The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-01-03
CANNON & HOLDEN,
Wednesday, January 3, 1866.
Gov. Holden Relieved;

pOndence UnaI UOV. f1OlQen mas been rel1eVeu
of his duties as Provisional Governor of
th-Carolina We believe all the Provis-
ional Governors have been relieved, with the
exception Of Gov Hamilton, of Texas, who
has not vet quite completed his work. This
is but another STEP and very important
one. in the work of restoration. The Presi-
dent now presents his plan to Congress in as
flair and as perfect shape as practicable
He has done his duty as far as he could, with
the elements he had to deal with in the in
surgent States; the Congress must now do
its duty, and will hinder, or advance and
complete the work of restoration as to the
majority in that body may seem expedient
and proper
One of the chief impediments in the way
of restoration is the "test-oath." The in
surgent States went out from the family in
. 1861, by withdrawing their members of Con-
'gress and attempting to set up for them
selves; and they would have no right to
complain, if in their efforts to return, they
encountered no unreasonable opposition
But the test-oath" is unreasonable, and
presents an extraordinary obstacle. 1t is not
only unreasonable but it is unjust, because
it puts under ban the great body of the loyal
Union men of the insurgent States. 1t was
much easier and far more profitable in all re-
spects, to, be an Union man in the Northern
than it was in the Southern States during
the fa6e rebellion. Southern Union men in
CURED reproach and oboquy, and carried
their lives in their hands; and even now
they are more or less under the ban; but
!, Union man North was honored and promo
ted, and the suppression of the rebellion has
| placed him and his children on the most for
: tunate ground. This test-oath" should be
modified so as to admit into Congress true
representatives of the Union sentiment of
the insurgent States and until this is done
v the Union men in this portion of the coun-
try will have good cause to complain of their
Northern brethren. Why, even Andrew
II johnson himself, with all his heartfelt ardor
for the Union, and with the fixed determine
= ton never to abandon it in any event, would
have been compelled, if he had remained in
Tennessee, to have spoken some word or per-
formed some act which might have been con-
strued as in aid of the rebellion; and if he
had not done so, his life would have been ia
ken. or his existence would have been mis-
cradle. Such was the condition of hundreds
of thousands of citizens of the insurgent
States during the rebellion, who were at
heart Union men, and who longed for the re-
storation of the common government on the
basis of the Constitution. And not only
this, but there are many who went with
their State" into the vortex of the rebellion,
when their judgments told them they were
wrong; but at the time they had neither the
will nor the power to resist. And not only
this, but there are those among us who are
now loyal and true who at one time were
honestly in favor of secession, or who, if not
thoroughly in favor of it, encouraged it and
!. took part in it under various impulses orfrom
y various motives. Superadded to this, our
Northern friends should bear in mind the
fact that the political education of the South
ern people has materially differed from that
of the Northern people, in respect to the
powers of the common government. All are
satisfied nOw as to those powers; but it is a
fact that many good Union men in the South
held in 1861, that the common government
III 10
State had to secede. We enter no plea for
those leading men in the insurgent States
who conceived and planned the rebellion,
and who i" fired the Southern mind" and
thus plunged the people into the horrors of
civil war; These men, with those of their
followers who knew better and who refused
at the commencement and during the contin-
uance of the rebellion to listen to the voice
- of reason are guilty of conscious treason, y
and should not only be excluded from Office
for the balance of their lives, but severely
punished. But the =" test-oath'' ought not to
be continued as it is, excluding as it does
from office, and placing under the ban so
many true men in the South. We sincerely
trust it may be so modified as to protect the
government against conscious traitors, and
at the same time do justice to the loyal Union
men of the insurgent States.
The difference between the powers of Gov.
Worth and Gov. Holden we understand to
be as follows: Gov. Holden was a Cover
nor pr0oided by the President, under the
Constitution, for the people of the State, to
conduct the civil administration thereof in
accordance with the will of the President
Gov. Holden was not bound by either the
Constitution or the laws of the State, for no
oath of any sort was required of him. In
many respects his power was absolute, and
there could be no appeal from his action ex-
!. eept to the President himself. Gov. Worth
is limited and restrained in his powers by
the Constitution of the State, which he has
sworn to support. He must execute the laws
of the State as they exist, under that Con-
stitution, so far as they are compatible with
the federal Constition. His power is de-
rived from the people of the State, and is
! hedged about by Constitutions and laws
nevertheless, in some respects he is also a
Provisional Governor, for the State is not
"a vet fully restored to its Constitutional rela-
81 1afions to the common onuer.. aent. and Gov