The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-04-14

sured for some supposed agency in set
ting up and seeking to sustain the new
State Government of Louisiana. In thi
| have done just so much and no mor
than the public knows.
In the annual message OF December
1863, and accompanying proclamation.
presented plan of reconstruction, as TIT
phrase goes, which, promised, if adopt
ed by aTy State. should be acceptable tC
and he sustained By the Executive doV
ernment of the nation.
distinctly stated that this was not the
only plan which might possibly be aecep
table; and | also distinctly protested
that the Executive claimed no right to
say when or whether members should be
admitted to seats in Congress from such
States. This plan was, in advance, sub
mitted 10 the then Cabinet, aud distinct
ly approved by every member OF II. One
of them suggested that / should then.
and in that connection, apply the Eman'
cipatiou proclamation TO the heretofore
excepted parts of Virginia and Louisiana;
that should drop the suggestion about
apprenticeship for freed people, and that
I should omit the protest against my own
power in regard TO the admission OF mem,
bers of Congress But even he approved
every part and parcel of the plan which
has since been employed or established
by the action of Louisiana.
The new Constitution of Louisiana, de
claring emancipation for the whole State,
practically applies the proclamation to
the part previously excepted 1t does
not adopt apprenticeship for freed peo,
pie and il is silent, as it could not well
be otherwise, about the admission OF
members so that. as il applies to Louis
lana, every member of the Cabinet fully
approved the plan The message went
TO Congress and | received many com
mendations of the plan, written and yer
bal. and not n single objection to II from
any protessed emancipationlst came 10
my knowledge until after news reached
Washing ton that the people ot Lonls-
lana had begun to move III accordance
with it,
Some time about July, 1862. | had IA
correspondence with different persons
supposed to be interested III seeking a
reconstruction of State Government tor
Louisiana. When the message OF 1864,
with the plan before mentioned, reached
New Orleans, General Banks wrote me
that he was confident the people, with
his military cooperation, would Recon
struct substantially on that plan.
wrote him, and some of them, to try 1t
They tried it and the result is known.
Such only has been my agency IN
| building up tho Louisiana Government
As to sustaining it, my promise was ont,
a, before stated But as bad promises are
better broken than kept, / shall treat
this as a bad promise, and break it, when
| | shall be convinced that keeping 1t Is
| adverse to the public interest. But
have not yet been so convinced.
| I have been shown letter en- this sub
iect-supposed to be an able one,-lI
| which the writer expresses regret tha'
my mind has not seemed to be definitely
fixed on the question whether the seeded
| States. so-called, arc in the Union or ou
of il The writer would. perhaps. ado
astonishment to his regret were he I,
learn that since have found professec
| Union men endeayoring to make that
question. have pnrposely forborne any
public expression upon 1t, as 1t appear'
| to me that question has not betRS n)l
vet is. a practically material one; and
| that any discussion of it, while it thus re
mains practically material, could have
| no effect other than the mischieyous one
of dividing our friends As yet, whatey
er il NAV hereafter become, that ques
ton is bad a. the basis of a controversy
| and good for nothing at all; merely per
uicious abstraction.
Veal agree that the seeded States
so called, are out OF their proper practi
cal relation with the Union, and that The
sole object of the Government, civil and
military, in regard to these States, Is tC
again get them into that proper practlca
relation. believe it is not only posi-
bic, but in fact easier, to do this, without
| deciding or even conceding whether these
States have ever been ont of the Union
tba with it, Finding themselves saiel
at home, it would be- utterly immateria
whether they had ever been abroad.
Let us all join in doing the acts noces
sarN to restoring the proper political re
| lations between these states and tn
| Union, and each forever after Innocently
| indulge his own opinion whether, in do
ing the acts he brought the States from
without into tho Union, or only gave
them proper assistance, they never hav
ing been ont Off
fhe amount of constituency, 80 Il
speak, ia which the new Louisiana Gov
eminent rests would be no more satiStac
tory To all if it contained fifty, thirty o.
even twenty thousand, instead of only
about twelve thousand as it really does
It is also unsatisfactory TO some that thu
elective franchise is not given the colOret
man would myself prefer it were nov
conferred on the very intelligent, and OF
! those who serve our cause a5 soldiers.