Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-07
RECONSTRUCFING REC0NSTRUC.
TTON, AND WHY?

MT. OJeWdTCj Vi N6Nduli lHuO-
duced bill in the United States
Senate on the 9Th inst, ''tO enable
the people of Georgia to form a
State government republican in
form" This bill provides for the
repeal of so much Of the act of
June 5, 1868, as relates to Georgia,
and remands the government of
the State to a provisional condi-
ton and subject to the act of
March 20, 1867. This is we believe
the third or fourth bill that has
been introduced in the Senate to
reduce Georgia to the condition of
a territory or conquered province.
Senator Edmunds, of Vermont, has
ever since the adjournment of Con-
gress for the holidays, been re
ported preparing his views in sup
port of his bill to call together again
the constitutional convention of
Georgia and do reconstruction a
second time. His bill is a corollary
of one by Senator Pomeroy, of
Kansas, previously offered, repeal
ing the act Of admission of Georgia.
The light these Senators have had
to go by, thus far, has been that
shed by Bullock, the Governor, and
by the three negroes who represent
the grievances of the expelled negro
Legislators. These have suggested
for retaliation the entire recasting of
the State. From the earnestness
with which Senator Sherman has
pressed the admission of Joshua
Hill, Senator elect from Georgia,
under the present constitution, he
may be counted upon as against all
the disorganizing measures yet pro-
posed. 1t is believed that many of
the Senators agree with Mr.. Sher-
man, but nothing has yet tran
spired to Indicate the fate Of Geor-
gia-whether that State will be re-
tanned in or kicked out of the
Union. One of the strongest indi-
cations of the manner in which
Congress alters its policy of recon
struction to meet the exigencies of
the Radical party, is presented by
this case. In Georgia all the con-
ditions exacted by the different re
construction acts Of Congress were
implicitly complied with. The
constitution of that State, made in
pursuance of the will of Congress,
passed the scrutiny of that critical
and captious body, and on the 2lst
of July, 1868, the President OF the
United States, by proclamation, is
sued in pursuance of a law OF that
self-same Congress, announced the
fact that Georgia was "entitled
and admitted to representation IN
Congress as a State of the Union
In pursuance Of the sanction by Con
gress Of the State constitution, and
the subsequent recognition by the
President, some members from
Georgia, duly elected, took with
them to Washington their proper
credentials from Governor Bullock,
and were admitted to seats in the
House of Representatives. By this
final act the whole of the measures
necessary, in the opinion Of Con
gresss, TO rehabilitate Georgia were
rounded and completed, and thus,
whatever she might have been pre-
viously, in the opinion of the Radi-
cals-she became once more clothed
with certain rights and privileges
as 4 State of the Union. Now it is
proposed to play treacherous to the
people of Georgia, and why2 The
plea is that "a part of the members
of the State Legislature which rati-
fed the constitutional amendment
were Ineligible to hold their seats as
such, and therefore that their action
in the premises was void and the
amendment was not legally rati-
Godu 10 this it is answered-and