The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-10-25
Iron iSrTzE DAILY NRws.I
THE COMyENTIOH. \

49, Iron STHE DAILY sRws.l
HTHR c0avHNrIos. :
The election is now orderod, and the tirnisSsis q,
!. proaching when the State will pass through on
= , OF the most important OFFICES that viii ever be r.
: corded in hey history. a few words to those wh
, Will vote upon that occasion may be- acceptablsaJ
Gil who arc wiling to discard prejudice and pas
sion, and, fDr once. eaI to their aid the cain
!. quiet suggestions Of theis own good judgments:
lfany one can. 500 apostolic advantage TO DO dc
rived from opposition" in either on it's forms, hi
views Of public policy are ut least peculiar. Thos
who have the 'power In their hands viii notbo in
Inundated by anything short Of terrors create
than they can inspire themselves, Now, what i
there within tho reach OF the Southern peopl
that can alarm tho Republican party !? The sur
render OF General Lee settled the arguments o
force" forever, and il force cannot be- employed
what wilIiS avail to stquarrel" about Issues tb6
We cacnot possibly control ? ~. auh \
WI the hope be, that the recent elections in Ohio
and Pennsylvania exhibit the growth OF Southern
opinions in Northern latitudes, hear what is SAID
by . Charlestonian, now- in New York 81 know
many OF orr people win conclude chat thab rcsrul,
OF tho Late elections in Pennsylvania and Ohio
VIII 90 Or great service TO them. Such q hope il
Idle. The apparent defeat OF the Republican, party
IN those States, does not mean that the Northern
people are not as thoroughly united ~ to the rights
o. the South, as they wore in the early part Of the
year. our people did not learn enough of the
peridy Of the Democratic party. during tho war.
they deserve to, have the lesson Taught them
again." go. " 1855 F7
This is from the pen. Of q ssoldier and o clear
headed Southeaner, b has watched. closely
every passing event as, bearing upon the cues
lions or the day, and his opinion is that it would
pc idle" to expect any encouragement from the
DemooratiG party In any of the issues now pend
ing-for the Late elections have only isettled the
"va.so.s@o ansiFo " saasree. otsb0e. Tho poopia have
said that they do not desire negro suffrage where
they live, and that is all that they intend to say.
They do not mean that they want any distractions
thrown in the way Of reconstruction, now prepared
upon the only basis that could meet the general
appreciation. They no not mean To- say that they
want anything reconsidered that has already been
determined upon-anything unsettled that is now
clearly understood, Nor do they mean to say that
they desirs to cultivate spirit Of. resistauce
among Southern people, in order to reanimate the
fos :ils that have been buried 80 deeply 1, tho re-
cent war. They have no idea Of renewing the
cruel strife upon the very issues which hayo been
lost and won; but they do intend 70 say that they
consider the plan Of reconstruction definitely set
Ted, and that It must be carried out In theaSouth.
no meter what questions II may pleahePthe voters
OF certain States to discuss among themselves.
Lett It not be forgotten that oven Reyerdy johnson
voted for this plan as the best that could be de
v1sed; and nothing has occurred since that vote
that has changed his opinion. M -ss .,g
Those who turn their eyes hopefully TO MI. VAL
landigharn should remember his own prudence du-
ring the war. He subsidized into whispers that
would scarcely disturb the silence Of midnight.
He found satisfactory reasons for this course in
the power of the party that. he dared not assail.
How much stronger is he now, when all the houses
OF his Southern allies are already tpicketted2
were it not so, the struggle that Mr.. sYallandig-
ham would counsel would find It's parallel only In
the history of Mexico. It would cash afresh the
healing wound which the South cannot permit to
bleed any longer and hope to exist in future.
What do we want with any more struggles-par
~ticularly at a time when the renewal Of strife
might Light the torch in the Northern States them
selves, and this whole Union present to the world
q nation OF gladiators, thirsting for each others
bloodP Who is it that wants any steps taken IN IN,
that direction, and that cannusss1sfswdeGngfss q
OF armies" called, for, TO decide the issues that
will be raised, and never be determined until, like
the people Of mighty Rome, We sink down so low
in the scale OF human greatness that We secure a
miserable safety by our insignihcence
This need not be our fate, unless all the coun-
sells of prudence are blindly rejected, and the
%ferocious impulses of Wild beasts Of the forest be
accepted instead. There is a time even for these
to be useful, but that time has. gone by-they
nave tailed to accomplish anything in war
their appropriate sphere-and now that is over.
as beings endowed with reason, it is cur business
and our duty to listen to it's dictates. In the first
place, it only requires the msgnanimity of the
gambler, who has staked his all and lost it, to
surrender the States to the winner. II is hard to
do-every one feels this-the sentiment is uniyer-
sal-but nevertheless, the duty is the same. The
loser has no right to withhold, anything, and he
does not properly recognize his situation. il, he
attempts to do so. It has not been demanded,
however, for the winner has not only surrendered
his right to our lands, but has invited us to forget
the past, and accept oil the rights Of citizenship
which he enjoys HIMSELF ,n ta
Secondly. II the disagreeable alternative ofneRro
suffrage is made o condition, II is because we re-
fused to accept the Howard Constitutional Amend
menlt, under which we might have been restored
to the Union without that condition. For this
purposeAthe negro vote is . necessity" and cannot
be dispensed with whatever may be the future
policy 1t is, evident that that vote, on the present
OCCASION, 10 simply 8 locomotive, placed upon the
track In order to draw in the Southern States to
their places in. the Union, which they refused 70
accept upon terms offered that were far less OBJ
j~ectionable. ..,s-.,, ~, M( ayr
In the third place. When starvation threatened
the people, all classes Of society at. the North re-
numbered the suffering South. and ship-loaadd after
ship-load Of corn aud bacon were generously sent
for our relief, atstinie,, t0o, when the sons and
daughters OF the generous donors we're excluded
from the sOciai circle by many oEthose who wore
beneaatSed' by the consignments. II these are our
enemies where shall we ,fnd our .fsiendsi And
this BOO, with q knowledge that we had shot their
fathers, brothers and sons, in such numbers that
their graves would make Q city Of The dead; and
whilst hundreds Of the survivors, with amlputated
arms OF legs, or bodies otherwise manned, were
constantly before their eyes, calling upon the yul-
gar mind for vengeance only. We ought not to
eo,c"de, to them o pre-snansnce in the God-ike
virtne OF forgiveness, but knowing that We have
much TO forgive ourselves, we shonld meet them
IN p similar spirit. and, IKE sbsoshers willing TO DO
reconciled, place our natural lsscriaces on q COM
mon altar and invoke the Divine BLESSING upon our
humble Efforts TO efface ana retrieve the unSortu-
nate past.
FouIthly.. This conoiliatory spirit wHl achieve
for the South far more than that i~ll-tennper. which
canFonIy start the avalanche, wifaous the power to
arrest itsl distraction. What cor, we possibly
gain by continually annoying tho Northern mind.
and provoiing it TO- tighten the cords by which We
are already bound But meet them iaa spirit Of