Public Buildings, and
some other Bureau reports. Yet the
newspapers often attempt the foolish feat
of printing both Then the Presidents
message is a synopsis of all the depart
mental reports, with a brief review of our
foreign relations and eome political aIga
ments for home consumption.
At present we shall consider these doe
uments together, as forming parts of the
one general presentation Of the stste OF
affairs and of the views and policy of the
government The first thing that occurs
to the reader Of these documents is tba.
their whole tone, especially that of the
Presidents message, is very decidedly
moderated from the high and iuso!ent
bearing which SO incensed both Congress
and the nation There is really nothing
to complain Of in the language or temper
f any of these documents. 1t is apPa
.ea: even to the most superficial observer
that they are all extremely guarded, and
that an effor. has been made 70 assume an
air Of courtesy and defcrcnce to the peo
pies representatives, for which the cleo
tions have probably afforded the hint
We may differ from the sentiments ad-
vanced, but no one can deny that the opin-
ions held by the writers of the documents
are stated in very moderate terms. Look
ing at the sentiments themselves, We fnd
them to be identical with those advanced
in the documents of last year, and the
policy advocated by the President does
not differ hairs breadth from that he
has rendered so offensive so that all the
professions IN favor Of impartial suffrage
must have been intended to deceive those
who undertook to deal with him. Not a
step is taken in the direction Of any con-
ciliation with Congress, nor is any plan OF
agreement even hinted at. Just as the
plan Of admitting the rebel States uncon-
iitionally was admitted last year, it is re-
peated in the present message.
The statement made by this document
IS so smooth, plausible and insinuating,
hat many persons will probably overlook
he misrepresentation it contains. The
President, for example, says that the en-
orcement Of the laws is no longer OBJ
in any State by combinations too
powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
,oulse Of judicial proceedings, which Ger
ainly is not the fact. All over the south
lands of regulators oppress the Union
nen and the freedmen, burn their houses,
log and even kill them, and no judicial
proceedings can reach the outlaws. No ;
tempt has been made to enforce the
;lvll Rights act, and the combinations at (;
he south have rendered it dead letter.
t is curious that the President wholly ig. .
lores that statute in his message. The ;
Freedmen's Bureau receives the cold
houlder in about the same style. The
Message says that ''thc animosi,ies engen- I
|ercd by the wal are rapidly yielding to
he bcnlticent influences Of our free ips,i.
utions, and to the kindly effects Of unre.