The national Republican., 1868-12-17

| senator stewards Bill 20 Punish Tn
| fractions ofthc Fourteenth Amend.
ment-A Dangerous Omce-seeking
Expcriment-Cushin Unknown
| Mission-Cubs-Thc Alaska Pur.
chase Corruptlen Fuud-The Con-
ssitutionshity of the Legal Tender
Act. Il
DEoExBrR ls, isos.
To ruE REPUBLICAN; I trust Senator
Ferry's able opposition to the bill Of Senator
Stewart, Of Nevads, to punish violations Of
the fourteenth amendment to the Constitu.
tion on the part Of those denied civil and po.
litieal right, BY Its provisions, may not prove
successful. The key, and the only key, to the
real reconstruction Of the soutb-to peace
and prosperity throughout the south-iies In
stsrnly refusing to permit the engineers Of the
rebellion to regain all their ante.rebsllion op.
portunities to control Southern Affairs and
Southern popular opinion. They are. every.
where throughout the South, struggling with
might and main to regain their former promi.
nsnt positions before the public. Not one 10
. hundred Of them fall to glory 10 their late
treason; nor does one In hundred Of them
regret the mischief they wrought for the
whole country, North and South. They re-
gard the south's losses aud suffsrings through
the war as having been praiseworthy sacrifices
In . glorious cause, and are, almost to man,
ready to repeat the rebellion should favora.
BILE opportunity occur. They, as class, are
not the men to be intrusted with the virtual
direction Of Southern Affairs, as those practi.
eally propose who agree with Senator Ferry
that they should be speedily amnsstisd. I
have no idss that Senator Ferry realires this
inevitable consequences Of Congressional action
on this most important subject In accordance
with his present viswJ. I would As soon
think Of turning loose throughout the
South ten thousand mad dogs as Of enact.
ing universal amnesty there. No! Every
man who wishs, amnesty in his case
should be, for the public safety, judged upon
his individual merits BY Congress. II he can
make 1t plain that his purpose Is to accept
freely and frankly the reconstruction policy Of
Congress as his political faith and the guide
Of his political conduct hereafter, IL matters
not what his ante.war and war record may
have been, I trust he will be promptly amuss-
tied but not unless ho Is able to SO do. A
full and free pardon 1t this time extended to
all "disabled' politically BY the fourteenth
amendment, would be TO double Ku Kux out.
RACES and to intensity the existing organiri.
tion In all the Southern States to contend
against negro civil and political equality. Tho
) Government Of the United States intends that
policy to be the lasting basis Of reconstruct
ton. Three fourths Of those who willingly
engaged in tho rebellion intend to defeat 1t if
they can, by hook or by crook. Restore their
old political leaders 10 control of their Affairs,
and Congress will thus immeasurably strengthen
their hands against the eventual success
Of Its own policy. Tho question Is by NO
means settled. Not one third Of the white
people Of the South regard 1t as settled.
Two thirds still believe that by fraud and
violence they can deprive the negro Of his
rights under the law, and eventually eIpel
every white supporter Of reconstruction under
existing laws from their midst. Any CJn.
gressionsl action towards departing from the
the spirit Of tho reconstruction laws Is to bs
deprecated and dreaded, indeed.
The newspapers are telling of an snterpris-
Ing New Yorker-s Republican party elector
in the late elsstiOn-who is here slsetionser.
. ing for the United States District Attorney.
ship under Grants administration Tho point
Of most interest In the fact, is-how comes .
. Now York politician Of the experience this
gentleman must have to be SO very green?
Asa matter Of course. he has not approached
General Grant on the subject, II being we'll
known that he does not permit any one to
broach the subject of office under him to
himself The gentleman In question has prob
ably succeeded in making himself marked
man. so far as the ofh 30 he desires Is con-
csrnsd. Twenty to one Grant, II hs reads the
newspapers. has already come to the conclu.
sion to reject his application.
Tho mystery with reference to the direction
, in which General Caleb Cushing has gone is
still unravellsd among this citys quid nunes,
though the belief Is gaining ground that he
Is on his way to Central America, rather than
, to Spain. As for Cuba, our Washington an.
nsxationists-comprisins nearly all Washing.
!. ton blythe by-armiy believe that the island
Is fast dropping into Uncle Sans lap. II
| Cuba becomes free-and II Spain gets into .
Protracted civil war, free she will surely be-
come-she will come to u Of her own voli-
tion within six months after she shall have
expelled the authorities Of Spain from within
her limits.
The rumorsd corruption in the disposi-
tion Of portion Of the money paid by the
United States to Russia for Alaska continues
to exotic great interest among Newspaper men
in Washington. The allegation is that they
received, among them. a good portion Of the
. 5000, 900 Of the fund said to be uuaccouuted
, for. They grow merry over the imputation;
Q inasnuch as 1t Is positively true that not one
8 of them received a penny Of it-not one.
They entertain a shrewd suspicion that q
!. "bummer" named Simon Stephenson, Simon
y stapleton, Tor some such name,) whilom q
hsnger.on around the New York Tribune bu-
reau, who had no connection whatever with
that journal, did manage to so impress himself
on Mr.. BOdisco, the Russian legation, as to
make that gentleman believe that he had bar
gainsl with the newspaper men to get the
treaty confirmed for so much hard cash. which,
they think, was duly paid him, to bs divided
out among the impecunious horde, who neither
knew Of any such bargain, nor received any
portion Of the money paid on its account.