The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-01

The Presidents Forthcoming Message
Compromise Oh Negro suffrage.
From the Herald.
The Presidents annual Message to Congress,
we understand, is completed, and that, in refer.
ence to the great issue OF Southern reconstruc-
ton, it will probably open the door to a recon-
Citation with the two houses and compromise
Oh negro suffrage. From the letter of Wash
ington correspondent, published yesterday,
it would appear that the compromise which the
Message will probably suggest will be upon the
basis of that qualified negro suffrage which Mr..
johnson proposed in the summer of 1865 to his
Provisional Governor Sharkey, of Mississippi
that is, reading and writing qualification, or
property qualification of two hundred and fifty
dollars, as in New York. 1t further appears
from this Washington letter that as Congress
has rejected the Presidents plan of Southern
restoration, and as the President has defeated
the ratification of the Constitutional amendment
of Congress, the two departments "may cry
quits" and proceed to reconciliation upon the
intermediate compromise suggested or some-
thing like it,
But what are the facts in regard to the pend
ing Constitutional amendment? It.was ade
| the fest question in all the recent elections:
| from the Atlantic across the continent to the
Pacific Ocean, and in all the States, from Maine
| to Oregon, the conditions thus proposed TO the
! South have been most emphatically endorsed as
| JDe ultlInatum OF Jne NOrtn. a large majority
! of the States, and vast majority of their
people, have thus given their approval and in
structions TO Congress to adhere to the amend
ment. Nor is it necessary, though very desira-
BILE, that there should be a perfect accord be-
tween the President and Congress in this matter,
iDasmuch as the jurisdiction over the subject
belongs absolutely to Congress. 1t is the duty
of the President to submit his recommendations
to the two houses upon this as upon other ques-
tions, but Congress may adopt, modify, or reject
his suggestions, as it has done from the begin.
ming of the Government.
We are grati6ed however, that from the ad-
vices before us, we may proclaim it as fact that
| the President has given up his peculiar policy
! of restoration tried before and rejected by the
| Northern people in these late elections. This is
! an important step gained towards an early and
| satisfactory adjustment. Another step will
! bring the Executive to harmonious under
! standing, and another to an active cooperation
| with Congress. Nor do we see, in Mr.. Johnson's
present ideas of compromise, so far as they
are foreshadowed, anything like an "irrepressi.
| BILE conficp with the pending amendment
| except upon the Executive theory that the ex-
] cluded States, as they stand, are entitled to a
! voice in the ratification. Nothing, we think
/ could be tairer than the compromise of the
| amendment touching negro suffrage, in propos-
| ing TO leave to each State to choose for itself
whether IFS black population shall be totally
excluded from the ballot-boX at the price of
! their total exclusion from representation in
| Congress, or whether they shall be partially or
| wholly admitted to suffrage and representation.
The shortest plan for speedy and compre-
nenSlVe SeItteIDenI, lnCluulng Une sacred ODIlga-
tions of the national debt the absolute repudia-
tion of all Rebel debts, and all claims for eman-
cipated slaves, the exclusion of a certain class
| ofprOminent Rebels from Federal offices here
after till absolved by a two.thirds vote of Con-
gress, and the regulation of representation by
suffrage, Is the plan Of the amendment and its
ratification by threetourths of the States now
constituting the Government OF the United
States. If we admit the right of the excluded
States to voice In the rati6cationf we must
admit their right to resume their vacated seats
in Congress just as they are; and that all the
legislation OF Congress in their absence, since
they laid down their arms as a hostile Con-
iederacy, is null and void. We must admit that
Congress has no right 10 impose upon those
States any terms OF restoration, or we must hold