The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-07-02

e was defrauded out Of its just dues
o and the national debt increased from
j November l, 1867, to November l
/ 1868, $50, ,G25, ,102 50. General Gran
t began his financial policy by reVOk-
T ing his predecessors pardons of re-
t venue robbers, and by cutting dowr
expenses in all directions; and Sec
f retary Boutwell, disposes of surplus
: gold in the purchase ofinterest-bear
r ing bonds to the amount of two mil
S lions a week, and in his first quarter
: reduces the national debt more than
: twenty millions of dollars.
5 The two Democratic JohnsOns,
/ Andrew and Reverdy, furnished their
r ideas of foreign policy in the John
sOn-Clarendon treaty. They under
took to settle the American claims
: against England on account of the
Alabama outrage by the award Of a
commission, one-half Of whose mem
! bers were to be chosen by England,
! and the other half by the United
States, and in case Of disagreement,
) an umpire was to be chosen By lot
That is to say, great national con-
troyersy involving grave questions of
|. international law, and claims of un-
doubted validity amounting to mil
lions Of money, was to be decided by
the toss of a copper The admins
tration of General Grant crushed the
disgraceful treaty and proposes to
deal with England Oh the principle
laid down in General Grants inaugu-
raj. The United States will treat
all other nations Gas equitable law
requires individuals to deal with each
other" but if "others depart from
this rule in their dealings with US we
may be compelled to follow their pre-
cedent."
/ On the great question of recon
struction, in what a mastery way,
and with what marked success has
General Grants administration be-
gun. Congress had fixed its day of
adjournment and all plans for recon-
structing the three unrepresented
States had been postponed until next
December At this juncture General
Grant, on the 9TH of April last, sent
to Congress a special message recon-
mending that before its adjournment
it take the necessary steps for the
restoration of the State of Virginia to
its proper relations to the Union
As the gronnd of his recommends
ton he said:
81 am led to make this recommen-
dation from the confident hope and
belief that the people of that State
are now ready to cooperate with the
National Government in bringi ng it
again into such relations to the Union
as 1T ought as soon as possible to es-
tablish and maintain, and to give to
all its people those equal rights un-
der the law which were asserted in
the Declaration of Independence IN
the words of one of the most illus
trinus of its sons"
The message VI the President was
referred, in the House of KeprOs4n-
tatives, to the Committee on Recon-
struction. That Committee the next
day reported a bill for the recon
struction of Virginia, and also of
Mississippi and Texas. The charac-
ter of the bill sufficiently appears by
the first two sections relating to Vir-
tginia.
"Be it enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the Uni
ted States of America in Congress as
sembled, That the President of the
| United States, at such time as he may
deem best for the public interest, may
submit the constitution which was
framed by the convention which met
in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday,
the Sd day of December, 1867, to the
registered voters of said State, for
ratification or rejection; and may al
so submit to a separate vote such pro-
visions of said constitution as he may
deem best.
"SEC. 2. And be it further enact
ed, That at the same election the vo-
ters of said State may vote for and
elect members of the General Assem-
bly, of said State, and all the officers
of said State provided for BY the said
constitution, and for members Of Con
gress; and the officer commanding
the District Of Virginia, shall cause
the list of registered voters of said
E State to be revised and corrected
prior to such election, and for that
purpose may appoint such registrars
as he may deem necessary. And
said election shall be held and re-
turns thereof made in the manner
provided by the election ordinance
adopted by the convention which
framed said constitution"
1t will be seen that by this bill the
people of Virginia were to proceed
in the work of reconstruction at such
time as the President might deem
best, and that such reconstruction in
all It's parts was to be on the basis of
: equal political rights. The constitu-
ton to be submitted was framed by a
: convention, in the election of which
! colored citizens participated, and Of
which oolored men were members.
The registered voters who are to vote
, on its ratification or rejection, and
also fo- members Of the General As.
sembly, for State officers and for
members Of Congress, include the
| colored men of Virginia and if the
: constitution is adopted, it secures to
them equal political rights in that
j State. The remaining sections of the
: bill provide for the reconstruction o.
Mississippi and Texas on the same
) principles, and left the time and man-
{ ner to the discretion of the President.
This bill was reported to the House
of Representatives and unanimously
agreed upon by committee, ofwhich
T four members were Democrats. The
5 most distinguished Democratic Rep
: resentatives of the State of New
York and Pennsylvania advocated its
f passage. Out of about seventy Dem
! ocratic members of the House, only
/. twenty. five voted against it, and the
5 only Democratic members from Ohio
= who voted on the passage of the BILL
voted for it.
1t thus appears that upon the rec
: ommendation of General Grant, even
the Democratic party OF Ohio, by
their representatives in Congress, vo-
2 ted for equal political rights in Vir-