Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-09-27

ted States, and shall enjoy all the rights of
citizens evermorc and no State shall have
power to contravene the most righteous and
necessary provision.
II. While the States claim and exercise
the power of denying the elective franchise
to part of their people, the weight of each
| State III the Union shall be measured by
and based upon its enfranchised population
If any State shall choose, for no crime, to
deny political rights to any race or caste
it must no longer count that race or caste
as basis of political power in the Union
III. He who has once held office on the
strength of his solemn oath to support the
Federal Constitution, and has nevertheless
foresworn himself and reasonably plotted
to subvert that Constitution, shall hence
forth hold no political office till Congress,
by a two-thirds VOTE shall remove or modi-
fly the disability.
". The National Debt shall be nowise
repudiatcd nor invalidated and no debt
incurred in support of the Rebellion shall
be assumed or paid by any State nor
shall payment be made for the loss or
emancipation of any slave.
V. Congress shall have power to enforce
these guarantees by appropriate legisla
ton.
Such, FellowCitizens, are the conditions
of reconstruction proposed by Congress and
already accepted by the loyal Legislature
of Tennessee. Are they harsh or degrad-
ing? Do you discern therein a disposition
to trample on the prostrate or push an ad-
vantage to the uttermost? Do they en-
body aught of vengeance, or any confsca-
ton but that of Slavery? We solicit your
candid, impartial judgment.
What is intended by the third section is
simply to give Loyalty a fair start in the
reconstructed States. Under the Johnson
policy, the Rebels monopolize power and
place even in communities where they arc
decidedly outnumbered. Their Generals
are Governors and Members elect of Con-
gress their Colonels and Majors fill the
Legislatures, and oficiate as Sherif1s. Not
only are the steadfastly loyal prescribed,
but even stay-at-home Rebels have little
chance in competition with those who
fought to subvert the Union. When this
Rebel monopoly of Office shall have been
broken up, and loyalty to the Union shall
have become general and hearty, Congress
may remove the disability, and will doubt
less make haste to do SO.
We do not perceive that the justice or
fitness of the fourth section--prescribing
that the Union Public Debt shall be prompt
ly met but that of the Rebel Confederacy
never-is seriously contested.
There remains, then, but the second Sec
ton, which prescribes in substance that po-
litical power in the Union shall henceforth
be based only on that portion of the people
of each State, who are deemed by its con-
stitution fit repositories of such power In
I Loo l., SIa+o 10
hold part of its population in ignorance and
vassaIage-powerless uneducated, unfran-
chised-shall not count that portion to bal
ance the educated, intelligent enfranchised
citizens of other States
We do not purpose to argue the justice
of this provision AS we'll argue the shape
of cube or the correctness of the Multipli-
cation Table He who does not feel that
this is simply and mildly just would not
be persuaded though one rose from the
dead to convince him. That there are those
among US who would not have it ratified,
sadly demonstrates that the good work OF
Emancipation is not yet complete.
But" says some, this section Is de-
signed to c0erce the South into according
Suffrage to her Blacks" Not SO, we reply E;
but only to notify her ruling caste that we
will no longer bribe them to keep their
Blacks in serldOm. An aristocracy rarely
surrendcrs it's privileges, no matter how
oppressive, from abstract devotion to JUS
tice and right 1t must have cogent, pal
pable reasons for so doing. We say, there
fore, to Soth Carolina, If you persistently
restrict all power to your 100000 Whites,
we must insist that these no longer bal
ance, in Congress and the choice Of Presi-
dent, 100000 Northern White freemen, but
only 300, 900. If you keep your Blacks ev-
ermore in serfdom, it must not be because
we tempted you so to do and rewarded you
for 80 doing"
Fellow-citizens of every State, but es-
pecially of those soon to hold elections
we cntreat your earnest, constant heed to
the grave questions now at issue. If those
who so wantonly plunged the Union into
Civil War shall be allowed by you to die
tate the terms Of Reconstruction you will
will have heedessly sown the bitter seeds
of future rebeIlions and bloody strife. AL
ready. YOU are threatened with a recogni.
tion by the President Of sham Congress
made up Of the factions which recently CO.
alesced at Philadelphia on a platform OF
, Johnsonism-a Congress constituted by
, nulifying and overriding a plain law Of
the land---a Congress wholly inspired from
: the White House, and appealing to the
} sword alone for support. So glaring an at
tempt at usurpation would be even more
criminal than absurd. Happily, the Peo
t pie, by electing an overwhelming majority
of thoroughly loyal representatives, are
, rendering its initiation impossible.
We cannot close without q most deserv
ed tribute to the general fidelity where
r with, in view of the Presidents detection
: the great body Of the people, and even O
| the Federal office-holders, stand fast by
, their convictions and their principles. The
r boundless patronage of the Executive
1 though most tunscrupulously welded against
l those to whose votes he owes it, has corrupt
5 ed very few, either of those who shared OIL
: of those who would gladly share in its en-
ioyment Not one of the p States which
j voted to re.elect Abraham Lincoln has Civ
: en- in its adhesion to the President policy
while New Jersey-the only Free State
3 that voted against him-has added hersel
o to their number
e Our great war has taught impresslvel1
/ the peril Of injustice and the lesson has
/ sunk deep into millions of hearts. Ih'