Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-11-03

to mlngle With you again, my children ana
relatives and friends are among you, and my
anxiety for their and your welfare, induced
me to ask the permission OF the government
to send you this communication. | have
tried to form correct estimate of the condi-
tion of affairs, and send you the result of
my reflections. The times demand the ex-
ercises of thought and reason, and the free
expression of opinion. / hope mine may be
at least suggestive, As our condition forces
unwelcome thoughts and action on US, and
as, in my Judgment your best interests re-
quire you to assent to facts and conclusions,
conforming to the new order of things, which
must be repugnant to your past experience,
and to your reason and preiudices, / take
the liberty of suggesting to You frankly that
line of action which seems to me best calcu-
lated, in your existing condition, to promote
and secure your future welfare | need not
assure you of my sympathy with you, and |
think need not doubt your confidence that |
would advice you to no course which / did
not think best for you.
| see that Gen. Hamilton, who has been
appointed Provisional Governor by the Pre-
sident, has entered on his duties He will
have adviced you of the policy of the gov-s
ernment, and what will be expected of you,
and will, no doubt, call convention to reor-
gaEize the State Government, as is being
done in other States similarly situated.
Your condition as people is one of nov
city and experiment; involving the necessity
of political social and industrial reconstrue-
ton, after thorough and sweeping reyolu-
ton in all these respects; and this has to be
accomplished in opposition to your educa-
ton, traditional policy and preiudices.
[ do not propose to discuss either what
belongs to the past, or the policy of what
is now required of you, but to accept the
present condition of things, as the result of
the war, and of inevitable necessity; and
from this, as a starting point, to require
what policy our people should adopt for the
future.
You must, in the first place, recognize the
necessity of making the most you can out of
your present condition, without the hope of
doing all you might desire. This is reQuir-
! ed both by reason and necessity.
The State occupies the condition of aeon
quered nation. State government and State
Sovereignty are IN allegiance; and will be so
held until you adopt government and poll
| cy acceptable to the conquererS. A refusal
to accede to these conditions would only re-
suit in a prolongation Of the time during
which you will be deprived of a civil govern
mentof your own choice and continue subject
| to military rule And it would do more than
| this: it would keep questions of the gravest
| character open for discussion and agitation,
| and, by degrees, aeeustom the whole eoun-
| try to a sort of military government and re-
! suit in the establishment of military des-
potism without bringing you any nearer to
the attainment of your wishes than you are
/ at present. In order to secure to yourselves
| again the blessings of local self-government,
and to avoid military rule and the danger
of running into military despotism, you
must agree
First To recognize the supreme authority
| of the Government of the United States
within the sphere of its power, and its right
to protect itself against disintegration by the
! secession of the States
And, second you must recognize the abb
olition Of slavery, and the right of those
| who have been slaves to privilege and pro-
lection of the law of the land.
From what / can see, this much viii be
required as the least that would be likely to
satisfy the government, and secure to you
the blessings of civil government, and the
admission Of your members into the Con-
gress of the United States.
But even this may fail in the statement OF
these ends, unless proY.-c"r, shall be made
by the new State Government for comforting
the elective franchise on the former slaves.
/ And present appearances indicate that this
win be required by Northern public senti-
ment and by Congress. And our people are
| in no condition to disregard that opinion OF
power with safety But | am persuaded
you may satisfy both without further iuju-
ries to yourselves than has already occurred.
If you can do this, and secure to yourselves
liberty, the protection of the Constitution
and laws of the United States, and the right
of local government, you will be more
| fortunate than many other conquered peO-
pie have been. The Government and the
people of the Northern States will, | have
no doubt, recognize the necessity of your Sc
| curing these blessings, as important to the
| whole rountry, as a means of preserving tC
it constitutional liberty and the present form
Of republican government. This Is a new
language to employ in addressing you, and
will be as unweleome to you as it is sorrow
full to me- But it would be more than folly
it would be great crime, for you, and and
those who may be charged with the duty O
recognizing and restoring the State to the
Union, to refuse to recognize the facts O.
your situation, however disagreeable, and tt
speak of and deal with them with candol
and directness.
When the government offers its terms fo
the restoration of the State to the Union, i
demands no other sacrifices than those al
ready made, by the result of the war, of re
noancing the right of secession, and recog
nizing the abolition of slavery, with the ne
cessary consequences. These demands beinl
complied with, the civil government will b.
organized, the military government with
drawn, your members will be admitted t.
their seats in Congress, and the State vii
be in the Union on an equality in all respect
with the other States; with no further dis
abilities, save only such as attach to individ
uals While the government preseribes th,
conditions of this return it authorizes tn
people of the State, through representative
Of their own choice, TO execute them.
seems to be the object of the government
in pursuing this course, to secure what
regards as the fruits of the victory it ha
won, and at the same time to preserve ou
form of government and the liabilities 0
the people. | know that those who look t
the past only, with its sacrifices and losses 0
principles believed to be true, Of propert
possessed, of national independence sought
and of the heroic dead, may say, why tai
of liberty now and of equality in the Uni
: on? The answer is, that having attempte
to secure and preserve these by an appea
to the God of Battles we failed, and the
now, so far as relates to our political restoI
alton, belong to the dead past where it
the policy of the conquerors to leave them
present and to the future fit be though
hard to surrender so much, it must be re
menbered that such is the fate of war, aa