The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-04
A Record of Legislative McOmpeteney.

From The Washington National LpteIIigencer.
The project of holding September session
of Congress is strongly urged by the radicals
of the South, though it meets with but COM
paratively little favor in the North. The for
mer want more legislation. They are not salts
fed with measure which disfranchise many
of the ablest and most qualified men of the
South which have subjected that unhappy
people to the terrors of military domination,
and have created governments in which car
pet baggers and negroes divide the spoils of
office; but they are hankering for more abso-
lutte control, through the devices of Congress
sional t1ickery.
1t is difficult for even professional jour
nalist, whose duty it is TO keep posted on cur
rent events, to keep the run OF Congressional
legislation on the subject OF reconstruction
Instead of pursuing broad, liberal, and stead
fast policy, Congress has resorted to make
shifts and temporary eXpedients. Its legisla-
tion has been succession OF patchwork such
as is without parallel in our legislative his
tory. First We had the Constitutional amend
ment. That was represented as the fnality,
the crowning piece of Republican lberality,
and the irrevocable basis of the restoration
of the Union. But the elections of 1866 were
hardly over before it was represented that
life and property were unsafe in the
South, and more rigorous policy was de-
manded-a ''more loyaP' basis of settlement
was required. After weeks of agitation and
bullying of the more conservative Republicans
by these aggressive leaders, the act was
passed of the I'd of March, 1867, which created
the five military districts, and provided for
the reorganization of the Southern States.
This was the second legislative step. That
too, was represented as allsuficient for the
restoration of the Union, but had hardly be-
come a law before the supplemental bill,
which contained the test oath and the provi-
sions for registration, was enacted, and became
a law on the 23d of March, in defiance of the
Presidential veto. This was the third legisla-
tive step. One cannot help thinking that
after months of consideration of what was the
true policy to pursue towards the South,
statesmen, after three legislative efforts, would
have succeeded in devising satisfactory
policy. But no; at the July session these
congressional tinkerers try their hands again.
Not content with divesting the Executive of
his functions as Commander in-C Chief by the
insertion of that infamous clause in the appro-
priation bill passed on the I'd of March, which
gave the General of the army virtual veto on
all the military acts of the President, and, in
fact, made him the superior OF his chief, Con-
gress again supplemented its reconstruction
measures by the act of July 10Th, which made
General Grant the absolute dictator OF the
South. This was the fourth effort made by
Congress to enact basis for the restoration OF
the Union. But then legislative tinkerers did
not complete their ill-adyised labors, even
with this fourth attempt; for on the llth OF
March, 1868, they revoke one OF the provisions
which they had most elaborately discussed
and adopted, and declared that majority OF
the votes cast and not of the registered voters,
should be Sufficient to adopt the new consti-