The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-02-21
THE FoRcE BILL.

nominated the Force Bill" The title is not
inappropriate, as the measure springs from the
determination of the Radicals to force their uh-
holy aspirations to the bitter end, in order 'h''e
power may be sperpetuatcd in tieir hanus,-
"NIight makes right" in their lexicon of political
philosophy, and because they are acai'hs WIN u
PROSTATE and powerless section the measures ca-
cnlotcd TO cmbarrass that section anu secure heir
own nort,, in Office must be enforced on all suta-
h,e occasions. When the opponents of this mon
strous idea Undertook to conciatesits advocates,
bv Granting tho boon of impartial suffrage, the
capncious greed of the Radicals began to demand
more concessions, and straghtway made giant
strides in the pursuit of their purposes. We have
no heart for comments on this vainous scheme
and simply propose to furnish the main points for
the consideration Of those for whom its provisions
arc intended
The new programme wipes out utterly the.pres-
ent State governments in the Southern States; /;
divides the South into five Military DISTRICTS each
to be governed by army officers net less,than the
rank of Brigadier General; gives the right to
arbritratc all matters.of life and property by mil
itary tribunals; forbids the Judges-of the United
States Courts from issuing writs of ka6eas eOrpus
and in one blow strikes down all vilgovernments,
and establishing in their place military rule.
The Southern people can have no difficulty in
approaching the effects Of this programme. The
experienceof the last eighteen months will be in
tensiiied and enlarged, and the comparative quiet
of hast year abruptly destroyed Military arrests
will bcfar'more common than in the days of mil
itary commissions and provost uarshals, during
the dark months of 1865 The liberty of every
one is jeopardized, and the lives of all placed at
the tender mercy of military satraps and renegade
officials The cry of GO. Lord, how long," will
again be heard, and the captivity of our people
once moro made perfect and enduring:
The Richmond Times, il an eble editorial on
this subject, has the following:
sWhile this conspiracy against our civil liber-
lies is being pressed with malignant energy, the
attitude of the suffering and heroic South is sim
ply grand. Unmoved by the clamor of those who
cannot humiliatc or dishonor her; calm and pa
tient under every species Of persecution which
malice can devise; armed with fortitude which
knows no despair firm and resolute with pur-
pose to fulfill her destiny whatcverit may be, the
South presents to day spectacle, of moral grand
cur and sublimity which challenges the admiration
of the world. Te those who trahplc 'apoh her
rights of representation, while they foully abuse
or SANDER her, she answers with The stern dignity
of silence Voiccless in amidst of her suffering,
she makes her tofmcntcrs infuriatc because they
have stretched her upon the rack, yet all their in
genuity of torture cannot wiring an hnmanly
shrek of pain or weakness from the lips Of The
sainted martyr.
"It is this dignifed, honorable and patient bear
ing of the South which puzzles her prosecutors,
and dislocatcs all their plans of reconstruction so
studiously woven as to cntangle her in the meshes
of degradation. But the South wRI not dtshonor
herself-the rod may strike, but she will not kiss
it. Bound and PROSTATE she is, the blows
given her smite alone the honor of those who aim
them; and this judgment the world must ever pro-
nounce upon those who strike a fallen foe
"The humiliation and modification which was
prepared for the Southern people in the Congress
sional project of restoration wi0 rccoa upon lis da-
thors. Itis this feeling of political villainy de-
tected and exposed. which is making our enemies
far more desperate than VIC are. The howls which
they raise are howls of terror rs well rage, and
all the indignation which they seek to direct
against us they employ ms means of self-preser-
vation, just as rogue cries "stop thief!' to- mis-
lead the rabble yelling in pursuit. But this inge-
nious game cannot last long. The present Con-
grcss promised the people reconstruction
- Ip nd III
impotency tho dominant eaetys founders IN the
mire of fruitIess-e4F6rts and conflicting schemes,
unablc-to present substitute for that wise meas
krfe of the President, which they SO insclently
rejected On the 4th of March the Thirty ninth
Congress will expire. If that time comes, Is come
it will, without ISOLATION Of tic difficulties which
now environ the question of reconstruction"
then the Ides of March will perhaps prove as
fatal to the Radical power as they 10 tie life
and fortunes of Cesar. 81
.sEyery intelligent observer of the struggle in
Congress to bridge the dangers which bcset Radi-
calism must have seen that the real difficulty has
been not to restore the South, but to preserve par
ty ascendancy, and at the same time admit the
South to her Constitutional rights. Hence it has
been necessary to keep the South out until by
combination of ingenuity, fraud and force they
could safely let her in, without sMamping the
boat of their next candidate for the Presidency.
We have come 10 this in America, that the preser-
vation of party power is of moro Importance to
the present race Of placemen than the reccnstruc-
ton of the Union. And the people of the North
will have to decide whether they will have Union
( or political chaos and revolution; whether the
Southern States are to exist as such, arc to be
territoralsed.' And in case the latter is deter
mined upon, why the best thing the Southern
States could then do would be to divide themselves
into nomadic tribes and with their tents and 1ocks.