New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-02-10
THE PROCLAMATION AT NEW
ORLEANS.

Gen. Banks has discOyered-so late as tne
Goth of Jsnuary-that tho President had issued
tho Emancipation Proclamation on the LIST, and
has republished it, accompanied BY general
order, which We print this morning. The
terms of that order are not credtabs to Gen.
Banks. The document is an anachronism IL
reads as If issued year or more ago, in the
balcyon days Of Federal Fugtiye-SIsye hunts,
and OF the unlimited supremacy Of Border'state
counsels. Iu short, it does what may be done
by the commander Of q distant department to
anuul the Presidents Proclamation aud coun-
teract its effect within the limits Of the district
under his control. If this is not its purpose
and result, what shall be said VI such a passage
as this
"ofcoI. add soldiers will not encourage assist slaves 10
leave their but they cannos compel or authorize
their return by foroo.'
Why not encourage them II is not 70 Do
supposed that Gen. Banks has not read inc
Proclamation which he undertakes to e1pound'
but if he has, what does he suppose to DO the
meaning of this language;
"And by yus Of the power and or the purpose Aforesaid
dsnsed State. and rsrs sstes aud aencc'i IA
,hs b.. FHxs and ths, the EIs;utvs Government Ct tue
United States, IscLppIsa mIIIrahl AND NAVAL
.rruoHrTIxs thereof Will RroossIrs aud sAsrAs tue
"a cedoa, OF said persons" q
If Gen. Bankss order were limited to the
excepted part of Louisiana, that might have
been urged in its justification, but it is dated
Headquarters. Department of the Gulf. and
maniiesty applies to the whole 1t follows,
therefore, that this Military Authority y
deems himself TO be recognizing and maintain
ing the freedom Of the emaucIpated blacks,
firstly, by still recognizing them as slaves, and
secondly, by prohibiting officers aud soldiers
from encouraging or assisting them TO leave
their-employers, the last aud most delicate
euphusm for slave masters.
But the Proclamation proceeds to declare
that such persons as are freed by its terms
will be received into the armed service Of the
United States to garrison forts, &c.--in other
words openly invited, and encourages the blacks
to enlist in the Union armies and designated
their employment when 80 enlisted. Yet, if
officers and soldiers, who are tho agents OF the
emaucipated slaves to leave their masters, il is
not easy to SEQ how they can encourage them 10
enlist, and ii they do not, the practical effect
of the proclamation is neutralized and de-
feated Just so far as Gen. Bauks's order is re-
spected and obeyed
Throughout this order, moreover, Gen. Banks
forgets that he now has to deal with free
blacks, and mat they are just as free as if
they were white and had never been slaves.
He forgets, even more strangely, that the
blacks are loyal, and their old masters mainly
traitors. All the provisions OF his order are
10 the interest Of the plauters-none Of them
Devised in behalf of tho negroes. lie directs
tho SequestratiOn Commission,
upon conference p,A the pianios and oy pdves to pro
pose and establish yearly system OF labor which shall
provide foo the food clothing proper sineH
pensaon for the negroes at fixed equitable pro-
portion OF the yearly crop. Re deemed advisable 1t
should just but not exorbt,nt hen accepted
by ne panl Other plrne' all the conditions Of coutinous
and f hu service respectful department correc, discipline
aud perfect ,ubodnaon shall DO enforced the part Of the
negroes by tho officer. OF the Goyernmea,."
In other words, tho Government and the
planters are the only parties to the contract
which the negroes are to be compelled to per-
form, and in the terms Of which they have by
far tho deepest interest. ("Other parties"
means. of course, other slaveholders.) Ii the
injustice of this purpose is partially concealed
by the fact that its victims are black, let us
suppose that Gen. Banks should issue an order
that all the poor whites Of Louisiana should
be- compelled to work for their richer fellow
citizeus on such terms and for such wages as
the latter and the Government might think
right and sufli cient, and that the power OF the
United States would be employed to enforce
their CONTINUOUS service, respectful department
and perfect suoordination i, can hardly be
necessary to comment at length on ha, prOpo.
sitIon.
1t s not enough to say that the proper treat
ment aud just compensation Of the Degroes are
stipulated for. They might or might hot re-.
ceiyo what was agreed on-amost certainly
would nOt--but that il not the point Who
has The right 10 determine what is proper
treatment and what Is just compensation I
Who can have that right bat the negroes them
selyesi--ireemen as they are by the Proclama-
ton Of the President, and human beings with
equal rights by an earlier Proclamation than
his. Gen. Banks has no night TO remember
that they we're ever slaves. Still less right
to deny them the privileges aud opportunities
which are opened 10 them in Freedom.
There are other objections to this order, but
the above are "ihore than sufficient to show
how seriously IL reonires 10 be modified before