, 1866-03-02
THE FREEDMEN,s BUREAU.

Il
opinion of both Houses of Congress will pave
the way for another civil war. We cannot
confess to sharing in these anticipatiOns,o on the
contrary we are well satisfied that the difficulty
will never extend beyond a war Of words.
The only danger that we apprehend is in the
the threatened impeachment Of the Presi>
dent, nominally on the charge of having ex>
ercised too much leniency toward Southern
traitors; but in reality for the reason that he
is in the way of carrying out certain meas
ures deemed necessary. to the perpetuation OF
power in the hands of the party at present
in the ascendancy. Whether the country
will consent to see Chief Magistrate de-
posed for no other reason than that be has res
olutely adhered to his views Of constitutional
duty, is a question about which there can be
but one opinion. The whole country will be
shocked with the enormity of the proposition,
and should predjudiced House of Repre-
sentatiyes attempt this abuse Of PoWsr,We may
expect to find the great mass of the people,
without respect to party, rallying to the sup
port of the President. With respect to the
Freedmen's Bill, SO far as we have been able
to CLEAN its provisions from reading the de+
bates in the Congressional Globe, we are well
satisfied that the people will justify this ex>
erciSe of the veto power. The bill proposed
to do for the black man what has never yet
been done for the white man. 1t relieved
him from all accountability to the local laws
of the State in which he happened to live,
and created a sort of Freedmen's judiciary,
in which was to be settled all questions to
which the blackman was party. These tri-
bunals were to be under military protection,
and from their decisions no appeal was ais
lowed to either State or United States
courts The bill further provided that the
public and abandoned lands in the various
States be placed under the control Of the Bu-
reau, for the exclusive benefit of the blacks.
Under the provisions of the bill means were
provided for building school houses and ed,
ucating the negroes, the expenses to be de>
frayed by the General Government. For
the improvident negroes houses were to be
built, and measures taken to protect them
against the consequences Of their own neglect
All contracts for the labor of black men were
to be made under the direction of the Blu.
reau, and every failure on the part of the
white man to comply with the terms of his
contract was made punishable to the same
authority. The provisions of the bill were
made 70 extend not only to tue States late in
rebellion, but to Maryland, Kentucky, and if
deemed necessary, even to States where sla-
very has always been prohibited.
The whole object of the bill seemd to be
to convert the government into huge elee-
mosynary institution, in which the blacks
were to be the pet objects of the public
charity. This was done under color of pros
tecting the cmancipated negroes in the enjoy.
ment Of their liberty. The bill attempted
to relieve one class of men from the evils
incident to improvidenee, and to this end
imposed tax upon the whole people in Or
der that class might be exempt from suf,
fering and want. The opposition to the bill
throughout all its stages denounced it as un-
constitutional-an argument its friends did
not attempt to meet. The only justification
was that Of necessity plea that can be
made to cover any outrage, however fragrant.
Under all the circumstances it is not strange
that the bill encountered the Executive veto,
and it will be strange indeed if this exercise
of the Presidential prerogativs is not sus>
tanned by the people. All men are agreed
that the negro shall be protected in the
" enjoyment of life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness" but beyond this we are not
prepared to go. Certainly, few right think
ing men will favor converting the govern
ment into a vast charitable institution in
HulOu UldCk n6u are 10 DC IQe exclusive OD
jects of its care. ImproYident white men
have to pay the penalty of their own neglect,
aud we know Of no reason why the black
man should be relieved from the, primal
curse" by the sweat of thy brow thou shalt
earn thy bread" To have thus pampered
and petted the emancipated negroes, it is
estimated would have involved an expendi-
ture of one hundred millions per annum,
every dollar of which was to be wrung
from the hard earnings'Of the country. The
red republicans of France, many years since,
attempted the task of providing for the
INDECENT at the public expense. The mad
radicals of our own day wish to repeat the
experiment, with this difference, that all
their charity is reserved for an inferior
race. The scheme failed in France, and
its originators were overwhelmed with rid.
icule. A like fate, we doubt not, awaits
their imitators in this country. Meantime,