The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-12-07


which holds tho moral world together our
country would cease to have any clainis upon
stlhsesconfdence the of men it would make the war
not, only q failure, but a fraud. ;: 80
X the President therefore recommends, the ro-
peal of tho acts Of Congress (which place ten
of the Southern States under the domination
of military masters" which acts tho President
pronounces unconstitutional and unauthorized.
On tho question Of negro suffrage, the Presi-
dent argues at length, and dcciares that :stie
subjugation of he States to negro domination
would be worse than tho military .dcsspotism
under which thoy arc now suffering" and he
believes that people would endure any
amount of military oppression, for my lcngth
of time, rather than degrade themselves by
subjugation to the negro race" In concluding
his reflections on this important subject, the
President remarks : II repeat tho expression
of my willingness to join in any plan within
tho scope of our constitutional authority which
promises to better the condition of the negroes
in the South, by encouraging them in, industry
enlghtcning thciE mind minds, ,eiism iismaproying their:
morals and giving protection to all their just
rights MS freedmen. But the transfer of our
political Inheritance to them would, in my
opinion, be an abandonment of duty which
We owe alike to the memory of our fathers and
the rights of our children
oThc plan of putting the Southern States
wholly, and the General Government partially,
into the hands of negroes, is proposed at
time peculiarly unpropitious. The foundations
of society have been broken up by civil war.
Industry must be reorganizcd, justice re-cstab-
lshcd, public credit maintained, and order
brought out of confusion. To accomplish these
ends would require all the wisdom and virtue
of the great nlon who formed Cur institutions
originally. confidently believe that their de-
scendants will be equal to the arduous task be-
fore them, but it is worse than madness to ex-
pcct that negroes will perform it for us. Ger
tainly we ought not to ask their assistance un-
til we despair of our own competency.
'Thc great difference between tho two races
in physical, mental, aud moral characteristics
will prevent an a,nnlgamatic1i or fusion of them
together in one homogeneous mass. If the in
ferior obtains the uscendency over the other, it
will govern with reference only to its own in
tcrcst- it willDrccognizc no common inte-
:rcst-and create such a tyranny as this CONT
'nent has meyer yet witnessed. Already the
negroes are influenced by promises of con6sca-
tion and plumber. They arc taught to regard
rs an enemy every white man who has any re-
spect for the rights of his own race. If this
continues, it must become worse and worse,
until all order will be subvertcd, all industry
cease, and the fertile fields of the South grow
up into wilderness. OF all the dangers
which our nation has yet encountered, none are
cess of the effort now making to Africauizc
the half Of our country" 80
In alludipg to the expenses of rcconstruc-
tion, the President says il has. cost uncouhtcd
millions already, and that it will require a
strong standing army and probably more than
two hundred millions of dollars per annum, to
maintain the supremacy of negro governments
after they are established.
The violation of the pledges of Congress t.,
the people, who were led to suppose that the
NatlGnal ucDs was created TO nod the States I?
the Union, not to ''cxpcl them from it and
hand them over to be governed by negroes"
the President fears will make the moral duty
to pay it seen much less clear Still, while
the President denounccs reputation, he says ::
''Thc great interests of the country require i'm
mediate relief from these cnactmcnts Busi-
ness in the Gcnth is paralyzcd by sense Of
general insecurity, by the terror of contscaiiio:,
and the dread of negro supremacy. The South
ern trade, from which the North would have
derived SO great profit under 9. government Of
law, still languishes, and can never be revived
until it ceases to be fettcrcd by tho arbtrary
power which makes all its operations unsafe"
How far the duty of tho President requires
him to goin opposing an unconstitutional act
of Congress, has been source of much ankle
ty to the President. Hc thinks, however, thai
the emergency has not yet arisen which would
call for that force and authority Which would
certainly be exercised by him if found ncccs-
sary to ''saYc the life Of the Nation"
The President concludes this branch of his
message by alluding to the endorsement which
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