The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-31
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1868.
The Dying Year.

quarter Of the globe 1t has witnessed sue
oession Of important events which will leave
a lasting impression on the destiny Of the
human race.
In our own country, the impeachment OF
Andrew johnson was the first great event in
chronological order. By the display of an
extraordinary amount of obstinacy and sem
timent of reckless adherence to his own ideas
of constitutional law, he heaped one indignity
after another upon the country, until, at last,
the grand inquest Of the nation arraigned him
at the bar of the Senate on the charge
of high crimes and misdemesnors
which, it was claimed, demanded his remova,
from the high Office he had so long admins
tered in the interest Of ''the Lost Cause"
The trial was long, patient, and impartial.
While 1t was progressing there was something
of an increase in the bitterness of political
warfare, but there was no disturbance Of the
peace in any section Of the country arising
directly out of this attempt to rid the nation
of its Chief Magistrate, nor was there any
serious apprehension Of such disturbance, no
matter what might have been the result.
When the verdict of mot guilty" came at
last, the seven Republican Senators who voted
against their political colleagues were severely
Censured by majority of the press and of
the people, but nothing has yet been brought
forward which establishes the assumption that
they acted from motives other than the purest
and most patriotic. The nation acquiescsd in
The verdict, although 1t was obnoxious, be-
yond all doubt, to a clear majority of the
people. In doing go, as well as in preserving
without disturbance all their social, political,
and business relations, they displayed deep
seated sentiment of respect for law and order
which not little astonished the rest of the
world, and established on a frmer basis than
ever the vitality of republican institutions
and the ample capacity of man for selfgov-
ernment.
Following the unsuccessful impeachment of
the President came the practical developments
of the Congressional system of reconstruction
in the lately rebellious States. The failure to
remove the President had inspired the malig-
nant element of the Southern population with
fresh hopes, and prompted them to resort to
the most desperate schemes for defeating the
policy laid down by Congress. The spirit of
rebellion, rendered more rampant than ever
since the close of the war by the seeming
triumph of Andrew Johnson, and the assur-
ance of his sympathy during the remainder Of
his term of Office, cropped out in meroiless
prescription of the whole colored race, and
systematic persecution of the loyal portion of
the population, without regard to color. Yet,
despite all this, the Congressional system of
reconstruction was practically successful
throughout the South, and more especially so
in the State of South Carolina, the original
home of notification and secession, and the
most formidable stronghold of pro slavery
sentiment.
Meanwhile, the two great parties o. the
country were maTshalling their forces for the
great Presidential contest of November. The
candidates of authority" as Secretary
Seward very appropriately styled them, were
Grant and Colfax-the one thoroughly loyal
and liberal minded statesman, the other an
illustrious soldier who had fought out on one
line the war for the Union until the rotten
fabric of Rebellion had crumbled at his feet
The reactionary candidates who opposed them
were Seymour and Blair-the first man who
position to witch he aspired, and
whose record showed him to have
been leagued in heart with the enemies OF
the Union; the second an ambitious renegade,
blatant demagogue, an avOwed champion OF
foroible resistance to the will of the people,
as expressed through their chosen Representa-
tives in Congress. The battle at the polls
was the decisive battle of the war for the
Union. The issue was 80 clear that no candid
and inquiring mind could mistake its bear
ings. Should the fruits of the war be surren-
deredH Should the policy of Congress receive
the condemnation of the peoplel Should the
great work of reconstruction, as far as it had
progressed, be overthrown! Should whole
race be turned over to the tender meroies OF
their past oppressors Should the Union as
it ought to be be abandoned for the hollow
mool1ery of the Union as 1t was2 Should
the defeated traitors be placed ovei
the nscks of their conquerors, and
all the blood and toll and treasure expended
by the loyal North be expended in vain
These were the questions OF the hour, tht
momentous problems which were to be solved
by the result. In several of the Northern
States the most outrageous frauds were com
mitted by the reactionists, while in some o
the Southern States, by systematic terrorism
tens OF thousands Of loyal voters were KEEP
away from the polls. Yet the candidates o
authority" despite all these appliances, re