The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1868-12-12
The Presidents Message.

loSSupC |
senate it was considered as disrespectfui In tone,
nd that body refused to hear the whole OF 1t
cad. The message is too long for our columns,
md we therefore give the following review OF IT,
rom the columns of the Baltimore American OF
Thursday
The Message opens with relterauon OF the
Presidents views on the Reconstruction laws
Ha declares that they are ''failures," and have
produced the present disorganzed condition OF
The Southern States OF laws whose passage was
a necessity imposed on Congress by the refusal
of the Southern populations to accede 10 the hrst
offer of readmission-of which refusal the Presl-
dent is entitled 10 all the honor or biame-one
might reasonably expect that since they had been
passed over his veo carried out IN part, at least;
by his agents, and been emphatlcaily approved
by the people at the last election, he would at
least have been content TO say nothing, unless it
should be new, or in addition to what ne hao
said before But with an exordium not fashlon-
ed after Ouintiliau's precepts, he tells the Con
gress that their legislation, arbitrary ana unjust
has inflicted the greatest wrongs on the southern
States. and should be at once repealed thai
most if not ALL our domestic Troubles are directly
traceabe to violations OF organic law and excessive
legislation -,
the white population of the South under the do
nina,ion of persons of color yet in another
part. where another authorship may be suggest
ed, the President does not hesitate to recommend
the annexation of the two republics OF the Island
of San Domingo, which, says this consistent DO
cument, 'would not only receive the consent OF
the people interested, but would also give salts
faction to all other foreign nations. NOW, =
shsgs. rs 81 competeiy under s9 ,e
domination of the coored race as San Domingo.
In fact, whites there excluded from all office
Yet Mr.. johnson sees nothing out of place in the
PROPOSITION 10 annex stas e casmRlesas
INCLUDING whites) would be gratifed. Nor does
he stop half way in the matter OF color The
Sandwich Islands are inhabited by dusky race,
neither white nor black, but something tween
the two and neither fair nor foul, and Mr.. JOSH
son looks forward with compacency, in the al
ter part OF his Message, to the day when these
brown islanders, embracing and made up of both
extremes of color, shall, Eat no distant day,
voluntarily apply for admission into the Union"
At the same time no fact is brought forward to
support the allegation, in Mr.. Johnson's own
part, that there has been an attempt to subjugate
the white population in the South to the domino
ton of the coored race, and which, if true, does
not, upon the showing OF the last part, renderit
country or State at all undesirable.
Upon such arguments both WAYS, Mr. John
son comes to the conclusion that the repeal Of
these laws, which displaced his policy Of recon
struciion, would be accepted by the American
people rs partial return to the iundamea taprin-
ciples of the Government, for (says he, in spite Of
what we all see) they can produce no permanent
benefit monuments ofthe deficient uisdom which
has and should moi be permitted to stand as SO
many characterized our recent legislation" What
an argument What an affecting appeal to the men
whom he forced to pass those laws !
From this the President goes on to compare
the yearly expenses Of the Government of the year
1871 with that of 1863 and gives the respective
amounts for those years per capita - By this
very ungrammatcal Latin we suppose the Presi-
dent means per head Of population and the only
answer 10 anything TO be dcduced from such
statistics is TO say why not compare them with
the expenses of the Colonial Governments or the
cost per capita'' of the first colonization II
the circumstances of the Government in 1871
were the same as in 1868. and if there were no
reasons Tor enormous additional expenditures in
the last mentioned year. after the greatest war
the world has ever seen, and which did not exist
in l79l then we fail 10 see the force of the per
capita argument.
Alter such augmentation, no one will be sur
prised to find that Mr. Johnson threatens the
bloated bondholders with reputation. The men
who could, by lending their money, connive at
sue enormous expenditure per capita, must be
forced 10 give up part of the unjust gains. "The
lessons of the past the President has the effron-
terry to say ''admonish the lender that it is not
well to he over-anxious in exacting from the bor-
rover rigid compliance with the letter of the
bond -
The morality OF that sentiment is equal 10 .'1e
arithmetic which, a few sentences further on un-
dertikes to show that after the whole paper cur
rency had been converted into gold which w lid
compress it to half the amount, a reduction he
paper circulating ID h nft n3fgaee-ssa.
follow Ills ev' 'f'- q and
s not t0 %. pun Upon Mr.. McCullch. sac r
But even the shameless effrontery of this ser
nent is not the worst feature of the Presid ~
He says, farther on, fit
would seem but just and equitable that the six
Der cent. interest now paid by the Government
should he applied TO the reduction of the princi-
BAL in semi-annual instalments, which in sixteen
Fears and eight months would liquidate the en-
ire National debt" That is, the bondholders
ire to receive no further interest but that which
should be paid as interest is to be applied to the
liquidation of the principa, of the debt In plain
words the people are invited to repudiate their
ust obligations and dispose of them themselves
Was ever nation of honest men disgraced by
uch proposal from their Chief Magistrate
But we have not time to-day to point to the
,ther fragrant inconsistencies Of this remarkable
document We repeat what we said in the be-
ginning of this account of it, there is real fact
II useful recommendation stated which is not far
,etter stated in the Department Reports. There
s no argument whatever used to support the
alteration of the old assertion of 'my policy
no new fact adduced no proof of the inefi
ency of the reconstruction as now going on.
Where we look for information upon a most
matter-the condition of our negotia-
ions with England in regard TO the claims in
lispue-- we get none whatever. But of what
lobody wants to know-the condition of our
with Costa Rica, Morocco Borneo,
nd Madagascar-the first paragraph concerning
ur relation with foreign nations informs us
argely.
AT the close the President becomes profoundly
impressed with the propriety of making import
mt notifications or amendments to the Consttu-
ion. Among these is one which would take
way the last peculiar mark of true States rights
Il the mode of electing Federal Senators while
mother would be of no avail whatever, since the
Electors Tor President always vote precisely as ii
known and determined beforehand they shall
ote. If by this very indstirct proposal how
yer, Mr.. johnson means that the President
hould he elected on general ticket over all the
ountry, without regard to State lines. and upon
mere majority of the whole VOTE without re-
ard to local maiorites in each State some time
will elapse, we think before the accomplishment
f the great and benefcent purposes he thinks
re dependent upon such change.
Upon the whole, the Message seems to US a
los unsatisfactory one, and we think we had a
light 10 expect better things from even Mr. John
on.