The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1869-05-20

bic the Secretary Of the Treasury soOl
to issue new order doubling tn
amount Of the reduction weekly.
REPUBLICAN, POLICY IN WEST VIR
GINA.
We take the following from the Wheel
ing InalHgsacer oil the l2ih INST. ThI
article il remarkable one for that pa.
per. will be recolIected that during
tho pandiugo of the 18Th Amendment ia
the Legislature Of orr State. that WI
tok ab,ut the same ground that The
hslligencer now takes. Then It wa:
that the h'e!lgeacer Iined issue with
US on this question, and charged that
We done 81, simply TO oppose the amend
menl, AMI a. the sams lime opposed this
I very position which they nov take
1t charged this paper With being The
mouth piece Of Mr., POSley, and said
many hard things about US. bocSuse We
dared to take and defend the very posi-
ton it now occupies. We. however,
look over these things, and bid them
God speed in their new sphere. We
are glad 10 SEQ The IntLlgencer casting
aside its prjudicos and adopting liberal
Ond progressive ideas. The policy 10
this article INDICATED, is the true ono for
West Virginia Republicans. We CON-
mend it to our readers, and ask care.
full pcrusal, We quote:
"Polilical exciIemcnls having ceased,
the discussion Of moro eugrossing quest.
ions having terminated, the question,
what il to be done with the disfrauchi-
sed rebels here? presses upon US for at
lcOlon. The enrronchiscment Of the
blacks is. wO trust, already assured. =
And now tho question Of enfranchising
the cx rebels Will grow in prominence
until in some way solution is reached.
There is no help for it. 1t is our Ban
quo's ghost; it will not down at our
bidding. President Grant expressed
well worn truth. and one illustrated by
the history of slavery in this country,
when he said that the exclusion of any
portion Of the citizens in a Stale from
the privilege Of suffrage would provoke
agitation so long as that exclusion con.
iinued.
There is 10 this Stale body of man
vstiousIy estimated to number from TO-.
OCo to 25.OcO, probably midway be.
tween these figures would not be far
from the fact,) who are disrranchised
and suffer other disabilities on account
oftheir particip in the rebellion.
We have always defended the policy
which disEronchisrd them. 1t was
measure of sef.protection; aud since 10
war the laws are silent, il was not incon
sislcnt with the principles by which 1--WE
had to ba governed at the lime. II wss
justified by the maxim that the sa|Oly Of
the people is the supreme law. So long
after the cessation Of hoslilites as the
same rule required it, the continuance
of tho same policy was justified, Be.
yond that il cannot be defended, For
We are 10 remember that when We deci>
ded 10 whip the rebels back inlo sub.
lection in the Union, we OF necessity
accepted the consequences Of doing SO.
We did it TO maintain the republican
character of the Government aud to
compel them TO bd citiz,ns under it,
The foundation stone Of our Government
is, that it rests upon all its citizens alike
OF course. therefore. the permanent ex-
clusion Of any class from an equal voice
in it does violence to the Fundamental
principle By virtue Of which it alone ex.
lists. 1t follows that just SO soon os the
sa'as popMi permits ii, sc must deal
with these subjngatsd rebels precisely
as we deal with other citizens. These
are Iru,hs Of universal acceptance. The
question which every one can best an.
swer for himselfis, whether tho time OF
danger is past We have Graut in the
White House, with Congress over.
wheImingly Republican. The power OF
the South is thoroughly broken, her ne.
gros voting the people who made the
rebellion cured OF any wish ever TO re-
new it The very theories on which
they built it were completely reiuted by
the most irresistible logic known to hu-
man alf,ir', Their System of labor, to
maintain which the rebellion was inaugu.
rated, is overlhTown irredeemably and
another built on its ruins. For the first
time in the history Of the country the
South is thrown open to tho world; and
money and men from the North are GO
Ing in and buying up the land, estab.
fishing industries, building up a popu
la'ion and creating q sentiment which
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