The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-04-10
no the People born North and sOnth

i re see tlab ccILAlu peOptS IN the oOutn
are loud in their praise Of President John
son, while certain people of the North are
soundly denouncing him. To both, we say,
be cautious, and do not make q mistake.
You, of the South, must not anticipate or
ask too much, and you must not come false
conclusions. You, of the North, should not
condemn, abuse and slanGer the President
without some Just cause. We now ask, is it
not possible that both Southern friends and
Northern tradueers may, ere long, discover
that they have had but little discrimina-
ton, and have, of their own accord, placed
themselves in rather Of an unpleasant pre-
dicament, and if they should, we would
suggest the propriety Of not finding fault.
Swift says: "When true genius appears
IN the world, you may know him by this
! sign; that the ounces are all in eonfederacy
against him." President johnson, at the
start, announced his policy TO the country,
and expressed his determination TO abide
by, and support the Constitution.
Now, up to this hour, he has pursued
straight forward consistent course = he
neither turns 10 the right or left, and 10 may
be that certain parties, both in the North
and the South, have come to some wrong
conclusions. Our faith in the President is
strong and abiding, and we say TO you, be
faithful TO him, and wait patiently for the
result, and all will be well. Let US say re-
member this, that because the President has
vetoed the Fraedmen's Bureau, Bill and the
Civil Rights Bill, there is nothing in these
facts from which you can reasonably draw
any conclusion that he will in any way, de-
part from the requirements he has made
upon the Southern States, either in the
| formation Of their State Governments, or
the qualifications Of their Governors and
| State officers, or in the qualifications of the
/ mem hers a1aafad IN ranracnnt than in Con
! gress. His policy has been fixed on
these points, and there is not even 8 shadow
! of doubt but what he will most tena-
ciously adhere to his course, He has, on all
occasions, frankly avowed this, and we do
not know Of any act of his that could pCssi-
| bly, lead any one to suppose that either Of
the States can send any other than loyal
men to Congress with any hope Of their
| gaining admittance. To the people of the
| South, then, we say, if you would sustain
| the President and aid him in his reconstruc-
| ton policy, there is but one way for you TO
do it. Elect good Union men as your Cow
ernors and Representatives. This is what
| he asks of you and what he requires. You
can do 1t fyou choose, and it certainly viii
be wise TO do so. In this way you ran give
strength to his measures and render him
that aid and assistance he requires at your
hands. BY pursuing an opposite course,
| you will in a measure paralyze his efforts,
and retard the process of reconstruction,
and we tell you, in all fairness and candor,
that the citizens of States lately in rebellion
ought to be willing that the sound loyal
men Of your own people shall fill your Of
| fees Of trust, and act with the President in
gradually restoring the country to AMIGA
| bic relations. Wisdom certainly dictates
this course, even as g matter Of policy, if
for no other reason. And, paramount to
this, it is the only true course to bring
about that condition Of things that the pre-
sent situation demands-every act Of the
President admits of no other construction.
There is Radical element in Congress,
that on Constitutional grounds, the Presi-
dent has been compelled to act against, as
much, if not more, for the Northern States
than for the Southern States. His eondem-
nation Of the measures that the Radical ell
ement ondeavored to fssten upon the coun-
try, cannot, and should not, be taken as
any evidence that the President will pursue
any other course than what he cOnceives to
be in accordance with the true Republican
principles Of our Government, as laid down
in the Constitution, and best calculated TO
bring peace and prosperity TO our country,
The dominant party Of the North are
strong, and II they, in their strength, at
tempt to 8rce upon the country unconsti- |
the interests of the people-Andre1o John
son is the man to stand by the rights of the |
people, and sustain them to the last. To-
day, there is less animosity between the |
people of the North and South, than either |
section supposes. That there should be I'M
kind feelings is but natural; but these feel
ings do not pervade the masses Of either
section. Spare your denunciations of the |
South, and the acts of the Southern people. |
n, ~ r,la Too. 81
writers and penny-a-line sensationslists. |
They are all wrong, and are giving you
wrong information. They cannot compre-
bend the situation, and properly understand |
the difference between antagOnism Of local |
associations and santagonism of National |
laws. They mistake the one from the 9th
er, and hence draw conclusions wide from
the mark of truth. The Southern people |
are willing TO support constitutional gov
eminent, and yet they may not be wiling |
to give hearty support TO a radical, and, to |
them, unpleasant, change Of local and so
cial relations.
We are, TO the best of our ability, sup
porting a sound constitutional principle in |
adopting the reconstruction policy OF Presi |
dent johnson. When he vetoed the Freed |
mems Bureau bill, we were sorry that such |
bill had been presented, and that such a
bill had TO be vetoed. As soon as We read
the bill, we felt confident that when it
reached the President, he could not fail 10
detect many had features in it. Because
the President vetoed that bill, many rebels |
were jubilant and praised him TO the
skies. They did, so as they thought, be
cause he was supporting the rebels. In this
they are mistaken. 1t was nothing Of the
kind, and men could not make greater mis-
take than to ever presume il. The Freed |
mems bill had many very Objectionable
features, and was not only expensive, but
it was, in the most part, odiCus TO every
principle of free governments; and as an
honest, fair minded man, with the inter
ests Of the people both North and South, in
a measure in his hands, the President
could not do otherwise than to object to the
bill, and in so doing, he did not pause to
ask whether it would please a rebel, or dis
please Radical. His duty was plain.
Some weak-minded politicians, who are
| seeking to hold the reigns ofpower, tell the
people that the President has sold himself
to the rebels, and that if you support him
you arc supporting the rebels. But, we tell
you, it is not necessary to DO rebel TO sup
port our President, but quite to the contra
ry, and if the rebels do support him, il is
the best evidence in the world that the per-
son who does so is honestly disposed to sup
port the Government and the Constitution.
| Some persons say, do not ike johnson.
He has too many friends in the South. Now,
in all frmness, we would ask, what would
you have. Is it President Johnson's fault
if rebels like his course while he is acting
for and administering the government on
strictly constitutional principles. We
think it the best endorsement he can have
when his enemies concede that he is right, |
and this very feet proclaims them more |
loyal to the true principles OF the Govern
ment than a certain class Of Radicals, who
cannot sleep nights, on account Of their
eternal hatred Of every man who, per-
chance, supported the rebellion-KuorpiHs |
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