Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-11-17

by the State for all terms of service in
the armies of the Union, exceeds two
/ hundred thousand men, much the great
er portion of these being for three years;
and in addition to this, not less than fif
ty thousand State militia, have from
time to time been called into active ser
vice to repel rebel raids and defend oul
southern border from invasion, all Of
which will be fully shown in the official
report of the Adjutant General, now In
course of preparsticn for publication
Since the end of he war, all the III
diana troops have been mustered out OF
service except eighteen regiments aoi
infantry, and three regiments of caval-
ry. Every effort con sistent with the IN.
terests eff the Government has been
made by the Executive Department. OF
the State to procure the early muster
out of these Remaining Indiana regi.
ments, and assurances have been re
ceived that orders for their discharge
will be issued as soon as their services
can be dispensed with. For other inter
esting details relating to our troops, you
are respectfully referred to communi
cation from the Adjutant General here
with submitted. is@s 'Ao --9la Pa
~, 4 go - fsJ 6saa 81 odaai ilr sla q
REORGANIZATION 50 81 d Is
Since the adjournment of the Legisla-
ture the civil war which had desolated
our country has terminated in the com=
plete triumph of the Government and
the suppression of the rebellion. The
evacuation OF Richmond, and the capit-
ulation of Lees army, were rapidly fol-
lowed by the surrender of every other
rebel army in the field, and irregular
| guerrilla warfare almost entirely passed
away in few weeks. The suppression
of the rebellion and the snbjugatiou OF
armed rebels seems to be complete,
while every rebel State has confessed to
the irretrievable destruction of the in
stitution Of slavery. The people of the
South have been beaten and overpow-
cred in the field; they have wholly lost
their property in slaves; much of their
country has been overrun. and made
desolate by the march and ravsge of
great armies; poverty and wretchedness
have been brought home to large classes
who before had lived iniwehlth and lux
ury; large numbers of their population
have persisted in the conflict, and there
is prevailing among them great exas-
peration and bitterness which time alone
can assuage. 4 GA'h III Sfi5
The great majority, however, appear
to regard the verdict Of the war as
irfeversible, and to promptly accept the
situation as one they cannot modify or
put aside. But while the heresy of State
sovereignty has been sextirpated,. and
the questions involved in the conflict by
the arbitrament of arms, 1t is yet of the
i greatest Importance to the nation that
these questions be adjudicated and
determined by the highest judicial tribu
nal which might most appropriately be
done in the trial, for high treason and
other atrocious crimes, of the chief
instigator and head of this most wicked
and bloody rebellion. 1t should be
/ definitely established as a principle IN
our Constitution, bo.h by Judicial deci-
sion and example of punishm ent, that
rebellion is treason, that treason is a
crime which may not be committed with
impunity; and that there is but one
sovereignty, which resides in the col
lective and undivided people of the
United States. s5e s'dlss5lra ia
The work of recognising the Govern
ments of the rebel States, and bringing
them again into practical relations with
the Government and people of the
United States, is now upon the country,
and demands for its successful perform
ance the greatest wisdom, patience, and
| forbearance. huslJ el ~ como e
But while it is important that the
work of reorganization shall not be un-
necessarily delayed, it is more import
ant that it, shall proceed upon sound
principles, which will furnishHguRran-
tees for the future integrity and peace
Of the Republic. The principal discus
sions which arise on this subject pertain
to the future statue of the negro in the
Southern States By some it is urged
that comforting suffrage upon him shall
be made condition of reorganization,
or, in other words, that the States lately
in rebellion shall not be permitted to re-
sumo their practical relations with the
Government exceptJupon the terms Of
first comforting the right of suffrage
upon their freedmen. As to the manner
in which this shall be accomplishing, the
friends of it differ. Some are in favor
of persistently excluding the members
of Congress from the Southern States
until negro suffrage has been incorpo-
rated into their several State Constitu-
tions. Others assume that the States
lately in rebellion are no longer mem
bers Of the Union, but have forfeited
and lost their character as Statss, and
are in fact held as conquered provinces,
and, like unorganized Territories which
may have been acquired by the Govern
ment are, under the complete control
and jurisdiction of Congress, which may,
confer suffrage upon whomsoever it
pleases.
The subject of suffrage is, BY the nag
tional Constitution, expressly referred
to the discrimination sof the seyefal
States, and it cannot be taken from
them without violation of the letter
and spirit of that instrument
But without stopping to discnssdheo-
ries or questions OF Constitutional law,
and leaving them ont Of Yiew,Hit woGId u
in my opinion, be unwise to make the
work of reconstruction depend upon a
condition of such doubtful utility as
negro suffrage. kts "a - - y
. 1t lie q fact so manifest, thatit shouid'
not be called in question by any, thata
people who are just emerging from the
barbarism of slavery are not qualified
to become a part of our political sys'
tenn, and take part, not only in the gov
eminent of themselves and their neigh
bors. but of the whole United States.
So far from believing that negro suffrage
is a remedy for all of our national lis,
/ doubt whether it is a remedy for any,
aud rather believe that its enforcement
by Congress would be more likely to
subject the negro TO a merciless perse-
cution, than to confer upon him any
benefit BY some it is
thought that suffrage is already cheap
enough in this country; and the imme.
diats transfer Of more than half million
of men from slavery, with all the igno-
rance and degradation upon them which
the slavery of generations upon South
ern fields has produced, would be de-
to the world that the exercise Il
of American suffrage involves no intel 4
leetual or moral qualifications, and that
there is no difference between an Ameri- ,
can freemen and an American slave, r,
which may not be removed bye mere
act of Congress. What is far more i'm Z
~ 70 tho fraA oman than annraoa ;s 4