Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-08-15

/ March last, and by the auspicious results
which followed their adoption and exc
/ cution. .. Il
BY these acts the ten rebel States
were divided into five military districts,
| subject to the military authority of the
| United States, and 1t was made the duty
| of the President to assign military Off
| GERS, not below the rank of Brigadier
/ General, to command each of said dis
| tricts, and to detail q sufficient military
! force to enable such officers to perform
/ their duties. The edutiesof military COM
manders were defined as follows in the
Sd section of the act: ..l.
! SEC. 3. ind be IL Further enacted, That 1t shall
be the duty of each officer assigned as aforesaid
to protect all persons in their rights of person
and property, TO suppress insurrectton. disorder
and violence, and to punish, or cause to be pun,
ished, all disturbers of the public peace and
criminals, and to this end he may allow local
civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of and to try
necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have
power to organize military commissions or tri-
bunals for that purpose; and all interference
under color of State authority with the exercise
of military authority under this act shall be
null and void.
The act also sets forth the manner in
which the people of any one of the rebel
States could form State constitution
and the terms on which the State would be
fully restored to representations with the
Union. The most important provisions
are those relating to the qualifications of
voters, and the one requiring the adop-
tion of the amendment to the Constitu-
ton proposed by the Thirty-ninth Con-
gress, known as article fourteen. The
right of suffrage is given to all men of
suitable age and residence without dis
! tinction of race or color, except Il limited
number who are excluded for participa-
tiOn i'll the rebellion.
| In pursuance of these acts, the dis
! trict of Louisiana and Texas was placed
under the command of Gen. Sheridan /;
Arkansas and Mississippi under Gen.
under Gen. Pope; North Carolina and
| Virginia under Gen. Schofeld. The
merits OF this plan are Obvious. ..I4..
/. 1t places the rebels again under the
control of the power which conquered
them, and of the very officers to whom
they surrendered. ...
9. 1t is well calculated to afford pro-
lection to all loyal people, white or col
ored, against those who would oppress ol
injure them on account of their loyalty
3. 1t places the new State Govern
nnents of the South upon the solid basis
of Justice and equal rights.
This plan received in Congress thesup
port of many members of Congress who
did not uniformly vote with the Union
party, and was acceptable to some of its
most distinguished adversaries. In the
Senate, Reverdy Johnson, a Maryland
Democrat, voted for it, and made effec
tive speeches in its support. The loya
press of the North, without exception
upheld it.
THE SUCCESS OF THE UNION PLAN IN
THE SOUTH.
- II,
gratifying and uneXampled. Its enc
mics had said that it would organize
anarchy in the rebel States-that it woulC
Immediately inaugurate war of race:
between whites and blacks, and com
pared the condition of the South underi
to India under English oppression and tt
Hungary under the despOtism Of Austria
But the course of the public press, ant
the conduct, the letters and speeches o
public men in the rebel States, Vindica
ted the wisdom and justice of the meas
ure. | will quote only from rebel sources
In Virginia the Charlottesville Chr0n
icle addressed its readers as follows:
For WHITE Folks AND CoLoRED FOLKS
Every coiorcd person may now go where an,
when he pleases. He is II free man and u lul
citizen. This is not ALI by another bound the!
government of the country. No people wa
ever SO suddenly, so rapidly lihedup.
hate each other, and quarrel and bear malice?
Let us all try and get ON together. The land i
big enough. Let the whites aCcummoda them
I selves to the new state of things Let chem III
polite and kind to nll, and be always ready I,
! accord 10 every man, whether white or cOlOr-d
his full rights We make bold to say that 1T
behavior of the colnred people of tails STATE
minded white people. We do not believe G'I
white people under the same circuin stpurea
would have behaved so well by twenty per ernl
They have shown the greatest no lvIut .ru.-
They have passed from plan M on han J. t. t.l,
dom and the bail without outward rXri' aii..di
rrt pil,r,o,,l Exn,,,.,,r .i. ,., ..
ne Istchh'""" iNa'' l'N'' ''-' " ."'
OF the ilic eaters, say -. u" cttrr'u i'",
nln.
-
manifest a dismoatt '4s to 1rr,e ia,a is!gef i
the altered pi''r2' eondt, on IN wuich n
gYentS 81 10, F'i,S ~ ,., ,'G PE' ,, tnI ,
, persons eXpe,tc l., tu.t tarir heads. ruoy n.v
they have not presumed tlIou tHclr newly al
uurei freedom 10 coIuIu urcacueS Of The pcaC
or to hp gu lty of any Ncls calculated Ia SOW ~
| SeuSion between the two rlrtB. TGG uttnls
| good feeling Is irlt by the whi.c people of thl
city toward tn" n"grncS. There - not one pan
tIuie OF bitterness felt for them.
L. .,,,b ,,,roli,,, INr.,I, yy,,,,n.o, ,l
III o""'Ii aio~''l'' una NIi' ii"'u , p'"i' "'
; uIesse, u n,iN.u a91Tnim,A y, "n''co ~.
toioreu i'9opie, n' ,,,', N0,',,.'"'n, ~ mi'tV; ~;
n, nH quYITfu qIT lio''i ''''''oi 'io''" =" ~
? ',' ,,' ''' .,.,-,
Illefc iS oheotner polhtp ON Wnicn tnere shoul
, ne no MISUNDERSTANDING us 10 our poalllon-h
= loon which TO hang nlSSlhlp IntSrAllNtru(