The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-04-13
COLUMBIA.
Friday Morning, April 13. 1868.
Modifying the Oath.


Modifying the Oath.
: AS has been already noted by tele-
graph, the President, on Friday last,
transmitted to Congress communica-
tions from the Secretary of the Trea-
sury and the Postmaster General, ad
dressed to him by these officers,
suggesting modification of the oath
of Office enacted by Congress in 1862.
BE. fully concurs i'll their recon-
mendations, and as the subject per-
tains to the efficient administration
of the revenue and postal laws in the
Southern States, he earnestly recon-
mends it to the early consideration Of
Congress. The letter of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury contains the
names of collectors Of internaI reve-
nue., assessors, assistant assessors,
&C., apppointed since the close of the
war in the Southern States, who have
not been able to take the oath of
Office as above prescribed. Beside
these officers, perhaps the larger
number of those holding subordinate
Offices in the revenue department,
have been also unable to comply with
the requirements of the statute. AS
a consequence, they have served with
out compensation, as their accounts
could not be audited by the account
ing officers of the Government.
We extract the following para
graphs from the communication of
the Postmaster General. He says: Z
AS a means of restoring the busi-
ness interests of the Southern States,
and of aiding in the establishment
Of their constitutional relations with
the Government, it was deemed i'm
portant by the President and Cabi-
net that the mails should be intro
duced and post Offices be re-opened
in those States as rapidly as possible,
to which end the energies of the De
partment were promptly, and have
been continuously directed Various
causes have doubtless contributed to
the failure in accomplishing all that
was hoped for; but that resulting
from t the soaa oath prescribed by Acts Of
July 2, 1862, ~ 1.arch 3, 1868, has
not been the least, while it has been
the one to which my attention has
peen most frequently called. This,
Aas he is inclined to believe, has not
!. been owing exclusively to there not
being loyal persons who could take
the oath, but to the limited compen-
sation, most of the Offices Offering in
sufficient inducements to persons to
eact as postmasters; and to the un-
I willingness of many, who might
otherwise act, to do so, on account of
the inconvenience and compromise
of their positions, which they fear
would result from their taking the
oath, when the majority of their
neighbors consist of those who had,
! in some form, aided the rebellion.
< TO obviate these difficulties in part,
recourse has been made to the ap-
{ pointment of women as postnnis-
Stresses, which has proved to be of
doubtful utility to the service. And
necessity has also compelled the ap-
Eintment of very many ignorant
persons, incompetent to discharge
the duties nf their Offices. AZ rene
dy for the future, the Postmaster
Ganegal suggests modification of
Che oa6h by Inserting the word "vo-
,sluntary immed ediately preceding the
Sword sought" so that the clause
would read: That I have neither
s Voluntarily sou snt, nor accepted, nor
interrupted to exercise the functions
qfeany Office whatever, under any au-
thol1ty or pretended authority in
hostility to the United States"
This would enlarge the class of
persons who could qualify as post
masters and mail contractors, and be
in harmony, it seems to him, with
the general provisions and purposes
Of the oath, and thus facilitate the
speedy re-establishment of the postal
service to the common benefit of all
the sections of the country, for it
must be borne in mind that while the
] people Of the. Southern. States are
More directly iAterested in the re-
storation of the Union, other. States
are also largely Interested.
1t may be, he says, interesting to
know that Of the 9, ,258 mail routes in
operation in the disloyal States at the
breaking, out of the rebellion, the