The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-02-25
FROM WASHINGTON.

4@. OAAka4C4l1&TO AO1N, -.
| FROM WASHINGTON.
Especial Correspondence Of he Baltimore Gdzene]
WASHINGTON, February 21-Last night Congress
consummated their miscallod Reconstruction
scheme, the features Of which you have alread
| givon to tho public. It's very title is misnome1
1t should have been called an Act to destroy rathe
than to rebuild. It's effect must be to separate
not unite As tho vulgar but expressive adag
goes, sit is hard to extract blood from turnip.
But as infamous Us the SHERMAN proposition, will
the House amendments, is. + find some crumbs 0
comfort in the measure and it's surroundings as i
passed, not the least perhaps, Of which is that it,
authors have overleaped themselves aud may fal
on THO other side.
In the first place, if the Southern people shall
choose to accept the alternative of abiding under
military rule until o change of public sentiment
shall have been developed at the North, the whole
scheme falls to the ground-a monstrous abortion!
Secondly, the Senate, by its unanim GUS Radical
vote on the Sherman proposti on as it originally
passed that body, solemnly declared in favor Ct
& ehe OF every man implicated IN the
manly course adopted by your Legislature, and
pointedly condenning that shsmelessly pursued
cal ISLANDERS and falsehoods for the past two years
heaped upon the South must now cease, since such
blows wilfotherwiso fall upon the beads Of Grant
sible for tho ssdisorders,' the ssoutrages," the
wholesale murders lyingly alleged to exist and
to be committed there, and not on the heads Of in
has been accustomed to martial law-indeed the
people there Sot along for some time very well
without any government at al except that Of the
orderly and law-abiding people even then never
lived on the face Of the earth.
You will see that the Bill, with the amendments,
Houses, with q single exception. Very early this
in that quarter, and referred to the matter in my
letter published on Wednesday. Mr.. johnson GER
tainly had the right to decide for himself what
course he should adopt in respect to this or any
other potieal t a. question aways being responsible
when he sees proper formally to assign the rea-
sons which actuate him, he certainly opens the,
door to criticism upon them. Now, the reasons he
gave for the vote in question are thought here, all
all sdes to be utterly unworthy Of his great reputa
ton ss special Pleader, to say nothing Of their in
sutc,ency to Justify his conduct y shall give it my
stract or in the particular, but because think T
see in it mode OF rescuing the country from the
m a IN IN weh i
predicament by visiting upon States already in
the Union the iniquity proposed, he does not pre-
With o. or Wshou lust eau Cause esth that It would have
such tendency, did that justify patent violn-
ton Of the Constitution declared so to be by
MIR: johnson a hundred times). and inflictng upon
SO to bo in the very speech he was making
!. had my own way, continues the Senator,
sentatives) in this chamber, with heart fun Of
conviction that they would be true to their duty
to the country, and that they would promote ita
permanent interest. But have not my way. I
am obliged, therefore, to acquiesce in the decision
OF the majority Of Congress, however erroneous or
unjust may believe that decision to be, providedI
20 fyr1lI av11 1xyny ofS~
time in restoring the Southern States to the broth
erhood Of States" This, it must be confessed, is
carrying the maxim that stthe end justifies the
Obliged to acquiesce in the decision Of the major
ity, there was no necessity at all for his voting
with them, since his vote was Of no importance
the contrary, his vote had been decisive imme-
diatey OF prospectively, or could have had any
con-, weight in passing the bill and in
the country from it's ssperilo1s predicac
ment," his speech might be accepted as plausi-
bic pretext for his vote iaying aside its morality
must conclude therefore, that other and very diff
ferent reasons than those assigned Influenced this
extraordinary action on the Senator's part, and
that its effect was designed to be felt in assem-
ply other than that of Congress. In brief terms,
Mr. Johnson's vote, as such, was mere nulity,
@ Of Individual d Sentiment q designed ''1 e
operate outside Of the matter in hand, than
as becoming or e1cusable on the occasion
upon which it was cast. The doctrine that it is
upon q legislator to vote with the ma
jority, on whatever ground, is convenient enough
for such as desire to be always on the winning
side. But it must be seen that it would not do to
push it to it's logical consequences, since it must
inevitably annihilate minorities altogether. On
the whole, it would seem that the only inteigible
ground advanced by Mr.. johnson for his vote for
the bill was his invete1ate and newly affirmed op-
position to its provisions, general and particular,
from the enacting clause to the last line OF the
Last section. .&s $at
Secretary McCulloch viii shortly Issue circulasz
notifying the public that the department. is noM
ready to receive and convert into dvetwenty bonds
the seyen-thirty bonds issued under the Act OF
August, 1864, and due next August, and also pay
hat the bonde.nay be received and converted
laily, and not all he presented at the same time
Then due. y % # & ~ st5gs q: sN
The Tariff Bill cannot be taken up in the House
until the Tax Bill is disposed Of and it is extreme
y doubtful definite action can be had on it this
session. 9. t.5s. -.rM