Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1866-02-24
the election Of Delegates, IL had not Eel,

The oath prescribed in the President
proclamation Of the 10th Of May Of last
year Is aplly called "the oath Of amnesty,
because IL cured amnesty TO all for whom
II was intended. The President says ~
hereby grant TO all persons who have, d.
reelly or indirectly participated In the
existing rebellion, except as hereinafter eN'
eepled, amnesty and pardon &c, &c lie
afterwards specifies the classes Of persons
who are declared TO be excepted from tho
benefits Of this proclamation The amnes.
~ oath 10 then intended only for those per-
sons who are not excepted from the benc-
FITS Of the proclamation, Supposed person
who Is within one Of the exceptions to the
/ proclamation, 10 take the oath prcscrb'd
/ therein. What benefit results to him from
taking the oath2 II Is moi, so far Rs he IL
/ concerned an oath Of amnesty, for it brings
no amnesty to him. For such a person to
take this oath would he an idle AMI un,
meaning ceremony, were II not that the At.
torney General of the United States, in q
circular issued from his Office on the 9TH of
June Of last year, gave notice, by the d.
recton Of tho President, that before appli-
cations for pardon by persons belonging to
the excepted CLASSES enumerated IN the
Goth, 1865, would be considered, II must be
shown that they have respectively taken
and subscribed the oath Tor ailirmation) In
said proclamation prescribed. II Is only
as the basis of an application to the Presi-
dent for pardon, that the taking Of tho
oath prescribed in the amnesty proclama-
ton by any person belonging to the eSecp'
ted classes enumerated in that proclama-
. haa Al la,
longing to any Of the excepted classes has
taken the oath, and shall not make appli.
cation to the President for pardon, he has
done an unmeaning thing. His condition,
in the estimation Of the laws Of the coun-
try, is wholly unchanged.
Twill not affect to be ignorant that there are
are some gentlemen in the Convention who
within the exceptions to the amnesty proc
lamation, and who have not obtained the
pardon of the President. | regret that
this is so. 1t is due to myself to soy, that
have not alluded to this subject out of
want of personal respect for those gentle
men. did what believed to be my duty
when declared in my proclamation of the
18th of November, that such persons were
not eligible as Delegates to the Convention.
Iallude to the subject now only for the pur
pose of explaining the views upon which
then acted. To pardon is the prerogative
of the President. am but his agent; and
have not felt at liberty to trench upon
this high privilege. have not enjoyed the
advantage Of frequent communication with
the President, and l have therefore been
obliged to act, for the most part, upon my
own Judgment respecting the duties which
have been imposed upon me, and the pow
ers with which an invested.
am aware that have been censured by
many persons because l did not order an
election for Delegates to Convention at
on earlier day. II has been said that
ought to have caused Convention to as.
semble as early as September of last year.
This complaint is of piece with that I'M
reasoning criticism which assails every
oct land especially every act of mine) which
is not done in the interest or in accord
ancc with the views of those who precpi-
tated the country into an unnecessary war;
and brought mourning and desolation to
the homes of the South. | arrived at the
city of Austin in the early part of the
month of August. If had ordered an
election for Delegates to Convention to
take place in the month of September, how
many of the people of Texas could have
been qualified to vote at such an election
Delay was unavoidable, in order to ascer-
tain who were entitled to vote. l ordered
the ell ction as soonas had reason to be-
lieye that majority of the people of the
State were registered as voters, and Us soon
as money could be provided to de'ray the
expense of a Convention. | am, however,
free to say that when arrived in Texas,
4. L. 4 Ill. Al Al. Il.
lie mind of the State was prepared for the
immediate call Of Convention. even if
such call had been, in other respects practi-
cable. Conventions were already called in
some Of the Southern States, with an evil
dent purpose to obtain representation in
Congress ut the beginning of its present
session. did not believe that this purpose
would be accomplished; and felt that Tex
as might profit by the delay to which her
people would be unavoidably subjected, if
the march of events, and the developments
which must necessarily result from the ac-
ton of other States, should be thoughtfully
observed. The last few months have been
fruitful of events which deserve to be
weighed and considered we'll by all who
desire to see the country restored to that
tranquility which it once enjoyed, and up.
on which its prosperity depends.
From the impotence manifested by the
press of the State at the unavoidable delay
in calling q Convention, had reason to
hope that the great body of the people who
had qualified themselves to vote, would
participate in the election. Surely the
magnitude of the interests to be committed
to your charge, together with the bitter ex-
perience resulting from the action of Ami
nority Convention in the past, were sufic-
lent to Justify the expectation that the acts
Of this body would carry with them, all
the weight and sanction which ought of
right, to belong to the conclusions of repre-
sentatives, chosen by majority of the peo-
pie. would be wa ting in candor if | did
not declare that the apathy manifested by
the people in the recent election fills me
with deep concern. From the returns made
to the Department of State, and the reports
that have reached me from various portions
of the State, there is reason to believe that
less than half Of the registered voters of
the State participated in the election. This
fact cannot, Of course, impair the power of
the Convention to proceed in the discharge
Of the high trust committed to it, but will,
perhaps, in your estimation, as il does in
mine, furnish q weighty reason why the re-
suit of your deliberations should be sub
mitted to the people, for their ratification
or rejection.
To what extent il is expected by the peo-
pie, or may be thought proper by you, to re-
model the Constitution Of the State, | do
not know. No one, however, can doubt
that it is expected by the President, the
Congress and the people Of the United
States that such changes will be made in
the organic law of this State, as will make
il conform, in its spirit and principles, TO
gress of the late war, and followed the
overthrow of the rebellion. There can be
no doubt that it is expected by the country
that you will embrace within the scope OF
Il 1 - =.