The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-06-20
-wosse than useless to disguise the issue which

is presented TO us.
The President and Congress have been con-
tending for two years, and the result Of the
contest has been the Reconstruction Act Of
1867 which was the defeat of the President.
Is Ibis construction of the Reconstruction Act
anything more than o renewal of this contest,
aud have we any assurance that the President
will not be defeated again?
We have the Act; we have all the discussion
on the Act; we have the action and orders Of
the Commanding Generals under the Act; we
have tho opinions Of the press and of many of
the leaders of the Republican party upon the
course Of the Commanding Generals as guide
to what is the opinion of the great mass Of the
Northern people, as to what the Act meant, and
how it should be executed. Has any reasona-
BILE man in the South any doubt that the North
ern people, and more especially the Republican
party, which controls the present Congress by
a large majority, approve Of the course pur-
sued by Generals Sheridan, scBoFIELD, Popz,
OaD and sIoKLEsf Can any man have any
doubt who pays any attention tot the expression,
of public opinionf What then is this declara-l
on the part of the Government but renewal
of the old issue? Ard what chance is there of
any other result than the defeat of the Presi-'
dent? Grant that the opinion of the Attorney
General is unanswerable; what thenf 1t will
only serve to secure call of Congress in Julyi
and what will that Congress do? They will
either simply settle the construction Of the Act
beyond peradventure, by the requisite amend7
ments, or they will treat this attempt to avoid
it as part of the plan Of Southern action and
substitute another act which will be more ext
plioit and very much harsher.
Surely no one supposes that the military
commanders in authority will acquiesce in this
construction. If any one does, we may as well
state the fact that General S1cKLEs has already
asked to be relieved, and demanded q Court of
Inquiry upon his conduct. Will the Republi-
can party who passed this Act, and who have
resolutely supported the action of the military
commanders, desert Gen. SIcKIEs in such .
case? Will not the issue thus made become o
party issue, end who is to pay the costs OF the
controversy but our unfortunate selves?
This is not the first time that we have been
made to pay for our confidence in the Presi-
dent He undertook to restore us to the Union
if we would perform certain conditions. We
fulfilled them-have we been restored? What
has he succeeded in doing that he has under
taken to do? Upon every occasion, from the
Convention between SHERMAN and JOHNSON to
the Reconstruction Act, he has finally yielded,
and we alone have suffered from the resist
ance. We have too much at stake now to re-
peat our errors If the President undertakes
at this day-after permitting, without one word
of remonstrance or objection, the practical en-
forcement Of one theory of the Reconstruction
Act to reverse that theory, to prevent the exer-
else of this extravag CANT claim Of military author
ity, and to remand the State to the control Of its
own civil authority, let us at least have some
| security that he will persevere in his action,
and that if, under the opinion of the Attorney
General, we refuse obedience to the usurpa-
ton of the military commanders, we shall DC
4
held harmless for our conduct; that if this con-
struction is repudiatcd by Congress, which Mr..
srANBERY's opinion will as certainly call to-
| gether in July as if the summons had already
issued, VIC shall not be held responsible for
the delay in the work Of reconstruction, and
the Act will not be amended 80 as to bear more
harshly upon our rights and interests.
There is another point worthy Of our con-
sideration. If the Attorney-General's con-
| struction is the right one, then Governor ORB
| is the Governor Of this State, and the present
Legislature has the necessary authority to
make laws for the State. Then the orders
which have been issued by Gen. sIoKLEs are
no longer Of force. The confusion, the uncer-
tainty which will result from this state of
things no language can fully describe. If Or
| der No. 10 is not of force, then any creditor
may instruct the sheriff to enforce judgment.
Will the debtors of the State submit quietIyto
| the sudden sacrifice of their property? More
than that, every case Of violence, every disturb
anoe, we become responsible for, and it will be
absolutely necessary that the Legislature should
be called together at once to make some law
for the State. If any man in this State be-
lieves that good Is to result from this condition
Of things he possesses power Of vision which
we do not. "
Whether the administration of Gen. SIoKLEs
has been wise or not, is question into which
we do not at present enter. Much that he has
done we. think eminently wise-some things
which he has done we would have had otherwise,
and whenever that question comes up for dis
cussion, we will express our opinion frankly,
and, we hope, justly.
But the question which is now raised is
much larger one. We do not even undertake
to say that the opinion Of Mr.. sTASBERr is
not legally correct All we say is, that
if it is, it ought to have been issued months
ago. That now, correct or not, it will surely
create mischievous excitement-will secure
session Of Congress in July-will give to the
discussion of that body violence and bitter
ness from which no good can result to us, and
interrupt the progress toward reconstruction,
which we were making quietly and surely.
The question raised by this opinion is the
old controversy between the President and the
Republican party. That controversy can do
ua NO good. From present appearances it can
end only one way. But at this time, and under
existing circumstances, any fixed and settled
policy on the part Of the Government is better
than vacillating course, which makes issues
to-day which it abandons to-morrow-which
excite hopes it caRnQt fulfill, and which only
provokes resistance that cannot be effective
without its support, and which, when the time
comes, it has not the strength to support.