The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1865-08-29

tree is to be restored it can only be done 10y
careful watching and patient waiting. So
with the growth of Government while
1t requires years of patient labor and foster
ing care to bring il to maturity, rebellion
may jeopardze it ina day, aud once de-
stroyed or trampled down, il will require
time aud cMo TO re-establish il on as firm
and sure footing as before.
Then the Government aud people of this
country, the rebels bcing beaten in the
| field, come to what is called the work of
reconstruction or restoration. | have been
Que of those who believe il woul have
been better for the President of the United
States, exercising the Executive power, and
and the head Of our army anu navy, to have
kept all these iusurrectionary States under
| careful watch and ward, supervised 10y
military authority, for few mouths longer,
until Congress could have met aud taken
| legislative consideration of the subject, in
conjunction with the Executive. | think
! this course would have harmouized the
! feelings and opinions of our people to q
greater extent than they are now. But the
successor of the murdered Lincoln has
! thought otherwise, aud pursued different
course, and am by no means certain that
iu pursuing that course he has done better
]
have had him pursue.
PRESIDENT JoHNsoNs ExPERrNENrs.
And in reference to those experiments,
may be allowed to say here, that had an
interview with the President Just before
left Washington, scme ten days ago, before
coming home to meet my fellow citizens in
the canvass for the approaching election.
| sought that interview for the special
e l,,,.,,, if,r, t,,vyplf 70
in reference to the Executive power, aud
his general purpose as TO the restoration OF
the rebellious States. knew the frank.
ness of his character, his devotion to the
country, the energy with which, having
determined in his own mind, what is right
he would pursue it to the c, know the
resolve, which he boldly expressed on tho
floor of the Senate, in the commencement
OF this struggle, denouncing the traitors as
they deserved and knew that, though he
might make some mistake, there could be
no mistake about his patriotism, and that
that resolution would be carried out to its
fullest extent. With this confidence in our
chief ruler, sought an interview with him
In that Interview expressed to him the
doubt and jealousy that existed in the minds
Of the people of the country, and especially
in the minds of the people OF Ohio-doubls
whether. under the policy he adopted, we
were not going too fast in bringing back
by hurried processes these rebel States
into fun communion with those that had
never left the Union foil. told him that
that doubt might, perhaps, rsSt OH misun'
dcrstanding as to the extent to which he
proposed to carry that policy. said and
ihiuk you will Justify me in having said
SO, that if his purpose was to establish
temporary Governments, experimental IN
their nature, 10y the appointment of those
provisional officers, in order to test their
disposition to go ahead, and come back in
good faith, and with the full purpose OF
abiding by their obligations to the National
Government I; and if in addition to that
he proposed to keep enough of the military
power stationed in different parts of the
late rebellious States 10 supervise then
conduct and reach forwa the strong
haud, if necessary, TO keep them in tho
right way, we would be satisfied with such
experiments. And, moreover, | said we
would he better satisfied still if we should
definitely understand that it was no pur
pose of the Executive TO iorestall the action
of Congress, the representatives, OF the
people, but that when they should assem-
Lle and determine whether, in addition tC
having their local Executive privileges in
the States, these people were ready to re
turn to full communion wita the Govern
ment, by being represented in the counsels
of the nation.
am glad to be able to say that the as
surance had from the President justifies
me in saying thar, although this was the
policy he meant TO pursue, it was only al
experiment lie said that he had no pur
| of ipf tba cfi nI
gress the experiments being made wer,
but preparation of these people for Z
better and more improved condition. And
so tar as keeping watch over them by
armed force is concerned. he pointed tC
what had taken place in Richmond, Nir
ginia, and assured me that where they act
ed in bad faith by selecting men for Office
because they were rebels, the military
would be ready 70 sweep away their work
With this understanding for one, as 9
citizen of Ohio, and representing portol
of her people, stand here to day. giving my
unqualified support to tho course pursued
now by our President, intending to wait
and see what will be the outcome OF this
erring people. r
These people, under a provisional Gov
ernment, with more or less good faith il
their purpose of coming back as loya
States, will revise their organic law, vii
adopt new Constitutions, and send repre-
sentatives elected under them, bearing
these new Constitutions to Washing ton, tC
be presented as showing the extent tC
which they will 60 in removing the evils
heretofore existing in their local organiza
tons and laws. Then we shall have opened
the question whether they ere ready to bl
admitted back into full fellowship with the
rest Of the Statcs and in discussing tAis
question, ! shall not hesitate to say wlat
think in reference to il, and think mJ
views will not differ materially from thost
of most loyal people.
AMENDMENTS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS.
The two heresies of free government, tn
seeds OF evil from which have grown al
our late troubles, without argument or illus
tration may assume you all understand Il
be secession aud slavery. The doctrin,
that one member OF this National Govern
ment may, at it's pleasure, break up The
whole organization aud carry us back tC
chaos, is doctrine that must be abandoned
by every insurreetionary State before it car
be regarded as in "a proper condition to b'
restored to an equal position with the res
of the States. The institution of slavery
that accnrsed mother of all the pride anC
arrogance, aud devitry which led to thI
3 rebellion, must also be 'abaPd6ned as a
thing hot only not TO be tolerated, but al
prohibited by the organic law of the State
We should expect, therefore, that every
institution submitted to us under ihis new
state of things, shall not leave this question
| IN douht hut shall contain in language ex