The New York herald., 1868-12-25

President Johnson's Universal Pardon
Proclamation.
1t has come at last. The universal pardon
to the participants in our late Southern rebel
lion, which President johnson had been a
long time contemplating, was reduced to a
proclamation the day before Christmas, so
that on this great day Of ''peace and good
will to men, it might be published to the
world. 1t is the Presidents Christmas gift,
Internationally and without reservation, to
all and every person who, directly or indirectly,
participated in the late insurrection or rebel
lion, of "a full pardon and amnesty for the
offence of treason against the United States, or
of adhering to the enemies thereof in the late
civil war, with a restoration of all rights prvi-
leges and immunities under the constitution and
the laws made in pursuance thereof"
This new free list embraces such hitherto
unpardoned rebels as Jeff Davis, Breckenridge,
Mason, Slidell, Benjamin, Jacob Thompson
and other Southern exiles, and throws open
the doors of the United States on all sides for
their return home whenever they please.
Best Of all, it puts an end to the farce Of the
jeff Davis trial, and releases Messrs Greeley,
| their bail bonds for the due appearance Of said
| Davis before court when called for. Whether
| he will now return to the cultivation of cotton
and politics in Mississippi, or to the practice
of the law in the Supreme Court at Washing
ton, or will remain in England to finish his
lectures on the recent Biblical discoveries
among the ruins of the ancient Jerusalem is
for Davis himself to determine For all prac-
teal purposes, so far as his trial is concerned,
he might as well have been pardoned year
or two ago. Considering the fact, however,
that the capture of Davis under the Presi-
dents proclamation of May, 1865, cost the
government a hundred thousand dollars, it is
probable that Mr.. Johnson thought it expe-
prisoner before finally releasing him.
This present proclamation restores to Davis
and company all their rights, privileges and
immunities under the constitution and laws of
the United States, but this does not restore
! these men to their status as citizens in full
| communion The constitutional amendment
fourteen, section three, debars from any civil
! or military Office under the United States OF
any State any man who, after having taken an
oath as a civil or military officer of the United
| States, or as civil officer of any State, to
support the United States constitution, shall
have partici pated in rebellion against the same
| or given aid and comfort to the enemy; ''but
| Congress may. by vote of two-thirds OF each
house, remove such disability" The Prcs-
dents full and unconditional pardon,
therefore, only restores the leaders of the
rebelllOn 10 tneT rights as private cltlZens;
for they can only be restored to the right to
hold an Office of any sort, civil or military,
State or national, by a two-thrds vote of each
house of Congress- Aud section five OF said
amendment says that Congress shall have
power to enforce its provisions by appropriate
legislation.
Not even the Union Leagues, then, can
reasonably object to this sweeping amnesty
proclamation, and we doubt not that the gene
raj public judgment concerning il will be that
1t isa good thing. We consider il doubtful,
however whether Davis, Mason and Slidell
will avail themselves of the privileges Of their
pardon to return home, in view of the abomi-
nation OF universal Southern negro suffrage
and the universal reign here Of Yankee
notions.