Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-04-13
THURsDAY;,,.::;,;:':;.:APRIL ~, 1855.
PRESIDENT LINcoLN,s SPEECH.

The speech made to tho serenRding party
on Tuesday evening by President LIScoLS,
printed on our hrst pSge,) meets with very
general appreciation, although it has been
somewhat hsfesly Assailsd by tho personal
opponents Of General Banks and parties In.
tersstsd in different reconstruction Of Lou.
isianG. The honesty Of purpose, and the
manly frankness Of tho President are RppR-
rent In every sentence, aud It is apparent
that Mr.. LIsCoLS Is only desirous that tho
question shall on Its final settlement, be set.
tIod rightly. We perceive that the New
York ErsMiHg Post, which has hitherto
spohen in opposition to the mode of recon.
struetiou adopted In Louisiana, speaks more
lonisntly on the subject, Rs follows:
The President argued that the admission Of
Louisiana, under Us present constitution,
would save US great deal Of trouble, that
It would establish the freedom Of the State,
and get one more vote for the Constitutional
amendment, These are important considera.
tions not to be overlooked at any time, but
there is still more important one, which is
that right ends are not to be gained by wrong
means. Tho real principle involved, whether
twelve thousand men, out Of u population Of
sume hundreds Of thousands, voting undel
the diotation and oversight Of military com
mSndsr, are comp,tent TO determine the or
gRniEation Of a State under our system %
independent local selfgVverunent, the Prcsi
dent did not discuss. Ilo referred to II Ony
90 give 1t the gO-by till more fitting oppor'
tunity.
There was ono characteristic piece of good
sense in the Presidents remarks, where u,
said that the dispute whether tho seccdrC
States were in or out Of thc Union was ratho
q theoretical than n practical one Our chic
business now Is tO ascertain not what the ah
strRot theory Of our constitutional relations
is, but how best the suspended relations o
the States to the Union can bo restored. *
far so good but Mr.. Lincoln thinks the loyu
goVsrnmsnts already organized In those State
sufficient nucleus for all the loyal sentimen
TO gather about. lie compares them to un
Matched eggs. which arc better than eggs no
yet laid. But II II should happen that thes
eggs arc eockHtrieeb eggs, what them II !
should happen that these governments haV
been framed on principles fatal to all sociu
order, or TO all local and individual libort y
what then1 No egg Is better than rottc
one, or ono filled with tho germs Of snake
and monsters. We do not say that the egg
ere added, or that they contain coekatrieo
on which point, Us Mr. Lincoln is fond .
putting II, we do not commit ourselves; bu
We advise him to look at his eggs we'll befcr
he subjects them to the process Of incubation
With reference to the egg" question, dis
euSsed by the POI, it may not be improrc
for Us to state that the President hu
bosn consulted on the subject, lie say
that ~ the egg be bad it will II,
hatch. He thinks It Is not bad al
that Il ioiH hatch. II the editor Of the Po
is sure that It is rotten the privilege Of smasl
ing Is respectfully conferred upon him,
the exercise Of the war power.