The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1867-09-12
TruTy.S Stated.

The Cincinnati Gazette thus spikes the
guns of the Ranneys, Thurmans- and VAL
landighams who are growing because
"the South is not restored" Cut it out,
reader, and when any Democrat begins on
that key read it to him if he will stay to
hear it. a. ..-...L
Says the Gazette:-
The simple element of nearly all of the
remainder of Judge Ranney's charges
against the Republican party, is that when
they had put down the rebellion they re-
fused to restore the States. In other words
they imposed conditions of restoration
This is the ground of all his amplifcation
of charges of destruction of the Constitu-
ton and of liberty, and of setting up des-
potism, and so on. Now we propose a
short method of trying this charge of Judge
Ranney's, and one that will serve for all
the Ohio Confederate Democracy. Mr..
johnson set aside the rebel governments
of the conquered States, and ordered the re-
construction of new, subject to his arbitrary
conditions. The Ohio Democracy APPROX
ed it. In their State Convention they
made a resolution indorsing his recon
struction policy the principal feature in
their platform. At that time no party
dared to propose that the rebel State gov
ernments, that had used their power to
levy war and to harry the loyal inhabi-
tants, and eOnfscate their property, should
remain in the control of the States as in
the war. That would have been merely a
truce. Recognizing this truth the Ohio
Democracy indorsed Mr.. Johnson's policy
of reconstruction.
Thus was the Democratic party fully
committed to the principle that the rebel
State Governments had not the right to
stand in the Union, as they were subject
to conditions of rec instruction, including a
complete revision of their constitutions, a
new election of all officers, and the Consti-
tutionaI ratification of certain require
ments. And during this reconstruction
they were provided with a Military Gov
ernor by United States appointment. Thus
the Democratic party fully subscribed to
the right of the Government to prescribe
conditions of reconstruction. The Repub-
lican party believes the same. The only
difference, therefore, between the two, is
that the Democratic party are content with
one set of terms, which at the end of re-
construction will leave the rebel States in
the same rebel hands, while the RepubIi-
can party hold that the terms shall be
such as to secure a reconstruction in loyal
control.
The Johnson policy, which the Ohio
Democracy indorsed, includes all the
breaches of the Constitution, the overthrow
of liberty and the setting up of despotism
that Judge Ranney charges to the act OF
imposing conditions of reconstruction upon
the States. AS lawyer Judge Ranney
will not say that the reconstruction policy
of Johnson is constitutional, and that the
reconstruction acts of Congress are un-
constitutional. This dispOses of all his
charges of UsurpatiOn and Constitution
destruction. The two parties start with
the rebel State governments wiped out and
new ones to be constructed. The Demo-
cratic party would reconstruct them in the
same rebel hands; the Republican party
would reconstruct them in the control of
the loyal Inhabitants. .. -