The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-08-29
For the Standard.
Who are the Loyalists....A Test....Th
AmneSty Oath.

ciSH P0TttcuCdfCy, one VINO maintains his al
legiance to his prince, and defends his cause
in times of revolt or revolution We have
just emerged from a revolution, in which the
loyalist was particularly known, in contra
distinction to the disloyalist, as one who adj
hered to the government of the United States,
and defended its cause. The military pro-
.gress of this revolution has been checked
the armies, upon which it mainly relied for
success, having been surrendered and their
organizations dissolved. But the political
relations Of the States, which revalted agd st
the authority of the goyernment, have not
been readjusted upon basis satisfactory to
the whole people; and it is clear thGt the
difficulties arising from this disturbed con-
dition of public affairs. which daily perplex
US. had their immediate originin that revolt,
attempted revolution, or rebellion. :
The military power of the government Of
the United States has conquered the armed
forces of the rebellion. but there are other
agencies necessary to be used in restoring the
proper, practical and political relations Of
the States to the government, which the mil
itary power cannot and was never intended
to accomplish. To these agencies, constitu-
tionally employed, the military becomes a
subordinate, cooperative power. And as it
was disloyalty in any person to oppose the
military power, when engaged in the sup
preston of armed rebellion, so it is disloyal-
ty in any one to oppose the agencies now
used by the government to restorethe proper,
practical relations of the States to the Union.
This proposition would seem to be selt-evi-
dent, for these agencies are employed to set
tie the difficulties occasioned by an attempt
at revolution partially successful, and until
they are composed the revolution is not en-
ded. Therefore. to oppose the means adop-
ted by the government to accomplish this
purpose, is to endeavor to protract the revo-
luton; and so familiar have many of our
people become to rebellion, permitting it to
engross all their thoughts and affections, that
they are too prone to continue their efforts to
keep it up by being hasty without provoca-
ton or good reason. to offer opposition to
the means, agencies or instrumentalities EN-
ployed by the government for its final sup
preston. Nor are such persons to he found
without some reasons for such conduct; for
man by nature is ever eager to justify him.
self, and whether such justification be salts
factory to Others or not, it is usually satisfac
tory to himself.
The unmistakable loyalist, according to
the definition already rendered, is that per-
sons who adhered and adheres to his allie
glance to the government, and defended and
still defends its cause. This defence is confin-
ed to no particular kind of weapons-its eff
cacy alone depending upon that, one sort
heing best used at one time. anoth-
er at another If the spirit be willing, as the
spirit of the loyal man ever is willing to de
fend the government, it is enough. There
may be, there are circumstances, which COM
pei inaction and silence- circumstances
which control not only individuals but large
masses of men, and which may also impel
Involuntary participation with disloyalists in
acts of treason. There are cOnscript-laws
more cruel than the grave which they popu-
late-tithe-laws more exacting of the far
mer's substance than the brazen furnace of
Heaven in mid-summers drouth-a military
tyranny. which more sternly stiles the voice
of the freeman, than does the dungeons
walls the dismal cries of its fettered captive !!
But there is naught which can turn the 10y.
alist from his allegiance, SAGE the action Of
his opn WILL. For such action, he is respon-
| sible to his God and an outraged govern
ment.
| 1t is perceived, therefore. that of loyalists
| there may be two classes-one without spot or
! blemish, and another composed of those, who
were forced, by the unfortunate position in
which they were placed. to give aid to trea-
| son to certain extent. The former class,
among us, experience no difficulty in resum-
| ing all their relations to the government as
citizens; the latter does. owing to the inoOJ
untary yet undeniable aid which its members
have given to rebellion or attempted revolu-
| ton. 1.-THE latter-is the more numer-
Gus class And it is also an unques-
toned fact that, of those who compose it,
many are more widely recognized as loyalists
than any of the former, for the very reason
that being for, ed into the rebellion, their ef
forts against such coercion, and the rebellion
itself, rendered them peculiarly conspicuous.
So that in each Southern State there are
known leaders of this class, and in each
county known followers. who were branded
as traitors to the Confederacy, and still bear
the maark In the army and at every precinct
at home these unmistakable loyalists were
known and are still known.
To the first and last named classes of
loyalists, the President entrusted the work
of reorganizing the Southern States, which
had attempted revolution,-to them, the
Congress still desires it to be entrusted, and
the President has reaffirmed that tn be his
position But, in spite of the Executive and
Legislative departments of government, the
work entrusted to the loyal has been wrested
from them by the disloyal, in whose hands it
! now drags its slow length along. One
department has strangely sanctioned this IN
Just reversion of power-the other has not.
1t has been asserted that one class of loyal
lists experience difficulty in resuming all their
81 a. kl,a xnv,f
They do not censure the government for
this, nor can they blame themselves, but they
properly lay the fault at the door OF those
who forced them to the commission of acts
of reasonable nature. And what renders
their position in this respect more CALLING, is
the fact that it places them on factitious
equality with traitors. who are odious to
them not only for the crime which they have
committed against til, government, butfor the
personal injuries which they have wantonly
inflicted on Union men and their innocent
families. These traitors take advantage of
this, the political misfortune OF their loval
neighbors, and exciaim, with semblance of
truth, if you are loyal, ace are loyal; it ace
are traitors, gou are traitors!" But this is
erroneous. There Is line Of diUision-on
one side must stand the loyal, on the other
the disloyal. For the issue made in the last
contest was the establishment of a Southern
Confederacy. There was party in the
South, which at first boldly opposed it, but
was at length forced to succumb-to yield
physically. And although, as most reason
able to expect, during the war many departed
from its faith to the ranks of the disloyal,
and learned to labor uoluntarily for the estab-
lishment of the Confederacy, yet the great
majority of that party remained and still
remains true to first principles lone for
and preference Of the Union to any and all
other gocernmeats This divided the loyal
from the disloyal at the hour of the attemp-
ted disrupturc of the goYernment-it IS .