The New York herald., 1874-09-16
PEACE AND RECONSTRUCTION.
The Proposition Well Re-
ceived at the South.
Searching Review of the. South
ern Case.
PEACE THE DESIRE OF ALL.
Two Suggestive Interviews on the
Peace Plan.

CHARLOTTE, N. C., sept. q 1874
Any movement tending TO bring about thor
ough reconciliation between the sections and
xaake the Union . reality as well as a name ought
10 engage the attention OF all true lovers OF the
country. wishing to ascertain the feelings OF tnis
community on the subject called on several
prominent citizens, and give herewith the result
sf our informal in terviews The first person caiieu
npon was Colonel William Johnston President OF
,he Southern Life Insurance Company. This
gentleman is one OF the oldest residents OF NECK
lenburg county and is well known ior his puohc
spir1t GOOD sense and deep interest IN the welfare
nj North Carolina, both as a sovereign state and
as an integral part OF the federal Unio,. without
being politician he is probably better informed
on national affairs than great many who make
politics a profession
..Colonel - said, az suppose you have seen the
editorial in the HERALD which came to-day, in
which 4 proposition is made to call national
convention for the consideration OF all the grew
ances which are the outgrowth Of the war, and If
you have given the matter any thought | would
IKE TO have you tell me the result OF your renee
lions"
Assuring me that ne had had but little time to
reject upon a matter which Was large and impor-
1ant enough to require much reflection, Colonel
Johnston proceeded
1.-THE proposition OF the HERALD to call "a ma
tional convention OF peace and reconstruction
without delay, referred to by YOU appears 10 be
dictated by generous and patriotic motives The
editorial making this proposition contains many
suggestions to oncers OF the federal government,
executive, legislative and Judicial. But is IT prac-
ucaDler BY what authority shall 1t be called and
upon what basis shall represen ntatiOn be appOr
tionedf what authority would the final action OF
the convention have upon the executive and legs-
iatve departments OF the gOvermentS II the
spontaneous popular sentiment, North and South,
would unite IN such call, at St. Louis or Cincin-
natl and agree to base their represen tation the
convention according to the apportionment OF
each State in the house OF Represen tatives, the
suggestion would appear feasible, and the moral
influence of such an assemblage OF our patriotic
citizens could not be without It's influence upon
the Offcers OF the general government.
.NIne-tenths OF the Southern people admit fully
the results Of the war-the preservation Of the
Union, the emancipation OF the slaves, and their
investment with all the political and legal rights
that belong to the whites, and that secession has
been decided by the highest earthly tribunal and
rom which there Is no appeal. These results fol-
lowing the close OF protracted, sanguDary and
desOlating war OF four years brought ruin and
bankruptcy upon almost the entire South The
country was truly IN lamentable condition. War
lad exhausted 1t; contending armies had wasted
II; the emancipation of 900, 600 slaves abolished
$4,000, 100000 OF values; the banks we're all
broken, and the lands deprecated to onethird OF
their former value. Without subsistence, without
employment or the hope Of 1t, from the utter des-
ttutton OF meals in the country, ruin and gaunI
poverty stared majority in the face. The
situation was critical in the extreme, and was
enough TO drive many to desperation Yet
our people IN this condition accepted the
situation. Some went to work best
they could; a few emgrated to foreign countries,
and others went to baltimore New York and the
free States to find employment while others for
while nved on the bounty OF the government.
Gradually the country began to recover by the
production OF cotton and tobacco for market.
when tax believed to day to be uncOnstitutionaD
was levied upon these productions, abst ractlng
from It's agricultural resources about 500 O0O 900
In the short period Of rwo years.
'ln the meantime the thirteenth. fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments to the Institution were
adopted with the acts auxiliary to their execu-
tion These carried out in severe and vim
dictive manner by those charged with their exc
cutlOn.
my POLICY
''Thcse laws were made the more severe and
stringent by the unhappy controversy between
President Johnson and the republican party He
as the Executive, undertook reconstruction with
ont consulting Congress. With the South pros
trate and at his mercy; with all owners of
$4,000 banned from political, and some de-
iiiai i or restoration WITH many S officers nicer.
ana agents oil the C,niederacy imprisoned, with
many professions OF love ior the democracy and
the constitution, President Johnson thought to
unite the south with the Northern democracy aud
triumph over the republican party. In tins he
failed and narrowly escaped impeachment. In
this struggle tor the ascendancy in reconstruction
the wrath OF repubcanism was intensely excited
hnf aUnln ng Inn unnf fhn Tnn Drlo
escaped, and the South was made tie victim oil
the intense feeling growing out OF the contro-
sersy. Reconstruction was carried far beyond
what was originally intended; hence the hard
ships and vndictveness which have characterized
these acts
pending this struggle between the executive
and legislative branches OF the government
100000 new voters mad been made in the South.
These were ignorant degraded Africans, not one
in 500 knowing letter OF the alphabet. In some
states they constituted the majority OF electors
Ths white scum OF Northern and Southern society
was soon found ready, by hes nattery and promises
TO take exclusive possession OF these unfortunate
and ignorant people. by means of union leagues
and false pretences the freedmen were soon or
ganized into compact political parties. Thus the
States. counties cities ana towns Of the south
have been controlled robbed and despoiled by
governments established by federal interference
wltn ball and bayonet, against the consent Of the
property holders and intelligence OF the country.
Thus the manufacture OF s0o,COo ignorant colored
voters IN one day by Congress Is the Had oil our
woes at the south. The negroes the least
culpaole tor all the wrongs lnnlcted on the South
tinted plunderers The white radicals are the
leaders VINO, with the aid OF federal bayonets
have concOcted and carried into eject these great
evils OF robbery and oppression. But the Con-
gress that made the SOC, 900 unqualified electors
weak, ignorant. credulous and almost devoid OF
moral sensiDillty, must take its share OF The res
possibility. Thus legslatlon had its origin IN the
passions engenderedysby an internecine war,
and bears now and Will continue To bear for
generations It's legitimate fruits. Such another
act OF legislation cannot be found In the nne-
teenth century or IN the annals OF the civilized
world. by II millions OF Free vrtuouS and intelli-
gent whites were put directly under ihe egisla-
:lon and government Of their quondam seml-bar-
DArous slaves, OF whom were native Afri-
cans II the virtue ana intelligence or the country
mad been "rebehOusn they had paid the penalty
anu had suconmbeI TO the conQueror. why, then,
destroy the civilization OF the land by making
government OF corruption, vice and deRradat10nf
our sympathies for Greece aud Poland are all lost
wnen compared with this legislation or the best
government the world ever saw In truth, fed
hou AtaA