The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-06-19

The Proposed scheme or Revoiution-
The Issue Before abe People.
We live in IN ago OF revolutions Through
frightfdl civil war, with It's rivers Of blood,
We have within the last five years ACCOM-
plished, In the abolition OF slavery, one Of the
most emarkable political transformations in
the history Of any country since the building of
the pyramids But, great as this change Ia, We
are upon the verge Of another still greaser-a
revolution In the government which may In
volve war Of races more sanguinary and 70
morseless than the late war Of sections The
constitutional amendment which has been
adopted BY both houses Of Congress and SUBJ
mitted to tho States for their Publications, how
ever fair and innocent upon the surflce 1t may
appear, il only part Of the scheme for change
In our federal system a. radical and compre-
hensivs ~ that Of France from her drst expert
mental republic Of Liberty, Equality and Fra
ternity" to the one man power Of the imperial
establishment Of Napoleon the First, revived
again, after some other transformations, and
now In full force under Napoleon the Third.
In the power assumed by Congress and for
the continuance Of which the two houses APP
peal to the States and the people now repre-
sented at Washington-the power to exclude
indefinitely from the general government the
States involved in the recent rebellion-we
have the assumption Of q revolutionary power
Of the broadest dimensions. We arc not look
ing at this matter in the light Of q partisan. Az
mere parties we care nothing for the political
parties Of the day. This constitutional amend
ment which has passed Congress, though good
enough in itself, is still part Of scheme, We
say, for radical change in the whole structure
of our government; and upon this issue the
people Of the Northern States will be called
upon for their judgment In the approaching fall
elections. The propositions that men OF oil
colors shall be equal before the law, that rep
the national debt shall be held sacred, that the
debts Of the rebellion shall he utterly and
everywhere epudiated-otfeiings to Bun
combe-are calculated to have pleasing effect
upon the popular ear but the real question is,
shall Congress exercise for On indefinite length
of time-two, Eve, ten or twenty years-the
power to govern as military colonies the States
rescued from the late rebellion, If the people
are satisfied that this is the shortest and best
way to a restoration OF the Union, all they have
to do Is to elect another radical Congress /; but
ftLey are not satisfied that this scheme is better
than that OF President Johnson if they believe
it, on the contrary, TO be full Of mischief and
danger to the country, then they have only to
set their faces and their votes against all those
candidates for the next Congress who swear by
the present, in order to defeat this radical pro-
gramme Of sweeping revolutionary recon-
struction.
Give US House OF Representatives that
will admit loyal men, elected in good faith, as
members from the now excluded States. and Z
speedy settlement, In very quiet and salts
factory way, Of all the existing doubts and diff
fculties Of Southern restoration will certainly
follow. The conditions already exscted by
President Johnson from tho States concerned
cover nearly the whole ground OF this consH-
tutionai amendment just adopted by Congress.
The only material question not touched by the
President, in his conditions Of restoration, is
the question Of making negro suffrage the basis
of negro representation. But ss this propo-
sition was suggested months ago to Congress
by tho President, there need he no trouble
upon tho subject. The issue between the adj
niinistration and Congress is not in this con-
stitutional amendment It Is simply this
shall the late insurgent States be restored upon
the plan of President johnson to their places
in Congress without further restrictions, con-
ditions or constitutional amendments, or shall
they be excluded for two, FIVE, ten or twenty
years longers
We are opposed to this plan Of prolonged
and indefinite exclusion of the outside Southern
States II is plan which we fear is only cal
culaied to aggrsvate the poverty and fnan-
cial omDarrassments of those States and their
political liberalization and social disorders
resulting from the war; a plan which may
exasperate their whites and blacks to war of
determination against each other and to q
repetition, in South Carolina and Georgia, OF
the bloody scenes between the two races In
ST. Domingo and Jamaica; a plan which, for
its delays and despotic precautions, may result
eventually not only in the reputation Of
the national debt amidst the wrangling politi-
cal factions OF the day, but in the sinking Of
the government itself in a puritanical recon-
s,ructon worse than that of Cromwell This
Is the real issue now before the people, end
let them remember that the only way to settle
II properly is in reconstruction Of Congress-
The MILITARY SITUATION IN IrLY.-The
Italian army at last accounts had sd-
vanced from the Oslio river and placed Itself
Immediately in front Of the two fortresses Of
Mantua and Pcschiera, which represent the
western limo Of the dcfences known as the
quadrilateral The occupation Of this position,