The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-04-29

would lmblDe at u day notice any
absurd delusion as to the authority
and wishes of the British Queen, of
the Commissioners, or anybody else;
but what they were always looking
for was something to be given them,
or something to be done for them, or
some law to make them all rich,
happy landowners, and tax free for
ever. Such men are not citizens, call
them SO as we viii. President John
! son, in his message, takes into ac-
count the election and circumstances,
as well as the race. These 1000, 900
have, he observed, just emerged from
slavery; and he notices that the
United States require five years
training in republican institutions
and habits before they admit Eu-
ropean foreigner to citizenship
Even IN intelligent Englishman must
go through this probation. The
slave must have at least as much-we
fear very much more He has his
virtues. In some respects, he con-
trasts f;,vorably with the white man.
Nobody wishes to speak ill of him,
but he simply is not capable of 60
WI AAiCip III VIC SCISc We WllCu
we talk of commonwealths 1t is not
in him. Is this strange to us? Have
we no class at home that even our
most liberal politicians are content to
see out of the pale of citizenship, like
the 4, 900, 600 negroes President John
son is obliged to leave out of it? For
the answer we state single fact.
Nobody on either side Of the House
of Commons has dropped word
about the enfranchisement of over
1900, 600 agricultural laborers, repre-
senting, as they do, much larger
population than the negroes in the
United States. Nobody praises them;
nobody abuses them; nobody pro-
poses to give them votes; nobody
thinks it necessary to give reasons
why they should not have votes.
| But If the matter of the Presidents
message has 4 singular bearing upon
our own present case, SO also has his
argument. He is engaged upon the
work Of reconstruction, he says. He
has to maintain the federative system
of limited powers, and the barriers
which preserve the rights of the
States. This is an actual and trali.
ditlonal system arising out of great
variety Of circumstances. For such
an actual state Of things, the Presi-
dent declines 80 substitute a universal
equality, with nothing to control it
bnt central Government. Our own
case Is not SO very dissimilar as it
might seem. In our great variety of
classes, conditions and interests, and
the consequent variety OF arrange
ments that have sprung out of them,
we have parallel to the relation Of
the United States one with another.
There is no American statesman of
note who has not looked with dread
to the possible day when a mere
crowd Of self-called citizens might
usurp all the rights and powers now
residing in various communities, and
adapted to their own local circum-
stances. America has had her ano-
males, but they have been amply
justified by their working, and it has
only been by their .4aKgoTattiiou tia:
they have ever proved mischievous.
But the first thing, says the Presi-
dent, Is to restore the balance, to
repair the Union, to mend the bar
rlers and retain as much rs is allow
able OF the old state of things. After
that, and in due time, he intimates
cautiously, it may be necessary to
proceed to an enlarged and coLlpre-
hensive definition of the citizen.
That is the order taken by man
who has hitherto shown singular So
gacity and firmness It is the precise
contrary of the order taken by her
Majesty's advisers. Though. as it
appears, with quite as great difficult
ties before them as the President,
and with quite as little intention of
meeting those difficulties, they never.
theless will take, first, the definition
of the citizen, partial and unfair as
1t must be, and postpone to the indie
finite future the reconstruction that
is, in our case, the distribution of
seats. They do not even propose to
cnfranchise our millions Of field
laborcrs; but they have a franchise to
give and citizens to make and this
they will do ont Of hand, let who may
DO the rest, if it ever be done.
FINE CRoP PROSPECTS. The Rome
Courier says there has seldom been