The New York herald., 1871-02-17

Missouri democracy, has, in the United States
Senate, defined his position on the Southern
reconstruction laws OF Congress and the ff-
teanth amendment. He says that, though
carried through by fraud and perildy, he does
regard the fifteenth amendment as complete
aud as part of the law Of the land; that he
| has never held any other doctrine in regard to
| IL; but that he does not now regard and never
has regarded, the reconstruction acts of Con-
gress as any part Of the law of the land, and
| that if he had been in place of power, and
called upon 10 act in this business, 'he should
have acted out his conviction, let the conse-
! quonces be what they might" In the cele-
brated Drodhead letter (raproduced in another
column, BE had said that the army in the
| S3uth should be made TO undo its usurpations
| il ihis work Of reconstruction and his idea
was that this would be done by recalling the
army, when the carpet-bag governments would
| digperse at once.
| This, then, is the present position of Gene
| raj Blair on the reconstruction laws and the
rev amendments TO the constitution-the
thirteenth and fourteenth, with the ff-
teenth. lie accepts these amendments
as parts Of she supreme law of the land;
but still holds that the reconstruc-
tion acts are Unconstitutional, revolutionary,
null and void" We ali kHow that General
Blairs nomination for Vice President on the
/ ticket with Seymour, in 1868, was on the sup
| posed strength OF his Brodhead letter West
and South, in connection with the Wade
Hampton resolution in the Tammany platform
! against the reconstruction laws. Our readers
| will next remember shat when, in the October
State elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio and In
diana, the democracy began to realize the ex-
| tent Of Their mistake in this matter, despe-
rate attempt was made in this city and at
Washington to bring tn party to change of
| front, and to remove General Blair from the
party Ticket and to substitute some other man
for Vice President fog the great battle Of No
+, vember. Nor need we repeat here the effect
Of this absurd movement upon the democratic
camp. 1t is enough TO say that this demoral-
izing act of treachery towards General Blair
was accepted on all sides as democratic con-
fession of their impending defeat, and that it
contributed much so the decisive triumph of
General Grant But what does all this sig
nifty now? Who cares what General Blair
said or did in 1868, or what was said or done
by che Tammany Convention of that year
Is ii OF any consequence now, when all this
reconstruction business is settled and when
emancipation and negro suffrage are fixed in
the constitution 1t is Of no consequence
what the democracy suffered for their folly in
1868 If they have given it up. But have they
given up this folly? This is the question we
are now called TO consider.
The debate in the Senate upon which
General Blair defined his present position
grew out Of joint resolution from the demo-
cratic Legislature Of Indiana Withdrawing thot
States alleged ratification OF the fifteenth
amendment as a fraud Mr.. Morton accept
ing the challenge thus presented him by his
Legislature, took up the question and pro-
ceeded to sbow-first, the power of Congress
over the rebel States; and next, that the demo-
cratic party, in it's attempted Reputation of
amendments to the national constitution,
stands committed to their nuIlifcation and
subversien. These Indiana resolutions, he
contended, breathed the doctrines Of nullifica-
tion and secession, and that it is well for the
country to know that the democratic party re-
main as they were and do not mean to accept
sny Of the results of the war or to recognize
the reconstruction acts or the fourteenth or
fifteenth amendment, bui would, If they had
the power, nullify them ALL As proof OF this he
cited the fact that tue democratic members Of
| the House OF Representatives at the last ses-
sion voted solidly against the resolution assert
ing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments,
and re erred to various official acts iu demo-
cratic States committed in fragrant contempt
OF these amendments and by the equal rights
| established under them. He also applied The
| fact that the democratic Legislature Of Cali
foruia had declared the fifteenth amendment a
nullity aud not binding upon the people Of that
State. From all these things Mr. Morton
| argued that the democratic party, still COM
| mtted to notification, secession and rebellion,
is not TO be trusted by the people.
AS the individual opinion of Senator Morton.
it may be said that all this signifies nothing,
and it may be asked, what can he make of il?
We think it means mischief to the democracy,
and for this reason: Mortonis is the chosen mouth
piece of General Grant in the Senate No mem
Der OF the body possesses in higher degree
than Morton the confidence OF the President
The nomination of this Senator as Minister to
England, and his reasons for declining 1t, and his
defence Of the Presiden. against Sumner on
ST. Domingo, are proofs sufficient upon this
point. We expect, hewever, an additional
proof OF the perfect accord between President
and Senator in the approaching reconstruction
Of the Cabinet We may safely assume, then,
that in this attack upon the democratic party