The New York herald., 1870-12-27
Governor Holders Impeachnent-A Poor
Bid for n General Amnesty.


has impeached Governor Holden, and he is to
be tried before the State Senate on charges
and specifications of certain 'shigh crimes and
misdemeanors," in the usurpation and exer-
else of despotic powers dangerous to the liber-
ties OF the people. Governor Holden is a rad
ical; the Legislature impeaching him is demo-
cratic. Last summer certain murders and
ether outrages committed upon citizens in the
back counties of North Carolina obnoxious to
the Ku Klux Klan resulted in such excitements
and disorders that Governor Holden proclaimed
the disturbed counties in State of insurrec-
ton, and called out the militia to restore law
and order. He also appealed directly to Presi
dent Grant for assistance, and the Presidents
sympathies and convictions being on the side
Of the Governor, certain United States troops,
five are not mistaken, were so placed in North
Carolina as to be called into requsition, in
the event of the failure Of all other means to
re-establish law and order in the alleged insur-
rectionary counties. The troubles in question,
however, were, with much wrangling, reduced
to sort of armistice, and then being merged
with other local and general issues into the State
election, the result was complete defeat of
the Governor and his party, especially in the
ultra Southern character and materials of the
Legislature elected.
This Legislature strongly represents the
sympathies and souvenirs, the elements and
ideas of the ''lost cause" Governor Holden,
in his remorseless pursuit of the mysterious
assassins of the Ku Klux Klan, and all parties
declared or supposed to be affiliated with
them, has brought upon himself these impeach-
ment proceedings. The impeachers, as a
beginning, have suspended him from the ex-
ercise Of his official powers during his trial,
which is decidedly worse than the treatment
of President Johnson in his impeachment;
and the general presumption is that for calling
out the militia to suppress constructive in
surrection, and upon other charges of this
sort, Governor Holden will be expelled from
his office.
Here the question is suggested, what have
these North Carolina democrats to gain by
this extreme measure Of party retaliation
against Governor Holden? This very Lsgis-
lature has just elected ex Governor Vance to
the United States Senate. body which is
invested with full power to Judge and decide
upon ''the election and qualifications of its
MEMBERS This body represents the party Of
Governor Holden. The Senator elected by
the anti Holden Legislature belongs to class
concerned in the late rebellion whose dsa-
biities under the fourteenth amendment can
be removed only by a two-thirds vote of each
house of Congress. Is the violent Southern
party spirit betrayed In this impeachment Of
Holden "a COED move" in behalf of Senator
Vance for this two-thirds vote in Congress-
No; it is by no means good move in this
direction. Again, there is general amnesty
bill pending in Congress. Is this extreme
measure of party revenge in North Carolina
calculated to encourage either House of Con-
gress in the passage of this Amnesty bill?
No. On the other hand, we fear that by the
election Of Vance and the impeachment of
Holden general amnesty in Congress has
been knocked in the head. We find, too,
that General Grant, man Of very generous
inclinations, thinks that it is too soon yet for
a general amnesty; and in his late annual
message he broadly hints at various Southern
elections carried by means of violence nd iu-
timidation.
This North Carolina impeachment case,
however, is most discouraging illustration Of
the unrelenting partisan bitterness of the
Southern clements concerned in the late rebel
cession they have none to give; that while
scolding and whining over every disability as
great wrong, they have no sooner the
power to punish obnoxious radicals, ''scala-
wags' and ''carpet baggers, than they ex-
ercse their power to the fullest extent All
such manifestations of wrath and vengeance
on the part of the Southern democracy are
bad and full of mischief. They lead to the
conclusion that the Southern people do not
accept, but only submit for the time being
are working and waiting for the opportunity
to upset all these laws, and to wipe out the
national debt, as the debt Of an unconsttu-
tional war upon the sovereign rights of the
States. This is the political road pointed out
by various Southern manifestations during the
year, and especially by Governor Holden's
impeachment, with Vance's election to the
Senate This policy Of demanding everything
and yielding nothing means anything but
peace and harmony. 1t was, moreover, this
Southern democratic policy that swamped
Seymour in 1868, but what it may do in 1870
we cannot tell.
THE CITY ON SKATES. The ponds in and
around the city are now in fine skating order.
In the phraseology of the rink, ''the ball is
up" Many Of the ponds were kaleidoscoped
,.-;4L sraulu dressed nerfnrmers on Sunday