Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-03-05

he will be an element IN social order
Their. is another idea not TO be lost
sight Of The people here feel that the
southern States are not the peculiar prop
erty Of the Southern people, any more
than that the Western States are the ex-
elusive property Of the Western people,
This is living feeling, South Carolina
and Vermont don't belong to South Caro-
linians and Nermonters, but to the nation,
Every citizen Of the great Republic has a
title in them-Q material interest in fSsc
or in 4asse Therefore the manner Of
the government Of every State within GER
tain bounds concerns him. People feel
here that as in all the past, slavery has
worked practical heterogeniety in the
North and South, 50 in the future freedom
shall work out the homogcniety Of the
diseordant spheres. Something of diver
sity in the details Of municipal law must
Of course be necessary for adjustment 10
local variations of climate and soil and
human pursuits as growing out OF them.
How all Of this is 10 be worl7cd out, by
time, by trial, by legislation, by free viii
or by coercion, Ne one now sees. But
that il must come in the end is the mex
orable will. of this iron people,
Such are the sentiments OF the great
majority ef people. AesF are thes fenced
round by party lines You viii hear Re
publicans and Democrats entertaining the
same views, differing only in the rigor Of
the methods by which the results are TO
brought about The end all agree upon.
As to the method there may be variance
of opinion.
There is no feeling here which looks
to confiscation, or any permanent dis
franchisement, or any continuance Of
disfranehisement, for time as a punish
ment Whatever of this is advocated is
to the end that peace, order, security, 10y
atty, may be assured. 1t would be dis
tasteful to ninety-nire in a hundred, to
see a negro in Congress. Such an event
would be aequiesced in more as a stern
vindication of a principle, than as apalata-
BILE event. 1t was in this spirit that col
ored men were elected to the Msssachu-
setts legislature. They never could have
been elected but for this feeling. While
the negro is not abject here as he is at
the South, he is as respectful ; nor is he as
fierce here, for he has no fear of being
trodden on.
There i. perhaps more of kindness felt
for the negro than for the Irish. \ man
would be more apt to give to poor negro
than TO an Irishman. But he would rath-
er send an Irishman to the legislature,
Whatever the Southern people may think
of the feeling of these Northern people |
can assure them that to-day there is a
much nearor approach to kindness in the
North toward the South, than in the in
verse Still there is no humor for senti-
mental appeals. All appeals of this kind,
all voeiferous declarations of the accept
ance of the results of the war are listened
to with suspicion. Good works enter into
every Northern mans ideas of religion.
They haven't any very live faith in free
grace unless the earnestness and honesty
Of prayer for it is vindicated by some good
works So they have no faith in the sub
mission and loyalty of people who don't
go TO work in the spirit of submission, or
at least in so much of il as will induce
them TO do those things which will vim
dicate the honesty Of their appeals for self
government
The war produced in these people a
hearty appreciation Of the courage of
southern men. 1t was admitted with a
certain feeling of pride 1t stirred some
what the national self-loye. No passion
born of war interfered with the holding
or expression of this admiration. The
evonts following the war have tended to
alter this feeling, and this altered estim-
ate is brought about more by the reports
of the treatment OF negroes in the South
than by anything else. People here feel
that the ignorance, the helplessncss the
traditional docility and the past history
of the negro entities him to pity. That
his condition, more pitiable in some re-
spects than before his emancipation, APP
peals to the sympathy of brave and gen
him is fierce cowardly and cruel They
look upon such outrages as if practiced
here upon a woman. That if a negro is
shot or abused, it may be the act Of a bully
or a blackguard, and as such may be done
in any community. But that such acts
should systematically go unpunished,
taints the whole community with the
cowardice of the act There is sort of
feeling here that truly brave people is
just, generous and gentle, not fierce,
vindictive, or cruel.
People here don't understand the touch
mess of the Southerner to insolence from
the negro They don't understand that a
proper self-respect must instigate the
shooting of negro because he iostles you
on the sidewalk, or that he should be de-
barred from testifying in court when his
person is outraged. Still the people here
do not exactly believe all they hear about
these outrages Something of misrepre-
sentation is accredited to party zeal, or
sensation correspondence; yet enough of it
is believed to influence to a considerable
degree their estimate Of. Southern people (;
especially they have faith in the reports
of the Fresdmen's Bureau-for that is
looked on as official. All of this, while it
does not erase the memory of the Southern
soldiers valor, qualities and colors