Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-11-06


E@Thereturns the elections, which
we publish to-day, are Conservative and
: favorable, as we expected. The gains
are large in all quarters, and we are
assured that the public mind of the
North has undergone change, and that
fanaticism is on the wane. But the
question now arises, what are we to ex'
pect as the result from all this? The
extremists of those States were always a
minority. And yet, they have uniformly
carried their ends, by dint of superior
energy and activity. Will it be SO now
Their work of reconstruction is on foot,
and has the vantage ground. By the
process of usurpation, they have the
ballot already in the hands of the
negroes, and control the Southern cleo
tons, and the balance of power. Will
the North now rest satisfied with an
expression Of disspprobation, and permit
the work TO 20 on to the overthrow ofthe
very pretenses of the Constitution, to
complete negro legislation, domination,
and the inevitably consequent result OF
the con6scaiion Of property, which the
negroes claim, and their Radical leaders
affirm as their right? If so, if, to use
the language Of the New York World,
"there is any human nature in
man.. the war has not ended.
The negroes will have the govern
meni, Legislative, executive and ju-
dicial in their own hands, aud
as the law will stand, If not pre-
vented, will work their own will. Is it
to be expected that they will stop short
Of Selling the landed property of the
country And what then? Simply
that we shall fight if there is any man
hood in man. Brownlow's hell will be
no longer a myth, but fact domesti-
Gated on every plantation. The pre-
diction of the World will then be re
allied in its fullness of horrors. Men
will shoot each other in broad day they
will Turk about each others dwellings in
the darkness Of the night, to set them on
fire and butcher the flying inmates.
courts of justice and officers of the law
will be powerless to stay these horrors.
No armies which the Federal Govern
ment can raise can arrest the carnage,
because it will be scattered over every
inhabited square mile olthe South"
The following is the claim as put forth
by the Infamous Anti.SlaUery Standard,
controlled by that enemy of the white
man, Thaddeus Stevens. We shall now
see whether the Northern people will
allow and countenance, and whether the
President will take any suitable steps to
prevent its contemplated execution.
The time has come when Southern men
should be definitely advised whether the
negro programme is to be enforced;
We do not claim, as intimated by the
New York Times, any special favor for
the negro. Whatever precautionary
legislation we ask for Congress in bis
behalf, is only such as the peculiarly of
his situation demands. The question Of
his political status is not yet definitely
settled With another adverse turn in
the wheel, and Conservative Re.
publican and Democratic asceudancy 10
national politics, the negro would be
driven to the bayonet, or TO disfran-
chisement, IL not femanded back again
20 actual chattel slavery. We claim
land for him in the South, because under
the order Of things out Of which
the rebellion grew, he was forced
10 continuous, unrequited toll, and
is, therefore, entitled TO compensation,
not as q favor but as a right; because,
through the perfdy Of an unimpeached
traitor President, the present occupants
Of the large landed estates are fraudu-
lently possessed Of an undue power,
which they now WELD, aud will continue
10 exercise 10 Cypress the blacks, and to
the great deiriment Of the government
There has been war, and not playing at
war. Those lands are nov legitimateiy
az The Disposal Of the Federal govern
meuf. and should be 80 appropriated as
10 put our true and tried friends Al least
upon On equal footing with our red
handed enemies in the new diEpensation