Year: 1866

Nothing that has been done by the Phila-
delphia convention will meet with more uni
versal approval than the proposal to hold
Joint convention Of the soldiers of those two
armies which, so orecently, were arrayed against
each other in deadly hostility, Such an as


semblace will have far more moral influence


than any convention Of mere politicians. 1t


will appeal to sentiments and emotions which
the efforts of the politicians and managers


who met at Philadelphia could never touch ;
but which when aroused, must have a potent
influence on the march and the direction Of
public opinion. 1t may have been and, ques-
tionless, it was, very touching sight to see
the delegations of Massachusetts and South
Carolina enter the convention hall arm in
arm and as a symbol of returning frater-
nifty, it must have been a very pleasing spec
tacle. But, after all, such a tableau
is to the fraternization of the soldiers
of the two armies, what the denoue-
ment of melo-drama is to a scene in
real life The effect of the mimic reconcilia-
tions of the theater is apt to be marred by the
consciousness that there was no real quarrel
between the actors. As piece of art.and of
acting the thing may be well done but it is
well done simply because we know it to be a
piece Of art and of acting We would not, by
any means, be understood to imply that there
was nothing genuine and sincere in that
double entree at Philadelphia which elected
so much applause from the spectators On
the contrary we believe that it was the honest
expression of desire for the reconstruction
Of the Union on constitutional basis, and
that the feeling which it was intended to sym
bolize had a real existence, What We mean
| is, that its effect must necessarily be tame in
comparison with the consequences to be pro-
duced by the reunion and hearty cooperation
of those who, in time of war, encountered
each other 'son the perilous edge of battle, !"
and who, in time of peace, have no ambitious
purposes to subserve.


/ The inspirations of the two conventions,


although by no means incongruous, are essen
TALLY different The one works by the head,
the other will work by the heart. The one
appeals to the intellect and the reason; the
other will appeal to the sentiments and the
emotions. Because the Philadelphia convention
is essentially political body; because it is
compelled to adapt its proceedings to the re-
quirements Of a supposed policy; because it
must embrace presumed expediency as one
of the essential elements of its tactics-it is
obliged to act in manner to some extent
at variance with the perfect development of
that idea which was its inspiration and
its incentive. 1t was forced, appar-
emily, to commit gross injustice to-
ward the vast body of the Northern
Democratic party, by virtually refusing seats
to two Of the prominent representative men
of that party. 1t finds itself compelled, in
its resolutions, to utterly ignore the history
and the political views of the delegations
representing the minority section of the
Union. Nothing-not the surrender Of the
Confederate armies; not the rule of military
commanders, not the refusal Of the right Of
representation to the eleven confederated
States could have carried to the soul of the
defeated party q keener sense Of conquest
than that political compulsion which forces
their representatives in the Philadelphia CON
yention to approve the resolutions denying
the existence Of the right which they had
fought to establish, repudiating the debts
which they had honestly contracted, and re-
| turning thanks to the armies and the gem
erals by whom they had been subdued.


In the contemplated convention Of the sol
diers of the two armies no such necessity will
exist The brave men who, after fighting in
the federal ranks, now extend the hand of
sympathy and fellowship to their Confed-
crate antagonists, will not impair the value Of
the reconciliation by extorting admissions of
the humiliation Of the conquered, or tributes
to the glory of the yietors. 1t is enough for
them to know that their cause has triumphed
If they had not been the conquerors, we
should not have been the conquered They
would never have learned to appreciate sue
cess if they had not found IN their adversa-
ries fsfoemen worthy of their steel" They
will not ask the soldiers of the South to admit
that they fought in an unworthy cause, to
lament over the victories which they gained,
or be thankful for the defeats which they en-
dured. Nothing Of this kind will mar the
perfect harmony Of an assemblage which will
be ruled by no dictates of imagined policy
and fancied expedieney, and hence the sol
diers' convention will exert far greater and
more beneficial influence on public opinion
than even the Philadelphia convention itself.


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