Des Arc weekly citizen., 1868-06-13
A General Amnesty.

The question is often asked why Pres
 ident Johnson does not proclaim gen.
 eral amnesty for offenses committed in connection with the war. We have now
 had perfect peace for more than three
 years, and there has not been during that entire period so much as suspicion
 that any portion of the people of tho
 South were not practically loyal, or tha
 there was the slightest grounds for be-
 lieving that any purpose existed any. where to renew the attempt forSoutherr indepencence. In these facts the Gov. ernment has ample indemnity for the past as we'll as complete security fol the future. If the Southern people could restrain themselves and their nat
 ural dispositions to resist and resent
 wrongs under the expressions to which
 they have been subjected since the close
 of the war, it is fair to presume that they will not attempt it under less az. gravating circumstances. They are en. tirely conscious of their own weaknes; and inability to confront the Govern. ment and though they had the disposi- ton. they know that they are power. less to strike blow in their own de. fence, no matter how grinding the tyr amy imposed. They have been quiet submissive and dlaw-abiding Congress has persecuted to the extent of its power and even beyond the extent of its legitimate authority; but it has always been in the power of the President to relieve them of their political disabili- ties. Why he has not done it is impos- sible to conjecture. It was certainly his wisest policy to do it. It would have been very emphatic expression of his condemnation of the Radical persecution of the Southern people, and it would have greatly strengthened him in the estimation of all right think ing men North and South. After he had deferred the exercise of his author ity in this regard until the inaugura- ton of the subject of impeachment, we could account for the postponement, of an action. A proclamation of general amnesty would have enraged his ene- mics and rendered his chance of acqut- tai less certain. He had too much at stake to risk anything, and it was not his policy to provoke bad feelings or retaliation. But now the case is changed. Impeachment is dead. An drew Johnson has his enemies beneath his feet. They have failed to depose him upon the strongest charges which they could concoct, and they can find no better material now than that which they have already exhausted, and he is safe for the remainder of his term, and can afford to be both magnanimous and just. Can any one see any reason why he should not be! We confess we cannot. Every argument that we can think of points to the wisdom of this policy. and we can find no argu- ment against it.
 I nc allHCsly II pioSldiuicuf shouiV embrace all. We have had enough of partial pardon which have left certai n classes within the range of future perse- cutions. Why should Jefferson Davis be tried for treason? Every sane man in America knows that he cannot be convicted, and that if convicted public sentiment would not tolerate his pun ishment. Why should J. c. Breckin- ridge, Kentucky's idol, be an exile and a wanderer in foreign lands when the scratch of Andrew Johnson's pen could relieve him of his disabilities and re- store him to his friends? There is no reasonable explanation of Mir. John- sons conduct in this respect, and we are firm in the belief that he will soon discover that he is doing injustice to himself and to those who have and who are now defending him by failing to proclaim the general amnesty which public sentiment demands.-Louisville Courier.