, 1865-10-24


Head to the Senate and House Of Hep
resenta.iyes Of the State Of Ml~zIzslp-
pi, Oct. 10th, 1865.
fa,,aemtn Of tie SsaMe and Hou,. 1f Reprfstnta-
tires:
The peop,o Of the State Of Mississippi, at
the recent election, called me to the Chief
Executive Office OF the State. In obedience
to that cali appear before you to-day for tho
purpose of taklns; the oath prescribed BY The
Constitution for the Incumbent Of that oi1lce.
In entering upon Its duties and rcspouabtlf-
tics, with no experience In the administration
of ciyl affairs, am profoundly oppressed by
the humitating sense Of my untitness for the
forbcarance Of my tellow-citizers, and inyoEe-
Ing the supporting grace Of Almighty God,
for wisdom and strength, I sholl cnlenvos to
discharge those duties honestly md Impair
tally, and with such abilities IS possess,
linking US guide the Constitution and the
attaining the great end 10 which the aims of
every patriot should be airected-the peace,
the order, the protection and the advances
ment Of society.
should bo wanting In duty and gratitude
to my fellow-c1tfzens who have 60 cenfldingly
the State, were I not to make known my
views Of the Constitution, tho structure Of
our complex form Of government, and the
principles upon which 1t Ia founded, and
should be administered.
The founders Of our Republic having
achieved their national Independence, and
finding their first experiment Of government,
under u. Articles OF Confederation fast fall
lng into decay and contempt, at home and
abroad, from defects common to Ill leagues,
determined to change that Federal orgnnfza-
tion, and IN Its stead "ordained and establish
cl'' the Constitution Of the United states."
The ffamers Of that Instrument were wise aud
3.-pt o}n T}o1y1 1-yoF froY
riencc the weakness OF leagues, tho nature Of
government, apd felt the necessity OF Fed
cra1 Government, Its stability and Its pcrpet-
u,t5. They intended 1t as "protcetorh OF
a1l the foreign atIairs and some Of the domes-
tic concerns Of the people; md to enable it
powers mud rights were "grauted" " to II by
4 Constitution, which, for the assurance Of
those rights and powers, was declared to he
s'thc supreme Inv Of the land y and to guard
the people against Its usurpa.ions, all the
rights and powers not delegated to 1t, were
expressly "seseEved to the States. os the
people. Such Of those rights reserved as were
not by State Constitutions excepted from the
gcut1ul powers Of government were reserved
TO the States. Such as were excepted were
reserved to the people. In the ex-
crcisc Of the powers and rights
granted to the Federal Government, and In
those onlr, It Is the sovereign power Of the
| rights reserved to the States, and not except
e, By the people, and in those only. It Is the
sovereign pover, within its territorial limits
in the exeTcEe Of the powers aud rights ex~
copied from the general powers Of govern
| ment, and those only, ne Reopls are soysr, e:
Of Sovereignty to themselves, neither Of these
Governments can rightfully exercise any
| power properly delegated to the other. Upon
| this threshold division Of power Is based tue
Sovereignty Of the State and Federal Govern
| ments, mud both were designed to protect the
fhcir FOREIGN and domestic rlghts.1 !
In view Of the supremacy Of the Constitu-
tfon Of the United States, md the laws made
| By Congress in pursuance thereof, md In view
| Of the duty Imposed on the Presldenl
| to sec that the 1aws arc faithfully executed,
have always believed that 70 one State, could
constituttonalty sever the ties that unite the
people ofthe several States into one people.
| Yet, an not 1lumindfn1 that different doc
| trine was taught in the carly stages Of our
| government, and was maintained BY some OF
The brightest iUtellccts and most ufustrious
IS to be regretted that this school Of polite.
ians could not hare found better mode for
solving the question than the nrbitrament Of
| war, But the question was thus referred, and
has been decided aguinst US by a tribunal from
which there is no appeal.
The people Of the State of Mississippi, nc;
knowledging the decision, desire to return to
tho Union, and renew their fealty TO the Con-
stitution Of tho United States. It has been
| officiaIly reported from some quarters that
our people arc insiucerc, and that the splTif
Of rerolt Is rampant anoug Us. But If IN
flinching fidelity In war gives evidence pf r.
liable fidelity IN peaee-I the unraryins PRO-
fessions that spring from private md public
sources, furnish any evidence Of truth. IT L
sufficiently demonstrated that the people q
terrible odds, maintained the mlghticst con.
ilict Of modern ages, may be safely trusted,
when they profess more than willingness to
return TO their allegiance -.
The South having ycntured all Oh the arbItzn
1nent OF the sword, has lost a1l save hel
honor; md now accepts the result In gooc
faith. It is our duty to address ourselves Il
the promotion Of peace and order Ito tht
restoration Of 1Aw, the faith Of the Constitu
ton, Ind the stability and prosperity of ths
Union; to cultivate amicable relations Will
our sister States and establish our agricul
tura1 and commercial prosperity on mort
durable misunderstanding that the les
sons taught by the rebellion will not be l0s
either BIZ the North or the South-that free
men, once enlightened, VIII not submit Il
wrong OF injnstice-that sectional aggression
win meet with sectional resistance, md tha
the price Of political pesady Is blood, ant
Tbe State Of Mississippi has already, unde
the pressure Of the result Of the war, By be
own solemn act, abolished slavery. It woult
be hypoc1ttical and improbable to attemp
! to persuade the world that she has done *
| Willingly. II Is due, however, to her honor
! to show by her future course that She ha
done 60 In good faish,, and that slavery shal
never again exist within her borders, undo
WhatFoeyer na1ne or gnise It may be attempt
ed. The sudden emancipation Of her slave
has devolved UPON her the highest respousl
bIlittea and dntits. Several hundred thousa1