The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1867-04-24
CON AiGNiCNTED
Constitutional Amendment"

Constitutional Amendment"
| Mr. EDi!oH In preceding articles the
writer has mainly argued tue points involv-
| cd in the question OF restoration from the
promises assumed by the opponents of the
! Constitutional Amendment. In citing ihe
different objections made to the acceptance
CT the proposition presented b. Congress,
Only II brief notice will be given to each one
and after 4 few general remarks the writer
will probably have done with the question
in your valuable journal. One point as.
sumcd cy the opp .tion is that by an nc
ccptnnce Of tho amendment our dignit :
suffers, this, it is to be presumed is not
meant as argument: but merely sort Of
chivnric Aourisl, Of rkc.cric.
Anothcrpoint is that Mr.. Johnson is our
friend ands trying TO help us and lha. we
would abandon him in Tie hour Of danger
Well, Mr.. Jchnseu, was no: peculiarly
friendly tous during the war, can't help
himself nor us now, neither can We in our
present condition assist him or ourselves.
Anothcrpont is, that by cur own act We
abandon some Of our best and ablcsi states
men, exclude then, from Office and aisiran-
cnlse them Ii We iiau our own Ircc cnolcc
to gra',y this point might be well raised,
nut the law Of Congress gives discretionary
power in the premises, and, there can be no
good rcas"n hat the whole should be made
to suffer Gorthe disability of q few.
Another point is, that Of negro suffrage,
and The fear is, that influences may be
brought to bear which will control The negro
vote to our disadvantage. This, too, might
be well grounded argument under differ
cLt circumstances, but the act submitting
tho Constitutional Amendment, and military
bill aud supplement- lea us not foot Of
tcnable ground to stand upon.
''Dur enemies have beat IL, to the pit
1t is more worthy to leap in ourselves,
Than tany Till they push us''
10 anticipate further requirements, and
silently and sullcnly await future action
on the Part Of Congress, not only has the
aprcarnnccof Of casting suspicion on conscr.
va'ive republicans and our friends who
radicals foundation for demanding for
more humilialing conditions.
The vote and speeches made upon the
Sherman resolutions requiring further guar.
antccs before reconstruction, show conclu.
sivcly that the ScnaIc will DC satisfied with
our acceptance of that which has been al
ready proposed
But even though we had no assurances of
this character, still our condition could not,
possibly be made worse byacccpting the
amendment, for the enact mcnts Of Congress
in reference TO all points which we deem
unjust and oppressive, arc fixed fact and
must stand unchanged and interchangeable by
any independent act Of our own; hence it is
lille to argue points already settled. The
constitutions Of all tho Southern Sntcs
must provide universal suffrage and politi-
cal and legal equality or must remain under
military power which will force us to com
ply with conditions much harshcr than
those already imposed and the only oucs
ton remaining for settlement is, will the
pcop'c Of the South live under State Govern
ments administered by strangers with
bayoncts in their hands to force subicciion
under exaclons already too burthensomc
and likely 10 become still more so, or will
they choose 10 take tho rcins themselves
and cndeavor to mako tho best Of our bad
condition? Any one possessed Of fair
share of reason md common sense would
not hesitate 10 choose tho latter.
1t has been said by somo, that tho "Con-
stitutional Amendment" ns presented las,
year, imposed no compulsory terms, and
We were lctl FREQ to accept or reject as We
saw fit, henco we Of course rejected il. Now,
however, that VIC are forced we should
accept. This would strike one as being
short. sighted craftsmanship, for the course
pursued by tho South was precisely what
radicals expected and desired. II was this
seeming disloyal and defiant spirit which
gavo rise to tho military bill, and suoh
course persisted in, will only entail upon us
the worst consequences.
We havo amongst us q few, who, still
defiant and unwilling to be elassed with
snbmission'sts, express themselves as indif- !
ferent as to consequences. and even willing
to have tho land, ,parceled out to the blacks. |