The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-01
GENERAL AMNESTY.

From the Richmond State Journal.
The bill which passed Congress yesterday,
and only lacks the signature of the President
to become law, includes the names of many
of the first men of the State who have
hitherto been in bitter hostility to the Gene
raj Government. After having swallowed so
huge q camel we cannot see the necessity of
straining at gnats. Our own views are we'll
known on this subject. We have been in
favor of general removal of disabilities
from all the people of the South, although it
would initiate against both our personal and
political interests. The only difficulty in our
mind was to discover the simplest method of
accomplishing the end. The Constitution re-
quires personal application-and it is doubt
full if there is any other way of getting over
the difficulties which environ the
question of universal amnesty, than
by an amendment to the four
teenth amendment which shall strike
out the disabling clause. Such an amend
ment would have to be adopted by three
fourths of the votes, and the process would
consequently be very slow. Personal appli-
cation is too troublesome to be thought of,
for we must recollect that it is not alone
those who are disabled by the fourteenth
amendment, but ninety nine hundredths Of
the white inhabitants of the South, who are
almost equally disabled by the test oath. A
been removed were men of the latter class.
This very large class could be restored to all
their forfeited rights and privileges by SIM
pie law of Congress repeating the oath of
| office of 1862, popularly known as the test
oath or ironclad. This oath, it seems to us,
has accomplished all the good purposes that
it was intended to accomplish, and has
prevented all the evils that it was
intended to provide against, and
| ha ranaalad Uyifhnut Aatri
ment to the public good. Unscrupulous
men have not been deferred, either by con
science or public opinion, from subscribing
to it, when their interests stood in the way
and it has, therefore, been of late years little
| more than ban upon honest and conscien
tious people in the South, to keep them ou
of offices and employments under the pro
visional State and Federal Governments
Consequently, as it will only place the poo
soldier of the Confederate Army, who held nj
Office before the war, on the same footing witt
the leading politicians of Virginia who were
restored to all their political rights yesterday
and give them an equal chance in the
Federal offices, we say let the test oath be re
pealed. and the humber class be thus placeC
upon the same footing with the old Office
holders .t'.'.'.'t
Let us see how the test oath operates: MIR
Raleigh L. Daniel was yesterday relieved o
his political disabilities, which also relieves
him from the Congressional test oath, whicl
is required to be taken by all officers Of th
United States Government, whether in tn
North or the South, and all Senators ant
members of Congress, no matter where the.
were born or reside, and even though the
may have been in the United States arm
during the war. Mr.. Daniel is now fully re
habilitated, and can be elected to Congress
next fall and take his seat in that body, or
can be elected or appointed to any other offic
{ in the State or United States;. and yet ther
, are 100, 900 men in Virginia, any one Of whor