Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-10-04
GEN. BANKS ON REcONsTRUcs
TON.
The Gulf States Bidden to Wait Awhile
in Patience.

In Patience.
At Lawrence, Mass, on Monday evening,
Gen N. p. BANKS addressed the people
We take the following from the Boston Jour
mars report:
On the question Of negro suffrage he said {:
The privilege Of voting did not make men
equal. The powers that control society, the
press, the pulpit the family, did not vote.
Insensibiy the voter was Influenced by these
| elements Of power and cast his ballot in nc
| cordance with their dictates The men who
voted represented the general sentiment OF
the communities, and we all felt safer when
we knew that every man was going to vote
than we did when we knew that only a half
or quarter voted. In this view he could trust
the negro with the suffrage, because he rep.
resented part of the general sentiment Of
the community.
But that was not the question. The ques-
tion was whether it was possible to prevent
| the negro from voting2 And he had no hesi-
tation in saying that 1t was not in the power
of man to prevent the extension of the fran
chise to the black laborors Of the South. We
must accept this result as one Of the inevita-
BILE events in the future, and prepare the
emancipated for the exercise Of the powers
which they are inevitably to have. This
preparation could be made only by those who
had fought for the Union and sustained the
Government, and to them the negro would
look for it II have thus" said the Gen
eral, passed over, in an informal and frank
manner, the great questions that underlie the
future of the American Union. believe
they are all embodied in the single question:
Who shall govern this country? My judg-
ment is that the political power should be
given to the masses Of the people who have
not been engaged of choice in this rebellion,
and who, from the nature of their condition
and character, will be willing to act harmo-
niously in sustaining the honor of the Gov
ernment, in sharing its dangers and meeting
its responsibility, and that class is the labor.
ing class Of the South rs we'll as tho intel
lectual and laboring classes of the North.
| While we divide the people Of each State
in this manner by separating all who have
heretofore held the control from those who
have been obliged to acquiesce in this con-
trol We shall also divide the States by taking
those on the great lines of inter. .communi-
cation as the theatre Of reorganization in &C.
cordance with the theories of Mr.. Lincoln
We take the line Of States on the Ohio and
Mississippi. We can leave the line of the
States upon the Gulf FIVE years or twenty
years without danger. They are out of the
way of communication. If any one in this
assembly were told at this moment he was to
go to Georgia, he would not know how to
| get there. 1t is not in the way of communi-
cation. The same is true of those other
States. If they are left out FIVE, ten, or
twenty years-and don't care if South Car
olina is left out hundred years (applause)-
it can never disturb in the slightest degree
the equanimity of the interests of the coun-
try, because they have no power of control
On the contrary, you could not leave the
other States out with the same security, be-
cause they are in position Of control; in ad-
dition to this it would be fatal to the inter
ests Of this country to treat these fifteen
Southern States rs united, whether you take
them in or keep them out. II you take them
in they Immediately concentrate with one of
the factions of the North, and they become q
majority instantly they are admitted. lfyou
keep them out, twelve millions Of people, oc.
cupying q country Of such magnitude and
character, become a disturbing element in
the politics Of this country and make it i'm
possible for the people to live in peace or
carry on their Government adyantageously
| We are therefore to act Immediately upon
| this questOn-reconstruc and the prin-
cple which Mr.. Lincoln has given us, as have
been all the other principles which he has
given u.s. is the principle Of wisdom and of
safety, and l see nothing in the conduct of
the President of the United States, his sue
cessOr which makes II impossible for him at
any time in the course Of his administration
to return to this general idea and theory Of
settlement that have advanced And let
me say to you, not in the way of prophecy,
as an expression Of an opinion formed after
years, not only Of labor but of suffering, that
whether the settlement Of our affairs be post
ponsd fve, ten, or twenty years, the settle
ment will 10 based upon this idea.