New-York tribune., 1867-10-10

raCy. Whenever all ITS better aspirations Shail
have been actualzed, its dissolution cannot
and should not be long postponed.
Mr.. HERSCHEL y JOHNSON on RECON
STRUCTTON.
The Hon. Herschcl V. johnson of Georgia, who
was the Douglas candidate for Vice-President
in 1860, and Unionist thereafter until he be
came SecessiOnist, recently sent us rather
long expose of the political situation, as viewed
from an ex-Confedcrate standpoint We
printed his manifesto Uerbdtm, with comments
much shorter than itself. He comes back upon
MS in letter which fills four full columns in
close type, and would much more than cover
this page in our editorial type. We would
like to answer it, but Mr. Johnson allows us no
room. "somc take all, but he leaves none"
We are compelled, therefore, to rest content
with ri.stating few important facts which he
ignores or dclics.
|. Mr.. Johnson asserts that Congress delayed
for two long years TO mature and present any
plan of Reconstruction. He is mistaken. Con
srcss presented plan near the close Of its
very first session after Lees and JohnsOn's sur
render; and the next Republican State Con
vcntion of this State publicly pledged our sup
port to the admission of each and every state
which should accept it. None of them except
Tennessee did accept it or has yet done so; so
another plan had to be devised aud proposed.
Was that the fault of Congress Suppose the
present plan is in like manner rejected must
the Republicans bear the blamcP
II. Mr. johnson asserts that the class for
4 I. IN, tbn Rlupl-
Justly. and even kindly. We will admit that
he thinks so. But he thought they did the
same when they held those Blacks in Slavery,
and refused to take the oath of Christian
Bishop, if Black, against the most worthless
rcprobatc if White. They say hell is paved
with good intentions But Gov Peasc says at
least one hundred negroes have been feloniously
killed by Whites in Texas alone under the sway
of the Johnsonian State authorities, and not one
of these White murdcrcrs has been punished
by the ThrOckmOrtOn rule. We have for years
been printing corresponding accounts from all
the unrcpfcscntcd States. II. Y. j. will not
deny that some negroes have been killed by
Whites in the South since April, 1865. How
many Of the murdcrcrs have been brought to
justice by the State authoritics2 This is a mat
ter Of simple fact. And we assert that not one
White man in every twenty who have killed
negroes in the South since Lees surrender has
been brought TO Justice by those 10 whom Mr..
J. thinks it very hard that those States and their
Blacks should not be surrendered by Congress.
III. Mr.. Johnson says there are Eight Mil
lions of Whites and but -Four Millions of Blacks
i'm the South. Both figures are about right.
OF the Whites, there may be One Hundred
Thousand-nOt mOre-disfranchiscd by Con-
grcsS as prominent Rebels. Say that these rep
resent Half Million of pcOplc-call it Mil
lion, if You wll-leaving but Seven Millions of
enfranchiscd Whites to Four Millions of Blacks.
The Whites own nearly all the land and other
property; more than half of them are educated,
while the adult Blacks are generally ignorant /;
the Whites are certainly not inferior in intel
lcct, while far superior in social position. Now,
says Mr.. johnson, to intrust political power To
these Seven Millions of cnfTanchiscd Whites
and Four Millions of Blacks is to hand the
South over to negro domination, subjugatc
the White race, cndanger property, order,
everything! Surely, man who knows
whether -Four is OF is not more than Seven-
much more one who has run for Nicc-PreSidcnt
ought 10 know better than to put forth such
glaring absIdity as this. The immigration to
the South is heavy, and almost exclusively
White; there are no negro lawyers, negro doc
tors, and few negro merchants almost every
element of power is in the hands OF the Whites.
To affect to fear Black domination under such
circumstances is either hypOcritical or puSll-
lanimous-we mean, it looks like that. We
shall next hear that the dogs Of the South have
held a meeting and resolved to ask protection
against the bloody sheep, who threaten to eat
them up. Yet Mr.. J's letter rings the changes
on this moDstrous assumption.
". Mr. johnson urges that the Blacks are
generally ignorant. That we presume, is so.
But Blacks did not make the laws which pun
ishcd as felony the teaching of one OF their
number to read; and, since they have been al
lowed to learn, they have evinced general ap-
titude and eagcrncss to do So Let us encour-
age and help them to grow in knowledge and
wisdom; bearing, meantime, with their con-
stantly decreasing ignorance.
V. We most emphatically deny that there is
any quarrel between the "twO sections" or
their people. There is a faction at the South
which still mOmns "Thc Lost Cause" and
refuses to be comfOrted. Ii has very large
body of sympathzcrs at the North. There is
not in all the region over which Mr.. Jefferson
Davis once presided si''"'c county whcIcin 30