Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1884-12-05

tracts from Judge Tourgee's widely cir
'culated book entitled "A Fools Errand'
and from recent issue Of the New York
Sun, regarding the history OF the recon
struction'' and the enfranchisement of the
Negro race in the South, and the causes
leading to the adjustment of the question
of the manner in which it was done. This
is rendered pertinent by the recent very re-
markable speech of James G. Blaine, the
defeated Republican candidate. Mr.. Tour
gee is prominent Republican, who sup
ported Mr.. Blaine in the recent campaign,
and the editor ofthe New York San, though
professedly independent" supported Mr..
Blaine and opposed Cleveland with great
vigor. These two authors may, therefore,
be safely regarded as not unduly biased
against Mr.. Blaine, and as both are know n
to the country as men of ability and OBJ
servation, the comments which these two
extracts bear-the one impliedy, the other
expressly upon the extraordinary position
recently assumed oy Blaiue--will be read
with no small degree of interest.
Judge Tourgee was present in the South
during the reconstruction period-being a
Federal Judge in the State of North Caro-
cation with the Republican leaders at
Washington, of whom Mr.. Blaine was one,
during the progress of the reconstruction
legislation. His book, though manifest
ing all the way through the unjust North
ern prejudice against the people and in
stitutons of the South, yet discusses the
question of the reconstruction upon a much
broader plane than that of the mere parti-
san apologist.
He is historically correct when he says
that all the leaders and schemers of the
Republican party, who were planning as
to what should be done with the subjuga,
ted Southern States, ere in favor of his
them as conquered provinces, annihilate
the lines which divided them into sove'
reign States and keep the subjugated p o,
pie of that territory for an indefinite period
under military despotism with whites and
negroes alike deprived Of the rights Of
franchise. 1t was only when they had
felt the public pu'se of the Southern PEG.
pc and found that there was still too much
honorable manhood in that section to
swallow that bitter dose and give appro
val to that bad scheme that they abandon
ed their purpose.
When President johnson appealed to
the Northern people upon the manifest in
justice of invading the Southern States
with armies and shooting down their peo
pie on the assumption that those States
were still "in the Union and had no pow
err to 90 out - and then so soon as they
had thrown down their arms. to proclaim
that they were "out of the Union and could
not come in" the leaders feared to meet
him with their military despotism scheme
Hence it was that out of party necessity
and political insincerity" the fourth plan
Of which Mr.. Blaine so bitterly com Mains
was adopted. When it was found that
the Southern whites could not be in fac'
indefinitely DISTINGUISHED it was aimed 10
make them practically so by the enfran-
chisement Of the emancipated slaves.
Mr.. Tourgee properly denominates this
a monster born of party necessity and
political insinceri'y," and instead of join.
ing with Mr.. Blaine in his fierce complaint
and unjust claims that these newly enfran-
ehised people should control the States in
which they predominated, be goes on to
show how natural and inevitable it was
that the scheme should fail of its intended
purpose. Hesays on page 119 of his book
So it must have been well understood blythe wise
men who devised this short-sighted plan of elect
ing President beyond a peradventure of defeat
that they were giving the power of the re-orga-
nlZed, subordinate republics, INTO the hands OF a
race unskilled in public atfairsspoor TO a degree
hardly to be matched in the civilized world, and
so ignorant that not five out of a hundred of It's
voters could read their own ballots, Joined with
such Adulamites among the native whites as
might be willing to face a prescription which
would shut the house of God in the face of their
families, together with the few men of Northern
birth, resident in that section since the close OF
the nature of both,-who might elect 10 become
permanent citizens, and join in the movement
Against them was to be pitted the wealth, the
intelligence, the organizing Skill the pride. and
the hate of a people whom it had taken foul
years to conquer in open fight when their en-
emies outnumbered them three to one.
From these considerations Judge Tour
gee sensibly concludes that the result
which has followed was natural and in
fob 10 no Il,
the originators of the reconstruction polio.
1t is true, as stated by the New Yorl
Sun, that if the South had the power t.
take away suffrage from the negro it is tn
very last thing it would do. When tn
Democratic party accepted the reconstruc
tion legislation, it did so in good faith
and the colored voter may rest assuret
that his political rights are in no DANCE
of disturbance from that party. 1t i
doubtless true, also, that "if the Republi
can party had the power to undo this pri
vilege, it would be part of is futHr
platforms" But it has not the power
and despite all the angry things that ma,
be said by Mr.. Blaine and other leaders
the political status of the black man ha
been fixed and cannot now be changed
One editor Dana has discovered tina
under The construction of the Pendletol
civil service act, the Presidents power o
removal is restricted as to about A. 1000 o
the govern nent employees, while as to thu