Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1866-01-12
lpolitiraI.
MI. Hubbard to the wat,hm an.
NATIONAL JUSTICE.

your remarks on it are designed to counter
act it's force, but you had a perfect right to
make them, and thank you for them. You
say " lack confidence in the President and
: hence expects faults, looks for faults and find
them; whereas we firmly believe the PEST
dent means to do right, and therefore wben
we see anything that seems TO be wong we
expect to find good reason for modifying first
impressions" But why do lack confidence
in him. Simply for this one thing. lie Ut.
terly ignore, every right Of the coiored citizen,
and hands him over 10 The tender n,rcies Of
pardoned but unr,pentant r,bels 10 Be tohippcd,
shot, hung or spared alive to be the mere seff
OF the old master and of them who seek their
life. | am no protested fault finder. didn't
ex pect to find fault with his administration
Was very much pleased with his manifesto
at his Inauguration; thought Providence had
only taken one good man from the head Of
the nation to put better one in his place.
But your modification OF first impression,
implies that you do not act from conviction,
but from the hrst premise " that ne is hon
est" Now Mr.. Waterman that man Is hon
eat, who acts honestly, and only he Z" BY
their fruits ye shall know them" My charge
is thus supported. He directed the provis-
ional governors to organize on the lohae basis
Were they the people? You know they were
not. Nearly two ifihs OF the whole popu-
lation Of the Southern States and that the
part to which he, and we were most deeply
indebted, including The heroes who had peri =
ed rything for US in the war, we're thus
bound hand aud foot politically and civilh,
and handed to that class of men whose tender
nercies are cruel believe that every su,
porter of this administration has occasion TO
blush and be ashamed Of such atrocity. why
did he do it? He says, ITO give the right
Of suffrage to the blacks would produce war
Of races" II we have cause to blush for the
act, we have still greater cause to blush for
the reason. 1t implies fully that the pardon
rebels are yet in their sins, and are only quiet
az the government is in their interest IL
implies moreover that Andrew johnson and
his administration are simply ruling in the
interests Of the rebels. 1t implies they have
no regard to lstce to the Nor n, nor to the
South, no fear of Him who says - he that ru-
leth over men must be just, ruling in the fear
of God" The ackno wledgment of the right
Of the nations defenders to civil privileges he
tacitly admits he could confer, and but for
what he conceived expedient, he would have
conferred. ID, he again says he finds no v ar
raul ibI IL III Nut kuneNlullOns III toe nTst
reason was shameful the latter is no less con-
ttmptible. TWAS always the plea Of Calhoun,
Breckenridge, and every other traitor Is
there anything in it which forbids the lffrsge
to those who drew it, or those who peiiled
their lives and property for it on the battle
fields of tho roVolNHoni o. anything that
foTbids that privilege 20 lite most earnest and
stsnch defenders at any timer The sophis-
fYv of tho nj IL tb,a. AZ
not make provision for its own overthrow and
restoration in part, or all Of the country, and
does not say what measures should be adopted
with traitors, or with its defenders. but it is
at least suppossble that they who drew it and
they who adopted it, e,igned that its defend
ers and rescuers should at least be treated as
well as its desuoyers. This, the admins
trstion refuses, on the aforesaid plea. AS to
the banging, shooting, whipping and the like,
look at Gen. Chetlain's and Col. Thomas &C
count of Miss. Look at the accounts Of the
riot in Alexandria and the number who were
shot there. Brig. Gen. Fessenden rom
Winsboro, s. C., reports to Gen. Gilmore, "a
spirit Of bitterness and persecution manlfests
itself towards the negroes; they are sh and
abused outside the immediate protection of
our forces, by men who announce their deter
mination to take the law into their own hands
in defiance Of our authority. To protect the
negro and punish those sill rebellious indi-
vidusls, il will be necessary to have he coun-
try pretty thckly settled with soldiers" Yet
we are told the troops are being disbandt d
and withdrawn, that rebels may have their
own way. Gen. SchuIz says: "While | was
there, Atlanta, Ga, several negroes came into
town with bullet and buckshot wounds in their
bodies. From their statements, which were
only corroborating information previously re-
ceiyed, that the reckless and restless chsrac-
tiers of that region lad combined to keep the
negroes where they belonged" Several freed
men i0ere shot IN the attempt TO escape. But
read his report and see how it corroborates
the very many similar reports from cofrespon-
dents of reliable papers through the country.
These things fully prove all have alleged as
the result of the almost mex plicable folly and
guilt Of the administration of refusing the
freedmen their civil rights, disarming them,
putting arms into the hands OF rebels, par
doning thousands who by the Presidents in
cidental confession are still in virtual rebellion
You are pleased to ssy that Congress passed
an act giving the President power to pardon
in his dissection. Did Congress stultfy it.
self by giving him power to pardon the i'm
penltent! Does man, or even God himself
possess the power to forgive without repen-
lance, and are not works meet for repentance
required Of al! those who would enjoy the
diylre favor The President cannot pardon
one such offender. He simply throws over
every such pardon the executive shield against
the fall OF the penalty of a righteous law.
Gen. Howard's and Gen. Grsnt's reports
do not say word to contradict these state
ments, but do say many things which render
them probable. Yet they both have much of
Official smoothness, as they aturAlly would
when made to ranking officer.
You say the negroes had no title to the
lands on the islands and rivers of South Car
olina because the President had not ratified
sherman's grant. True; but why had he
not ratified itl The rebels had forfeited their
right to them, and had won the right to the
halter By their rebellion. The government
onght to have conhscated them, and parcelled
them out for an equitable sum to those who
had done so much to suppress that rebellion
This was implicitly OF actually promised, and
the negroes believed it would be done. 1t
was one OF the few opportunities which occur
in an age, for Chief Magistrate by an act of
justice to place his name among the most die.
tinguished benefactors ofman. The nom per-
Torrance of the act, and the subsequent res