The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1867-02-16

We certainly do not wish again to see shS
/ Federal hosts, under the old Attiias or new
/ ones, rayagInR and plundering within eur
/ borders We dc not wish to SEQ the Re-
public change before its time, which viii
i come soon enough. into an Empire, with
! Butler. perhaps, for Emperor as Domitian II.
i Bayonets and Military Commissions and the
/ prison of Old Point Gomf0rt viii 1sae restore
I the-feeling Of fraternity; bat we shall re-
member that there is more real heroism In
/ endurance than on the field Of battle; and
we are prepared to endure.
We do not believe that the Southern States
j will accept the new plan Of reconstruction.
I It is for the people to determine, not SO much
J what will eonduce to their safety or comfort.
as what their seifrespeet demands. We do
not believe, for we are not willing TO believe,
/ that the people of our States viii ever con-
/ sent to negro suffrage as the price Of read
mission into the Union.
| We believe that the great majority of our
/ people viii, Ike Senator Salisbury, repudi-
ate the whole plan. Il gives no assurance
that any one who fought on the losing side
in the civil war, shall ever be allowed 70
represent the people anywhere. It does
not provide for a general amnesty We
think that our people win say with ompha-
sis; the conquerOr may persecuts us with
the sword, with the famine, and with the
/ pestilsnce, and deliver as to be removed b
all the kingdoms Of the earth, to be a curse.
and an astOnishment and Kissing and q re-
proaeh among all the nations but we viii
not except as voters horde Of barbarians
/ sprung from the teeming loins OF dusizy At
rica Il would be q less curse 10 the eORD7
I try to agree that they should intermarrY
with our daughters. Let the viet0rs do the
/ deed, if they viii, and take the cOnsequen-
/ ees. Elsewhere, the negro may be the IN
teilectual equal of the white man. Here he
is not Elsewhere it may be fit, and the
white man may be willing, that the negro
should govern and the Caucasian serve.
Here, neither is the case. We think the
right Of suffrage is already eheapened too
much when conferred upon the scum of
cities. You can impose the curse upon US.
You have the power; and the time viii be
short before the whirlwind of the Lord
viii 20 forth with fury--a continuing Whirl-
wind; and hell viii rise up 20 meet yOu
coming. When the Devil has reigned long
enough, and our discipline and ehastise-
ment shall have taught us wisdom, the Lord
God viii again ascend the Throne. Then
/" our children shall be as aforssime, and
their congregation shall be established be-
fore Him, and cur mobiles shall be of OuE-
selves, and governors shall proceed from
the midst Of as
We are urged to remove every seed Of
future controversy" How remove them,
when the North daily sows them broad
cast
/ The truth is that our calamities are, as
usual, blessings in disguise. The war had
made US no wiser. at the end of t, our
! people had literally learned nothing Neither
! the men nor the system that had governed
US 50 long had been changed while the wsz
! lasted. Richmond was q pocket edition Of
oh oil old and oh
| the old abuses. We copied all the odi0us
acts Of the Northern Congress We also had
the luxuries that the North had. We sHs-
pended the privilege Of the writ Of Hebeas
Corpus, and our Generals declared martial
law, enacted codes, and substituted Provost
Marshals for the courts.
We are learning something now. The ugly
.lineaments of usurpation no longer fasciu-
ate US Tyranny can no longer justify BY
/ the plea OF necessity, and 1t has become de-
/ testable We feel upon our limbs the mana
cles and fetters that CALLED the limbs Of JET
ferson Davis In the gloomy casemate of Old
| Point Comfort, We know what subiuga-
| ton means. The folly of those who possess
the powers of government is COMPRISING
US into one solid unity. What causes so
ever some of US have had to complain Of
others, we have forgotten them all and are
/ becoming of one mind and one soul. We are
/ learning to endure. It may be their new plan
| of reconstruction will divide us, for-the pee
! pie strongly desire TO follow the President,
| and have heretofore complied with all that
he has asked or ordered. aG r
But every new act Of submission on our
part leads TO new exactions We must stop
somewhere 1t would have been much bet
ter, we think, if we had stopped long agt
We ought to consent to nothing that does
not propose a general amnesty, and the res
toration Of all of our leaders to all their
rights and privileges as citizens
We need not, however, imagine that We
shall be offered an opportunity to act upon
the Presidents plan. It fell dead as soon
as presented, and its only effect has been to
| strengthen those who are determined on en-
/ forcing the Constitutional Amendment"
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