Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-11-07

your own principles. lhen, Is IL Wise
TO force upon the Southern people,
white and black, the adoption of
State Constitutions and Governments
which will lead to this resultY Such
will be the effect Of the Congressional
scheme of reconstruction.
Now, one word upon your PROPOSE
tion as a practical question. Whileit
may be true that the educated and in
telligcnt have no abstract right to
rule the ignorant and depraved in the
sense Of curtailing the rights Of per-
sonal liberty, life, and property, but IL
is equally true that a republican
government cannot exist where the
political power is in the hands OF the
latter class. Intelligence and virtue
must govern, from the necessity of
the case, or the Government must
fall, and fail to protect the citizens Of
any class. 1t rests upon no abstract
or natural right, but upon the right of
selfpreservation, which is as applica.
bic TO communities as il is TO individ-
uals. Our system rests upon the max
i'm that the people are capable of self
government. This prosupposes intel
ligence to know how to govern, and
virtue to give that intelligence proper
direction. 1t is the highest interest
of the ignorant that the functions of
government should be welded by the
intelligent. In populargovernments,
AL that is valuable to man, socially or
individually, depends upon IT, 1t is
no enslavement of the ignorant TO be
under such guardianship. 1t confers
no misery upon the educated to be
thus clothed with the political power
of the State But it conserves the
liberty, life, and property of all.
Your tenth comment upon my pre-
vious letter, as TO qualified suffrage
given TO negroes in the Northern
States, is nothing but the correction
of an error into which l fell, upon
point of fact. | stand corrected.
said what ! believed to be true at the
time, but | cheerfully recognize your
better information. But the correction
of fact does not touch the question |
presented, which was that consisten.
cy required Congress, if they think il
so sacred, to enforce the principle of
universal suffrage in the Northern as
well as tho Southern States. But
they fail to do it, because they dare
not attempt it, The bayonet is not
supreme there as it ishere. You emu
merate the States in which unqualified
sutfrag obtains. aud say it"soon will
in other States, New York included"
But how : Is it in obedience to Con-
gressional dic:ation or by the volun.
tary act OF those Statesg To this we
of the South have no objection. If
the people of those States desire it, il
ia their perfect right to confer suf-
frage upon the colorcd fire., dmen in
their midst But as equals in the
Union (Which equality congress, by
its resolution, declared the war was
waged TO maintain aud defend) have
not these ten prescribed States the
same right to decide this question for
themselves How can Congress con-
sistently leave the policy of free ao-
lion to The Northern but deny it to
the Southern States? Do you sup.
pose the Northern States you name
would ever have thus extended suf
frage if by so doing they would have
put themselves under negro domin.
iong And if that would be the effect
and Congress TO attempt to force it
upon them, would they yield without
complaintl But the down-troddcn
and overpowered South is forced to
submit, at the point of the bayonet,
and her honest complaints are con-
strued into disloyalty and rebellion
The Northern States can afford, if
they choose, to cnfranchise their col
ored population, for they are too few
in number TO constitute a potent ele-
ment of political power How differ.
ent is it in tbs Southern States
In most of them the colored popula-
ton predominates; and if they did
not, the Congressional scheme dis
franchises a sufficient number of the
whites to doom them TO a helpless mi.
nority aud negro domination.
To appreciate properly the "siiua.
tion," we should look back 60 the
events that have transpired. After
maintaining the struggle for four
years of bloody conflict, the Confeder-
ate forces surrendered their arms on
the simple copdition that they wouli
return TO the pursuits of peace, and
obey tho Constitution and laws of
the United States. They did so, in
good faith, aud from the policy which
Congress had ayowed, in the resolu-
ton above quoted, as TO their object
in prosecuting the war; the people
Of these States never dreamed that
they were to be treated as subjugated
- that their State governments were
to be ignored or superseded-that their
equality, and rights as
States of the Union, were to be de-
MED them; but, on the contrary, had
overy reason to believe that they
would be permitted to resume their
constitutional relations 20 the Union,
and TO be represented in the Federal
Congress. But the President Of the
United States issued bis proclamation
setting forth terms on which they
might do so, which terms were the
abandonment OF secession, the repudi-
alton of their war debt, the repeal oe
all laws and ordinances in conflict
with the Constitution ard laws of
the United States, the ratification of
the amendment of the Consultation
slavery, aud the adoption
of a like amendment to their State
Constitutions. They did SO in good