Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1867-02-28
gradford &epnrter.
Towanda, Thursday, Feb. 28, 1867.
GEN. BANKS ON REooNsTRUcTIoN.

Pennsylvania, is chairman, recently
reported bill to the Lower House Of
Congress for the organization of the
late rebel States, and during one Of
the debates on that report, Gen.
BANKS, now one of the members from
Massachusetts,, made, what we CON
slider, singular, if not unfortunate
speech. All true lovers of the Union
have supposed Gen. BANKS sound on
the vital issues which divide us as a
party, from the rebels, and their sym
pathizing allies of the North but
this speech will raise regretful doubts
as to the correctness OF this supposi-
ton. As the government is at pres
ent situated, and as we as party,
who are its custodians, are condition
ed, there is an absolute necessity Tor
unanimIty of sentiment, and harmony
of action, on the great question of re-
organizing the rebel States, the most
disturbing, as we'll as the most i'm.
portant measure our na tional leglsla-
ture was ever called upon to consid-
er and for one of our leading mem
bers to raise objections to the elabo-
rate work, the thoroughly digeSted
plan of an able committee, which ha 5
the confidence of the House, and Of
the country, and that too, simply
against the agency which is to be
employed in the reorganization of
the late confederate States, will seem
to all the manifestation of a fault
finding and carpiIg disposition. We
can not for the life of us, see what
difference it can make in the re-or-
ganizatiou of the rebel States, wheth-
er it is done by the army, or spec
ial commission composed partly Of
the army and partly of civilians, or
altogether of the latter. The bill
from the committee could easily have
been amended so as to limit, and
make responsible the action Of the
officers who should be appointed to
the charge Of this duty. Gen. BANKS,
however, could not satisfied with this,
but must introduce ar entirely new
proposition, merely to crafty pue-
rile vanity, as it appeared to us, and
so soon as he sat down, II. j. RAY
MoND rose and expressed qualification
that the gentleman from Massachu-
setts, should be so conciliatory, and
be was followed by NIBLACG,a copper
head from Ohio, thus opening the door
t. interminable propositions and OBJ
jections to the report Of the committee.
The idea that some members Of Con-
gress seem to have, that the President
should be humored, or coaxed,-or
can be-into the support Of any meas
ure this Congress should pass for the
organization of the rebel States, is
simply absurd. JOHNSON is too stub
born to yield, and if any blandish-
men:s are held out, it will only tend
to confirm his obstinacy. But, in Or
der TO avoid doing injustice to Gen.
BANKS we will quote from>his speech
its leading idea, and on which is
founded his whole opposition to the
report Of the committee He says:
His experience compelled him to say that
| he did not think the administration of the
| officers of the regular army would tend to
! the establishment of republican govern
| ment. He had never known even tenden.
| cy to the recognition of the rights OF the
people or repubhcanlsm or democracy
| through the intervention or administration
of the regular army; and he did not believe
if this bill shoHld be passed with its unre'
stricted and unlimited power, it would have
|
it of loyalty and the spirit of repubicanisM
| so far as it had any existence in those
States. His belief was that the hope Of re-
construction of this country and the resto
ration of republican government through
| out the land was in the masses of the peo
ple-the uneducated the poor, the power
| less masses of the people of these States
He believed that the influence of the Regu
lar Army would be with the aristocracy anC
| aga inst the democracy, and thus, under
! this bill, they would be deprived of the on
| " base they had for the restoration of 10y
| al democratic government III the country
If there was any hope for the Government
of the United States, and he sometimes
feared that they might be deprived OF thai
which was left to Alexander after he pOr
toned out his States to his favorites-hopt
! it was in the millions of the poorest, the
most ignorant, the least powerful Of the
people of the South, and il they had any
thing to fear from any portion of the people
it was from the implaeable enemies who
were welded to the doctrines and priyile
ges of the aristocracy. He wished, in what
ever measures should be adopted, to place
himself with the democracy and against the
aristocracy of those States, and he feared
that the machinery of this bill would no
tend to that end.
Let us look at this for moment
Here is bill proposing that few
officers of the army shall go into eacl
of the rebel States, and organize State
governments, the whole process occu
pying probably year. The law
which appoints these military agents
defines specially what each shall dc
in order to establish republican OF
democratic form of government and
yet, according to Gen. BANKS notion
the effect of appointing these army
officers will be "to crush out the
spirit of loyalty and the spirit of re-