The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-12
GFN. sICKLEs' LETTER.

we nave n0t ueemeu IL W1Sc Or DccOnl-
ing to discuss the probable action Of
Congress. With the issue which has
brought tho National Legislature together
at SO ..inopportune time, under such in
auspicious circumstances, tho people of the
South have had nothing to do. Fairly
and faithfully have We done, or rather were
we doing the duty imposed upon us and
if like the victim of old we wcrc to roll the
stone up the hill only to see it tauntingly
thrown back, all that was left us was to
bcar patiently the exercise Of this tormcn-
ting tyranny. But not only has the nc
ton Of Congress SO far indicated on the
part Of the North, q just recognition of our
position, but there are evidences TINT there
are those in power who comprehend the
opportunity for craftsmanship which the
present crisis affords.
Our readers can scarcely fail to uuder-
stand that We refer specially to the letter
from Gen. SIcKLEs to Senator TRUMpuLL,
which we published yesterday. What VIC
could not say, he has said, and his words
are weighty with the experience of one
Who has perhaps more successfully than
any of his colleagues carried out the pro
visions Of the Reconstruction Act. His
fidelity 10 the Republican party not the
most extreme radical can doubt, and the
condition of the Military District which he
commands is tho best proof Of the practical
wisdom of the administration.
His letter mny be considered in two
points of view first, rs the testimony of
the most competent of witnesses of the
condition of the State under his command,
and, second, as the suggestion Of the high
est practical authority as to the best mode
Of reconstruction
| Considered as testimony, We Gun refer to
it as conclusive proof that our people have
done their duty; that they have met fairly
the responsibilities which the Act imposes,
and that the work of reconstruction would
be more thorough and more prompt, tho
| iuouv. '-'' ~
AS suggestion, it can scarcely be over
valued For two years General SIcKLEs
hns been in command in the Carolinas; he
has had ample opportunity to observe; has
been brought into immediate contact with
all classes and nil interests, and has proved. .
by results, that the spirit Of the people
and the requirements of the law, are not
incompatible.
With this knowledge-with deeper in
tefest than any other living man in the sue
cessful administration of tho Act-he ad-
Yises that the universal suffrage which has
been enforced, should be accompanied by
on universal amnesty; Tint if reconstruc-
tion is to be effected, that the best clements
of society are the material with which il
should be effected, and that no such sham
reconstruction should be effected as would
result from the exclusion of the wealth, the
character, and the intelligence of the State.
1t is clear that that is not reconstruc-
ton which places class in antagonism to
class which excludes from the public ser
vice those who are fitted by education and
experience to direct public affairs wisely, and
that to disfranchise all who naturally
control is simply to put an inexperi-
enced, uneducatcd majority at the mercy
OF that reaction which the minority, DOS
sessed Of all the real strength Of society,
will, sooner or later effect.
General StcKLEs recognizes further that
among the wisest and best men of the
South are those whom the late experiment
OF secession has completely satisfed-who
consider that great revolution has opened
the field of new ideas and new habits, but
who will not interfere actively in public
30 long as that action is supposed to BIO die
tated simply by the selfish desire to restore
their own fortunes
Such mon he sees are the most efric;ent
Instruments in tho reconstruction which the
country desires, and are tho sureat media
tors between tho old and The new. He
sees what is the fact, that in the late war
the great mass Of the people were one, and
that any disfranchisemcnt which is consis. |
tent must include nearly the whole of the I
and character Of tho South.
and that no reconstruction could be sound
based upon SUCH an exclusion. He saws
distinctly what is equally truo, that such a
iiafranchisement would place the South un-
dor the control Of those who ure not fitted
% direct it truly, and that the true interest
If the whole country requires that when
'hese States are restored, they should be
restored in the fulness of such wealth. in
and character as they possess-
hat if they are to be the equals of the
North in the Senate, the better fitted thew
'rc for that equality, the better for tho
country.
Whether opinions 60 sound, and coming
ven from so high an authority, will be re,
pected, we cannot say, but whether treat
d with the consideration they deserve or
'ot, wo acknowledge our obligation to Gen.
'1oKLEs for placing upon record in this let
er yindication of the character and posi-
-