Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-05-31

form " of its strength in the eyes of those
who need it i'll the South, or favor it i'll
the North. The Times ':believes it to be
substantially established that the time
has come when the political skill, the per-
sonal energy and probity llnquestionably
existing among the disqualified classes,
may be restored to the local governments
OF the South
In SO far as it regards the right and just
ness of relieving men possessed "unques-
tionably OF political skill, personal energy
and probity," from undescrycd disabilities
and the craftsmanship OF the policy of re-
storing them 10 our local governments, the
conclusion, though tardy and insincere, is
undoubtedly correct. But the Times is
very much mistaken if it supposes that the
passage of the Amnesty Bill at this late
day with its tenders, the H0iieGs Corpus
suspension, and Supplemental Civil Rights
Bills, notwithstanding, it may have been
accomplished by d Republican Congress,
OH the recommendation of Republican
President" will produce any beneficial
effect upon the fortunes Of General Grant
and his followers. The day when the
South could feel that all act OF amnesty
indicated either magnanimity, generosity or
kindly feeling on the part OF the leaders OF
the Radical party, has long since passed
away. The day when the hearts OF South
ern men could be fired with enthusiasm, Or
filed with gratitude for the removal of their
disabilities, has long since passed away
They have felt and still feel that the inn
position of these disabilities was a crievOus
| wrong and Il gross outrage. The contin-
ued persistent refusal to remove them was
a continued persistent insulting aggrava,
| ton of the original wrong. Time was,
| possibly, when a full, free, spontaneous,
| genuine peace-ofiering covering with veil
| of oblivion the meInentOeS of a bloody
! past, would have made a million of hearth
| stones i'll the South resOund with express
| sons of enthusiasm and even of gratitude.
! Not sonow. What, then, might have been
| received respectfully, possibly gratefully, is
now received with universal derisiOn.
! SCOrn and contempt. No sane man
! either North or South, believes fol
| a moment that amnesty has been grant
| ed because it was Just, or because it was
! statesmanllke policy to restore to the coUn
| ellis Of the State and Federal governments
men Of ''unquestionable political skill and
personal energy and probty." Neither
| General Grant nor any OF his adherents
! Gull reach VI even tSplIC " lcdCII
of statesmanlike policy. They find theil
| level only i'll measures of low, grOveling
| selfish, corrupt, hand to mouth partisan
ship. No less apparent is it that amnesty
was not dictated by any kindly or mag
| unanimous or generous feeling. Neither
right nor craftsmanship nor magnimity
| weighed feather in the scale. Insincerity
dishonesty, ambition and lust of power an(
| greed of gain conspired and cohabited to-
| gether and Amnesty was the fruit. A few
| thousand men in the South are RENTED tt
their rights as citizens by "RepublicaI
| Congress on the recommendation of a Re
publican PRESIDENT" and on the same day
indeed in the self same hour, this same
Republican Congress attempts to confer
| upon this same Republican PRESIDENT alb
! SOlute power, not only over the rights, bu
over the lives, net only of these . few
thousand" but of all the thousands of citi
zens in the South! And yetthe Times think
thus to cheat MIR. Greeley out of . the
strength Of the amnesty plank Of his plat
FORM" and the advantage Of the 9 appear
ance of consistency which he has kept up
in its advocacy.
Southern men who need amnesty, ant
Northern men who favor it, have unques
tionably too much political skill to be de
, luded by so plain fraud.
The South, now as ever, scOrns hypO cri
sy-the tribute that vice pays to virtue, even
though it comes in the shape Of Amnesty
the Tribute that Grant pays to Greeley.