The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-03-08
The "werld" Surrenders.

The New York World yields to the ne
cessity Of the South at once accepting the
reconstruction bill, now a law of the land.
After Diminishing the hope of any reliance
upon or help from the Supreme Cour'' ana
all idea Of military resistance py the
southern States, that paper says:
"For the South to reorganize and get
adn,;.tcd under the odious law which has
heen nassed over the veto needs only de-
con,;op sufficient to make, with the ne
,roes q majority Of the voting population.
Rnt 10 repesl the Law requires revolution
in the North extensive enough to give the
Denocratic party a majority In both
Uonses OF Congress, and unless We elect
the next President, a two-thirds majority.
A marty seeking to repeal a law is under
n great disadvantage as compared with q
party seeking to carry an election. The
very checks and impediments by which
the governmental machinery operates
against rash legislation and in favor Of sta
bility secure the perpetuity Of bad laws
until they have accomplished all their mis-
chief. Even II We should elect q majority
Of the Congressman in 1868, we should be
powerless in the Forty-frst Congress to
repeal this law, inasmuch as the six years
terms Of the senator's prevents any party
from suddenly changing the political cha
racter Of the Senate. Certain 1t is, there
fore, that this abominable and tyrannical
Law will stand for at least four years unless
it is rendered imperative by southern &C
ceptance Of its conditions. But while there
is no possibility of its repeal without such
a widespread and stable alteration OF
northern opinion as will insure control OF
the Senate, a change in any one southern
State of white votes enough TO make
majority with the negroes Will re-
lieve that State from martial law,
if Congress keeps its promise. The
weight and power Of the excluded States
for purposes of resistance depends on per-
feet unity among their white inhabitants
and unity among all the States. But to
escape martial law by compliance requires
no cooperation, since each State can act
for itself without regard to the others, and
in States where the negro population is
large, small detection will turn the scale.
We conclude, therefore, that mode of
escape from martial law which requires
the conversion Of distant hostile comma
nifty, the cooperation of many States, and
time enough to change the political COM
plexion Of the Senate, is less likely to pre-
vail than one which requires fewer CONVEX
sions, no cooperation, and comparatively
little time.
"The probabilities, swe estimate them,
incline strongly to ultimate submission on
the part of the South. If this estimate
be not mistaken, good policy requires that
the submission should be prompt enough
to prevent the Radicals getting control of
the new State organizations. The planters
can control the negro vote if they begin in
season and by accepting at once what
they will be constrained to submit to at
last, they can help their friends at the
North to elect the next President, and
rescue the Government from Radical domi-
neering and insolence.
This exposition of the political situa-
ton is such as we would gladly have for
borne if fidelity to truth and the respon-
sibility which attaches to a public journal,
which we should be loath to think without
influence, did not constrain us. If our
southern friends are in den Of cut-thrOats
that has only one opening for escape, we do
not create the surrounding horrors by car
rying in a friendly torch, but only disclose
them.n