Year: 1867

There are many signs of progress looking to-
wards an early restoration of the blessings OF
civil government to the people of the Southern
States Many of their leading public men,,
even including some of those who are disfran-
chised by the Reconstruction act, have pub
lished strong and urgent appeals to the people
to look the actual condition OF things in the
face, and go to work in earnest and in good
faith under the acts recently passed by Con
gress. The meetings held at Columbia, South
Carolina, and a. Selma, in Alabama, were very
significant. 1t was an important point to find
so considerable man and so sturdy an ex-reb-
ell as General Wade Hampton advising the
people, both white and black to cooperate in
the work of reconstruction upon the perfect
level established in the recent laws. The same
course of conduct formed the basis of action at
the Selma meeting. Since then, General Long
street has given similar advice to the people of
New Orleans and that vicinity. General Lee,
too, has authorized statement that the peO
pie Of Virginia, of all colors, should cooperate
with each other i'll choosing a convention Of
men capable of acting properly in such crisis
with them as the present But the most elabo
rate paper we have yet seen upon the subject
is that from Governor Patton, of Alabama
1t is a letter, dated at Montgomery, on the
10th of this month. After stating cOncisely
the provisions of the Reconstruction act, he
says that the requirements of said act should
be accepted as conclusive upon the question of
negro suffrage, and that to contend against it
now is simply to contend against the inevita-
BILE. He regrets that the classes disfranchised
by the act will take from them the talents and
experience of many men who would be OF ser
vice in the conventions, but that nOtwlthStand-
ing this there need be no fear but that wise
and patriotic convention may be chosen from
IL L. Acf ha- hoo
siderable talk in the South of character cal
culated to keep persons from the polls, Gov
ernor Patton seems to have thought it necessa-
ry to urge everybody entitled to vote to exer-
else the privilege, and to appeal to those who
are disfranchiScd to use their influence towards
accomplishing the same end. With respect to
the negroes, he calls attention to the fact that
they are now to vote for the first time, and
that there is every reason why good feeling
should be cherished towards them. They
should be encouraged to exercise the franchise,
and to do it in their own way, without any eff
fort to control their votes or to Interfere with
them, except to help them vote intelligently.
Every attempt to generate aHtagOnlsm between
the white and the colored voters should be dis
couraged.


The fact that Congress asserts and exercises
full power of the whole question OF reconstruc-
ton is fully recognized as an important fact in
Governor Patton letter. and he presses upon
the people Of Alabama the urgent necessity, as
we'll as the policy, of realizing that such is the
case. He further says that it has been a very
mischievous thing that too little consideration
has been given heretofore to that important
point, and that such a vital error should be
continued no longer, as the crises is very i'm
portant one for the people. Tie is of the Opin'
ion, and expresses his confidence that if pru-
dence and moderation are observed, coupled
withdecisive action, the great question of re-
construction will soon be settled SO far as Ala
bama is concerned.


There is much more of similar tenor in Gov
ernor Pattons letter, and the document is
throughout SO sensible and dispassionate that
we deem it worthy of special commendatiOn.-
If such counsels as those given in this letter,
and those expressed by Hampton, Longstreet,
Lee and others who have heretofore been lead
ing men in the South, shall reach the hearts
of the great majority of the people there, so as
to be observed by them properly and ia good
fiath, there can be no reason why there should
not be a general restoration before another
twelve month shall have rolled around
PhiL1 Led0er