The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-01

]
important letter Vas READ tonight b
Governor Cox, of Ohio, to the Repri
sentatives in Congress from that SAste
"WAsHINGToN, Monday, Feb 70.
General Geo-gs b. Wright, Cnairmal Union Gel
I trl Comuttte, COLUMBUS, ONO.
Dear Sir: On Saturday last l ha
an interview with the President whic
/ regarded as OF sufficient importanc
TO reduce TO writing my remembrance
of his statements while fresh IN IN
memory. waited upon him this morn
ing TO make known what l had done
to ask his Veri6cation OF the truth c
my report and his consent to max
the same known TO the country. Ill
frankly gave his consent, and assente,
to the accuracy of my report
"The President said he had No
thoughts he was not willing TO avOw
that his policy had simply aimed a
the earliest possible restoration o
peace on the basis of loyalty. No Con
| gressional policy had ever been adop
ted; and, therefore, when he entered
upon the duties OF his Office he wa!
Obliged to adopt one of his own lie
had in some sense inherited that ot
Mr. Lincoln, with which thought he
agreed; and that was substantially the
one which he had carried out Con
gress had no Just ground of complaint
! that he had done so, for they had not
seen fit to declare their views, or adopt
/ any measures embOdying what could
/ be called policy of restoration. He
! was satisfied that no long continuance
/ Of military government could be tole-
rated; that the whole country would
properly demand the restoration OF
truly civil government and not 10 give
| il to lately rebellious States would be
an admission of the failure of the ad,
ministratiOn of the party which carried
through the war to prove themselves
equal to the exigencies now.
The work Of destruction was over,
and rebuilding had begun. Military
government alone would not pscify the
South. At the end of long period OF
such government we would be no near
er and probably not so near the end as
now, and would have the same work
/ TO do Hence there is real necessity
for the adoption OF a policy which
J
/ soon as the rebellion should be tho
/ roughly ended, and those conditions
| accepted by the South which were TO
| be regarded as absolutely necessary TO
the peace OF the country. The proper
system of paciiication should be one
which tended every where to stimulate
the loyalty of the South rather than to
| impose upon them laws and conditions
by direct external force.
Thus, in the case of the Freedmen 5
Bureau, he was not against the idea of
the bureau IN toto, for he had sused it,
and WAS stili using IT, Ii might con
tiuue for a period OF more than year :
| hut he had contemplated that either
4 by proclamation of his own, or by some
action OF Congress, the condition Of
peace and technical end of the rebel
lion would probably be declared at
! some period not very remote; as he IN
! derstOod the present law, the Bureau
! might continue year from that time
Meanwhile, he could say to the South,
/ 1t depends on yourselves to say wheth-
! CT the Bureau shall be discontinued at
an early day, for l will put an cpd to il
just as soon as you, by protection Of the
| freedmen, make 1t unnecessary. Thus
/ the hope Of getting rid of the institu-
| ton stimulates them to DO right, while
! they are not discouraged by the idea
| that there is no hope of aid from what
/ they regard as q sort of military gov
ernment If on the other hand, the
! Bureau were made permanent by leg
islation, all the objections he had urged
/ in his message applied IN full force to
! IL; and instead OF encouraging the
South to loyalty, would tend to make
| the hatred of the Government invete-
rate
'The same principle Of stimulating
! loyalty was shown in the manner he
! had held martial law over them. When
ever they should show that martial law
was not needed, it should be removed.
Their own conduct would then deter
mine the matter, and the earnest de
sire and interest of all the best people
be increased to obey the law, because
by so doing they would hasten the with
drawal of interference of the military
arm in their affairs In precisely the
same way he had acted in regard to civil
affairs generally in that section. Re
garding it as necessary to impose Condi-
| tIons upon the rebelhous States which
would guarantee the safety of the coun-
try; and regarding the existing affairs
of the Government as having disqual-
fled themselves by their treason for
continuance in power, he depOsed them,
and established Provisional Govern
ments.
"Then he asked himself what condi-
tions ought to be demanded of them,
/ and how their disposition 10 accept
| them IN good faith might be stimulated
by those conditions, namely: Amend
ment of the State Constitutions, eXclu-
/ ding slavery, acceptance of the same
amendment of the Constitution of the
United States; Reputation of the rebel
debt, snd admission of freedmen to
/ various rights, DC. To stimulate them
/ 10 accept these conditions, being such
As. using his best judgment, and in the
/ absence of any Congressional plan, he
! thought the nearest right of any he
could frame, he engaged that on the
acceptacce, with evidence of good
faith, he would permit them to reor-
| ganize their State Governments, elect
Legislatures, &c, and so far as Execu-
tive acts could do, would restore them
TO their positions in the Union of the
! States. They had sc far accepted his
conditions that he regarded the expe-
/ rimeut a success. he had accordingly
| recognized the Postofice Department
among them, and reopened trade and
removed the restrictions thereon,
through the Treasury department, and
in like manner, in al the Executive
! Departments, reorganized them as
| States in the Union, only keeping
enough military hold to protect the
freedmen and to induce them to do
something more thorough IN that di-
rection.
"Now but one thing remained in
| which those States did not exercise the
full rights of States, snd that was rep
resentaGon in Congress. Ia this he
hsd advised that the same principle OF
stimulating loyalty be applied rs IN
other respects named. lie would ad-
NIT only such Representative as are
in fact loyal men, giving satisfactory
/ evidences Of this. Whenever State or
District sent a loyal man, properly
elected and qualified, he would think
it right TO admit him the same as if
from any other State, and he would
admit none but such loyal men, so that
other States or Districts might be in
duced 10 send similar men. When
they had ell done this, their represent
alton would be fall, and the work
would be done.
such was the plan. He did not ask
10 be a Judge Of elections, or of the
qualifications Of members of Congress,
or OF their loyalty. Congress was its
own Judge, and he had no dream of in
terfering with IS Constitutional rights
I A..a IL F.fs Rsf-- ,,-rf-g rspnys than, ard