Vicksburg weekly herald., 1870-02-05

Az
81 aEaHas.
81 most lemporais end
egouF Easlish Jour
R H oii has
ulia subject, writ.
- % tone. from which
following extracts -
interest both of history
political science, itis mneh
wished thaimors Hsse known
- natare and effects Of the
of sorsrument which is
a is trial e she Southern States
Amarina The experiment iS
pracedent, and is Of vast
lance, whether IT succeeds or
EHs but there Is On almost want
ef authentic information as to the
Gets.
Thls scarcity Of trustworthy
information Is the more prOVOk-
he because Il has become clear
glaE the Congress Of the United
states Is not trying government
hy negroes IS a merely temporary
arrangement. The Act which It
has just passed for the settlement
Of the affairs of Georgia shows
that II intends TO watch continu-
onaly over its system Of recon-
sRuction. and 70 insist on it being
applied Units integrity whenever ii
e accidentally OrtOtaIlY deranged.
Il directs thai the Georgia Legis-
lature shall reasSemble exactly in
he condition n which il found
itself before the expulsion Of the
negroes; that nObOdy's election
shall be disaIlowed for reasons OF
race or color; that all persons re-
turned shall take an oath denying,
in language Of minute precision,
ihat during the war they gave as
aiasance OF any sort TO the Seces:
aionist Government Of the State
otherwise than under ply sical
compulsion,' and that the Federal
land not tho State courts shall
entertain prosecutions for perjury
IN falsely swearing to this effect.
II It had been generally under
stood that the North did not in
tend It any time to relax its grasp
upon the South, there would
have been nothing very won
derfpI IN this measure, consider
ing what the conduct Of the Geor
gia State Legislature had been.
But its formidable character arises
from the contrary assumption
having been made, and from is
having been supposed that, when
the. general Reconstruction Law
had been literally complied with,
the reconstructed Southern States
would be left to themselves, and
their public acts submitted for al
lowance OF disallOwanCe to the
law courts exclusively. 1t must
now be assumed that if the ex,
pertinent tried in the South fails
anywhere to give the result ex
pectod by the Republican, thC
Congress Ofshe United States, sc
long as that party is dominant in
Il, win interfere to correct the
miscarriage. On the morrow oi
the conquest the treatment OfthC
Southern leaders by the United
States was marked by a gentlenes'
which will always be remembered
to their honor. But in the next
stage OF their relations to the
South, lhe aecessity for cOmbin-
ing despotic rule with SON hing
IKE the form Of local self govern.
ment forced them to adopt a poll
cy which has more than made up
for their abstinence from blood.
shed. Nobody whose intelligence
hus not been impaired by repeat
ing formulas about universal sui.
frage can doubt that the punish
lnent inflicted on the Southern
whites is far the severest which
one community has ever inflicted
unon another England govern.
cd Ireland through a minority
which the mass OF the Celtic pop
hlalion, however Il might hate,
never droamed Of despising; the
United States rule the the South
4 majority ofthe negroes,