Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-05-25

BY colorel men. All else is defiance Of Con
gress, scorn of the North, and ridicule of
the flag. Even as | write one Of the local
judges decides the ciyil-rights bill to be un-
constitutional. and insolently repeats the
johnson argument that the present Congress
is held in violation of the Constitution
The heroic Alexander j. Hamilton, Provis-
ional Governor of Texas, protests against
the admission of the men who have been
chosen by the people, and declares their
rebelli0us purposes to be more dangerous
than ever. If it is necessary to extend this
catalogue, look at Kentucky. The Louis
vile Journal, itself among the bitterest as
sailants of the radicals, and foremost in de-
fence of johnson policy, only a few DAYS
ago used the following startling language:
We assure the people of Kentucky that
the peace harmony and safety of the State
are more seriously impcrflled now than they
have been since the ruthless hordes of
Buckner and Bragg were trampiing down
our soil. The same men whose treachery
to the Commonwealth and the nation invol-
we'd the country in civil war five years ago
the same men who robbed and encouraged
the robbing Of our banks; the destroying of
our railroad bridges, the firing of the dwell
ings of our citizens, and sought to establish
EEDEl DIGNIhlUud1 OfGT our DEO-
pie, by whcih to coerce them into the Whirl-
pool of treason, are perfecting political or
ganization in the State for the purpose of
placing her political power exclusively in
the hands of men, who, having been whip
ped at their own game of powder and bali,
are now seeking to use the ballot for the
achievement Of their reyengeful and polite
al schemes.
In Missouri, the treason defeated in bat
tie, and chastised at the ballot-box, catches
hope and vengeance from a survey of the
Southern field and, under the lead of Gen
eral Blair, the crusade against the test oath
is renewed, and demand for the return of
the reconstructed rebels is insisted upon as
preliminary to their Teascendency In the
State. These are the elements against
which we must contend in the coming elec-
tions. !fdte opposition to tie report of the
Joint Committee on Reconstruction a1Gs con-
fined only to the Copperheoas of the North,
1t loouJd be beneath contempt But when
these are reinforced by the contriyers of the
rebellion and their savage followers, the
struggle assumes very different, if not for
midable. proportions The recent rebels
and present enemies of the Republic, there
fore, occupy the vantage Of having another
opportunity to fight for the rights which, it
was supposed, they had lost forever. Trait
ors who never till recently hoped to have
part or lot In the settlement of these great
questions, are now, through the agency of
Andrew johnson, limited to constitute the
controlling spirits at has political party.
Thus encouraged, they boldly organize
against the plan prepared by patriotic states
men to secure and preserve the rights of all,
North and South, black and white The
loyal clement IN the Southern States, acltite
and black, IS utterly ignored By the PreSi-
ident and his party. Euery part Of has pol
tcy IS intended to hupli2idte them and eleUate
their OppfeSSOTs lie ASKS Tor tho instant ad-
mission only Of the authors of the rebellion ::
and when he assumes to speak of loyalty he
does so with the keen consciousness that he
is committing the deadly crime of excluding
and therefore Furnishing the only true and
loyal men in the eleven seeded States His
reliance is almost avowed to be upon the
recent traitors alone In their name the
great Union party is to be broken up, and
for their behoof the Republic itself is TO be
dislocated and destroyed. We can only
have peace and restoration on their terms as
spoken through his despotic policy. Choose
ye ! Shall these terms be accepted by the
American people, or those embodied by
their representatives in Congress That
is the question.
The congressional plan of reconstruction
goes to the people not to humiliate nor to
permanently exclude, nor even sufficiently
to punish the authors of our country's
woes-but to secure what has been saved,
to strengthen what has been repaired, to
establish on enduring foundations truly
Democratic Republic.
OCCASIONAL
- P5t2yJoy,,b5,Y P.ose