The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-01-26
CH A r LES S TON
SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY 2e, 1867
WHAT THE COUNTRY NEEDS.


SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY 26, 1867.
WHAT THE COUNTRY NEEDS.
1 The telegraph every now and then sonds mag
netic thrill through tee country by mysterious
hints of s:amcablc adjustments OF tho difhcutles
pending between South and North; OF the closing
OF the breach between Congress and The Preslaent'
otc. Universal suffrage and universal amnesty are
said to be tho basis of this proposed settsrneht.
We know Gov. OnR is at present i'll Washington,
and it is rumored that he is there for political rea
sons. HORACE GREELEY also has been at the cap-
tal for some time and his views are knoWll ~ VI
pacific. Others also, prominent men from d'ner-
ent sections of the country, are SAID TO De
/ in this laudablo purpose. We do not Know tlas
there is anv truth in these runlors, but earnestly
! hone that something may come OF it. we 1ee1 as-
.nred that NO express the sentiments OF evofy ono
Of orr readers when we say that tho country IS
HEARTILY tired of the present. uncertain unsettlea
unsatisfactory, irritating state OF things. Even
downright war, in'rany respects, is preferable 70
state of suspense, thlt appears never to nave an
. end. We counsel 10 war; we have had quite
enough Of that we only refer to 1t for purposes OF
/ illustration A war seven, we Say, is better than
this everlasting suspense, for during the progress
of O war, we always hope to come out Victorious
and then the dispute will be deanltivel! So 'lou,
while in the present state Of things all signs ana
all prophecies fail Nothing is certain, ana Tue
wisest philosophers statesmen, the keenost
merchants, and most sharp-sfehted fnancers are
surrounded by the densep political fog, and canno6
] SEQ two weeks before them.
Tho attitude of Congress to the South one Of
determined, persistent hostility, has been ncalc u
lably injurious, both to the country at large, and
still m ore SO to the people in the unreconstructed'
Southern States. 1t has become evident to every
disnterestcd observer that the object of the ultra
Radicals is not peace but power and plunder; that
thcy want not compliance on our part to any moa-
snre proposed, but prefer continued agitation, as
being moro conducive to attainment OF their
ends. Reconstruction the professed aim of all the
legislation of the present Congress, has receded
more end more. The estates lately in rebellion,
we're as roady fourteen months ago to take their
place among the United States as they are to-day;
every constitutional requisite readmission hav-
ing been scrupulous, complied with. Ii the Ere
| sident's policy, 50 much sneered at now by the
Radicals, could have been carried out, the wounds
Of the -untry would have been healed; the ma
tional debt diminished in bulk, and consolidated
upon o lower rate Of interest; the enormous in-
ternal revenue taX would have been reduced; peace
would reign throughout the land, and peace would
have begot confidence, both at home and abroad;
our impoverished condition would have beenre-
lieved by capital from abroad; moneyed men would
i 4 I G Eo1 Eorp n nd
profitable investment, fine climate, fertile soil,
and population OF laborers skilled in the cutiva-
ton Of the most va'nable staple products Of COM
morce. They would have come to tho aid OF our
planters, and by this time the South would nearly
have recuperated from her ruined condition.
Such might have been the case; but it suited
not the cupidity Of some Of our Northeln n brcth-
ren; and We are still kept on the stool of suspense
We have government, it is not recognized. Our
| Legislature enacts laws, thoy are declared not
binding. We have complied with all the reQuisi-
tions Of the law; it is not credited. We have taxi
ON the oath Of allegiance to tho United States Gov
crnnent; we arc told that we are not sincere, that
we are porured TINT we arc rebels at heart. etc.,
| ETC. Yet has the South given the most undenable
proofs of sincerity; for while all have takon the
ssAmnesty Oah how few woro able to take the Test
Oath Had we boen guilty of the unprincipled hy-
pocrisy charged upon us, the numerous Federal
Offices throug: out the country would not have
gone begging, for want OF suitable Southern men
| to fill them. Here and there man was found,
who could truthfully take the Test Oath, and did
SO; some there were also, perhaps, who swore ia
gitiously; if so, they are marked; but the vast
majority Of our people never dreamed ofprofess-
n,, not to say swearing, to what they did not feel
or know TO be true. We, therefore, tlo not merit
the aspersions of perjury, untruthf'llness, insn-
cerity, or disloyalty.
But nc hcpe thore is IN end Of all this, and that
sssettcmcnt" viii be effected satisfactory TO all
parties and sections. If such settlement is prac-
| ticable, it will be the panacea OF tho country
| We are weary OF this chronic irritation; OF being
daily calumniated; and either passing it over In
silence, or making the same donial over and over
again. We want something that will establish
| confidence between the two sections. NORTHERN
men come here trust their lives and property with
/ us, and we have every reason to believe, have no
cause to repent Of their step. Why, then, can
other Northern men, who remain at home, not
give us the same degree Of confidence, or at least
l
ments The latest case in point of this perpetual
suspicion of all our motives and actions We find in
the New York Tribune, Of the 2lst, where we read
an editorial paragraph, in relation to the recent
difficulty on the Cheves plantation, near Saran-
nah. The Tribune blamed Gon. TE1LsoN for send
ing over troops to enforce order, and remarks that
in all alleged difficulties between planters and ne
groes it is always to be taken for granted that the
negro is in the right and the planter in the wrong
and that United States troops should not be used
against negroes.
To what lengths blind fanaticisnl can lead
even the most intelligent. How iniquitous, if not
in motive, certainly in its consequences, such
an assertion! How monstrous the doctrine It is
tho voice of passion, not of reason. We hope to
see the day, and to see it soon, whom these samo
people shall confess with shame that they ever
held such views, or could give vent to such rock
less assertions.
BY ell means let us have settlement, and an
end Of all strife and quarreling, wranglmg and
pickering. We have had moro than enough of all
these, aud are anxious to try for while at least,
their opposites.
..z1E1a.ns.n. 1a.sn...-..1...-. -.
RECoNsTRUCT1oN.-Mr. boutwell, is to concoct
new plan Of reconstruction, that shall be sccepta-
bic to large number Of the late Rebels" The
New York Tribune, of tho 21st, speaking Of it,
says:
A simple provision that no further confsca-