The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1871-04-02
The Right Docirtns.s
The Baltimore Sun saws:

the Reljdblica1 peri9 dfSals, while assn am-t!
ing they existeSSe ;o4 40 cal lleA Ku Klnxl
at the South, prooasd1. Ielab b9rAfelytQnds
ifoyoibIy, to argue thpt the HadiEal legis-.
,latioh, by which the most ignorant por-'
ttions Of the community were put in
exclusive possession Of tho whole admin
iietrative machinery OF sthe aSouthern
States, while the most influential portion
of the population was disfrapchised, has
soWn the seeds Of bitterness not only
but the new generation which has come
on the stage since the war. In this re-
speot, it confirms what the Sun hns often
ssid---that The sons of disfranohised men
would not be inclined. by their own Rd-
mission topolitical privileges. to forget
the wrongs done to their fathers. They
would be base if they did. After point
ing out the theoretical defects Of the new
Southern Governments, under recon
struction. the Nation says our Legislators
have done nothing to atone therefor,
and adds:
''We owe it to human nature TO say
that worse Governments have seldom
been seen in a civilized country. They
have been largely composed of trashy
whites and ignorant blacks. OF course,
there have been in them men of integrity
and ability, of both races. but the great
majority of the officers and legislators
have been either wanting in knowledge,
or in principle, or both. That of South
Carolina is one of the worst specimens,
and, as such, we have often commented
on it,"
The question then arises. "What is to
be done2" and, in answering this, the
Nation refers to the fact that, ut nearly
every session Of Congress, there is call,
from philanthropic or political purposes,
for additional legislation "to protect life
and property ut the South" Of which
sort ia the bill recently brought in by
Butler, which it describes rs Introducing
momentous changes into the administra-
tive system Of free country. It insists,
as no one can deny, that "the separate
States are, under the Constitution, es
clearly charged with the duty of protect
ing life aud property within their own
borders as the United States with the
powers" and, therefore, it urges that
''to impose the duty OF protecting life
and property on the Federal Government
is just as distinct and well marked
novelty as, and q far more serious novelty
titan, the transfer OF the power of nego-
tiating ,treaties> to, the separate States
would be-" The logic Of the whole arti-
Gle isTthat Radical legislation in'vthe
South is o failure. and ought to be turned
from, which the Nation. would hardly
insist upon, IL, as some Radical organs
seem to imagipei that influential journal
did not totally dissent from the policy of
its party on this subject. The policy in
question is failure, OF course, from its
having been wrong In principle. nnne.
cessary and unjust in practice. In fine,
the ground assumed by the Nation is the
same as that the conservative elements Of
the country have always stood upon, and
the same as that OF the Congressional
caucus on Monday night; and if the
Nation approves what Democrats do,
ether journals may alec assume it without
imputation of mere party bias.
In regard to the question frequently
asked-by only the superficial, of
course whether IL be possible that GO
vernment which, like the United States
Government, can call on its citizens to
sacrifice their lives in it's defence in the
ranks Of it's armies, really owes them no
protection for their lives md property,
the Nation pointedly ,answers:
"We reply that NE know nothing of
tue CDlGeQ SI1Ge8 GOVefnmenG except
what we find in the Constitution and the
judicial Interpretations Of it,. There is
no ideal orEabsolnte.:, United States Go
vernment. It is a contention, and the
terms OF that convention are that the po-
litical organization it set up. shall hive
the right to draft citizens for its defence,
and yet shall only render them in return
certain services; OF which protection
from violence at the hands of their
neighbors. except on the demand of the
local authorities, is not ono. This may
be u cruel arrangement. or an ill-judged
one, or ON unfortunate one, but it is
what it is, md it is found in most cases
to work WE'LL"
This is the true aud only doctrine on
which our system OF government con
live. It is that on which the policy Of
President Johnson was founded, when,
after the Southern States had emerged
from the civil war and accepted the new
status given them by the abolition Of
slavery as its result. repudiating OF the
same time what was called the rebel
debt, he sought to- havo tho Federal
Union speedily restored, that they might
move on in their proper orbits, as the
u La L. III.