The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-15

back TO the House from the Senate was left
to slumber in the Committee on Recon
struotion, of which General Butler is chair
man, 80 long that it seemed to have slept it.
self to death. Why did not General Butler
report the bill back to the House with some
sort of recommendation, and put
some measure or other looking to the
end of the Georgia business upon its pas
sage, without all this interminable delay?
Practically, the fate of Georgia reposes in
his hands. On some questions he can be
stubborn and dictatolial enough; why has he
not displayed little of his dogmatic spirit on
the Georgia question? 1t is true that the
majority in the House has shown its antago-
nism to the views of Butler, but he waived
these views on his own part and voted for the
original House bill, after the Bingham pro-
viso, which he had fought against so earnestly,
had been attached to it, on the ground that
he desired the ratification of the fifteenth
amendment, and objected, moreover, to
voting with the Democracy on a party issue
of any sort. What he could do for the sake
of the fifteenth amendment he could surely
bring himself to do for the sake of winding
up forever the reconstruction business in
general and the reconstruction of Georgia in
particular.
On the 18th of May the Reconstruction
Committee instructed General Butler to re-
port to the House bill upon which it agreed
affecting the status of Georgia. This was a
full month after the Senate substitute came
over to the House and was referred to the
committee, and another full month was
b. ~,
part of the chairman of the committee to get
the question again before the House. At
last, on Monday, he made a pretence of at
tempting to report the bill which he had
been instructed to report on the 18th of May;
and failing to do SO, as might have been ex-
pected under the circumstances, he yesterday
morning, ''by sharp trick, as we are told,
persuaded the Committee to reconsider its
action and permit him to report the bill with
out the Bingham proviso, feature on which
both houses of Congress have insisted by de-
cided votes, and after the most careful and
protracted discussion. And now, say our
Washington dispatches, it is probable that he
will report the bill without further delay,
after having held it back, against the instruc-
tons of the committee, for a month, simply
for the sake of being permitted to report it
in a shape in which it is almost certain to en-
counter the determined opposition of the ma
iority in both the House and Senate. If
General Butler had condescended to bam-
boozle the Committee on Reconstruction
in this fashion at the outset, he would
have been entitled to the thanks of the
people. But he took his own time, as
usual, and meanwhile amused himself by
prowling about the country, and en-
deavoring to introduce into the House a bill
for the annexation of San Domingo. This was
simply trifing with the people, and no man
knew it better than General Butler himself
A little of the energy wasted by him upon his
crazy San Domingo scheme would have set
tied finally and forever the Georgia question
nearly two months ago. 81 am afraid, he
says, hardness of heart and blindness of
mind will possess the people both North and
South, until new calamity will come upon
the nation" If General Butler is not care
full the country will take him to be just such
a calamity as he stands in expectation of, and
act accordingly.