Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-07-11
CTS THE SOUTH READY FOR RES
TORATT0N -

We have received, under the Congressional
frank Of Gov. BRowELow's friend KELLY,
from the Board of Publication Of the Union
League Of Philadelphia" a twenty page
pamphlet, answering the above question in
the negative Its proof stands on no better
foundation than extracts from some Of Gov.
BRowNLow's speeches, and garbled passages
from some Of the newspapers published in
Virginia, North Caroline, South Carolina,
Georgia, and Alabama. II is a Radical
campaign document Of the most approved
order, and was, doubtless, sent to this Office
by mistake 1t is lame attempt TO bolster
mp the Radicals--and is as able as anything
they have or can put forth.
The question, whether the South is ready
for restoration lie very silly one, The
theory upon which the war was fought by
the United States, was that the Union was
indissoluble by the action Of any one or
more States acting as sucb-that the govern
ment could only be changed in its form and
substance by the consent Of the entire peo-
pie, duly assembled, through appointed rep
resentatives. According to this theory the
Constitution, frame and form Of the Union
we're never modified in the slightest degree
by the series Of events denominated ''rebel-
lion" The persons concerned in them
against the authority Of the United States,
incurred the penalty attaching to violent
infraction Of the Constitution and laws.
Unlike the case Of a single individual,
the persons engaged in this enterprise
could not be arrested and brought to trial.
1t required the military posse Of the nation,
and the resistance was so great and protract-
ed, 50 universal and covering the people of
80 much territory, that, even at the close Of
the war, it was found impracticable for the
Government to arraign all the individual
parties so engaged. To have done sOwould
have left the Government nothing else to do
for many years to come, and incurred an
expense absolutely intolerable This was
the theory Of the war, on the part Of the
United States; and upon its own ayowals
and platform the covenant among the States
was never broken by the violent
occurrences Of the past five years. The
Legislative, Judicial and Executive
records of the country during the
entire period of the contest prove this posi-
ton beyond question. The only thing, there
fore, remaining to be done, at the close of
the conflict, was just what the President has
done to re-estabIish the Constitution and
laws over all that territory wherein their
exercise had been interrupted-and either
punish or pardon, in whole or in part, the
persons who we're concerned in producing or
carrying forward the conflict. In abandon
ing this ground the object of the war is de-
feated, and the eatire scope and plan of gov
eminent is to be Reconstructed" and built
anew. It is simply preposterous for the
Union League of Philadelphia to be
sending documents to prove otherwise.
On the contrary, we hold that the war
sprang out of differences arising at the for
nation of the Government, which were not
settled by its trainers. They were agitated
from the assembling Of the first Congress
till 1861, and were finally settled by the re-
suit Of the war, definitely and for all time
10 come. And the decision did not alter
the Constitution or change the form Of gov
ernment-or even make any change necessa-
ry. The whole question was disposed of by
the event Of the war. And if anything
were thought necessary TO prevent a repeti-
ton Of armed conflict, lar shoCld be passed
to meet the case, prospective in their opera
ton, and to be enforced Immediately on fu-
ture violation This would have been
final settlement
When this generation shall have passed
away, this viii be the impartial judgment of
history