The New York herald., 1876-02-29
The Proposed ImPoaehments in tho
south-Let Us Make Haste Slowly.


We feel deeply with the Southern people
in their troubles. We have done all in our
power to help genuine work of reconstruc-
tion. The Southern States have the elements
of "a great empire. In another generation
this war need be more of memory than
the disease of infancy to the strenuous,
lusty man. The South can never be great
until it accepts fully the lessons of the war.
We do not mean degradation and humilia-
ton, for no one would impose these condi-
tions upon single citizen. We mean COM
mon sense. This the South lacks. There
are no war issues at stake. That awful
arbitrament was decisive. War made the
negro free. Freedom means political
equality Common sense would teach the
Southern white leaders that by the conces-
sion of political equality they can win
the negroes Common sense would also
teach that where there is large negro
population-in South Carolina, Louisiana,
Mississippi, where the negro is in
the majority-the part of wisdom is to
recognize the negro as an element in repre-
sentative government, to teach him as we
teach our myriads of aliens-that government
means the election of good men to office.
The one point which the Southern white
man has never conceded is political equal
ity. The negro has not been asked to unite
with the white man. The Northern man is
stamped upon rs an alien, carpet
Dagger" And yet the complaint comes up
from every Southern State that there is no
good government possible, because the
white men can have no aid from the negro
or the Northerner.
This policy of ostracism now bears fruit
in impeachment. impeachment is polit-
ical expedient in Louisiana. The fact that
conservative men oppose it convinces us that
this is so. In Mississippi the same state of
things exists. Even as severe a critic as
Mr.. Nordhoff in consuring Governor Ames,
entirely exonerates him from corruption.
Two democrats voted against the presenta-
tion of the articles against him. Now let us
concede, for the sake of argument, that in
Louisiana and Mississippi the government is
partisan and oppressive. Mississippi, how
ever (it is due to some one to say), has only
trifing State debt. There have been no
great railroad swindles, and there will be no
such opportunity for wholesale reputation
as was seen in Georgia and North Carolina
when the democrats came into power. In
Mississippi the Legislature, the other day
overwhelmingly republican, is now over
whelmingly democratic. The removal of
Ames seems to be assured. kellogg hangs
in the balance, but if the influences which
dominate Mississippi can reach Louisianawe
shall have democratic governors in both
States within thirty days.
Is there no danger that impeachment will
become revolution? Do we not find in the
South wherever the democrats have gained
power, tendency to revolution? The logic
which leads that way is clear:-"The recon-
struction acts are unconstitutional and void
Everything done under them is 'unconstitu-
tional and void The amendments about
the debt and slavery are like the edicts of
Germany annexing Alsace and Lorraine--the
edicts of a conqueror We accept them
only as France signed the Frankfort treaty,
because the sword was at her throat and the
vandal was on her soil. The sword was at
our throat, the vandal was on our soil.
What the sword makes the sword breaks.
We are not bound by anything done under
the reconstruction acts" This is logical
but it is not the logic of a sound reconstruc-
ton. 1t will be disastrous to every interest
dear to the South. The country will say, if
this logic is good in Louisiana and Missis-
sippi, why will it not apply to Washington
and to the general government? If the first
duty of democratic State governments in the
South is to overturn republican governors
and dismiss republican judges; if every re-
publican in Office is to be expelled by the
force of a democratic majority; if the debts
incurred by republicans are to be repu-
dated, what is to become of our national
debt and of those who remain in Office
1t may be said that the reason why governors
like Holden, kellogg and Ames are removed
is that they have been untrue TO their oaths
ofoffice. Upon the same theory jackson could
have been removed by n whig majority
Grant would be removed tomorrow. Grant
/ is arraigned by his opponents for offences as
grave as those charged against Holden, Kel-
! logg and Ames John Quincy Adams in his
diary shows that he, enlightened as he was
believed jackson to be guilty of impeachable
offences. But Adams wrote like partisan
/ So far rs the debts are concerned, the rea-
sons that lead to their reputation would re-
! pudiate millions of our New York debt The
money raised by the repudiated bonds in
the Southern States was stolen. So was the
money raised under the Tweed regime and
a large part of the money given to the Pacific
Railway. If impeachment is a remedy for
Southern misrule and reputation the
remedy for Southern corruption, then why
will not the same remedy apply to misgov-
New York city and the loans guaranteed for