, 1867-01-18
me DeadLock.

nc OCu4 A4OCne
A Washington correspondent, who is
lose observer, thus describes the situation
4 is daily becoming more and more apparent
hat the present Congress is at dead lock
ID the question of restoration. There is
little or no hope of anything being done at
this session that will settle the difficulty.
The House is drifting toward the Territorial
,che ne, while the Senate still adheres to the
amendment. The majority OF
that body consider that the result OF the re.
cent elections is sort of instruction to them
% that point. There are few members in
the House who take the same view, but a
majority Of the republican side declare in
favor Of the Territorial scheme and between
the two the session will draw to close with
the question Of restoration standing practi-
cally where it is now. The Territorial prO~
ject will meet with opposition and find OBJ
staclss in its way, which the leading advO'
Gates have little thought Of. If the South
ern State governments are all to be oblitera'
ted, and the States reduced to Territories,
what is TO be done with their old State
debts Is the general government to be
called upon to pay them, or are they to be
repudiatcdi All those States bad funded
debt before the rebellion commenced-a debt
as legitimate as that of the State Of New
York or Pennsylvania. The State govern,
ment is the agent to which the holders Of
those bonds are to look for their interest and
the principal If the general government
abollshes the State government, where are
the holders Of those bonds to look for their
interest In reducing the States to Terri
tories, the officials are all appointed by the
general government, whose agents they are
until the the Territories are finally admitted
as States. The only parties that the bond
holders can look to will be the general gov
ernment. 1t then follows that the people of
the North must pay these debts, or else the
whole thing will have to be repudiated To
attempt to pay them will place an enormous
burthen on the already heavy taxed people
of the North.
Nor is this all. The entire expense of
the government Of Territories is paid out Of
the United States Treasury-the whole ma
chinery of the Territorial officers, from the
Governor down. The Territorial Legislature
is also paid by the general government. If,
then, these States are reduced to Territories,
the people of the North will be obliged to
foot all their bills, as we'll as to maintain an
army throughout the South. Are the peOs
pie ready to accept this additional taxation
for the sake of carrying out the party
schemes of the radicals? The radicals do
not want the Southern States admitted un>
til after the next Presidential election. If,
then, the Territorial scheme passes this wins
ter, the people of the North will be obliged
to pay the expense of the local governments
in the Southern States for at least two years
No doubt the Southern people would be glad
to be relieved of this expense, which they
now pay, if it is not accompanied with too
great grievances in other respects. But we
imagine that the North, already heavily bur.
dened with debt and taxation, will take a
different view of the subject when they
come to foot the bill.