Litchfield enquirer., 1866-07-19
The Conservative Convention.


 rapidly bringing matters to crisis. Presi- dent Johnson and portion of those who sup port his policy have determined to leave the party by whose effort he was elected in 1864 and make an alliance with the friends of Mcclellan an d Pendleton In other words, hopeless of success in any further attempt to fight out their differences in the Union party, they secede from it,
 A man who forsakes an organization which has during the five years of it's existence, ac complshed such glorious results, for one whose course during the greater part of that period has proved most mischievously wrong, assumes grave responsibility. For this se- cession but a simple reason is urged Ger tain amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by Cong ress which Union men of all shades of opinion agree should be adopt ed; and the only point at issue is whether the adoption of these amendments by the Southern States should be condition prece- dent to their readmission to the Union.
 We have always been una ble to understand W ith what. consistency President Johnson denies having already imposed similar condi- tions before doing what he constitutionally could towards the reconstruction of the South, denies the right of Congress to impose condi- tioas before they giyethe greater weight of their authorit, to his scheme of Reconstruction. We do not see how there can be any serious doubt that under a representative form of gov ernment it is the duty of the legislative de- pertinent, of the great parliament of the na- tion, to hear evidence, to deliberate upon, and to decide the most momentous question that has arisen since the adoption of our Consti- | tution That subject of such paramount i'm portance should fall within the province of a single individual, not elected for any such purpose, would hardly come up toShe Napo- | leonic, still less to the American idea of gov ernment by the people. Nei ther do we expect to hear any but disciple of Calhoun argue 1 that after offering full freedom and protection to Southern loyalists white or black, during the war we have Constitution so viciously constructed that it has now given them up, bound hand and foot, to the tender mercies of rebel majorities. ..s.-.... The gr eat reason which has induced Union men. to favor the Presidential plan of recon struction, has been the desire to show a gen. ereus spirit towards the misguided people of the South; feeling which we cannot but honor, although we think it misjudged The question now is, however, whether the small number of Union men disposed to leave their party, can by joining with Democrats, reason l ably expect-to accomplish their object of in- creasing good feeling between the two sec l tions. 9g Se,s-. re Even if successful in carrying the comin 2 1 elections, we think they ould find any ar engagement of the great question which would be distasteful to the bulk of the party who have prosecuted the war to a successful ter imitation, would be more dangerous than the fair, just, and, as it seems to us, generous com promise ten dered by Congress,
 We think, therefore, it is evidently their duty to stand by the party which stood by the flag; and shall be much surprised if any but few of6ce-h ol ders and impracticables, who would bring no force to any organization, take part in the Philadelphia Convention. All others will find the old Union party catholic enough to admit of greater differences of opinion than any yet developed, and strong enough to settle the reconstruction question as thorough ly and satisfactorily as it has settled the war question.