The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-12-14
.,.h.m, On Reconstruct,on.

with natural interest to the Reconstruction
Convention for Alabama, which has just
closed its session at Montgomery. In the
same room where six years ago the Confed-
crate Rebellion in behalf of human bondage
was organized into a pretended national gov
eminent, were assembled one hundred rep
resentativcs of that portion of the people OF
Alabama who love liberty and the Union, en-
oaned in the first effort to construct State
government on the basis of the political
equality of all men. Among them were six
teen legislators who were formerly slaves
The coincidence of place, between the inaug-
uration of the Confederacy. whose corner
stone was Slavery, and of the Reconstruct
ton policy, whose corner stone is Equality,
is one of the most significant in history
The Convention was regarded by the Con-
! sentative party of Alabama with an effort
at contempt which utterly failed, for want
of ANYTHING in the proceedings of the Con-
vention to which the contempt even OF Its
enemies could attach. After it had adopted
| a suffrage policy so liberal toward the Reb
els as to disarm all criticism, the only hope
! of the Conservatives was to force the ques-
| ton of color on the Convention III some en-
| barrassing form. An ordinance requiring
common carriers throughout the State to
make no distinction or separation in the
w
was referred to the Judiciary Committee
An ordinance providing separate schools for
White and C"lored children was voted down
by 50 to 81, and instead thereof n section
was adopted declaring that the Board of
Education should provide one or more
schools in each school district, at which all
the children of the said district should at
tend free of charge. This leaves to the
Board of Education in each district to de-
eide whether Black and White shall be edu
Gated in the same or different schools A
Bureau of Industrial Resources for collect
ING and publishing statistics calculated to
promote the business of the State and en-
courage immigration has been proposed, and
we believe adopted. The Convention, after
il long and close struggle, finally voted to
make all judicial offices in the State elective.
An ordinance to prohibit marriages between
White and Black was defeated The state
ment that Gen. Pope had written letters ur-
ging the Convention to close its proceedings
rs soon as possible, if true, probably indi-
Gates only the anxiety OF that officer for an
early submission of its work to the people,
so that the State may apply for admission
to Congress during the present session. We
have received the thirty-two first sections of
the proposed Constitution, which is now
complete They are framed with care and
ability, and contain nothing of which any
friend of Union and liberty will tlisapprove.
On December ) the Convention, by vote of
81 yeas to 10 nays, adopted the Constitution.
and by vote of Sc yeas to 13 nays, pro-
yided for its submission to the people. The
vote for and against the Constitution, and
for the State and County Officers and Rep
resentatives in Congress, will be held on the
4th of February, 1868, under the orders of
the Commanding General of the district, all
returns to be made to the President OF the
Convention, who will issue certificates of
election to the candidate elected The latter
will enter on the duties of their offices as
soon as the State shall be admitted into
the Union. At the proposed election all
adult male citizens, without distinction of
color, will vote, except those who, having
previously taken an official oath to support
the Constitution of the United States, viola
ted their oath by joining in the Rebellion
Even these may vote if they have aided in
the reconstruction proposed by Congress,
and accept the political equality of all men
before the law. Seventeen members of the
Convention voted and protested against the
Constitution. If a majority OF the register
ed electors of Alabama shall vote, and if a
majority of those who vote shall vote for
the Constitution thus adopted, there can be
ment and Members of Congress who will be
elected under it. There seems to be every
prospect, therefore, that the State of Ala
bama will be represented in the present Con-
gresS, and vii be ready to vote at the next
Presidential election. The Alabama Con-
vention is entitled to the gratitude of the
country for the earneSteSS and promptneSS it
has displayed in the work of reconstruction,
and we hope the Conventions in other
Southern States will display equal business
ability and dispatch.-Neao York Tribune
THEY ARE KNOwy-Those who are INV
publishing themselves as opposed 10 the
Union in an acknowledged secession uncon-
verted rebel sheet, are of that class of Judas
who. during the rebellion, under the guse of
good Union men. sought and obtained all
the information they could Of the true
Unionists and reported the same to the muir
derers of such men as Weaver and Hamp.
ton, of Polk County, Mackey, Jones, Stepp,
Allen, Gilbert, Henderson and Others, of
Henderson and Pennsylvania counties and
the wholesale murderers of fourteen at one
time on Laurel Creek in Madison County.
portion of these were mere boys, and
there were scores of others who in like man
ner fell martyrs to the cause of the Union
Beside these, hundreds of others were man.
acled, cast into foul prisons and died. or were
shot at the stake These hired dupes are
the cause of the Union by the
course they are pursuing, because they are
we'll known in their respective neighbor-
hoods. The Union League is well rid of all
such
We are informed by respectable, members
IF the Order that the name, description and
location Of each Of the parties who actually
belonged to the Union League and consen-
ed t" their names being used for the pur-
pose of placing. this loyal organization under
alse colors will be sent to the Grand
Council of the State, thence to the Great
irand Council of the United States, and
will then he transmitted to the various Coun-
ills throughout the whole country-Ashe-
lille Pioneer.
FACETIE.
What next? A. woman in Detroit has
been arrested for smuggling tea in her
In North Carolina the women carry nails
n their stockings Ral. Progress.
Nothing wonderful. The ladies of For
fI,,o 81, -.