Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1867-05-22
Truth Well Put---The Right to
Reconstruct.

Rebels-and the dilemma in which the
Rebellion has placed the South. His
words of counsel are worthy of the seri-
Gus consideration of political leaders as
we'll North as South. Whatever claims
the Rebels may have upon the cIemcncy
of the government, he utterly repudates
the doctrine of the Copperheads of the
North that the government has no right
to impose upon them the terms of Resto-
ration to the Union. He says the gov
ernment has both the power and the right.
In a speech delivered at the city of Angus
ia, Ga, on the 9th of April, he answers
the arguments of those who oppose the
Military Law of Congress, as follows:
None of us can claim consistency in this
matter, unless ii be the man who was from
the start Il per sc Union man, and one who
stood to it. | fear none Of Us were very
consistent Gentlemen, we failed upon
/ the issue that we made, and when we did
we were left in the condition where we
must expect to return to the Government
/ of the United States, in good faith, or
j leave the country. At the end of the war
mo man who was not under arrest was
! obliged to remain in Georgia if he did not
/ want to. II you were so much welded to
! the doctrine of State sovereignty iand
confess | was welded to it, and 50 bitter
/ ly opposed to the Government of the Uni
ted States that you could not afford to live
under it, you had an easy way to get rid
of it. All the avenues were thrown open
at the end OF the war, and you could en-
! list under any flag You pleased, and live
under any monarchy. Why did you re-
main here, then? Some did go, ana those
who have gone have most of them return
ed To their native land. After the war
man had no right to remain here disloy-
al, and vet claim the protection of the
/ Government.
1t is not honorable. If we remain here
and become citizens, it is our duty to try
and build up this Government again, be
cause we have readopted it. We lost our
rights by the war, and an appeal to the
sword and aS we did not leave the coun-
/ try, we are bound to accept such terms as
/ are Offered us. Suppose we now adopt the
rule we then stood upon, and if we are out
| of the Union, we have no rights and they
have the right to re-admit us upon their
own terms. Now take that horn of the
/ dilemma and how do we stand? Having
/ failed by the sword, we become con
quered people, and the Government had
Il right, according to the laws OF nations,
imposing such terms upon us as the con
. Iueror chooses to put upon the conquer
ed. They might keep Us under Military
Government for years to come. There is
where we stood out Of the Union an indie
pendent State, said Georgia. Then they
conquered Georgia. What right has she,
then, to claim rs right, or 10 appear be
fore the Supreme Court, or any other
privilege OF the Union? None We will
now take the other horn of the dilemma.
Suppose the Northern view of it was
right Our act OF secession was void. II
we were still in the Union, we were in
rebellion, and each of us who took up
.arms was guilty of treason and liable t.
toe hanged. This is so if we are still in
the Union. There is no escape from it.
Not only 50, bat being guilty of treason,
our property would be subject to coufis-
cation-our personal property at least
Then, if this is true, what right have We
TO dictate the terms upon which we are 10
return to the United States! We either
did go out, and the Government had the
right to deal with Us as n conquered peo-
pie; or else we did not secede, and we were
Rebels and liable to be dealt with as Re
bells.
In contrast with the Northern Copper
head position on the same subject, the dec.
larations of the Charlotte \. c. Democrat
are very instructive. Read what it says
The Radical party at the North, in
and out Of Congress, look upon Il certain
class of men in each Southern Sta.c as pc
culiariy loyal, and believe that they are
the proper ones TO carry on the work OF
reconstruction. We do not claim to he
long to this ciass-We cannot do 50. for we
heartily sympathizcd with the tOnfeder-
ate cause during the war-we make ne
claim to having been Il Union mun-Wt
can only claim that since the surrender oi
Gen. Lee we have favored Il settlement Oi
difficulties on the best terms we could oct
from the conquering power. But we have
said and will continue to say. that il
would be better for Us all if the work oI
reconstruction was left to the party Oh
class that is considered loyal by those
who control Congress-
We clip this very forcible argument
from late editorial in the Charleston :.
O. News:
:" An idea prevails that because Con
grCsS passed a resolution in 1861 that the
war was not then waged " for any pur-
pose of conquest but to preserve the
Union therefore, when we surrendered
in 1860 we surrendered under the protec-
ton of this resolution, which had not
been altered by the events and changes OF
rs mighty and varying war as the world
had ever seen. Now, there is not an cx-
ample in history in which two parties at
war have kept open Il standing set of
terms upon which the war is To be ended.
/ When we surrendered our ar
mics and closed the contest, the final
terms were dictated by Grant and Shrr-
man, and every sensible man knows that
/ these are the Oniy conditions to ichjch IRE
/ ihuUc the right to appeal. What is the
use of trying to delude ourselves into the
belief that the course of great war, shat
tcring that it may reach and shattcring
what it reaches" can be governed aud
/ limited by the law of special contract?"
The Charlottesville (Va.) Chronicle is
not so thoroughly reconstructed us to be
radical in its views, but it is able and SEN
sible. 1t has no idea of the South Joining
the Northern COpperheads in order to OBJ
tain power, for the sufficient reason that
the latter would be sure to cheat them
To use the language of the Chronicle,
" the Northern Democracy not only killed
them (the SOutherncrs) during the war.
and Dragged that they furnished all the
Union soldiers, bit they deceived them at
the PhijadeLlohin ConuentiOn.' The
IN hrpnipln tbp1 1ntS jtG ~, tb,