The Portland daily press., 1867-12-04
A HIodest Resuest.

a Modest Request. ..
The President, whose message to Congress
we print this morning, asks that long su leTr
ing assembly to repeal The whole BODY oil leg
islaton touching reconstruction, recognize
the validity of the Rebel State governments
galvanized into spasmodic life by Execu-
tive usurpation, aud quietly acknowledge
that they and their constituents have been
wrong all along and that Andrew johnson
has been right. Words cannot do Justice to
the sublime impudence OF this proposition.
Forgetting the elections of 1866, which sent
up Congress able and almost willing 10 I'M
peach him, forgetting that in the Congress
ionat elections this fall, the current has set
Still strongly in favor OF the Congressional
scheme OF reconstruction, the President COM
placently reminds his fellow citizens IN Con
gress assembled, that Massachusetts, has yot-
ed down the Maine law, Pennsylvania has
elected Democratic Judge, and Kansas and
Ohio have rejected negro suffrage, and as
sumes that these verdicts are given in his fa-
vor Mr.. johnson has still good deal to
learn but there is, unfortunately, no present
prospect of his learning anything. There is
little hope of man who having had the edu-
cational advantages afforded by all the Of
hcial positions from that of alderman of his
native town" up to the chief magistracy of
the nation, now coolly charges upon Congress
usurpation in it's dealings with the Southern
states, while he himself had already taken.
tue initiative in measures of the same kind as
respects their constitutional aspects, with the
additional circumstance against him that the
matter was one with which the Executive
had absolutely no right to interfere He of
all men to exact literal observance of "the
promise of July 22d, 1872 He himself was
the first to prescribe qualifications Tor elect
ors in the Southern States which were un-
known to their constitutions. He was the
hrst to appoint officers by the Executive fiat
who were unknown to any constitution, and
that, too, without submitting their names to
the Senate for confirmation. '"f =" i1"
Negro suffrage is treated in manner
that utterly ignores the claims of truthfulness
or candor. 1t is assumed that the prime in
terest OF Congress is to "Afrcanize the
South" and deliver it over to negro DONNA
ton forever. 1t is hardly statesmanlike thus
to ignore the well known facts of contempo-
rary history, when the information possessed
by every school boy in the country suffices to
set the matter right. 1t savors of the rank
partnership of a demagogue to make so
sweeping assertions when official returns
show that tie number of whites eligible as
voters outnumber the blacks in several of the
Southern States and that their majority in ALI
but two of the remainder is but trifing But
when Mr.. johnson goes further, and assumes
that the object of the proscriptive policy of
the Reconstruction acts is revenge, the ami
mus of his declarations becomes Satanic. 1t
can hardly have escaped his recollection that
Congress first offered other terms than these
to the South, -terms which did not embrace
the Acknowledgement of any class-and that
upon the rejection of those terms, the pres
emit policy was adopted ostensibly and really
as the sole means of keeping rebel hands
from, the throdts of Union men until the lat
ter could surround themselves with safe
guards adequate for their proteetion.-
The arrangements are plainly intended
to be provisional, and even ., among
the most radical of Republican statesmen
there has always been am avowed willing
ness to modify or abandon everything Of
proscriptive nature, as soon as quantities for
the continuance of peace and the safety of
loyal men can be obtained. To say, then,
that the Presidents statements on this point
rn lie mr. ce;o
isfy the requirements of the indignation ex4
cited by the low cunning, the vulgar ad cap
tandum artiice, of attempting to prejudice a
movement the origin Of which was due to
motives purely benevolent and philanthropic,
by declaring it to be inspired by cruel thirst
for revenge. r"lf h.sH -.ii a.-
Taken as whole, even Andrew johnson
never wrote paper, or signed his name to
one written by his Black familiar, which was
calculated SO perfectly to destroy all conf
dence in his honesty or his craftsmanship
From the dreary prologue wherein he in
vokes his customary Constitutional Muse, to
the never ending refrain, to be found in all
his messages whether didactic or veto, about
Congress being concluded from regarding the
Southern States as outside the Union by its
action in submitting constitutional amend
ment to them for ratification, he is querulous
disingenuous and false; and the strength of
all his arguments is well measured by the
last we have mentioned, where he orgets
whether the States that ratified the original
constitution were in or out of the Union at
the time of their action thereon