Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1866-08-01
From Harper's Weekly.
THE CASE STATED.


As his policy failed to command the apr row.
al of the Union party, and it can not be de-
MED that 1t has, his only alternative was TO
rehnqulsh 1t or TO await other support.
That would come from one quarter only,
from the Democratic party. 1t was not to
be expecred that the President would relin-
qulsh what he deemed the sole constitution
al sagacIous policy and therefore the elect
ed candidate of the Union party of 1864 has
no other party support than that of the
Democracy.
Regrets and reeriminafions are equally
vain. 1t Is too late to wonder whether, had
the wise and patient Lincoln lived, the party
which sustained him and the war would not
have settled without serious opposition the
great question of reunion. 1t is vain also
to blame the President or to asperse him.
Men act from mixed motives, and it is both
unmaniy and unwise to traduce those with
whom we profoundly differ, and whom we
most steadfastly oppose The welfare of the
country, through the triumph of the funda-
| mental American principle, which MIR.
Speed well defines in his letter of resigna-
| ton as the political liberty and equality of
| mankind under the law this is the end
which every thoughtful citizen will constant
| " bear in mind, and it is therefore of very
| little Importance whether the President is
| influenced by the desire of reelection: by
the wish to live his future years peacefully
| IN Tennessee by an ineradicable South
ern .procilvity; by an ineKtinguishable
hostility to what is called ''RadicaHsm -
| by lncapacity to comprehend the situation,
or by the. most conscientious desire TO do
his duty faithfully. 1t is vain TO turn upon
him the fire OF his own words when he was
military Governor of Tennessee. or when he
succeeded to the Presidency; for man Of
| ardent temperament and of utterly undisci-
pinned mind says many things under extra
ordinary excitement for which he can not
| fairly be held responsible Whatever the
President s motives may be. he has distinct
y declared his policy. That policy will be
| sustained by the Democratic party, and
must be estimated not by his personal char
acter, but by Its own merits and by the ne
cessltles OF action which the new coalition
will impose upon him.
| This is true also of the policy of Congress.
| Our judgment must be determined not by
our opinion of Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens, or of.
| Mr., lngersoll. or of any other ardent or I'M
wise declaimer; nor by the i'll humnr of de-
bates, or by the occasional folly of certain
acts. Neither is it of present importance
whether Congress has been too slow or too
| fast IN arriving at it's conclusions Con-
gress has been maligned, derided, and de-
nounced as the President has been. 1t is
enough that each has declared its policy of
reunion. Upon those policies the country
will decide at the autumn elections; and
every sensible man will weigh them well.
| The exact point, then is this: he PreSi-
| dent holds that the States lately in rebel
| lion, having accepted certain conditions
which he has imposed without consultation
with the representatives o. the people. have
| now the right to lie admitted to Congre SIS
! upon the same terms the other States.
| Congress holds that the Legislative and not
| the Executive department of the Govern
| ment Is the rightful Judge Of the situation,
and that the public safety requires another
condition as the necessary complemen5 of
those al .eady accepted, and opposes admit
| ting any .late lnsurgent State to an equal
share in the Government until it adopts the
| amendment proportioning representation to
voters, and excluding from office at the
pleasure of Congress certain conspicuous of
tenders. The object of this amendment is
of vital importance To state it is to prove
it; for it proposes merely that no State
which has tried to destroy the Government
shall, as a result of its abortive effort gain
increased power in the Government
There is thus no difference of principle
between the President and Congress, al
though there is that difference between him
and tie Democratic parry which denies the
right to impose any conditions whatever
But the President has done it. 1t was the
necessity of the case, and he could not help
it. Either South Carolina had the right to
! demand to resume her old share in the Gov
ernment without accepting the Emancipa-
ton Amendment, or revoking her act of Sc
cesslon, or repudlating her rebel debt, or
she has no right to demand it until she has
satisfied any other condition which the Gov
ernment may require for the same purpose
of security to the Union. The President,
indeed. claims that his conditions are the
| only constitutional terms that can be asked
But that is merely his opinion. No body
denies that every State enjoying equal rights
in the Union is entitled to representation
But the very issue is, when and upon what
terms a State which has just failed in con-
spiracy to destroy the Union may safely re-
sumo its equality Of rights within it, The
President insists that his terms are a suffi
cient security Congress insists that some
thing more Is necessary to make them Sc
cure. The country will decide between
them.
We believe that Congress will be over
whelmingly supported We do not doubt that
the country feels its proposition to be wiser,
and knows that the renewed ascendeucv ef
the Democratic party would De an inealcula-
BILE disaster. 1t Is neither extravagant, nor
unfriendly, nor dangerous. nor impolitic, to
insist that no Stat. engaged in the late re-
belllon shall resume it's national relations
until care Is taken that it shall not have
gained political power by the reb ellion. Ifl
any such State refuse to accede to condi.
tion SO intrinscally just and so unprecedent-
ly moderate, can it fairly accuse the loyal
Union men of the country of wickedly ex-
Guiding it from Congress and dangerously
delaying reunion2 The almost universal |
testimony of the best witnesses of the con- |