The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-07-08
the restoration Of the. country to its
political and material prosperity.

political and material prosperity.
The New York Herqsd, Of the 4th.
speaking Of the proclamation, says
GIt is appropriate that on this day,
the anniversary of our national in
dependence, an act of clernency like
this should be performed, and the
last barrier to q complete restoration
Of the Union and return of kindly
and fraternal feelings between the
two great sections of the republic
swept away, far into the irrevocable
past, forever. So far, then, as he
can, Mr.. johnson has given the
| finishing touch to the work Of recon-
struction. In the proclamation, he
declares that the time has arrived
when civil law should be supreme in
the Sout',; that there is no reasona-
BILE ground for apprehending q re-
'newal Of the rebellion; that pains
and penalties for offences committed
and long since expiated are unneces-
sary, and that continued military
rule, denial of the right Of trial by
jury, and suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus in a time Of profound
peace, are prejudicial to, and in con-
fiict with, the spirit of our republi-
can institutions. On this day, there
fore, Jefferson Davis is the only man
remaining unpardoned. and he would
probably have been made subject
OF Executive clemency, had not his
indictment for treason prevented it.
tTTThis latest official act OF the Pre-
sident will be received with satisfac-
tiol throughout the country, for
although the number of persons
benefited by the proclamation is
comparatively small, it comprises the
leading men of the South. So long
as they were kept alienated from the
mass of their citizens, and
held liable to indictments and trials
on charges of treason, so long was
the. work of pacification incomplete.
Such men as Robert e. Lee. Joseph
p. Johnston, and other rebel leaders,
are the true representatives of the
Southern people, and it is we'll that
their disabilities have been removed,
ut least to the extent that the Execu-
tive can remove them. We have
nothing to fear from them in the fu-
ture, and there is much to hope from
men who, however mistaken their
cause, fought us with O valor which
has made the name of an American
known throughout the civilized world
as the synonyme for heroism.
eve feel q profound pleasure that
on this day there dwells no political
pariah in the United States. The
lawless deeds of Jacobin Congress
may for while longer keep beneath
the heel of despotism the late rebels
of the South, but the people will soon
relieve them of their burden. If the
voice of wisdom and moderation
shall prevail in the councils of the
Conventions that assemble in this city
to-day, the ninety-third anniversary
of American Independence will be as
glorious and memorable as was the
first. Universal amnesty and supre-
macy of the law will then march on
linked together the bloody pages Of
our four years of civil war and the
leaves on which are inscribed the'his-
tory of radical tyranny and misrule
will be closed forever, and future
full of peace, friendship and pros
perity will be the destiny of the
country. Henceforth, instead of re-
proaches and recriminations, the
Southern and the Northern man can
clasp each others hands in fraternal
grasp, and if, as they must, memories
of what has been shall GOMEZ back OF
times, they will cause no bitterness
only regret at that which was perhaps
inevitable. Mr.. johnson has per-
formed praiseworthy action in every
ry respect. We have had enough Of
hloodshed and of political strife.
Whatever may have been their faults,
the people of the South are our
countrymen, and there is much in
their history that should make us
proud to own them rs such. Their
destiny is ours, just as ours is theirs.
From this proclamation of amnesty,
let us hope, that brighter and happier
years will come, and that peace, Which
we SO ardently desire, may follow in
its wake"
A Mexican correspondent gives the
details of q plan of annexation OF the
Northern States Of Mexico to the
United States, in which the Govern
l.. -