The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-10-10
COLUMBIA. =
Thursday morning. October 10. 1857.
In It no -Bo q Failuros

in several of the leading Republican
journals of the North, some confess
sions and doubts expressed as to the
success of the Congressional plan of
reconstruction for the South. Among
these we notice remarkable article
in the Springfield (Mass.) Republican,
in which it says "we must confront
the unexpected fact that Congress
sional reconstl auction is failure" t"
Again it says: A.
eff reconstruction works i'll, and
no speedy and satisfactory solution is
found In its own operation for the
anomaly of trying to organize and
condnct q Republican Government
with from q third to a half of the
citizens, and these the best educated
end most capable of administering
affairs excluded from all share in it,
then Congress will be called upon to
experiment again with the problem
Of re-organizing the South"
It closes its article by asserting
that reconstruction and its modes
must go into the Presidential election
and new Congress for final settle
ment. This Congress has failed with
it, and failed because it tried to circuna-
cent God"
This is strong language from a
leading Republican paper, but other
journals of the party are taking the
same ground. What has opened
their eyes we do not know; but of
one thing we feel convinced, that if
the extremists of the party had left
the Southern people, white and black,
to themselves, without sending among
them misunderstanding emissaries,
the reconstruction laws of Congress
would have been carried out without
difficulty, and the Republican party
strengthened if not firmly re-seated
in power.
The Washington correspondent of
the New York Herald, published in
its issue of Friday, says that the Pre-
sident had been discussing the ques-
tion of reconstruction with Southern
gentlemen of considerable political
experience" and that they came to
the conclusion the present plan must
fail. The Herald says that, although
Congress may not pay much atten-
tion to the opinion of either the Pre-
sident or these Southern gentlemen,
it may respect its own organs and
leaders, and continues its comments
by saying:
cit will be remembered that Mr..
Trumbull declared some time ago,
that it was the right of each State to
decide the suffrage question for it.
self. It is proposed that this princi-
pie shall be applied to the Southern
States, as well as to the loyal States,
with the understanding that the
colored population shall have the
suffrage rs they become intelligent
enough to use it, and that there shall
be general plan of education adopt
So CIV SbOS ~ piSPolC DuCLu lOI UlO
\exercise Of the franchise. This is O
Sensible view of the matter, and every
reasonable man must approve of it.
It Us only going back, in fact. to the
original plan of reconstruction on
the basis of the constitutional amend
ment, with this improvement, how
ever, that the negroes are to be edu-
Gated to prepare them for civil
privileges. )"
The Herald concludes its article, by
saying that the only chance the Re-
publican party has to save itself from
destruction, is to take new deport-
ure on the question Of reconstruction
in accordance with public sentiment.
We presume the public senti-
ment" referred to is that of the con-
servative and Democratic parties of
the North. This is strange result;
for, although the people of the South
ern States may not and do not be-
lieve that the Congressional plan of
reconstruction was just to them, yet
they have accepted it, registered
under it, and in every State, we