The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-10
1G TELEGRAPH-PHILA SATURDAY, MARCH TO- 1866.

after the surrender of Lee the temper of the
South was so submissive that they would have
accepted, without a murmur, negro suffrage as a
condition OF readmisson. In fact the Rebels
did about that time realize that they had been
whipped and expected to take such terms as
their conquerors chose to grant. That Is what
Pryor saws, and he must be deemed q competent
and credible witness TO the point Mr.. Covode,
so late as June and July, was in Louisiana, and
saw much of the army which Kirby Smith had
surrendered, conveTsng freely with both officers
Mr.. Covode, ITO find how docile and Submissive
they vere;'-
"In no single instance, either there or on the
steamboat where travelled with them did hear
any bitter or unkind feeling expressed towards the
Government. The general expression among them
that they were glad the war was over, and We're
ready to come back under the old lag and submit to
what was required Of them Many Of the more in;
telligent mon OF the army sald their leaders had
made great mistake in going into the Rebellion
against the Government; that thov should have
remained IN the Union and endeavOred TO accom-
plish their purposes by political means, in which,
they said, they could have been sure OF the aid of
the Northern Democrats that by preciptating the
Rebeio they had tied the hands OF their Northern
friends. To all appearances, the men Of the army
had not the renotest expectation OF being agan
intrus'ed with pOhtcal power ana privileges ~
least for somo time"
We believe there is no doubt that such was
then the general sentiment OF the South; they
"had not the remotest expectation OF being again
entrusted with political power and privileges, at
least Tor some time.n Certainly they had no
expectation" =" nor the remotest dream OF die
tating terms of feadmsson. They knew how
they would have treated the North in similar
circumstances; they looked lor like treatment
from the North What changed them We
all remember that the temper OF the South
did undergo about that time a great change.
So far as Louisiana is concerned, Mr.. Coyode's
testimony supplies an explanation. He went
down to New Orleans, many Of KIRBY Smiths
uen going also. Governor Wells, of Loui-
siaua, had just returned from Washington,
and a public meeting was called to hear his
report. He went to the meeting aud made a
speech, in which he stated that he had seen
the President, who was q Southern man and
Democrat, and that Mr.. johnson would be O
bulwark between the South and Northern AbOli-
tionists and fanaticism. He MADE open ISIS lie
against the former administration OF Mr.. Liza
coin, charging it with the contraction OF an
enormous debt, ETC., and claiming that the ad-
Ministration OF Mr. johnson would be OF very
different character" Mr.. Covode bee7ed then
that Governor Wells misIepresented The
purposes OF President Johnson. Governor
Wells, however, fresh from his CON
sultaions with Mr.. johnson, abandoned
the loyal party that elected him, renewed
from office the loyal appointees OF Governor
Hahn, filed their places with the worst class OF
Rebels, and from that day to this has done his
utmost to throw the political power of the State
again into the hands OF the men who in 1860
took it out of the Union, in defiance of q ma
iority of the people. Mr. CoVode stayed in
Louisiana long enough TO observe the develop
ment of this policy, came back to Washington,
| and reported that Governor Wells ought to be
removed. The result was that the President
suppressed his report kept Governor Wells in
office, and to-day disloyalty rules supreme in
Louisiana. If there is any more instructive
lesson in reconstruction, we know not where it
is to be found