, 1865-07-26
GEORGIA..
Gey. Johnson's Speech at Macon.
He ConGfatu1ates the People upon III .
LOIS or slavery and the New Era OF
Prosperity

He Congratu1ates the People upon ths
LOIS Of slavery and tic New Era Of
Prosperity.
(F1om the Maeon Telegraph, 1esh.1
Cor. johnson returned to this city yester-
day. and at half+psss five o'clock. accordlng
to previous announcement, the citizens of
Macon assembled in The C;ty Hsli. for the
purpose Of nsteatng to an address from him.
Hezald:
call on sou, having discharged my duty,
to discharge yours, and remove the obsta-
cles VII ch may ue In the way Of receiving the
amnesty oath, and to prepare yourselves to
become votes for delegatea to convention
OF the people Of Georgia., and then to vote Tor
assembled, will represent the masses Of the
Sale, and this is the power that will pre-
sc,ibe the Jurisdiction Of judges, and limit
tn cir powers. It a called 1or the purpose Of
enabling you to establish free government.
When this convention has assembled 1t will
adopt constitution that shall provide when
the governor and members Of esch branch Of
the general assembly Rhall be elected, how
the State shall he districted in order to be
repsesented in Congress; thus putting In
ppefati the whole machinery Of govern
mtnt. When under their order the governor
tnd members Of the Legislature ahall be
el. cttd, then the Legislature may meet aud
make Laws for the government of the State.
Georgia will then be once more Invested with
all tie rights ind authority belonging to =
sovereign S ate.
Iuew f.ei bound to declare to you one
thing which you must recognize Is accom-
pliehed; and the Boomer ron know 1t, and
conform to It, the sooner Will you be relieved
from military rule. slavery tttsss no fnore,
form, i utterly ont Of the QUESTION. Those
Who indulge hopes to the contrary are labor
ing under deius!on. The Constitution
which the people Of Georgin shall adopt In
convention Will be required to recognise til 3
fact. The convention will be called upon
to agree to this amendment to the Constitu.
t!ou, that slavery ahail no longer exist in
these Stetes. They will be called upon to
decide this before their restoration to the
Union, in order that this quarrel about
slavery, which has existed from the beginning
OF the Government to the present time shall
never be. revived, and In order that there
nav he no dtepute among the people Of this
Safe On the subject. they must provide
for lis extinction now, and SO tell you TO-
day, If you wish TO DC admitted into tho
Union, ibis convention Of the people Of
as will recognize the faci Of the c1tinc Ion Of
slavery in Georgia, and agree to the amend
ment to the Constitution Of tie United
States. which will e1tipgaish alaye:y through
ont the country.
So, then, / say to you agalu, under what
ever view you may take OF the subject,
slavery Is extingutahed. It Is gons-it Is
gone forever.
I have htatd complaints upon this point.
fel1ow-citizens, that IN passing from the stato
IN which We have been Into the new order of
things great many difficulties aud Incou-
venlencles will ar1ac. Nothing else could
haye been expected: 1t is sald the negroes
will stsaRgla thloug h the county, commit
depredations. many Of them be lmpadent.
rectli5ingltnese cvlls, We must have Lesis-
lature thar will make laws to punish them.
and punish them severely, for tic commission
Of cane. That is your remedy complain
ing will not do any good. And not only that,
but 1t ia claimed BY Eome that the negroes will
not work. / know that those who nave been
driven of the farms do not work,
b.e,nse they have have M 10 OPPORTUNITY of
work where they have nos bean
driven of. For this latter class the Lsglsla-
ture must make laws declaring them va
negro viii not work! How do you know
~thsy will not: I tell you they win work;
and must ehy that under the peculiar cir
cumstances BY Which they were surrounded,
no people ever behaved bstter than they
have done. Thoss who tell you they wIl not
work have hopes Of continuing their control
and dominion over them. They will work
under contracts ofhfre, aud II they fBn, they
become yaErants and mny be punished Or eI-
He'd. as the laws Of the State may direct. Let
TIT L. gitlltui G meet and pass the necdlu1 laws
move smoothly on. Let them be mployei
by men Of humanity. and have fair compensa-
tinn gwen them, and In my Judgment, no
difficulty will lie in the way.
We have lost our capital Ia negro property.
1t IL gone. We are reduced as people to
bankruptcy. We have been iu al1nance and
our riches have flown awag. But who is TO
1t is from the war-it Is one Of the peuslties
VIC must pay. It was war of ous own
seeking, and euch has been the result Of 1t.
We maae the war. As Southern man am
bound to say, aud history will say, we fired
the first gun, the result Of which has bcen q
,s var Of g'EsntIc h9gs proport5l9}n7s. 5s}7 Ws have
Will ever be the result Of stupendous folly.
Bat while FAY these things on this point,
think some advantages will result from this
war In the future. Whilst we have been hurt
and chastlsed for the present, Jet let Us re-
member that We may accumulate property In
stesd Of being laid out In negroes, will be ex-
pended IN permanent improvements, In in
c1easlpg the comforts OF our houses, manur-
ing cur lands, planting orchards, building
permanent fences and In manufactures OF all
kinds. Attracted to this land emissants
from other parts Of the world, and from the
North, will ccmc to settle among US, because
We have as good rlime - any under the sun.
Our towns and villages, instead Of going to
decay, will improve, and arts and sciences
viii flourish among us. Such, believe, will
be one Of the resu1ls Of the war,
And not only that there lAsuother adyaa-
tage. We have been very Sensitive, as
people. We allowed no man to think that
slavery was moral, social or po1ltical evil,
and II any one thought thus, ,4he WAS dcemsd
unsouHd, and arrafgued before vigilance cum
mittees: Even when Lord John Russell, iu
England, took occasion to say thut he hopea
slavery would ba abolished by, this reyolu-
tIon, our people commenced abusing him as
II ht had rresps6sed upon our rights.
We abuEed munkind when they differed with
~, and VS. carried ouv opposition to mems
thinking rs they pleased to such an e1trens,,
that men amongst Us who dared to dttfrr
from us on this subject were arra'gned, not
By law, or before legal tribunal, but before
yfgilant societies, and personally abused.
Civilization WAS almost driven from the land
law and order was suppressed by these
laW]eEs NTH. Bnt now We eau look over this,
land and pray, as Solomon did. that all Of
Adams race may be elevated to dignity aud
happiness.