The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-03-28

rress of members from each of tue States,
which was sitting permanently, whose acts
were to blind each member of the confeder-
acy. War broke out between two of the
principal powers The minor States ranged
themselves under the banner of the one or
the other. Prussia triumphed. Did the
constituent parts say We lay down our
arms peace ensues and we claim our Ole
rights as they were under the Constitution
the German Empire, We could not go ou'
of that Empire, for our Constitution declar
ed that it should be perpetual" No. Non.
of the vanquislled powers were SO idiotic
to set I'D such prctences. No one was fool
ish enough to suggest it to the con9ueror.-
Prussia took up these submissive States ant
dealt with them according to the universal
ly acknowledged laws of war. She first i'm
posed the expenses of the war upon the con
quered beligerent according to what sh,'
deemed equitable. Austria bore $4,000, 900,
Saxony 100000, Bavaria 100000, and
so on. She refused to let the States partici-
pate in the Government, but incorporated
several of them into the kingdom of Prussia.
Why do not these injured parties invoke TIL
indignation OF the civilized worlds Be
cause they knew the verdict would be agains
them. They knew that the war destroye,
the Constitution of the German Empire an'
annulled the treaties of 1915; that all mus
be subject to the will of the .conqueror-
Where is our craftsmanship, that we suffe.
the enemy to escape from the payment of til
costs and damages of the war? Where is
our patience, that we suffer them to clamo
about rights under the Constitution Wher
is our courage that We suffer the Preslden
to head this new rebellion? The REMAIN
part of tile sum levied, to-wit, $500, O0O,O0
is to remunerate loyal men in both section
of bnfr 1Oua1fu hay
been plundered and had their property de
stroved by the invading armies and raider
of the enemy or by the unjust seizure am
confscation of the property of loyal men H.
the Rebel States. Who objects to this q
Whoever does, let him put his name on re
cord that the country may fairly judge or
which side his sympathies lie. By the us
ages of nations the property OF the citizen
of beligerent power taken or destroyed as
a military necessity, is paid by the Govern
ment. But property taken or destroyed by
the enemy is not paid by the Government
Strictly speaking, the property of citizens OF
the hostile Government, though friendly to
the conqueror, cannot be charged to the vic
tor. But in civil wars, it seems to me, that
a distinction should be made, and those who
had suffered for their adherence to the par
ent government should be taken care of in
adjusting the conditions of peace. We know
there are loyal men in the South who are
large sufferers. There are still larger num-
Der in the North who are made larger suffer
ers, neither of whom have any chance of be-
ing rcmuncrated except through this Con-
gressional legislation. Neither OF them can
ever receive dollar out of the Treasury OF
the United States. know not whether
5000, 100000 will pay them. Certainly it
If T ,nta
ate the sort of damages to which REFER
Southern loyalists who have suffered are
everywhere to be seen. The valley of Vir-
ginia and the course of Sheridan's operations
are full of them. The smoking ruins of Law
renee and Chambersburg, almost every coun-
ty of Missouri and Maryland, and the from
tier portions of Ohio are samples of the lat
ter. If the war had been between two rcgu-
lar governments. both ofw which survived the
war, the victor in the treaty of peace would
require the vanquished to pay all such dam
ages as we'll as all the expenses of the war;
If neither had conquered the other they
would probably be silent, and each bear
his own loss Congress is debating the
terms of peace. If she does not provide for
these mcritorious claimants, she will be
bound in honor to pay them out of the Ma
tional Treasury If she docs not, individu-
ais Will NC WEOIlScl anu luC IilC ANaIloil Saio-
honored This bill is very merciful toward
a cruel, outlawed belligerent who, when their
armies were dispersed, would gladly have
compromised if their lives were saved. Those
who will be affected by this bill will not ex-
coed 10000 out of population of 100000
of whites, for this is people of aristocrats
and subjects-of proud nobility and
cringing poor peasantry. Those 10000 per
sons own about 5000, 900 acres of land
out of the 500, 100000 in the Confederate
States. This, together with the town prop
erty, cannot be worth less than S10,000,OOO,-
600. This estimate includes no mans prop
erty who was worth less than $4,000; nor
does it include any personal property,
which may perhaps swell it to S12,OO0,OO
900. The fine proposed would be but one
twentieth of their estates. Were ever such
great malefactors SD gently dealt with 2 1t
were well if all their large estates could be
subdivided and sold in small tracts. No
people will ever be republican in spirit and
practice where few own immense manors,
and the masses are landless. Small indie
pendent and-holders are the support and
guardians of republican liberty. But it is
said that very many of these men have been
pardoned by the President, and their forfeit
ed estates restored to them. must take
the liberty to deny that any pardon, or any
other power vested in the President, can
withdraw these forfeited estates from the
confscation decreed by Congress. Nothing
less than an act of Congress can divest them
from the United States and bestow them up
ON the pardcned belligerents. No one de-
mics that the President possesses the pardon
ing power. This power is conferred on the
Chief Executive for wise purposes, to cor
rect the errors and mistakes of courts and
imperfections of human laws. Bacon says,
"Thc power of pardoning offenses is inse-
parably incident to the Crown, and this
high prerogative the King is entrusted with
upon a special confidence that he will spare
those only whose case, could it be foreseen,
the law itself may be presumed willing to
have expected out of the general rules
which the wisdom of man cannot posi-
bly, make so perfect as to suit every
particular case" C Bac., 1857 How well
the President has adhered to the object of
this high prerogatire Others must judge.
The special pardons granted cannot indeed
be over 1000 of the subjects of confscation.
The pardons are granted for the crime of
treason. shall not question that such par
dons may be pleaded in bar of any prosecu-
ton for treason, and save the traitors prop